Complaint Review: Brakes Plus

I've been to this location before. The owner, Adam, is very rude. He thinks his crap don't stink and he has a horrible, nasty attitude. Meanwhile, I looked at his arms and they had been waxed, and also his go-t mustache was perfectly manicured. I mean, wtf? I called corporate on him. Boy, did I get action then.

Anyone who has been given nasty service from this jerk should call corporate....I'm telling you it works like a charm. It's in CO. The number is (303)-221-8600.

In the end, unless you know everything there is to know about cars, it all boils down to trust.

I think it goes without saying that you could take it to Firestone and pay less because they don't know what they're doing and are not trained properly, or you could go to Just Brakes and pay more because they do. But how are we supposed to know that? It's all a gamble.

Personally, I think if the price tag sounds absurd, then it's absurd.

I've been to this particular Brakes Plus on many occasions for work on a 10 year old vehicle with suspension and brake problems. It was very clear there were problems (vehicle leaning and pulling hard in one direction and squealling respectively). In these cases I've needed to have work done ASAP and they've been very quick and courteous. There was even one time where I was going to be late for work and the manager loaned me his vehicle to use overnight. I trust their judgement and have had many of bad experiences with other repair services in the past. I've received an alignment from a tire place and ended up needing another merely 2 months later. If they were any good they would have told me that I needed further repair to fix the problem for an extended period instead of 60 days for $60. I'm sure the guys at Firestone were happy to take your money and tell you there were no problems with the ball joint since that's what you wanted to hear.

The guy from Hubert is correct. He is the only one who seems to understand.

Alignment just doesn't go out. Hitting curbs and potholes is not the reason that alignment changes.

It's always worn or bent parts in the suspension and steering. You got ball joints. Worn struts. Worn rubber bushings. Worn tied rod ends. Loose or worn out wheel bearings.

As these parts wear out, the alignment changes. If you hit something hard enough to bend parts, that will change the alignment too.

As he said, people will gladly take your money and align it as best as they can.

But, when ball joints break, the wheel comes off at the top or bottom. If you're going fast, you can kiss it all goodbye!

Rather than guessing who is right or not, simply ask to see the wear for yourself. The techs can take you in the back and show you the amount of wobble in the joint. See for yourself before you decide to spend money.

As a potential victim of this particular location also (yes I filed my own report) - I find it interesting that Adam, the owner was checking for his location on this site. Only people that feel like they have been ripped off or are ripping people off would find such a site. Of course - as any business owner would want to know - he could have been just checking...

Mr David.
Your probability that your ball joint is good is purhaps correct. (I always give customers the benifit of the dought). But if I were to make a mistake by calling a bad ball joint, I would personally apologize. (I work for another Brakes Plus in Gilbert not related to your story). In four years as being a Alignment Specialist I have done many Alignments also I had many Auto Body Shops bring ME their cars to be aligned. If the Technition made a mistake than congradulations. Your a better tech than he. If the technition was true in his call, then try to find out why you are so apalled! Merely the Automotive business today is in fear of Ripping a customer off! It does more damage to the business a a whole than an extra $250.00. All technitions are human, most who work on your car should be ASE certified, ask to verify a technitions certifications to see if they specialize in the area of which your vechicle is being repaired. In any case I do understand that to hear, "There's something wrong with YOUR vechicle," is like someone telling you, "There's something wrong with YOU!" (I know I felt this way, for I at one time was a customer too). In conclusion: Ball Joints are hardly called bad on mistake, their just really isn't any fine-line in between a definite ball joint and something else or even nothing else. I do think you are very smart to get a second opinion, but before comming upon judgement ask for the technician to show you why it is bad, and if one side is bad, have him/her show you the other in comparison.
If you would like. Contact me with your conserns. [Place your comments below and be sure to include your FULL contact information so Rip-off Report can contact you.] I will promise to give you an impartial view.*****and if finding your correct I will let it be KNOWN! If though it is bad. I will show you how to replace them in your driveway!!! So next time you'll already know if someone elese is mistaken or not. Thanks![DELETED]

Finding this report I found alarming since we, Brakes Plus of Gilbert, Arizona, pride ourselves in honesty and integrity. The first thing I would like to do to put this to rest is invite you back in to our facility and let us check this front end part together. Finding that there is a concern with this ball joint will let you know Brakes Plus was not trying to take your money. Brakes Plus was trying to repair your vehicle. You the customer have the choice, we the repair facility can only advise.

I had another auto repair company tell me that I needed a ball joint replacement on my 4 runner approximately 2 years ago. I did not believe them either, went to Firestone who gladly did the alignment and 2 years later I have not had any problems. Firestone seemed to know what they were doing for me.

