Just Brakes The So-Called $99.00 Special!! ripoff Clearwater Florida

J, thanks for the information. I'm sure others reading it will be more prepared if something like that happens to them.

It's good you got out of that job. Here's why. Most people will feel forced into the rip-off. But, there is always one guy that doesn't have the money to spend. He's not the smartest person in the world. In fact, he feels that life has screwed him over one time after another.

Inside, this guy is a keg of dynamite, just waiting to be set off. All it would take is a $600 bill for the brakes on his truck. Plus, the truck is all apart on the lift. And, the mechanics are just letting it sit there.

Now, the guy is really angry. He decides he is sick and tired of the nonsense. So, him and three friends come storming back in near the end of the day. All the customers are gone. It's just the mechanics and the manager.

The angry man walks up to the manager, who is seated behind his desk. He reaches down and grabs him by the shirt and punches him hard in the chest. The manager feels a sharp pain in his back. He falls back in his chair and coughs. He's horrified to see that he spits out blood. A lot of blood!

He doesn't understand what is happening. He looks up and the angry man is standing there with a knife. By this time, he's having trouble breathing. It sounds like gurgling noises when he breathes out. He feels faint, and he sits back in the chair and leans his head against the wall.

In the morning, the first customer arrives to find the manager still lying back in his chair, his eyes fixed in a distant gaze. Three other employees are lying on the shop floor. The puddles around them are dark, almost like black paint.

The angry man arrives shortly after the police do. What a shame, he says. There is nobody left to fix his truck. Guess he'll have to take it somewhere else now!

Well Paul it reall depended on the situation. If they didnt have the money to do all the neccesary repairs then it worked this way. I was taught to break down each part of the needed repairs and do the 99 88 plus the two next most expensive repairs of course always saying they where the most important ones to do even if they werent.

If they could only afford the 99.88 and we couldnt pressure them to do more then we where suppose to act slight hurt and be a little rude this would hopefull get them to feel bad and do a little more.

If they didnt then there car was put to the back of the line. It didnt matter if a vehicle came in 5hrs after that vehicle showed up that 99 dollar only vehicle still was done last and if we didnt have it done by the end of the day and the customer called, well we would then say well sir putting all the bad parts back in that you opted not to repair are making it a more difficult and time consuming job. I you want to at least fix ect ect it would make the job go alot quicker and you vehicle would be more safer.

It wouldnt matter anyway cause they would be back due to the fact the techs are told not to machine the rotors and if asked why the wernt is because they were under spec and if they wernt under spec then you said they were warped or the heat spots are to deep to machine them. When you came back due to the brakes squeaking ( a common occurence when you put new pads on non machined rotors) we would tell you to keep your reciept and well pull the car in and check it out.

Now we didnt want your reciept because we would dig the store copy in the back and see what repairs werent done. You wouldnt know we did this though and ill go into why in a second.

When the car was stripped the manager would pretend to throughly inspect your vehicle and say the sqeak was due to the certain things not working correctly.

The mng would then ask to see your copy (wich you think he hasnt seen since he snuck in the back room and looked at the store copy) and he would say oh see it looks like we recommended you need to fix these things to fix your squeak.

This got 60 percent of the comebacks to do the other unecessary work cause they now full believe these things need to be fixed since you didnt look at there last time in (so you think) before they looked at the car and made a diagnosis.

Now heres how it works if you say no and demand some kind of fix at no charge. See on your first vist repair order if you declined addtional work we had to note this on the ticket not doing so would resultin mgnt getting written up.

Note suggested parts not performed will cause squeaks grinds, pulsations, and premature hardware customer has been advised and declines to reschedul. (you had to initial below it to acknowledge you read it before the car was released to you.

Now on the second ticket if you dont fall for the bs theyll pretend to replace the pad but most times they just rub the old ones on the concrete to ruff them back up so they dont squeak right away.

The second ticket will have the same notation as the above but there we are required to add. Customer has been advised and declines to do work see line (3 i think it was) on transferable warrenty. If you went to the back and read the warrenty basically we just voided the warrenty.

Now if you were really pissed at the customers second vist you could flat out right Warrenty Void but if the cust threw a fit you would get your behind chewed.

Now if on the first vist they said no to all repairs and told you to put the vehicle back together you then lied and say well sir you signed and authorized for the friction we already started on it you have to at least pay for that.

