Just Brakes Scammed me out of my hard-earned money Arlington, Texas

Aug 31, 2010, I visited Just Brakes location #36, on N. Collins in Arlington, TX. I heard positive feedback about the company & $99 brake replacement special. The employees at this location were very pleasant & professional.

After inspecting my original brakes on my 2007 Toyota, the Manager said further repair was needed. In addition to the pads, calipers needed rebuilding, disc hardware & return springs replaced, & brake system bled & adjusted.

After quoted almost $400, I reluctantly agreed. The mgr. eased my mind by showing me exactly what they were doing. I appreciated this great customer service.

After repairs, the mgr. said some squealing would occur at first. For the next 3weeks, my brakes felt like sandpaper against sandpaper, grinding noises, w/ constant squealing.  Upset that I just paid $400, I returned to have them looked at again. This time they found no issues but re-lubricated the parts. They said there may be occasional squealing, which was normal, but I shouldnt have any issues. During this visit, another customer was very upset w/ mgmt. due to the shady business theyre
running. As my experience at this location was positive, I assumed he was being difficult. However, he started talking to other customers & reported the EXACT issues w/ his brakes as I had w/ mine. This made me uneasy, questioning the integrity of the company. I still gave Just Brakes the benefit of the doubt due to their great customer service.

The next 2months, the occasional squealing became constant; the noise was much worse than before! Not willing to return to the same location, I took my car to the S. Cooper store #10 in Arlington on Nov 18, 2010. The mgmt. was very kind & understood my frustration. The mgr. said he found no issue w/ the rear brakes but the front brakes were severely contaminated. He explained the other store did something to cause the constant squealing. He fixed them & as I drove off, my brakes squealed.

In Jan 2011, a friend showed me his service receipt from the same Just Brakes. The invoice showed the exact same repairs my car had! I was surprised to find that my friend was charged over $600 for his repairs. It was this moment I knew the business Just Brakes was conducting lacked honesty & integrity.

3months after my last visit (now Feb 2011), I had constant squealing, this time sounding worse than ever. The emergency brake made a loud metal-grinding sound. For fear of my brakes giving out & not wanting to return to any Just Brakes, I wrote a letter to Just Brakes corporate office. I was contacted by the company. They directed me to take my car to their Mansfield location (#150) &meet w/ the mgr. at the time, Tim Galvan. In early March 2011, I took my car to Tim. Tim told me that the brakes used by all Just Brakes stores didnt always work on all vehicles; Toyotas, he said, commonly had issues w/ their pads. He
showed me a different brake pad, supposedly made out of a softer, ceramic material, which he was going to use (even though the corporate office might frown upon that). After the repairs, my car no longer had any brake issues. I trusted this location due to Manager Tim Galvan.

April 2012, my brakes started squeaking. Because I trusted Tim, I returned to the Mansfield store. A new manager, Charles, was transferred to the location (from Irving); I went ahead & had him service my brakes. Charles said the brakes were fine, but I needed to flush the brake fluid, which cost me almost $100. After this visit, my brakes caused my car to shake when applied.

After my Toyota reached 100K miles, I took it to my Toyota dealership to have it serviced. One of the issues they noted was the shaking when the brakes were applied. The Toyota service technician said the rotors were not turned after my last Just Brakes visit. Even though they identified warping on the rotors, they could still be turned. Since they were under warranty, I took
them back to Mansfield Just Brakes in July 2012.

I explained to Mgr. Charles what Toyota said. He said the rotors were too warped & needed replacement. He also said the rotors affected the calipers.

Because of this, he wanted to replace the rotors, calipers, & would warranty out the brake pads & drums; costing me only $550. Despite what Toyota said, he insisted this extra work was necessary for the safe repair of my car. I asked if hed put the same ceramic pads that Tim Galvan put on my car. Charles said that Tim used the same brake pad that every Just Brakes location used. Charles said that Tim lied to me.

I decided to have the work done by Toyota. They checked the brakes & all the hardware. They were able to turn the rotors. When I picked up my car, I paid $99 & my brakes worked like newlike before taking it to Charles. This was a clear indication that Just Brakes is running a shady operation. They definitely have the customer service down; now they need to work on the trust, support, integrity, & respect for the customer & their hard-earned money!