Brake Specialists Plus

I was dealing with Darin last week and he helped me out with some issues I had with my brakes from another napa autocare center. I was upset over the other shop's work and that the brakes continued to make noise. He had the mechanics fix the brakes and they are now quiet. He calmed me down and made everything OK. I appreciated his professionalism and that he took ownership of a problem that his shop didn't even cause. Thanks Darin :) more

This shop was caught lying about repairs and I have a feeling they do this often, they just got caught this time. They try to cheat you out of your hard earned money. In my opinion they like to lie to women and naieve people who dont know anything about cars, and recommend services and repairs that arent necessary. I read the good reviews and chose to ignore the negatives, turns out the negative reviews sound similar to what happened to me. These people are liars and if you care about your money and your car you will go elsewhere. more

COMPLETE RIP OFF! AVOID THIS SHOP (also as a side note: Jaime (General Manager) saw I had posted my experience online and met up with me and said he will refund my money if I take reviews down) I had my car A/C checked at another shop and I wanted a second opinion because it was blowing cold while moving, but at lights it would blow warm. I came here for their ""free"" ac check about 20 min after going to first shop(where I got first opinion) and my AC was blowing fine on way to Brake Specialists just as it had been for months besides the warm air at stop it was still cooling when car was going. They hooked up a machine to my ac to ""test"" it and after about 30 min told me it could be 2 things, but couldnt tell me for sure. I guess he was trying to attempt to see how much money he could screw me for. The guys name was Darin Hinkle and he seemed shady.Anyway I left and when I was driving immediately noticed the AC wasnt blowing cold even when moving as it was right before I took it here. So I took it back to other shop(first shop) and they verified that the Shrader valve had been damaged and cause was the equipment they used to hook up to ac. I went back and spoke to Darin Hinkle (manager) and he started getting irate and angry and trying to sidestep the issue when I tried to calmly explain, he was rude and trying to talk over me. When I showed him what the other shop found he then exploded in anger and spit some tobacco and threatened to call the police on me (for what, I have no idea) I never threatened the guy, I never even raised my voice or did anything that called for that. It was a simple civil discussion and he blew up over it. That is no way to treat potential customers. when they have a dispute with service to threaten them with police....ridiculous! What kind of a person does that? I'll tell you ...a person who knows they did you wrong and they have no valid argument so they try to do whatever they can rather than admit they tried to screw you. He then refused to let me go in to get the company contact info. he feared I would tell other customers what went on. He then walked away in a rude manner. He refused to give me owners information or any information for me to contact someone. I would give NO stars but review doesnt allow such a low rating! DO NOT go to this shop...based on my experience this shop WILL SCREW YOU OVER AND THEN NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. This is the kind of shop that gives mechanics a bad name! Also I just had my coolant flushed with a machine at another shop less than 10,000 miles ago and they said I needed new coolant even though it was visibly clean...these people prey on ignorance and prey on people who are naieve enough to trust them. The ""FREE"" ac checks etc. is just a way to get you in there so that way they can try to upsell you anything they think they can scam out of you. They give you this doom story like if you dont repair your car immediately its going to break down. My opinion is that they create issues with vehicles then try to get you to pay. SCAM SHOP! more

Brake Specialists is the ONLY place in town I will take my car for brake work. They gave me an honest estimate in very little time, recommended a package for me, and performed the work faster than estimated at a lower price than estimated. On top of all this, they had free 10 Mbps Wi-Fi in a nice waiting area. Perfect for an Austin tech enthusiast like me! I cannot recommend Brake Specialists highly enough. Don't bother with Just Brakes, Brake Check, or any other fly-by-night cheap operation. You might pay a little more in the short term here, but the value you get will save you a LOT of money in the long term. They're locally owned and operated by guys who understand the industry, train their mechanics to do good work, and evolve to meet the demands of newer vehicles and systems. Don't mess around, go here! more

They took care of my vehicle very quickly. My brakes sound great. The staff here is excellent! This is the place to go for your brakes. more

I brought my Nissan Maxima into Darin at the Brake Specialists on Parmer Lane. I had a check engine light on. They diagnosed the vehicle and told me that the camshaft sensors need to be replaced. They ordered the parts and got the repairs done in about two hours. The vehicle seems to be running fine now. I appreciated the quick service and the explanation of my issues. more

I had been having trouble with my heater, since it got colder this fall. I brought my truck over to Darin at the Parmer Lane Brake Specialists. They figured out that I had a plugged heater core. They got me a new heater core installed and now my truck keeps me toasty warm.\r Thanks Darin and Jesse. more