You would see your signature authorizing the friction and you would think leagally had to do it. WRONG just a scare tactic.

Heres some good info if you throw a big enough fit about them putting the car together or not voiding your warrenty on the second visit including calling corporate.

The manager will be forced to put the vehicle back together at no charge and in the other case honor your warrenty. Now as to filing the mechanics lein it hardley ever happens heres why.

If you remember paul on my section i wrote i told you techs and management got salary advanced for the cost of things not paid for by customer.

This includes leins. If a customer didnt pay of course management didnt get vehicle back but the mng was also responsible for filing the lein including the court costs to do so.

Just Brakes would salary advance the manager for the company cost of parts and labor costs. So managers would do anything to keep from having to file a mech lein including giving the customer the veichle back at cost which coporate didnt care cause they got there money for it out of you pay check.

No remeber corporate couldnt legal salary advance anyone but it you didnt sign and authorize them to salary advance you dont be suprise if your fired for something a week later. Generally people who were fired for not signing were fired under the excuse of Job Performance.

But all and all the best advice is not to apply or bring your car to just brakes. Even if the courts dont get them theyll eventually burn enough bridges to the point they go bankrupt.

But it will be a while cause once they see a maket going down dramatically they start opening up another market.

Want proof heres some when the chains got busted in florida the profits dramatically went down and they were afraid they were gonna be ran out of the state anyway (which wouldnt be the first state to run them out)so they just opened up a bunch of chains in Nevada it was just in the last year they did this.

See i think (this parts not fact just my opinion) they keep there stores to a min number so that there scam doesnt get busted or investigated on a national level (keep a low profile) and they always have a area on the ready for a new market for when a existing one goes bad.

Any ways hoped that helped answer a few more of you questions Paul. If you have anymore let me know and ill do my best to answer them for you.

Ex-manager, what did you do when the customer didn't have more than $50 to spend.

You got his car all apart? He can't go for the rip-off because he doesn't have the money.

What did you do? Keep his car? Put it back together? Take out a lien on it?

What?

Ex-manager, what did you do when the customer didn't have more than $50 to spend.

You got his car all apart? He can't go for the rip-off because he doesn't have the money.

What did you do? Keep his car? Put it back together? Take out a lien on it?

What?

Ex-manager, what did you do when the customer didn't have more than $50 to spend.

You got his car all apart? He can't go for the rip-off because he doesn't have the money.

What did you do? Keep his car? Put it back together? Take out a lien on it?

What?

we did have a quota it wasnt a 350ticket average though. Here in the colorado chains had to have a minimum 15,000 dollar sales week. See how it works is we got 500 dollars a week base pay and 6 percent of what ever we made in sales for the week. Now if you were a mananger and went to mng training in texas for a week then you got 8 percent.You always got a bonus if there wasnt a overhead as a manager. But you know what if you followed the phone track (a script for answering the phone if you dont know it then your not allowed to answer the phone you have to pass a test) and the walk around procedure,then you would milk the customer for uunecisary repairs and your store would make well above 15 thou a week in sales. If you want to know more about how Just Brakes operates then check out the one the says Ex mangager has seen and done immoral things and you get a little more aquainted with Just Brakes bad practices.

When I wrote my rebuttal above, I assumed that someone brought in a car that needed more work. Now, I see from all the complaints that this company has a pattern of fraudulent charges.

One ex-employee explains that it is company policy to cheat the customer every time! So, Donna, it's far more likely that your car didn't need the things you were told. It's also likely that you never got the parts and work that you paid for. A complete rip-off!

Where can someone take their car for honest and competent repairs? Hell if I know! Dealerships do this same thing. Independent garages up-sell parts that aren't needed. Chain stores, like this one, cheat people as often as possible.

Thank god I can still fix my own car!

What the machanics here seem to be missing is that this is more a case of false advertising than a case of an unwary consumer.

They advertise a service for $99, knowing full well that NOBODY is going to walk out the door paying only $99. In fact, I doubt that they would even perform that individual service for that price.

You fellas are trying to make it look as though the scam artist is the consumer who is unsophisticated enough to fall for one of these "get you in the door" ads. In fact, the scam artist is the person who puts the ad out there knowing that they will never live up to its terms.