Alan, I did read the original missive. My point remians 100% valid though. The only way the original factory settings need to be readjusted is because "parts are worn out or damaged". David wrote that he took his truck in for an alignment. Nobody just does that without a reason. The reason is his tires are wearing out OR the vehicle is not tracking properly. Nobody just wakes up one morning and says, "I think I'll spend the day getting an alignment for no reason". He was referred to Brakes Plus by a Tire store. Why the tire store didn't do the alignment, I don't know. He didn't say. Maybe their equipment was down. They apparently had faith in Brakes Plus to do it correctly, I can't think of any business that wants to associate itself with one that rips everyone off. Did you notice Brakes Plus only said one ball joint needed to be replaced?...Lower right. If they were looking to jack the guy, they'd have told him "one is bad, but to do it right we should replace all four of them". In reality, ball joints should always be replaced in pairs. My other comment also stands as valid. Get the front end checked by another shop. I would not be surprised if the truck wasn't actually adjusted at all. It may have even gotten the old "toe & go". Unfortunately, setting one set of angles and not the rest is NOT an "alignment". Too many ways to mention as to how to jack someone using an alignment rack. There are several shops in Mesa that offer alignment services. I still say David should go to one of them, ask to see the front end as it is being checked and verify that anything was done at all. I never lost a buck letting the customer see what I was doing.

Robert if you were to read what David wrote you would have noticed that he had Firestone check the ball joints and they are OK!! Get it? they know how to check a ball joint. Just brakes is a totally corrupt operation and the many posts on ripoff report is just the tip of the iceburg of the people that have been scammed. I hope potential customers of Just Brakes refer to this website so they can save themselves.
Alan

I doubt you checked the ball joints properly. Looking at them while laying on the driveway does nothing.

You have to have the front of the vehicle raised so the suspension still supports the weight of the vehicle. You would then have to use a prybar to lift the wheel/tire assembly and check for movement of the lower joint. The upper joint is checked by pushing/pulling the assembly in/out at the top.

Don't make up stuff when you know I am right. The fact still remains that the ONLY reason the FACTORY settings go out of spec is again...THE PARTS ARE WORN OUT OR DAMAGED!!! They say you can't help someone who won't help themselves. You are proof of that.

I checked my ball joint myself and found no play in it. I had firestone do the same and they confirmed my findings. So just feel free to keep your lies going. Brakes Plus tried to extort money from me and will continue to hide the truth. If you are so sure Your mech was right then come to my house and prove it!!

I am a mechanic with 25 yrs experience. Here's how business works when it comes to front end alignments. I am the mech. I get to keep 1/2 of what I turn under the rack. An alignment in this area runs $45. I get to keep $22.50. If I show the customer what needs to be fixed in order for the alignment to "hold", I will make nothing. The customer will say I am trying to "rip them off" and go somewhere else.

Instead, I will make a note of it on the repair ticket and set everything "as is". I made $22.50 instead of ZERO. If the customer decides to have me repair what's really wrong(the only reason anyone EVER needs an alignment redone on their vehicle is damaged or worn out parts)I can do that for them and then redo the alignment for free. Perhaps the mech at Firestone has a family to support and knew you didn't want to hear the truth anyway.

You already thought the other place was trying to jack you. Take your truck to another shop and ask them to check the entire front end for you. Do not ask them to do this for FREE. FREE tells the mech that you are not planning to PAY for anything so he'll put just that much effort into it. Most shops charge 1/2 hour to do this.

Having worked as a mechanic for 14 years, I've seen a lot of people with problems like this. They bring their vehicle in for work, and the mechanic finds more things wrong with it. Of course, the customer doesn't like this, because they don't want to hear there's something more wrong with their vehicle. It means they have to pay more. I've seen a lot of people leave without getting work done that was needed for their vehicle to be driven safely.

Just because Brakes Plus found a bad ball joint on your truck, and Firestone didn't, doesn't mean Brakes Plus is ripping you off. It could mean the mechanics working at that Firestone shop are not trained properly in front end work. Which means Firestone would be the one ripping you off. If that ball joint is bad, it could lead to more problems down the road. Like a new tire on the side with the bad ball joint. And I'm sure you wouldn't like to be driving down the road at 70 mph and have that ball joint break, which would most likely cause more than $235 in damage.

I would suggest taking your truck to a shop that specializes in front end work, and have it checked again. If you look in your phone book, you should be able to find a place that offers free front end inspections. If there is nothing wrong with that ball joint, then the only thing you are out of is a little bit of your time.