Let me start this review by saying that I have worked in customer service for 7 years, so when it comes to these issues I am about as flexible and understanding as it gets. This experience was/still is just too much of a mess for me not to write this review. So here we go..
(Visit #1) My car had two issues when I brought it in a little over two months ago: it was both pulling to the left, and the steering wheel was off of center. After the alignment was done to my car, they drove it around the block to test the alignment. When he got out he said everything was driving straight and I was good to go. I then paid around $100 for the alignment, which included a lifetime warranty. As I was driving away I could immediately tell that the steering wheel was still not straight. The next day I drove to and from work and noticed the same issue.
(Visit #2) I took the car back to the shop a day later, explained the situation, and they put my car back on the machine and attempted to re-align it. Someone then drove around the block, came back and said "all good!" I drove away, and could immediately tell that the steering wheel was still off.
(Visit #3) I explained the same thing to the same manager. He then said that he believed that it had something to do with the snow tires I still had on my car from my move here from Colorado. He suggested that my tires be rotated from one side of the car to the other. After doing that, he got in my car, drove around the block, came back and said...guess what? "All good!" Not only did this not fix the problem, but he failed to notice that my tires had directional tread and had to be rotating a certain way. I drove back and they put the tires back. Not a big deal, but my original problem was still not fixed at this point. He then said that the best thing to do would be to see about putting summer tires on the car.
I then asked if I could get a partial refund for what I was charged for the "lifetime" portion of the alignment, since, according to him, I would not be able to ever properly align the car with these tires on. He agreed that I shouldn't be charged for the lifetime upgrade, which was about $52 of the $100 I paid for the alignment. At this point I didn't think it was necessary to ask for a full refund, since I didn't believe it was anything they did wrong. The manager said that, in order to give a refund, he would have to call his supervisor.
Believing him about the tire issue went to NTB the next day. They said that it was very unlikely that was a tire issue, and agreed to do a free alignment check for me. After checking the alignment, they gave me the diagnostic info showing that my alignment was perfectly straight, but my steering wheel adjustment was off several degrees. The guy said that it looked like the steering wheel was never set straight when they did the alignment. I couldn't believe it.
(Visit #4) A few days later, I took my car back to the shop and showed the manager the diagnostic on it. He put my car back on the machine, and according to his report, the car was perfectly aligned with the steering wheel perfectly straight. Obviously this wasn't the case, but it was late and I didn't want to get into a big discussion about it, so I asked him to align the car again with the steering wheel turned to the right, hoping that by overcompensating, the problem would be fixed. After a couple of tries, (and with myself driving around the block each time), we were able to get everything straight.
That took a little over THREE WEEKS. Now on to getting that refund I was promised..
After a week of not hearing from anyone, I called the store and was given a phone number to call a supervisor for the Austin Brake Check locations. I explained the entire situation to him, but at this point, I felt like I had spent way too much time dealing with this, and I asked him if it would be possible to be refunded the full amount just based on the fact that I had spent so much time and effort. He said that he would review everything and call me back.
A week later I heard from him. He said he would refund the $52, and that, because of my troubles, he would give me the $25 dollar gift card. He said he could not refund me the entire amount due to the fact that I eventually did get my alignment straightened. Again, being in the customer service industry for so long I decided to just thank him for offering to partially refund me, to just cut my losses.
Two weeks then went by, no gift card in the mail, and no refund on my credit card. I called the supervisor again and asked him how long this process typically took. He agreed that it shouldn't have taken this long, and said he would check into it.
Fast forward to today. I still have not received a call or any sort of a refund. Like I said, I first brought my car in over two months ago, and was promised a partial refund five weeks ago. Two hours into this review and I think I'm officially done with Brake Check read more