American Tire & Auto Care unscrupulous auto repairs Flemington New Jersey

On Wednesday, January 9, 2002, my husband (75 years old) I (56 years old) took my car through inspection. It's an old car 1982 Chevette with low mileage 57,000.

It failed because the back and front brakes weren't grabbing the same and was told by the inspection station it would only be a minor adjustment. Having taken the day off for this inspection process, I wanted to get the car repaired and reinspected that day so, I took it to a Flemington approved reinspection garage nearby my residence, the AMERICAN TIRE AND AUTO CARE Garage, 31 Route 31, Flemington, NJ 08822.

A mechanic named Ken looked at the car and gave me the report. Ken said the car needed a complete brake job and new shocks. He said the brakes were "metal to metal". This job was estimated by him to be $363!

I explained to him that the Inspection Station assured me it was only a minor 15 minute adjustment but Ken insisted, they were incompetent and not mechanics who knows what is mechanically wrong with cars. Totally in shock from this report and the cost of this repair, I left and went home.

My son, James, a certified mechanic working at Flemington Subaru, in Flemington, took the wheels off the car and couldn't believe what he saw! The brakes were almost brand new with the numbers still on the pads!

We both were furious! Monday, January 14th, we went back to American Tire and Auto Care and told them our findings. They were rude and would not pull the wheels for us to show them the brakes were fine.

They said Ken is an ASE certified mechanic and if he said the car needed brakes, the car needs brakes. When we got upset, they told us to leave or they would call the police. As it turns out, my son called the police hoping to find a solution or direction on what to do. This report is on file at the Flemington Police Department.

We later discovered, through research, this mechanic Ken was fired from the Goodyear Service Station 2 years ago (also in Flemington - only 1 mile away from the American Tire & Auto Care) for being unscrupulous.

If Goodyear fired Ken for this and the American Tire & Auto Care Garage hired him, that's not saying much for them being a reputable and fair repair service. My question is, because we're senior citizens or do they do this to all? Do they get a commission for all the repairs they do? What can we do to stop this from happening to unsuspecting people who use their services?

Please give me direction as to what to do about this situation because I feel so bad for the people who have to put their trust in their diagnosis because they (like my husband and I) have no knowledge of how an automobile works.