I'm reminded of a time I was suckered in by an ad offering an instaled catalytic converter for $135. The ad stated "most cars and light trucks." When I asked for the deal, they told me that the part offered was only for Volkswagens.

Don't act like the consumer is the bad guy because she fell for the ruse. We depend on your expertise because we don't know how to fix cars. Too many mechanics take advantage of that, and that, my friends, is the rip off.

What the machanics here seem to be missing is that this is more a case of false advertising than a case of an unwary consumer.

They advertise a service for $99, knowing full well that NOBODY is going to walk out the door paying only $99. In fact, I doubt that they would even perform that individual service for that price.

You fellas are trying to make it look as though the scam artist is the consumer who is unsophisticated enough to fall for one of these "get you in the door" ads. In fact, the scam artist is the person who puts the ad out there knowing that they will never live up to its terms.

I'm reminded of a time I was suckered in by an ad offering an instaled catalytic converter for $135. The ad stated "most cars and light trucks." When I asked for the deal, they told me that the part offered was only for Volkswagens.

Don't act like the consumer is the bad guy because she fell for the ruse. We depend on your expertise because we don't know how to fix cars. Too many mechanics take advantage of that, and that, my friends, is the rip off.

What the machanics here seem to be missing is that this is more a case of false advertising than a case of an unwary consumer.

They advertise a service for $99, knowing full well that NOBODY is going to walk out the door paying only $99. In fact, I doubt that they would even perform that individual service for that price.

You fellas are trying to make it look as though the scam artist is the consumer who is unsophisticated enough to fall for one of these "get you in the door" ads. In fact, the scam artist is the person who puts the ad out there knowing that they will never live up to its terms.

I'm reminded of a time I was suckered in by an ad offering an instaled catalytic converter for $135. The ad stated "most cars and light trucks." When I asked for the deal, they told me that the part offered was only for Volkswagens.

Don't act like the consumer is the bad guy because she fell for the ruse. We depend on your expertise because we don't know how to fix cars. Too many mechanics take advantage of that, and that, my friends, is the rip off.

What the machanics here seem to be missing is that this is more a case of false advertising than a case of an unwary consumer.

They advertise a service for $99, knowing full well that NOBODY is going to walk out the door paying only $99. In fact, I doubt that they would even perform that individual service for that price.

You fellas are trying to make it look as though the scam artist is the consumer who is unsophisticated enough to fall for one of these "get you in the door" ads. In fact, the scam artist is the person who puts the ad out there knowing that they will never live up to its terms.

I'm reminded of a time I was suckered in by an ad offering an instaled catalytic converter for $135. The ad stated "most cars and light trucks." When I asked for the deal, they told me that the part offered was only for Volkswagens.

Don't act like the consumer is the bad guy because she fell for the ruse. We depend on your expertise because we don't know how to fix cars. Too many mechanics take advantage of that, and that, my friends, is the rip off.

Way to go Paul. Ditto to "Name withheld". Both are good solid answers. People need to get educated. What do you expect though from government schools? I average about $200 for a 4 wheel brake job. If the car/truck need rotors or anything other than pads/shoes, the price climbs fast. I also average about $250 for a tune-up on most vehicles(4 cylinder). 6 Cylinder and 8 cylinder engines go up from there. People call every day and ask me how much a tune-up costs. I tell them there is no "menu" available for that. I ask them to come in and give me about 5 minutes to look at the car and give them an exact price. Most do not, but the ones who do get a real education. Had one yesterday. The shop up the street advertises 4 cylinder "tune-ups" for $28.88, including a FREE oil change. I pulled up the NAPA program and showed him the spark plugs are over $30 for 4 of them. The wire set was over $60. This still left an air filter and fuel filter. And of course, the labor....1.5 hours to go through all the motions and make sure the car runs as well as it did when new. I asked him how he thought the other shop was going to install over $120 worth of parts, and do 1.5 hours of labor for less than the cost of the plugs alone. He got dizzy from the truth hitting him. He said they would "disable my car on their rack and then hit me up for the whole amount". I said "BINGO"! He told me they'd done that to him before on another vehicle for a different service. He also told me he'd have been really screwed because he didn't have that much $$ on him. He had $40 on him, enough for a $28.88 make believe tune-up and tax. He thanked me, and went to the bank. That's something he wouldn't have been able to do so easy if his car was "stranded on the rack". He came back and paid me to do a real tune-up. Granted, he could have told the other shop "no, just put the plugs in" but, the plugs would not have been the double-platinum plugs required and the wires would still be bad. They usually do not come off very cleanly. They break alot when removing them due to age and heat. And, it would NOT have been a TUNE-UP. Replacing spark plugs has NEVER made a car run better. The plugs need replacing because other problems exist. Brakes are no different. If the pads need replacing, other problems may exist. Please cosider this a lesson learned. You don't work for FREE, do not expect everyone else to.

