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NTB - Brake Service

National Tire & Battery (NTB) • Batteries • Tires • Brakes • Damaging wheels and rims • Damaging studs and lug nuts • Damaging customers' cars • Price disputes • One-hour discount • Poor service • Unnecessary repairs • Warranty disputes • Work left undone/done poorly ---- • NJ Fraud Case Settled • Sears Unloads NTB

Christopher of Palatine IL (8/27/03):
All I wanted to do was have my brakes checked before I left for Colorado. On 9/22/2002 I went in for a brake inspection, the results were I needed to replace my pads and have the rotors ground to specs. This was acceptable since I had put about 37,124 miles on my 2000 Grand Prix GT. However in March of 2003 where my mileage was now 46,645 I started feeling vibrations up front. So back to NTB same store in Palatine. They said that one of the pads had to be replaced, and both front rotors. I basically got an extra 9,000 miles out of their ground rotors.

This past week, I have once again felt vibrations in the front brakes, so I took the car back to NTB, this time I had 57,000 miles on the car. After waiting 2 hours for just an inspection, they told me that I had runout and I needed to have my rotors resurfaced. But when I looked at their spec sheet, it appeared that If I did that my rotors would be at the min. mfg spec. I said that when I purchased the brakes they came with a 12000 mile warranty. He said that is only good against defects.

I said wouldn't you say that only putting 10k miles on a NEW rotor be a defect. His reply, oh no that happens a lot that we've found. Since the store has now been closed by 30 minutes, I asked the manager if I could come back tomorrow at 5pm and have the rotors done, he said that he would let the staff know, and that it won't be a problem. Well I come back the next day right at 5pm, only to get this answer -- well we can't do it right now, but if you come back in about 2 hours we should have time then, because right now there are 2 jobs ahead of you.

I said, well you close in 2 hours, and I talked to the manager yesterday, he said that when I come back it will be done immediately. He says, I'm sorry there is nothing I could do. Today, I was looking over their brake inspection sheet and I noticed that somehow my rear brakes have gained thickness over since the last inspection of 9/22/2002. How odd. Hmm, did they even bother to replce my front rotors at all? I will never know. This really makes me wonder if they know what they are doing over there.

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