Brake Check

Brought my car in for an oil change and got convinced to do a full brake job here about a year ago. I’ve had nothing but loud, squeaky, grinding brakes every since. I gave them $ 600 and 3 chances to fix whatever they messed up, but they couldn’t seem to do it. They gave me a different «solution» every time and none of it worked for longer than 3 months. Finally took it somewhere else and learned that they had put the wrong brake shoes on my vehicle which caused my drums to warp and the surfaces of my rotors to totally smooth out. All of it needs to be redone.
Apparently these mechanics are either incompetent or do not do their research on what’s needed for individual vehicles. I wish I had never walked in the door.

This business did the right thing. The team here is very kind. They gave me a ride to and from my apartment. The technician broke a part while replacing it on my Mazda 3. They were extremely apologetic. It took over 4 days to get a part and they kept stringing me along saying car would be ready next day, then it wasn’t. I had to rent a car. When I complained to corporate in San Antonio, they agreed the communications about when my car would be ready should have been better. They refunded the car rental cost. I appreciated this greatly.

Had my brakes done here about 9 months ago. I should have known to run when they called me and told me my truck needs synthetic oil per the manufacturer. I told them no it doesn’t but they told me I was wrong.
Anyways paid more than I probably should have for my brake job and my brakes stopped vibrating. Then 4 – 5 months later it returned. 9 months later it’s worse than before. Moral of the story. Don’t use brake check unless you have to.

These guys are awesome. They will take care of you! My car overheated and something under the hood exploded while I was driving home from work, and I pulled up to this garage crying after they were already closed on a Friday night. They waved me in, took a look at my car, and pulled it into the garage for the night. I am a young girl in college, and they even offered me a ride back to my apartment. I told them that my roommate was on her way to get me, and they waited 45 minutes after they closed on a Friday to make sure that I got picked up safely!!! They were great with communication to me, as well as my dad (who lives in Dallas) everything that was going on under the hood, the costs of repairs, etc. My car was good as new the next morning on Saturday. The Brake Check team took great care of not only my car, but they also took care of me. I highly recommend them!!!

Installed faulty brakes, upon returning, they «fixed» it.
They were horrid, the next visit, they said it would fade away.
I used to do brakes at a shop, so I know the difference between uneven/​unaligned brakes and a little dust from fresh ones.
After TWO more visits, they admitted the parts were defective, and «replaced» them.
The noise and shudder remained. On the next visit they «adjusted» them, and they remained the same.
On the 5^th visit, they claimed the malfunction was the drivers fault, and verbally assaulted her…
On the 6^th visit, they «resurfaced» them, and they are worse than ever now.
Corporate has neglected to respond, and now 2 locations have been abrasive, rude, discourteous, and negligent.
Two more notable things, the first visit, they told my friend she needed a new alignment, badly. I had this done, along with all new tires, 2 months prior, at NTB.
So, this place is scamming people, outright.
I am now speaking with an attorney and taking them to court over faulty service, lost wages from all the day visits (over 20 hours), and scamming.

Think twice —
Scheduled an appointment to bring in my Jeep Wrangler. Dropped off at 10am. After inspection, they called and told me I needed new rear brakes plus resurface my rotors. Said front needed to be done as well plus my seal on rear axle was leaking. $ 780. Told him lets just address axle and rear brakes and I would deal with front next month. Said if you do it all now I’ll knock the price to $ 700 even. Said no, what is price without front…$ 580. I said to go ahead with the work.
1 Hour later…
BC: «We machined your rotors down and we can’t save them so you need new rotors… price is now $ 660.»
Also asked again if I want front brakes done…
BC: «It’ll only be $ 60 more…»
which made no sense because it was $ 120 more an hour earlier.
1 Hour later…
BC: «Your axle actually needs to be sent off to an outside shop… we won’t have your car ready until 11am tomorrow»
Next day at 11am…
«Axle is not back I will call you»
3:30pm…
BC: «We have your car completed»
I was unable to pick up that day due to my work schedule so I picked it up the following morning. Day of pick up…
BC: «Total is $ 771»
After getting the price down to $ 670 I finally paid. At this point they realized I was upset and he «manually» entered my credit card into the computer so I couldn’t take the survey on my experience. When handed the keys, they told me they had accidentally killed my car battery and I then had to be jumped before I could leave.
MOST UNPROFESSIONAL SERVICE — I will never be back.

