Brakes Plus

Wouldn't recommend them for repairs beyond routine service (i.e, oil change, brakes, alignment, etc). Had to return two, three times for each vehicle (which resulted in other issues). Vehicle 1: had to return afterward three times for exhaust leak which occurred after the fluid leak fix. Vehicle 2: whining noise was still present after three visits and approximately $2K only to find out it was the alternator which failed as I was driving home from a trip out of town. Vehicle started leaking oil after that fix which cost me another four visits for $800. Vehicle 1: developed a fuel leak which I took to another mechanic who revealed some crappy work/damage (intentional, ignorance?). Not saying they're unethical, but after nine years I'm taking my business elsewhere as I have lost confidence in their work.

I was having a battery issue and I called AAA and they came out and jumped my car, so I drove over immediately to Brakes Plus to have a battery change. For some stupid reason, I was sitting at a light and it was only about 5 minutes between my house and theirs. I was sitting at the light and everything was weird, like their was too many lights on the dashboard. So, I thought, well let me just recycle the car. So, I turned it off and turned it back on, forgetting completely that I had just had a jump, and so it was dead. In the middle of the intersection I was dead. They came out there in the middle of traffic and jumped me and I was able to get back to their place. So, that kind of customer service, who does that! I highly recommend them to anyone.

It is the only place I go to have my car serviced. Outstanding! The price is actually good because they also offer a military discount, which I take advantage of.

Very efficient, quick, and reliable.

.

unknown

Yesterday I stopped by to see if I could have my brakes looked at. They were too busy so I made an appointment for 9 am today. I wasn't sure if I would need any work done at all or not. All their employees need to take an estimating class I believe. At about the 1 1/2 hour mark they told/showed me that I needed front brake pads. I had no problem with what needed to be done, just the amount of time it took to give me that information after making an appointment. They told me it would be another hour or hour and 15 minutes to finish up. I said fine. I walked to the Walmart and bought some things including the oil my husband insists be used on our car. I walked back. After being back for some time they told me that when they opened the brake pad box it didn't have the right kind in there so they were going to have to order them. I asked them if they had a freezer so my food would not go bad. I also asked if I could get an oil change done since it was up there already. They did and were nice enough to put it away there. They said the pads would be about 20 minutes getting there. After waiting so long it did not make sense to leave and schedule for another day especially since this is the service I got after making an appt. At some point I asked them to make sure the oil change was being done so that they wouldn't wait to do it until after the brakes were done. They explained that since the rotors were being turned, the car was too low at the moment to do it, but they would do it after that part was done. Skip forward seemingly forever. The oil change did not get done before the brakes and I had to wait for it to be completed until after the brakes. I was in there for 4 1/2 hours. They did give me some discounts to help make up for the wait. However, that wait was completely unjustified and we will not go to this location again. My daughter took our other car there on May 7th, 2015 to make sure the brakes were in order as we were going to have to drive to FL for a funeral and needed to make sure they were safe. The brakes were in like new condition they said, but it took them 3 hours to give her that answer. This time delay is not a one time thing. Life is too short. Both my daughter and I waited 4 1/2 hours for the work to be done.

unknown

Brought the vehicle in due to pulsating brakes. The front disk brake rotors were bench-machined and the brakes pads were replaced. They recommended on-car rotor machining at additional cost that was declined. The also recommended an additional $999.24 in unnecessary repairs that were declined. The pulsating in the brakes was not corrected by the brake work provided. The car was brought back for a recheck and was told the wobble in the rotors was within manufacturers spec and there was not enough thickness left in the rotors to machine them again. No further interaction occured. I advise others to avoid this business because of the poor quality of work performed and the practice of recommending unneeded services unrelated to requested work.

