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Just Brakes

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Norman of Canton, GA September 23, 2009

In April, 2009, we took our PT Cruiser for brakes. We've spent a total of 448.68. I have since had my vehicle in for inspection due to the squeeks in the brakes. Each time, we were reassured that the problem was fixed;however the same date of pick up the brakes started squeeking again. We've been very patient but my car sounds worse than it did before I had new brakes installed. I called today to complain & requested a refund. To availabe their customer "no-service" got me no where. I'm at a point, that I will take my business elsewhere & then file a civil law suit against them to recuperate my money.

Melanie of Decatur, GA September 15, 2009

Just Brakes has been advertising heavily on the radio locally regarding their 99.00 special for all four brakes and machining the rotors so I called because I noticed my car doesn't stop as well as it used to. The day before I had gone to express oil change and lube to check to see if I should get a tune up. We looked under the hood together, everything looked normal and determined all was fine. I called Just Brakes and asked about the brake special. I was told that my car would cost 299.00 rather than 99.00 because it is a Jaguar. Was instructed to bring it in for an estimate.

I brought my car in and was given forms to sign before they would even inspect it. The technicians put my car on a lift, popped the hood and began working. After 15 minutes I was called over and shown a brake vacuum booster hose that was leaking air. It was very loud. I was told that it could be fixed fir 225.00 and that I needed both rotors and pads at a cost of 400.00. Of course, the day before there was no loud hissing noise under the hood. I told the tech. To put the car back together so I could leave because I didn't plan to spend that kind of money.

I walked away to wait and after another 15 minutes I was called over to the car again. This time I was shown wires that had been cut on the idler air control valve connector. I am told that this can be fixed for approx. 200.00. I am informed that it is dangerous to druve thae car and that the dealer will charge meva lot more than 800.00 if I take it to them. I told them thst since I am the only person with keys to my vehicle and just looked under the hood a day ago, I could not fathom how anyone could have cut the wires under my hood. I told them to put the car down and put the parts back on so I could go.

The technician acted as if he was surprised and proceeded to tell me that if I called him after hrs and came back to the shop with the parts I needed he could fix the car for me at a discounted rate. He followed me and gave me a card with his personal number. It took another 30 Minutes before my car was ready to go. The tech gave me a part that came from my car which he rigged up with a hose of some sort. He said he had to do this so I could take the part to a parts store and ask for the replacement. When I got back to my car, the brakes were worse than ever. The air conditioner was also not working properly. It kept alternating between hot and cold even though the temp was at 70. This had never happened before.

Sergiy of Tampa, FL September 12, 2009

This issue started as a need to change the brake pads and shoes on my Toyota Corolla 04 as the Toyota dealer indicated that I only had a few millimeters on pads left. Toyota dealer (Toyota of Tampa Bay) charges 190 for this service and I thought I would save 90 if I turn to Just Brakes. The brake system itself did not have any other issues other that the indication of the little life left on the pads.

When I brought my car to JustBrakes the service manager L. Nation inspected my brake system and in addition to the basic service of 100 for changing the pads and shoes wrote other issues that WERE PRESENT with my car: cracked calipers which could compromise safety, wheel cylinders, disc hardware for front and rear wheels, and adjusting brake system with total estimate of additional 681.95. I declined that service because I did not believe my car had these problems. The only service I got from the company is the basic service 100 which includes front pads, rear shoes.

Immediately after such a repair I had a squealing noise when braking. I called the facility and they told me it's normal and after first 300 miles it should be gone. I called them back when I put 800 miles on my car as the squealing did not go away and then brought the car for inspection to the facility. I was told that "since my calipers were cracked it was normal to hear such noise" and I would need to pay 169.50 per caliper, or 339 total to change the calipers to fix the problem. On my question why it did not squeal before the fix L. Nation said "I don't know". I am not a mechanic and don't know if the problem really existed but the whole situation seemed weird.

I went back to Toyota dealership and asked to inspect the brake system and showed them report from JustBrakes. After inspection the dealship gave me a report stating that the car did not have any other problems than the aftermarket pads installed by JustBrakes. Nothing was wrong with the calipers and the other parts mentioned by JustBrakes are extremely rare to break and be replaced. They showed genuine surprise for the number of parts that JustBrakes wanted to replace. Basically Toyota dealer said that JustBrakes were trying to sell me parts that my car did not need.

at this point the only service I will need is to redo the brake job - the basic service for 190 which should fix the issue with squealing noise. My initial intention was to save money but it seems I am only overpaying. When I came back to JustBrakes they did not want to read the report from Toyota dealer and just gave me a number to contact customer service, which shows how much they care for their customers.