DONT EVER GO TO ANY BRAKE CHECK REPAIR SHOPS!!!
As a former employee I noticed this company is about sales and ripping customers off. The pads they use are not the OE Replacement parts, they use cheap pads that are worse than Duralast Organic pads because they want to lower the part cost and get a bigger bonus. For instance they love putting remanufactured parts as far master cylinders, water pumps, power boosters from junk yards and selling them as new so the cheaper they pay the more money they get in their pockets not the company. The policies are set for a reason to be followed by the employees and the owners are so blind that they turn their backs on their own policies (David Peveto and John Peveto 3) all because crooked employees like corporate & store directors are making them money than other stores. ALL parts come from either Oreillys’ AutoZone, Advance Auto parts and the vendors design a commercial website to double charge the actual part so when the customer sees it from the brake check employees website it looks legit in which it is not, brake check calls it (LIST PRICE). This price is not true so don’t fall for the BS just look it up on your phone yourself and you will see the difference. The labor charges this is where the fun parts come up they double the labor and so when you say no you cant afford it they act like they can take 20 percent off in which you can get booking online than if you still say you cant afford it they will lower the labor when they ask you to go inside the office and than they bring you back out and you will see the lowered cost when you cant see they adjusting the price. The brake pads that they use are so cheap that they are designed to last a little bit longer than 90 day warranty so if it defects the manager will say you did not do the caliper maintenance or rotor reface or anything to look better and make you look like the liable one and pay the warranty fee again. Trust me don’t fall for this trick and Don’t go there this company is about ripping ppl off and one thing they preach about is leadership to get the most money. NO STARS

I really appreciate the honesty and integrity of the employees at this Brake Check. They understand being on a budget and will work with you to prioritize necessary work. I would like to mention how impressed I am with Gerald, the store manager. He has helped me with both of my vehicles… he takes the time to ensure all of my problems are properly diagnosed and addressed for the lowest cost possible.
I would highly recommend coming here… for a quick oil change, a brake repair, or any other mechanical problems you might have.

The gentlemen at Brake Check were so nice, thorough and they gave me a discount! I would highly recommend them because they are not pushy but let you know the honest details of the condition of your car. I will definitely be going back to them to get my alignment adjusted and for my oil changes!

My daughter’s brake lights would not turn off. She lives in Austin and I live in Houston. We didn’t know where to take her car. I called this Brake Check location and Gerald was so helpful. He knew exactly what the problem was before we even brought it in.
They did a great job repairing her car. I thought the price was very responsible too. I would highly recommend using them.
Janet

This place is phenomenal!!! I don’t normally say that about repair shops because they are always trying to rip someone off. However, after visiting this place, I’m never going anywhere else.
Number 1: Pulling in to this place, my car sounded like I was dragging Robo-​Cops dead body underneath my car. They were honestly my last hope and I figured I would spending $ 500 if not more due to my extreme procrastination resulting in metal on metal braking.
Number 2: the guy who answered the phone was extremely knowledgable about my service questions. He pretty much knew what I needed before he even looked at my car.
Number 3: they closed at 6pm and they still took me at 5:45pm without question.
Number 4: the guys working are so freaking nice it threw me for a loop.
If you are looking for a legit place with good people and great prices… this is the place for you.

