Might be great for simple things like oil changes but don't go here for more mechanical jobs. They charged me $235 to pull trouble codes and change ONE ignition coil. I only had them do it because I deliver as my sole income right now and wanted to make sure I could get right back on the road, and I've never done it myself and didn't know how extremely simple it is. I should've looked it up on my phone right then and I would've known I was being taken advantage of. $130 for the part, $72 in labor, $2.50 for some miscellaneous "parts cleaner" fee, plus tax.
The part is $40 on Amazon and you just do one bolt and click one plug. $72 in labor for THAT. It took them 30-40 minutes so obviously they were stalling to make it look like they really did something complex, but it's literally a less than 5 minute job, it's that easy. If only I had known.
They also wanted to charge $200 JUST to change all the spark plugs ($84 in parts, $100 in labor + tax)..for freaking spark plugs! I declined and I'm about to do it myself in a moment. For what they charged me to do 1 coil I could've bought 6 of them and did every cylinder!
Plus, let me tell you, changing the ignition coil and spark plugs is basically the exact same job, and they originally quoted me $100 in labor for BOTH. How $100 changed to $72 after I declined the rest, I can't tell you. It's like they decide what to charge on a whim. Or maybe once she realized I at least knew something about cars she knocked it down in case I would argue later.
On top of this they tried to charge me $85 (plus tax) just to spray BG Intake Cleaner out of a can into the throttle body and when I declined she told me they wouldn't be able to warranty the ignition coil change because there might be "leaves and dirt" in the system that would cause issues later. Leaves and other large particles can't even get into the intake, that's what the air filter is for. She wasn't even going to explain to me what that was and why it was added until I asked. It wasn't an upsell attempt they just slapped it on and hoped I would pay. Couldn't tell me if anything was dirty because they didn't look before knowing they would get paid, only pulled codes.
So the quote she originally brought to me was something like $550+!
Now back in August I also went to them to change a serpentine belt and belt tensioner and they charged $225. Tensioner, $36, belt, $19 on Amazon. 30 minutes of work, if that. So let's say they should've* charged $40 and $25, plus $50 in labor at $100/hr.
Plus tax that's $126, so they overcharged me by $100. This happened because I worked for days changing other parts in 98° weather and got stuck because AutoZone sold me the wrong size belt and not knowing I thought I was crazy, so I gave up and had it towed to Brown. I should've thought more about it then and refused to go back.
Save yourself and go to any parts store and have them pull your trouble codes for free before going to any mechanic so you can tell them exactly what you need, and don't go to Brown Service Center if you can help it. They count on you not knowing anything so they can overcharge you for the simplest crap just like the scam mechanics people warn you about. It's predatory. read more