Steve of Seffner, FL September 4, 2009

I should have known better but I sent the girlfriend to Just Brakes here in Tampa to get the 100 special they advertise to do all four corners. She calls me from the store saying they want 352. She proceeds to tell me how the Manager took her over to her car, ran his finger through a bronze colored grease, wiped it on her tire and said, look, your brakes are leaking... we need to replace the bla bla bla. Anyway, we all know that bronze grease comes from the bearing, not the hydrolics. I got the manger on the phone, called him out on it and he denied doing it. I told him to put her car back together and let her go. What a farse. I felt so bad for sending her there without me.

On a little bit better of a note, I took my car there 2 years ago for the same special. I had 65,000 miles on the truck. They told me that I needed to spend about 400 becasue everything was broken. I told them to just give me the special for 100. They then told me I didn't need rear brakes. I told them to turn all my rotors and to put all my old pads in the bed of the truck as advertised. They unwantingly complied. Now I have 116,000 miles on the truck and all that stuff they said would blow up is still just fine. Geez what a scam.

Paul of Lorton, VA September 2, 2009

OK, this was 20 years ago, but when I told someone this story they found this company is still around. I was in the Army at Ft Hood 20 years ago. My car needed brakes. Just Brakes advertised a special that seemed fair. I took my my car (Dodge Champ)in & was told I needed about 400.00 to fix the problem. I was told the car needed brakes pads, rotors & drums. I wanted a 2nd opinion.

I took my car to the Dodge dealership. I spoke to a mechanic & he agreed to look at my car for free. He put the car on a lift & immediately called me over. He said, number one, they are trying to kill you. The nut to the brake calliper had been loosened & brake fluid was dripping out. The mechanic told me I did need brake pads & rotors. He showed me how to take them off & advised me take them to a machine shop for turning. He also told me nothing was wrong with the drums & he tightened the nut & replaced the fluid. Some places will do that for soldiers. I asked the mechanic if he would write his findings on a Company letter & write down he was a factory authorized mechanic.

I took the letter to Just Brakes & had some fun with them. After agreeing to pay for their service, I pulled the letter out. I was promptly asked to leave. This was years ago, probably 1985 or so. The reason why I wrote this was I have told this story to many people. I found many people with similar stories at Fort Hood. One was a soldier I worked with. He forced Just Brakes to do what their advertisment said. When he left, his front tire flew off & he tore up his car. He never did get them to pay for it. Another gentleman told me he worked at Just Brakes & quit because of all the needless work he was forced to do. He even told me they purposely gouged brakes drums, loosened callipes (like mine) & would leave lug nuts loose. Maybe they have cleaned their act, but I doubt it.

eddie of lubbock, TX August 5, 2009

took car for brake job on 7-10-09 and they put brakes and rotors never got turned so i drove for about a month and got a vibrating on my steering wheel when i put brakes on took it back to them on 7-30-09 for the brakes again had a friend look at brakes before and saw that rotors werent turned, that it caused the rotors to warp. when went back to just brakes they said it was bad tires doing the vibrating and shakin of steering wheel so went to mechanic and he looked test drove car and said rotors were bad he took wheels off and told me the same .,that rotors had never been turned and rotors were warped.

so i had to pay him for the brake and turning the rotors since just brakes was ignoring the problem ..i have photos of how rotors were when i took it back in and how there suppose to look when they were turned..now the car is drivg right without no shaking of steering wheel, and just brakes doesnt want to refund my money for what they were suppose to have done..i havae kids and was not gonna risk there lifes cause they want to give me the run around..i cant afford to be paying for a job that is not being properly conducted..

vince of orlando, FL August 3, 2009

Six months ago I stopped at a Just Brakes location(now closed)for a brake inspection on my 2003 Monte. Car had over 45k original miles, same set of brakes, so I thought it was time. The mgr. cheerfully had his techs inspect the brakes pronto. The result amazingly, was still plenty of ware on both axiles. Approx. 25%! I thanked him and drove off.

Now today I decided I'd go to another location to check on the progress of the brake ware. I was again greeted by a friendly mgr. He advised me of the basic price of under 100 bucks and they would perform the inspection. The mgr. told me they still had at least another 6 months of ware. I told him to do the job anyway. Better safe than sorry!