The saga of my tale begins October 2013. I go in because my front right rotor was busted and I needed a quick fix.
First visit grievances:
— They tried to charge me an inordinate amount of money for new rotors and new brake pads. (Costing in the ballpark of ~$ 300 per new front rotor and $ 100 per new brake pad) I called Autozone and asked for a pair of front wheel rotors and they were about $ 75.00 a piece. I told the dude trying to sell me the work at the front desk of Brake Check and he said, «FINE. I’ll charge you that but they’ll be awful rotors.» I said okay, do it. Walked out of there spending a fraction of what they were going to charge me.
A few months after the first visit to Brake Check I took my car in to get the brakes checked out at the dealership because they were vibrating like crazy again. I told them I got new ones put on in October and should have a warranty. What I’m about to say next is NOT something that I can verify, but I don’t think that they actually replaced the rotors during my visit in October. I think they resurfaced them and sent me on my way thinking I got new rotors.
So I went back to Brake Check immediately after the dealership and asked for new rotors since they were under warranty.
It was about 10am by the time I got to Brake Check after the dealership. (I haven’t written this review until now because I’ve been afraid to: Please read on.)
I went to the front desk and told them to check my rotors without telling them about the warranty. They say okay, wait here. An hour passes. They get the wheels off and tell me that I need new rotors. I told them that was strange because I had them replaced by this very institution back in October. They told me that there was no way that could have been the case because they were so worn. I asked for new rotors at no cost and they refused because they didn’t offer warranties with the kind of rotors they used.
I said, okay resurface them and I’ll go buy new ones and put them on myself. They say okay and I wait in the lobby for an hour. They finally called me in to the garage to show me something that they saw behind the front right wheel. I look and it looks like a dab of grease was smeared on the axle. They tell me that they had to replace the entire axle. I called the dealership I went to just an hour prior to my visit to Brake Check and they told me that they didn’t see any grease at all. (And believe me, if the dealership said that there was nothing to charge me for, then they’re telling the truth.)
I went back in and asked Brake Check about the grease. (It seriously looked like someone had sprayed WD40 on my axle.) They continue on saying there’s a leak. I tell them I don’t want to worry about it since the dealership I just came from didn’t find anything when I went in.
Another hour passes.
So I’m sitting in the lobby, now for 2 hours, to get my rotors RESURFACED. All of a sudden something hits the window separating the lobby, where I’m sitting, and the garage. My ears were ringing from the force of impact. When I regain my hearing, all I can hear is «YOU F***ING *** … «etc etc more f-​words etc and realize the a mechanic had thrown something metal at the manager on duty.
The entire garage was completely on edge and I can’t even begin to tell you how uncomfortable I was. The manager ends up threatening to fight the mechanic, gets in his face and has a cussing fight with him — all while I’m sitting in the lobby trying to read GoT.
Guys, this isn’t even the worst part.
The manager then comes into the lobby behind the desk and talks to me for ANOTHER HOUR justifying his actions and proceeds to tell me his entire life’s story. His monologue was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve had to sit through and it seriously didn’t end for an entire hour. At this point it’s around 2pm and I still haven’t had my vehicle put back together. The manager reassures me multiple times that it’ll be done soon.
TL;DR: I entered that God-​forsaken building at 10am, experienced awful service, almost had one of my ears damaged, had one of the most uncomfortable conversations in my life about domestic violence, alcoholism and politics, and was allowed to leave around 2:50pm. All to get my rotors resurfaced.
Avoid this place like you would the most awful thing you can think of. For me it’s «Avoid this place like you would a Brake Check,» but it might be different for you.
«Avoid this place like you would the plague.»
«Avoid this place like you would …»

I’ve been to this location for two or three oil changes now. They’re open weekends, the staff is always friendly and informative, and they’ve never pushed any unnecessary work on me. This last visit was a little slow, but I waited it out at the kolache place next door, so it actually made for a pleasant wait. Just leave yourself some time and you won’t be disappointed.
Edit: I went for another oil change and they were amazingly helpful. Rotated my tires and checked out a rattle for me for free. I also got the lifetime alignment — great deal!

