Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:00:36 -0700
Reply-To: "Chris S." <mrpolak@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Chris S." <mrpolak@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: JUST BRAKES franchise warning!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I just wanted to pass this on to you as a word of caution when dealing with JUST BRAKES franchise, or any other "mechanic" for that matter.
Like a genius I left my parking brake up for one last time and overheated my rear brakes. The brake pedal went to the floor, but I still could stop. I did not have the time to replace the rear brakes on my Vanagon, so I decided to take my vehicle to JUST BRAKES... because they are "experts"... right?
So, I get a call from them telling me it will take $1000 to fix the problem. Allegedly my rear drums were worn beyond spec (out by .02 inches) and my master cylinder was shot because it was dry or leaking or bypassing (They said it was one of the three, but hey did not know which).
What they did not know is that 1) the rear drums only have about 10K miles on them 2) I inspected the rear brakes a week before taking it in and 3) master cylinder was low because the parking brake lever that's attached to the brake shoe came off causing the brake cylinder to expand and 4) I know more about Vanagons, or VWs for that matter, than they do.
I came in to talk to them to find out the logic behind their thinking and realized that I could not reason with them. They mis-measured the rear drums, totally missed the broken parking brake, diagnosed the master cylinder based on a wild assumption, broke the reverse lock-out on my shifter and left greasy hand prints all over hubcaps and body of the van. Yeah, I was just a little miffed -- Too miffed to deal with them
So, I picked the camper and replaced my brakes the next day in my driveway despite Neighborhood Home Owner's Association's by-laws. Advanced Auto Parts delivered the brake shoes on Sunday morning and I bought the proper tools to work on drum brakes. The job took 1.5 hours which included meticulously adjusting the parking brake. The master cylinder is just fine and the rear drums are fine.
$75 later I wonder how many people JUST BRAKES ripped off who didn't know any better? At least one I work with, and probably hundreds more...
Thanks to the Vanagon List for the wealth of knowledge I acquired over the years - it sure makes owning a Westfalia easier!
And... I'd be very careful dealing with franchise auto shops!
Chris S.
P.S. Better Business Bureau complaint to follow.
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