Midway through the service the tech approaches me to tell me what was causing the ware, but their were no safety factors involved. He however tried to advise me to replace parts on front and rear axiles, something about corrosion. I told him the car has 52k miles with the original brakes and that I would be trading it in soon. He just gave me a frustrated look and said nothing else. The mgr. never even brought it up. I paid him for the basic service and left.

Bob of Gulfport, FL June 24, 2009

Went with my 25 year old son to have the brakes changed on his 2003 Nissan Altima. Asked for advertised 99 brake job. Received phone call from "Albi," clearly reading a script, "At Just Brakes, we recommend changing the brake fluid every 12 months or 15,000 miles, as moisture is likely to get in your brake fluid. In your case, the calipers on your vehicle are stuck." He then quoted an estimate of 442.83, plus tax. I then conference called my son and Albi read the same statement as above. We told Albi that we would take the car elsewhere for a second opinion. We then took the car to Safety Tire in Gulfport, FL. The technicians there are ASE certified and I have found the business trustworthy in the past. They examined the car, repaired the brakes, and advised there was nothing wrong with the calipers. In my opinion, Just Brakes attempted to engage in a "Bait and Switch" scam, advising me (the consumer) to authorize unnecessary work and the company is not to be trusted.

Chad of Westminster, CO June 6, 2009

We just got done with a year-long nightmare with Just Brakes here in Thornton, CO, on 120th Ave and Washington St. At first, I had taken my 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage (a pretty small economy car) there to fix the brake pads which had a life-time warranty from a previous Just Brakes repair at the 98 price from a Southern Colorado location. It was 2 years later, so not too bad for the amount of miles I put on the car.

The manager at the time, Lanny, replaced the pads but said the rotors were warped/worn and could not be machined and that they needed to be replaced. So, 460 later, brand new pads, shoes, and rotors. Then, less than a month later, the brakes are grinding again, took it back in for warranty work, and WOW, all of a sudden Lanny tells me that we need new calipers, imagine that. I was stupid enough to pay for it, they machine the rotors under the warranty, replace the pads and shoes, AGAIN, and supposedly put on new calipers (found out they were really just re-conditioned used calipers, not new).

Of course, 2 weeks later, the brakes are again grinding, enter the sale of new struts, 600. Since then and for the past 6 months, just about once a month we've had to take the care in for "warranty" work and they just can't seem to get it right. It's a freaking nightmare dealing with them and they refuse to replace their own defective parts, instead stating that the warranty is up on everything but the pads and shoes, and that they will stop doing any warranty work unless we buy all new rotors again.

Now Lanny, and thier new manager Dan, are trying to tell my wife and I that the rotors from the factory (OEM supposedly) are designed to wear out in less than 8 months, which I know is complete BS! We refuse to give them any more money, and will take it to our local mechanic which we should have done in the first place (all this started with them because of thier own stupid warranty).

I'm drafing up the lawsuit right now against them. We've had it and want it done right. We already know we paid way too much, and I won't even start of the "entire new" brake system that they were legally obligated to fix before allowing us to leave and refused to put the vehicle back together on my wife's 2000 Jeep Wrangler, that was 1,400 we found out we never needed to spend.

It doesn't matter the few decent experiences anyone's had with this company, they are complete rip off artists, and I only wish I had scoured the internet before ever agreeing to a single out of warranty repair there. I feel like a complete idiot.

Mirandi of Austin, TX April 24, 2009

They did the exact same thing to me with the leaky part, I was told that I only have a few days before my back breaks would fail. I went into Just Brakes, I told them my brakes were squealing and I would like to have them checked. Mike gets out the paper to write the work order and all he says is "Brake Service on most cars is 99.88, okay sign right here." Paul pulls my car around, 10 min later they have a diagnosis. Replace shoes, resurface rotars at first replace drums, then decided they could be resurfaced, and replace calipers. I'm like the callipers were replaced a year and a half ago how long do they typically last. He says 30,000 miles, I haven't driven that much yet, and he said I should replace the calipers now come back in a few months and he will look further into the brake system to see what is causing the problem.

At this point, I am completely skeptical about what needs to be done and because he quoted me 654 plus tax. He tried to keep my business by saying the drums could be re-surfaced and it would only cost 500. I told him that I just wanted to get my car back and leave. Then he said I could not leave without at last getting the basic 100 service done, because he does not do free brake inspections. I went back inside the store, called the 1-800 number on the wall and a guy from their corporate office had to call the store and tell the guy to give me back my car.

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