Someone already said it on here, but I will reiterate it: the folks at Brake Check at this location are a bunch of CROOKS! Shame on them for screwing over people, many of whom I’m sure are working class folks like me and desperately need every dollar they have! DO NOT GO HERE!!! Search online for reputable, independently owned mechanics in Austin instead. Here’s a review I just left for an honest mechanic that describes my experience with Brake Check:
I am so grateful a friend recommended Danny to me and I will never go to another mechanic for the rest of my life. Just a sort of quick story of why I am so grateful and why he’s such a good, honest person: I made the enormous mistake of going to Brake Check for several years and issues were constantly popping up over those years that would require me to go back to them and spend several hundred dollars. The last time I went to Brake Check it dawned on me (for a couple of reasons) they were trying to screw me over so I went to Danny for a second opinion and my feeling was right: Danny told me that my rear brake pads were fine and did not need to be replaced (not what Brake Check told me), but that I did need my front rotors replaced and my front brake pads replaced (again, not what Brake Check told me. Brake Check told me that they could resurface my front rotors and that my front brake pads were fine). My front brake pads were still under warranty with Brake Check, but I decided to pay the money to have the work done properly by Danny and his team and it was the best decision I made. (My awesome, honest, good mechanic also told me that Brake Check uses low quality brake pads — but of course). Please do not go to Brake Check. This place should be shut down immediately!

I almost broke my ankle at brake check.
They have a giant 15-​inch-​deep 12-​inch-​wide hole right by their business. It was covered in grass when I walked into it. I’m pretty young, so after about five minutes of laying in the grass cursing (no one came to help, even though I was literally ten feet from their front door) I walked in and told them about it.
Their immediate response: «Not our problem.»
After I made it clear I wasn’t going to leave until they looked at the giant hole, they went out and looked at it, and said. «That’s really dangerous. Not our problem.»
So I spent the next fifteen minutes tearing out the grass that was hiding the hole, in order to make the hole visible to the next possible victim.
I don’t know how they are with cars, but I know they don’t give a shit about people.

They told me I needed new brake pads and my rotors resurfaced, quoted me a price, I agreed to the estimate and they started the work. Two hours later, they finished up, got my car parked out front.
Then they tell me that the front rotors are too thin, below the discard limit, and I need new rotors, which would be another $ 150 and even more waiting time. Now, the only way the rotors can be under the discard limit is if they were under the machine tool limit before they resurfaced. So they gave me a bad diagnosis, did the work based on a bad diagnosis, and now I have rotors that are a safety hazard, even though I paid to get them resurfaced.
I declined the new rotors. I was eager to pay with my card, because the card reader is supposed to ask if you were satisfied with the service, and gives the option of having a district manager contact you. But Service Advisor Phillip could tell I was upset, and before I realized what was happening, he entered my card payment manually through his computer, bypassing the satisfaction survey.
I’m never going to Brake Check again. I think I’ll just fix my own brakes from now on.

I originally had a bad experience at Brake Check but my complaints were heard and taken care of. I appreciate Brake Check being understanding and fixing the problem when it was called to their attention.

I went there for a wheel alignment. I was told it was fixed after 4 hours, but when I drove the car was still leaning to the right. I went back to the shop to tell that it didn’t work next day. They told me that I should go to the other shop by Stassney, S I-​35, since they have a «State of the art» equipment.
So I went to the South Austin shop and spent another 4 hours. They re-​aligned it, gave me a document showing what they did. The mechanic was whining about how difficult it is to fix cars brought from the north, because of the rust. They tested it as well. Initially I couldn’t feel it, but in a couple of days, the car not only couldn’t drive straight, but it was also leaning to the right even more than it did before. Basically, I spent the whole weekend trying to get it fixed and nothing worked. Since I didn’t have any other time to take it there, I gave up and next time I will go somewhere else.
The only good thing is that they re-​aligned it for free, even though they kind of made it worse.

Once again, Brake Check has come through. I was having issues with my car I thought might be the transmission — and because it’s German, would have cost $ 4,000 to replace.
Come to find out, it was the MAF (?) sensor. Replaced it, cleaned out some other things, and my car runs great! And for FAR, FAR less than $ 4,000!
Thanks so much to Clarence and Steve. Why would someone go any place else?

I went to get my radiator fixed (and it seems not many people realize that Brake Check is a full service garage, well, the name is a little unfortunate in that regard). I like that the technicians go over the parts and labor in detail, make recommendations without pushing the upsale and take their time to explain what’s being done and why.
Their prices usually are below what other places charge and so far everything they’ve done has been very good.
I had my brakes fixed, then my battery had to be changed, finally my radiator needed to be replaced. I would recommend this place to anybody.