Way to go Paul. Ditto to "Name withheld". Both are good solid answers. People need to get educated. What do you expect though from government schools? I average about $200 for a 4 wheel brake job. If the car/truck need rotors or anything other than pads/shoes, the price climbs fast. I also average about $250 for a tune-up on most vehicles(4 cylinder). 6 Cylinder and 8 cylinder engines go up from there. People call every day and ask me how much a tune-up costs. I tell them there is no "menu" available for that. I ask them to come in and give me about 5 minutes to look at the car and give them an exact price. Most do not, but the ones who do get a real education. Had one yesterday. The shop up the street advertises 4 cylinder "tune-ups" for $28.88, including a FREE oil change. I pulled up the NAPA program and showed him the spark plugs are over $30 for 4 of them. The wire set was over $60. This still left an air filter and fuel filter. And of course, the labor....1.5 hours to go through all the motions and make sure the car runs as well as it did when new. I asked him how he thought the other shop was going to install over $120 worth of parts, and do 1.5 hours of labor for less than the cost of the plugs alone. He got dizzy from the truth hitting him. He said they would "disable my car on their rack and then hit me up for the whole amount". I said "BINGO"! He told me they'd done that to him before on another vehicle for a different service. He also told me he'd have been really screwed because he didn't have that much $$ on him. He had $40 on him, enough for a $28.88 make believe tune-up and tax. He thanked me, and went to the bank. That's something he wouldn't have been able to do so easy if his car was "stranded on the rack". He came back and paid me to do a real tune-up. Granted, he could have told the other shop "no, just put the plugs in" but, the plugs would not have been the double-platinum plugs required and the wires would still be bad. They usually do not come off very cleanly. They break alot when removing them due to age and heat. And, it would NOT have been a TUNE-UP. Replacing spark plugs has NEVER made a car run better. The plugs need replacing because other problems exist. Brakes are no different. If the pads need replacing, other problems may exist. Please cosider this a lesson learned. You don't work for FREE, do not expect everyone else to.

Donna, let me explain how the job works.

First, $99 only gets you the lining material that actually wears away as you brake.

But, there is also the hydraulic system that applies the brakes to consider.

Normally, it will stay trouble-free for as much as 75,000 miles. However, by then many of the parts are worn and leaking. At that point, the $99 special won't give you good brakes anymore.

Once the hydraulic system is worn, the price goes much higher.

Without seeing your car, I can't say exactly what you needed. But, if it is an older car, it may have needed exactly what you were charged for.

Another thing, the $99 special just gives you the cheapest brake linings possible. Premium parts deliver shorter stops. Cheaper parts won't match that performance.

Just like with anything, you get what you pay for.

When you feel ripped off, that means the shop didn't do a good job of explaining the needed repairs to you. It's one thing to fix cars well. But, if you want to stay in business, you need to make the customer, in this case you, Donna, understand exactly what they are paying for.

Obviously, they didn't do that. So, you probably won't go back.

One bright side here. If your car actually did need the repairs, and they were done, then you should be OK for a decent amount of time. Enough for you to get your credit card paid back down again.

If you have trouble understanding cars, check the library for a beginner book on auto systems. You don't need to fix anything, just have general knowledge so that you can spot problems as well as be able to understand when someone suggests a repair.

Good luck!

Donna, let me explain how the job works.

First, $99 only gets you the lining material that actually wears away as you brake.

But, there is also the hydraulic system that applies the brakes to consider.

Normally, it will stay trouble-free for as much as 75,000 miles. However, by then many of the parts are worn and leaking. At that point, the $99 special won't give you good brakes anymore.

Once the hydraulic system is worn, the price goes much higher.

Without seeing your car, I can't say exactly what you needed. But, if it is an older car, it may have needed exactly what you were charged for.

