1. The Brake Shop

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Champaign, IL

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The Brake Shop

4.9 (21 reviews)
Closed • 7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Services - The Brake Shop

Auto transmission repair

Routine automotive maintenance

The Brake Shop Photos

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Recommended Reviews - The Brake Shop

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3 years ago

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10 months ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

The Brake Shop is fantastic! Bob is very honest and I trust him to tell me what does/doesn't need to be done.

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

Don't bother calling them cause they don't answer the phone. Will stop in and go from there. Will update the review accordingly

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5 years ago

robert does great work new front pads and rotors and one break line brakes feel great not one bit of noise !

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9 years ago

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6 years ago

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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10 years ago

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11 years ago

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6 years ago

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15 years ago

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11 years ago

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9 years ago

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9 years ago

Like Reds in Urbana - Everything we wish these places were

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11 years ago

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Review Highlights - The Brake Shop

“I called the next morning right after they opened, and to my surprise, Bob had already taken a look at it AND found parts.”

Mentioned in 4 reviews

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Hong Qi Automotive - Collision repair

Hong Qi Automotive

(14 reviews)

My AC kept changing temperature to hot when my car was in neutral or park or even idle at a light…read more I thought it was a fan but it was the timing belt. Before they worked on anything I was sent an estimate that was fair (checked comparative pricing online). They fixed the AC issue by addressing other issues I was unaware of. I appreciate their honesty.

I want to share my experience so other customers know what happened before deciding to bring their…read morecar here. I brought my BMW in because it was losing coolant, and I ended up having to bring the car back three separate times for the same issue. On my first visit, they told me the Heat Management Module (HMM) was the problem and needed to be replaced. I paid around $1,100, and they had my car for about two weeks. The part that really confused me was what happened right after I picked it up. I live only about 3 miles away from the shop. I drove straight home, parked the car, and noticed it was already leaking coolant again. Actually, the leak looked significantly worse than it did before I brought the car in. This made me question how the car was tested after the repair. I understand that not every problem is easy to diagnose, but I only drove about 3 miles after picking it up. If it was already leaking that badly when I got home, I don't understand how this wasn't noticed before the car was returned to me. So I brought it back a second time. This time they told me the coolant reservoir cap was the problem and replaced it for around $70. The coolant loss still continued. I brought it back for a third time, and this time they finally found a physical leak/hole in a coolant pipe. But while they were diagnosing the car, another coolant line broke during their inspection. They explained to me that the line was brittle and that it broke while they were checking the area with a mirror. I understand that older parts can become brittle, but what really bothered me was that I was still expected to pay around $200 to repair a line that broke while they were inspecting my car. They also recommended replacing the water pump for roughly $1,000. Just to be clear, I did NOT have the water pump replaced at this shop. Another thing that concerned me was the coolant itself. Different colored coolants were added to my car at different times. When I asked about mixing different coolants, I was basically told, "coolant is coolant" and that mixing them was fine. I also later asked about the diagnosis for the original $1,100 HMM replacement. I wanted to see the diagnostic code or some documentation showing why the HMM was determined to be the cause of the coolant loss, but I was never provided with a clear code or evidence showing that it was actually causing the leak. I'm not writing this because I expect car repairs to be cheap. My problem is that I paid around $1,100 for the first repair, drove only 3 miles home and found the car leaking even worse, brought it back multiple times for the same problem, and then had another coolant line break during their inspection and was still expected to pay around $200 for that repair. I understand that diagnosing coolant problems can sometimes be difficult and that older parts can be brittle. But after my experience, I would definitely recommend getting a second opinion before approving an expensive repair here. I would also ask for the actual diagnostic codes or test results and make sure the car was properly tested before taking it back. For reference, I attached pictures. The first picture shows the relatively small coolant leak I had before bringing the car to the shop. The second picture was taken after their first $1,100 repair, when I drove about 3 miles home and found a much larger amount of coolant leaking underneath the car. I'm just sharing what happened with my car and what I was told during these visits.

Anderson Automotive

Anderson Automotive

(13 reviews)

"I've been bringing all 4 of my vehicles to Anderson Automotive for quite some time now, and I…read morecan honestly say he is hands down one of the best mechanics around. Not only is he incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, but he's also honest and transparent, which is something you don't see often these days. The labor rates are fair, and I always feel like I'm getting the best value for the work that's done. He takes the time to explain any issues and is never pushy about unnecessary repairs. If you're looking for a mechanic you can trust, I highly recommend Andersons Automotive. you won't be disappointed!

Since my last review Jim (Anderson) has sold the place to Ryan, a longtime employee at Andersons…read more This happens often in family owned businesses, and in this case it worked out great. Ryan continues Jim's commitment to doing excellent work and helping customers maintain their automobiles at reasonable prices. More than once Ryan has told me that I'd save money taking my car elsewhere to a place that had the tools to do it. One minor change is that Ryan no longer wants to do oil changes as the costs of having so many different brands and grades of oil in the shop had become prohibitive. He'll do them, but he wants something like $50 as he now goes to the store to buy the oils you want to use. That said, he's always been extremely honest and affordable whenever we've had repairs done there. It's still called Anderson's ( and Jim even occasionally is to be found there when things are busy), but under Ryan it remains an excellent repair shop. ___________ Old Review Below_____________ Anderson's is a small, unimpressive looking auto repair business on Country Fair in Champaign, between Springfield and John Streets. But they have earned my trust and become my go-to repair shop. Jim Anderson, the original owner is not around as much after he retired, but he made sure the shop is in good hands and he is around the shop from time to time to work on cars and check on things. I am not sure if he sold the business or simply hired more workers since he retired. In any event, the important point is that they are scrupulously honest and highly competent. If there is a repair beyond their ability they will let you know immediately and not try to fix it themselves For example, they don't do body work. I've never had a problem with their work, never had to bring a car back, and always found their prices reasonable, even low. More than once I've taken a car in and they tell me the fix is unnecessary or much smaller than I expected. Recently I took my van in because the brakes were squealing whenever I depressed the pedal. Expecting that I needed a brake job or rotors, I was told that when they took the wheel off they noticed the brakes had a lot of life in them but had visible rust and dirt. Their recommendation, drive the car more often; it got rusty because it sits so much of the time. He recommended that riding the brakes for a mile would be a really quick cure and wouldn't hurt anything, and he was right! He could have sold me an expensive brake job, but instead he solved the problem with no charge, not even for his time! He will always ask if you want the expensive fix or if you want the "good enough" fix when one exists. As far as I can tell, using him for ten years now, he's never sold me unneeded repairs. Even my wife feels comfortable taking her car to him without me accompanying her. He doesn't treat women any differently than he treats men. He won't take advantage of women or young people either. That said, I'm not sure I would take a car to him if I needed a transmission rebuild or something really specialized. My hunch is it would be OK, but I have no experience with this kind of major repair (knock on wood!). If I need one, I'll ask if he can do it, but I can say for certain that he can or cannot do such repairs. His prices, even for "expensive jobs," are always really good. Better than any other place I've found. Much better than dealerships, but that is no great feat. But his prices are always better than other independent garages I've been to. A lot of my friends use Rick's Auto in campustown, and I've used him too. Karch runs a fine shop, but Anderson's matches their quality at a much better price. All in all, I think you should feel good taking your car to Andersons. They'll do a great job and they will tell you if you should take it elsewhere.

The Brake Shop - autorepair - Updated October 2026

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