This is the most negative review that I have ever written. I usually share my positive experiences…read moreand, rarely, do I write negative reviews. However, wasting $700 and being put in a life threatening situation is enough of a reason for me to write a review that is four thousand words long. To summarize what follows, the Auto Stop installed old brakes on my wife's MINI, sent her back home in a car that leaked braking fluid, promised to refund a part of the $700, caused me to loss yet another $100, stated that upon consulting their attorney they were not obligated to do anything, and said that their business was facing closure. Now, the details, if you are interested:
I had been a loyal customer of Marcie's (the owner of the Auto Stop) for most of the three and a half years that I lived in Rochester, NY. During that time I've come to their shop multiple times with my 2014 Mazda3 and my wife's 2011 MINI. The service was always good, communication better than your average shop. However, things took a sudden turn at the end of 2019. I moved to MD in November while my wife stayed in Rochester for few more months. In December she took her MINI to the Auto Stop for brake job -- rear breaks, including calipers, were replaced. Run her about $700. It was Friday. While she drove the car during the weekend she called me saying that all brake lights came on. I told her to go back to the shop, which she did. She called me saying that the car was barely braking but she made it to the shop; the mechanics have told her that all braking fluid leaked and she was lucky to have made it; they proceeded to fix, i.e. tighten whatever wasn't, added (or flushed) the fluid and let her go at no charge. Having heard that I was in a shock -- it was only luck that my wife wasn't driving to visit me in MD that weekend as that could have resulted in her loosing her brakes while driving at the PA highway (with 70mph speed limit!). I was frustrated but trusted that it was an honest mistake. Fast forward to February of 2020, my wife joined me in MD. As soon as I saw her drive I heard and saw that her rear brakes were in terrible condition -- extremely rusted, flaking, and chipped. I did not believe that these had been installed new. I was upset but kept calm. I went to a local shop whose mechanics confirmed that the brake rotors, pads, and calipers were all in bad shape; calipers were shot. I conveyed the findings to Marcie over phone and told her directly that I would like to obtain a refund -- at least partial -- as I had to have the entire brake job re-done. My multiple phone calls with Marcie were difficult to say the least. She offered fixing the brakes if I came back to her shop which I did not want to do as I believed that driving few hundred miles on these brakes was dangerous. She stated that she might be able to do a partial refund for the parts. I agreed as that was better than nothing. I had the local shop fix the brakes again and give me back the old calipers (which I had to pay extra $100 for as shops normally send old calipers to manufacturers for a discount on the new ones). I shipped the old calipers back to the Auto Stop as agreed with Marcie. Upon receiving the calipers, Marcie asked me for receipt from my local shop who took them off. For the next three weeks I haven't heard from Marcie so I called her again in the beginning of April to check on my partial refund. Marcie answered the phone and stated that it was impossible that these calipers were installed in December (my point exactly), that had I gone to her in person with the MINI she would have had the brakes fixed, and that she was waiting to talk to her supplier. At this point I have lost my hope for any refund. Marcie made it very clear that I am not getting the $700, not even part of it, back. She made sure to tell me that she had checked with her attorney as far as what her responsibility is and that she was not responsible to provide any sort of remedy. She also told me that her shop was facing closure and she cannot afford addressing my brakes. I used to refer my friends to this shop. I no longer do. $800 ($700 plus the $100 I had to pay for the core) is a lot of money. I could have taken my wife on a very nice weekend get-away but instead I had to pay another $700 to have the brakes fixed again.