Brakemasters questionable diagnostic practices, cut my alarm wires and left my car in a traffic area Surprise Arizona

  not true i spoke to chaz and mechanic the one that looked like a pirate. i did not need a new alternator. and my car was in the middle of the parking lot lane when i got there before the second tow driver came. i did call a different tow company because the first suggested brake master. no bubbles broken no new alternator as said chaz i needed. i feel they were not only dishonest but spiteful. i kept that car one and a half yrs after that no new alternator. just replaced battery.

It depends on why the battery was dead. If the battery was in a very low state of charge due to poor electrical contacts, then you may have a situation where there was not enough voltage to make the computerized circuits which excite the alternator stator windings work properly. I found when I worked as a mechanic that low battery voltage could make computerized circuits do strange things, since an 0.1 voltage deficiency could cause a critical component of the circuit to fail. However, if you have a dead battery cell, the charging circuit will max out in order to feed the dead cell's appetite for charging current. I'm just saying that you can't say that the second guy is wrong and therefore not qualified.

The only sure way to know is to remove both the battery and the alternator from the vehicle and test them each individually and properly. Sometimes even that has its pitfalls. Once I had intermittent starting problem and I suspected the starter. I took it to a service outlet, the guy hooked it up, and said that the starter was OK. However, judging from the sound I heard, the starter was spinning too slowly. I replaced the starter and never had a problem after that.

The reason I'm here is because a BrakeMasters shop in Tucson screwed me over in a particularly reprehensible way. BM may have its fans, but they seem particularly adept at selecting their "victims", and seem to be overly aggressive in combating their critics. I'll be more than happy to share my experience with anyone whose interested.

I worked for brakemasters for 6 yrs as a floating manager and chaz in surprise is always polite and is the most honest guy i know. He does not fix anything without asking customer. tHEY DO QUALITY WORK AND IF YOU ASK ANY OF HIS CUSTOMERS IN LOBBY. As for yo stop feeling bad for your self . I f it was so hot out why did you go out???

My name is Chaz, I am and have been the manager of the Surprise Brake Masters for the last six years. The car in question was never looked at, and was in the same place and condition as when the customers tow truck driver left it, in the isle way. It is unfortunate that you have the ability to talk negative about one of the only honest shops in Surprise..................

Not to bust your bubble, but the 2nd mechanic you went to that said that you cant check a alternator with a dead battery is not a mechanic. If you jump the car and the vehicle is running you most certainly can check the output of an alternator. I seriously doubt that he pushed your car into a busy street with traffic and left it there. Bottom line is you didnt like his diagnonis and price and you brought it elsewhere to save a dollar. It sounds like the 2nd guy you brought it to will be on the rippedoffreport as well when he doesnt diagnos it properly.