I had no problems with the actual service, they performed what was asked. What made me upset was when they quoted me the price for the job. I was told that I the alternator was going to be over $250 plus labor. Having worked on lots of cars in the past, I thought that was steep. I went to NAPA's website and entered the information only to find the alternator was only $60. I tried 3 other name brand parts stores, not one was over $100. I called the manager back to inquire as to the price only to be told that it is against company policy to buy parts from anywhere except one particularly place. I was assured that they price I was quoted originally was only a few dollars over cost. I told them I wanted to go elsewhere and we disconnected. In five minutes, I received another call from the manager and I suddenly got a $100 off; he was able to get special permission to buy from another part provider. Sounded to much like they buy their own parts and them decide just how far to push it. The guys there have been nice and never rude or anything I just felt this was a bait and switch from higher up.

in addition to changing brake pads, they check to make sure the whole car is okay, there is always something else that needs repair, usually fair in their job/price, we have been using them for years

Horrible experience. In fact, my SUV is on a lift at the Toyota dealership getting everything fixed that Brakes Plus screwed up and/or didn't catch. Cannot express strongly enough that I recommend that you do NOT use this Brakes Plus. Took my 4Runner in to have the rotors turned. The service manager asked me if I was going to have any work done on it (approaching 100k miles, so I was planning on a bunch of preventetive maintenance, but not at the Brakes Plus). He told me that he could do what I was planning on having done cheaper and better. I liked his confidence, so I green lighted brake system flush, new shocks, turning the rotors, radiator flush, and a few other minor jobs. Everything appeared okay for 5 or 6 months, then I started noticing problems. The left front of the vehicle sits 3" lower than the rest of the car. Then the steering wheel started chattering when going over speed bumps and potholes. Then the "new" shocks started giving the same crappy ride I had before I took the vehicle in. Then the front end began thumping and moving up and down when I braked to a stop and then started again. Today, the Toyota technician took me under the vehicle: the bushings on the "new" shocks were cracked/worn/splitting apart. I believe they put the old shocks back on - there's no way that new shocks would have worn out bushings in ~10K miles/1 year of driving. The front suspension springs were installed incorrectly, causing a dangerous situation, and the apparent cause of the tilting front end. The CV joints were gushing fluid, and had obviously been for a long time - the technician said there was no way the Brakes Plus guys would (should) have missed that. There is also fluid weeping from the shocks. Despite having the rotors turned recently, the technician has to turn them again due to pulsing brakes. Bottom line: the Brakes Plus technicians performed their job horribly, put me and my family at risk, and probably charged me for shocks they did not put on the vehicle. My blame in this situation - by the time I recognized everything that was wrong and that it all stemmed from that one visit to Brakes Plus, it was so long that I didn't feel I could go in try to get them make it right. I should have gone in and worked with the manager to address the situation (I'm military, and my schedule does not allow for that to happen very easily, but still I should have gone in). Bottom Line, I will never go there again, and would strongly recommend that you try elsewhere. They are quite fond of the strong-arm sales pitch, as I had the pleasure of listening to while I waited.

unknown

Brought our Hyundai in for Camber Bolts that the dealer said that I needed to correct tire/wear issue, and it turned out that we didn't need Camber Bolts, that the ones we had on the vehicle were adjustable to correct the problem. Which is what Brakes Plus did in the AWD alignment. This saved us $150 approx. We had issues with this Brakes Plus location a long time ago, but after reading Angie's List review and speaking with the location, we took another chance as they have had a change in personnel.

After a few days I noticed that there was a vibration when stopping. I took the truck back and they found that one of the drumbs was defective and they replaced it. After fdriving it a while noticed it was vibrating again. I took it back and they found that a emergency break cable to the rear passanger break was faulty and was not releasing. They had to order the cable because no one had one availble that day. Three days later I got a call to pick up the truck where I was charged for the cable. I asked why it was missed when the did the complete break job. They said it was a different problem. After driving it a while the vibration returned. I returned to the store and they checked it out. The said that there were some parts that were to be replaced the last time that were not replaced. They replaced the parts and gave me a free oil change, no other charges. I asked if the person who missed the parts was still working for them, they said no. The truck seems to be running fine now. The management was always polite and friendly. I have had them doing my breaks for some time now. This is the first time I had problems.

My interaction with Brakes Plus has been fine. They have a convenient location for me. I've had no problems with them.

He was honest, just nice to go to a customer-friendly auto mechanic. I will be using them for brake work on my other vehicle in the future.

Fair prices and good quality.