Rp1993

Long story short, I got 4 new tires. Turns out I needed an alignment done too and since i have to drive to a different state 400miles away, I wanted to get the alignment done ASAP. I brought it in to my local Mavis Discount Tire.

When they took my tires off, they noticed that the brake pads on my rear tires were almost completely worn. Also apparently someone didn't put the bolts on properly from the last brake maintenance (See pictures attached) Fine I told them I'll pay the 280 for the back brakes/rotors. Then they say I needed new calipers too(which means I needed a brake fluid flush) because they were stuck based on what they told me previously. At this point I've been waiting for 4 hours, so I told them to call me after everything is done. I came at closing time, turns out they still were waiting on the calipers.

Waited another 2 hours. Finally calipers came and and they finished the job. Somehow was charged $975 for rear brakes (rotors and pads), calipers, alignment, and brake flush.

Oh and they let the battery die during this process. Said I might need a new battery but than jumped the car. When I get into the car, VSC check lights and check engine light is on. Couldn't do anything at the moment cause it was 2 hours past their closing. Can I please have people's thoughts on this? Did I get ripped off and what should I do? Thank you in advance.

*see bolts

*worn rear break pad


Lights after my service was completed when i got into the car

gs350fan

Best thing is to have a good scanner (Techstream is $20-$30 on ebay, maybe even less) to know what the code is.

We can guess at this all day otherwise. The shop should read the code at no cost.

Rp1993

Thanks for the response. See I agree with you but I know it's related to Mavis replacing my rotors/pads/calipers. So I was wondering if someone could directly relate the problem to that? The shop did say I could come in and they would run a free diagnostics on it but like I said I'm leaving the state and wouldn't be able to come back for a week :/. Maybe I'll look into a Mavis over there.

Also, does the price of 970 ($600 parts + $370 labor) sound reasonable for the maintenance I listed?

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Did you spot a boat outside of his shop?

If anything he got you for about $200 bucks, but labor rate up north are a lot higher

Rp1993

Hmm so I do live in Central NJ so maybe that's it? And what you're saying makes sense, because I can't account for $170 which is why I even posted this question. Thanks for your reply

gs350fan

Mavis is very big upstate NY where I am. There are like 20 just in the Albany area. You really have to negotiate with them. Case and point, they are willing to install two rear shocks for me for $389, or $100/side with my parts. I think that is a very fair price. I don't have a good spring compressor and that is a repair they can do.

I think a major repair like that at a dealer would be $1500.
You got the soccer mom price. Labor rate is probably $130 or more p/h. Central NJ is a high COL Area too.

They may actually use the Lexus MSRP for the parts, or they they may have billed $200 for the brake flush. Herd to tell without seeing your invoice.

At this point they are responsible for your car working correctly at no charge. Be firm with them and make sure they resolve everything. The problem wasn't there when you drove in. The have a complaint number to call if necessary. This is why I do my own work.
I See..
$250 for calipers each
$150 for pads/Install

$120 brake flush
$89 Alignment
+tx


There could also be some extra labor in there if anything was stuck or some other issue. Is it a good price? no. Cheaper than the dealer? Very likely.

Their work is warrantied and if you aren't near them they should pay a reasonable price for a diagnosis and repair if they damaged a sensor. It may be a credit card issue if not.

Rp1993

Thanks for your input, but this story continues on. So Monday morning I leave for my Boston work trip. As soon as I started driving, I hear metal rubbing on my rear right wheel. I thought no biggie, new rotors prob take some getting used to. About 50 miles later, I'm on the highway coming off to a exit and I brake. All of a sudden, my car brakes start grabbing, car starts viciously jolting trying to come to a stop. When I do come to a stop it won't move, cause my brakes locked at some point of me trying to stop.

Long story short, I sat in the car for about 3.5 hours as tow tries to find me. A Mavis was down the street so I got it towed there. The store manager told me they didn't properly install my caliper bolts, so my caliper bolt fell out while I was driving on the highway.

I am so furious about this. What a **** up on their end. Risked my life and I missed my work meeting, and lost the entire day in all of this. My rims completely messed up and who knows what else. I'm thinking about placing a dispute on my credit card. The Mavis that installed the brakes told me that they will take care of it, but that is not enough. I do not trust them anymore.

What do you think I should do?

gs350fan

I would talk to their main office and they should give you at least 1/2 credit, certainly for the labor, I would start asking for a full reimbursement. otherwise dispute with CC. In the LEAST they should have gotten you in a rental.

Brake caliper bolts must be torqued to a certain number otherwise they can easily get loose. I actually use locktite red, I saw some scary pics when I had an explorer on the forum. And you are real lucky your rim wasn't shattered.

I know mavis here hires guys off the street. I know some techs there that do good work but others can screw up your car. When I didn't know and had them do an alignment I almost went into another lane driving out.