Another thing, the $99 special just gives you the cheapest brake linings possible. Premium parts deliver shorter stops. Cheaper parts won't match that performance.

Just like with anything, you get what you pay for.

When you feel ripped off, that means the shop didn't do a good job of explaining the needed repairs to you. It's one thing to fix cars well. But, if you want to stay in business, you need to make the customer, in this case you, Donna, understand exactly what they are paying for.

Obviously, they didn't do that. So, you probably won't go back.

One bright side here. If your car actually did need the repairs, and they were done, then you should be OK for a decent amount of time. Enough for you to get your credit card paid back down again.

If you have trouble understanding cars, check the library for a beginner book on auto systems. You don't need to fix anything, just have general knowledge so that you can spot problems as well as be able to understand when someone suggests a repair.

Good luck!

Donna, let me explain how the job works.

First, $99 only gets you the lining material that actually wears away as you brake.

But, there is also the hydraulic system that applies the brakes to consider.

Normally, it will stay trouble-free for as much as 75,000 miles. However, by then many of the parts are worn and leaking. At that point, the $99 special won't give you good brakes anymore.

Once the hydraulic system is worn, the price goes much higher.

Without seeing your car, I can't say exactly what you needed. But, if it is an older car, it may have needed exactly what you were charged for.

Another thing, the $99 special just gives you the cheapest brake linings possible. Premium parts deliver shorter stops. Cheaper parts won't match that performance.

Just like with anything, you get what you pay for.

When you feel ripped off, that means the shop didn't do a good job of explaining the needed repairs to you. It's one thing to fix cars well. But, if you want to stay in business, you need to make the customer, in this case you, Donna, understand exactly what they are paying for.

Obviously, they didn't do that. So, you probably won't go back.

One bright side here. If your car actually did need the repairs, and they were done, then you should be OK for a decent amount of time. Enough for you to get your credit card paid back down again.

If you have trouble understanding cars, check the library for a beginner book on auto systems. You don't need to fix anything, just have general knowledge so that you can spot problems as well as be able to understand when someone suggests a repair.

Good luck!

Donna, let me explain how the job works.

First, $99 only gets you the lining material that actually wears away as you brake.

But, there is also the hydraulic system that applies the brakes to consider.

Normally, it will stay trouble-free for as much as 75,000 miles. However, by then many of the parts are worn and leaking. At that point, the $99 special won't give you good brakes anymore.

Once the hydraulic system is worn, the price goes much higher.

Without seeing your car, I can't say exactly what you needed. But, if it is an older car, it may have needed exactly what you were charged for.

Another thing, the $99 special just gives you the cheapest brake linings possible. Premium parts deliver shorter stops. Cheaper parts won't match that performance.

Just like with anything, you get what you pay for.

When you feel ripped off, that means the shop didn't do a good job of explaining the needed repairs to you. It's one thing to fix cars well. But, if you want to stay in business, you need to make the customer, in this case you, Donna, understand exactly what they are paying for.

Obviously, they didn't do that. So, you probably won't go back.

One bright side here. If your car actually did need the repairs, and they were done, then you should be OK for a decent amount of time. Enough for you to get your credit card paid back down again.

If you have trouble understanding cars, check the library for a beginner book on auto systems. You don't need to fix anything, just have general knowledge so that you can spot problems as well as be able to understand when someone suggests a repair.

Good luck!

People, all those that think they can REALLY have bad/worn brakes repaired for $99 please raise your hand. Hand in the air? Okay, continue reading. The rest of you are excused.

I have many customers call me on the phone asking if a) will I give them a price on brake repair, or b) will I match the price the local mass merchandiser has for a brake special. NO to both. Why? Because there is no way possible to know what each particular vehicle will need. My "$99 special" is about $170. Why? 'cause I'd go broke selling it for $99. So would they. Difference is I won't get fired by corporate headquarters if my ticket avg. isn't a certain number. Right now that number avgs. $350-450. That's right folks, the mass merchandisers have a set of numbers they have to reach or bye-bye manager. Ask them how many $99 jobs they do and prove it. Better not be more than 'bout 1 in 10-20 or they're not doing they're job. About half of mine are the standard $170. If their $99 job was at a more realistic price, they'd do a lot more of them. But then no advertising to get those of you with your hands up in the door.
Moral of the story? If it looks to good to be true.......