BEWARE OF THIS UNETHICAL BUSINESS:…read more
I have waited a few days to write this review because I needed time to calm down and for my anger to dissipate before writing the facts.
I brought my 1999 Mercury Mountaineer to Brandon's Auto on 04/24/2026. The vehicle is old but has been a great car and I knew if I didn't address some issues now, I wouldn't have a car to get to work soon. I am a federal employee who was greatly affected by the 80+ days of government shutdown, and I had to borrow money to get my car fixed. I had no income but was having to go to work every day, and this was my only vehicle. A family member provided a loaner car so I could continue to get to work.
My husband had used Brandon's auto 20+ years ago at a different location, and Brandon himself did the work back then. It was a good and positive experience, so we decided to try Brandon's again, although now Brandon was not there, and had other mechanics doing the work. We still gave it a chance believing that Brandon would oversee a good business at least and provide quality mechanics.
We met Shawna, the secretary up at the front, who was nice enough. Didn't have a problem with her, and she was the only person we communicated everything with. Never spoke to Brandon or any mechanic. (I'm going to add that there was a young girl also working there who was maybe 18-22 years old - a sullen, rude, and disrespectful young lady! I went in to pay on the car and dealt with her alone, and she absolutely irritated me with her bad attitude, not sure why she works there as she knows nothing about customer service or common courtesy. Didn't offer me a receipt after I paid, just slumped back down in her chair to continue to look at her phone and acted like an absolute BRAT when I asked for a receipt. She schlepped over to the printer sighing and acting put out and handed me the paperwork without saying a word.) If I had been satisfied with my automotive work, I would have never mentioned this.
They provided a diagnosis, and we got an itemized list of what was wrong and the price for each. We opted out of some things and agreed to get some things fixed that seemed the most important such as transmission work and the front-end suspension work.
This was going to be a huge amount of money for us, but we desperately needed this car to be fixed. I asked for a payment plan and Shawna said I could pay it out and would receive my vehicle once it was paid off. Fair enough for me, and I happily agreed to do that. I put 1500 down, and paid 500 two weeks later, and paid the entire balance off 1 week after that with help from friends and family (who I continue to pay off for their generous help). The total changed once after they called to let us know that the throttle body needed to be cleaned, and a new sensor connector/pigtail put in for $162.72, and we agreed to that. The grand total for everything was $3670.25.
Then my husband drove the car home.
Driving forward the entire time, he didn't know until he got home that the right front tire would LOCK UP when he tried to put it in reverse! When he took the tire off, there was a shiny brand-new gouge running the entire circumference of the inner rim! A similar shiny node showed the brake caliper and when he touched it, it was loose! When he inspected that, there was a bolt missing! Had this bolt been missing in another section of this brake caliper, the wheel could have either locked immediately making him not even be able to drive off of Brandons Auto parking lot...but what is worse, (and what makes me furious)...is that it could have locked while he was driving 65 mph down the high way (as we live out of town and a long drive) and it could have caused a wreck, a rollover....who knows what. But my husband's life could have been impacted by this gross negligence by Brandon's Auto mechanic.
The transmission also wasn't fixed. It still revved for an extended length of time before shifting, just like before. The most important thing my husband wanted done on this vehicle didn't seem to be done successfully. I will give them credit for their work on the front-end suspension. The squeaks are gone, and we can physically see where they replaced the bushings and front suspension work.
After looking under the hood, there were exposed vacuum lines that weren't hooked up or addressed. So, that shows a lack of being thorough. It was disappointing.
We called Shawna immediately after getting home telling her about the bolt missing and sent pics of the gouged shiny metal on the inside rim, told her about the brake caliper being loose, same exhaust leak it had before, etc. She acted surprised and said how her mechanic wouldn't do that...while at the same time telling us that her mechanic QUIT, and they put another mechanic on the job.
I would like a refund of $944.89 for the transmission work- our car behaves exactly like it did before as if nothing was repaired on the transmission at all. HUGE disappointment!