I brought my Ford Explorer into their shop after getting some used tires on it. I noticed that the front end had a lot of vibration. Jesse, the shop foreman, drive the vehicle with me and verified the vibration. He then got the vehicle in the air. He noted that all of my suspension was tight. He then pointed out that 3 out of 4 of my tires were separarting and 2 of them had bubbles forming. He recommended I go to Discount Tire to get a new set of tires. I went that day and got the tires and now my vehicle drives great. 1st Lesson Learned: do not buy used tires to save a buck. 2nd Lesson Learned: you can trust the guys at the Parmer Lane Brake Specialists. more

I recently had my vehicle into the Brake Specialists on Parmer Lane. I had them fix my front brakes, since they were squealing real bad. They machined my front rotors and installed some noise free guarantee pads for around $205 after the 10% off coupon I downloaded from their website. I have been driving for over 500 miles and the brakes have never been so quiet. Thanks for the great brake service. more

The Brake Specialists at Parmer Lane got my rear transmission seal replaced and resealed my transmission pan for me recently. I now have a clean garage floor with no more tranmission fluid spots to greeting me on the weekend when I clean my garage. I appreciate the quick service and the excellent workmanship that you all provide. more

I like going to the Parmer Lane location of Brake Specialists, since it has two shops in one. It has a lube center that handles the oil changes, some maintenance and state inspections. The other side does the brakes and more involved repairs. The last time I was there they were quite busy, but they worked me in quickly for my front brakes, an oil change and my state inspection. They got all of this done in about 2 hours and had me on my way. I highly recommend this shop for anyone needing good service that is done quickly and efficiently. Thanks Darin! more

I recently had my vehicle tuned up at one of Brake Specialists competitor's where they offer Bosch spark plug tune-ups for all of the vehicles that come into their shops. Unfortunately, Bosch plugs don't play well with my vehicle. After I left the other shop, my vehicle had several misfire codes and barely made it home. I limped the car up to the Parmer Lane Brake Specialists, since it was near my apartment. They diagnosed the misfire issue for me and pulled one of the plugs that was on a misfiring cylinder. They informed me that my vehicle from the factory comes with NGK or Denso spark plugs only. I asked them to please install the correct plugs. They got the parts quickly and did the tune-up correctly for me. It has been 2 weeks and no misfires. I guess the rule is to go back with what the factory used for spark plugs and not take someone's word that one plug brand works for all vehicles. Jesse was the one that did my tune-up and I will definitely bring my vehicle back to him for any other issues. more

I had Autozone pull my codes and I had a couple of evap emmission codes for leaks. I brought my vehicle to the Brake Specialists on Parmer Lane. The manager, Darin, told me that they would need to start with a smoke test to determine the leaks. They smoked the vehicle for about 45 minutes and found two cracked hoses. They replaced the hoses and then smoked the vehicle to see if there were any other leaks. The two hoses were my only two leaks. They fixed both of the hoses for the cost of some bulk hose and the diagnosis/smoke test fee that was about $90. I was very pleased with the service and I will definitely come back with any other check engine light issues I have. more

I had a check engine light issue that had been plagueing my vehicle for the last 6 months. I had taken the vehicle to several shops who couldn't diagnose the issue. I then decided to take it up to Brake Specialists on Parmer Lane. They had a new Bosch scanner that actually was able to give them a live data feed to diagnose my check engine issue. They diagnosed my vehicle for about $90.00 and then repaired the wiring issue for about another $200.00. I was very happy and will definitely be coming back for any other repairs or maintenance I might need in the future. more

My 2007 Honda Fit was only 3 yrs. old and had around 25K miles when the brakes started to act up. I knew that if I took it to a Honda dealership the cost would be very high. Instead I took it to my local Brake Specialist Plus on Parmer Lane. The problem was diagnosed quickly by the manager, Darin Hinkle. This was the first Honda Fit that had come in to his shop. I had great service and fast service. Now I plan to take the car back for a tuneup! Thanks. \r more

I own 3 vehicles myself, they all get worked on there. They are always courteous, helpful, and the pricing was better than any dealership. The dealerships keep your cars for days, these people try to inconvenience you the least they can. \r \r Now all my kids take their vehicles there. more

Located right by my house; so, we have taken both of our cars here for every possible thing you can think of. They seem to be some of the few honest mechanics out there. They have given me honest opinions on the need to replace my brakes and didn't always try to add work that didn't need to be done. They replaced an alternator on one of our cars that ended up going out not long after the labor warranty had run out and they replaced it without charging us for labor. Very nice guys and seem to do quality work. I would recommend them to anyone. Pros: Seem honest Cons: mechanics, so who knows more

I took my truck into this shop to fix a brake leak. They were very rude & had an attitude with me because I would not fix all the different things extra that they wanted to charge me for. I overheard the tech that test drove my truck after the repair telling another tech that he had driven the truck with the emergency brake on, which of course he wasn't going to tell me. I then drove to work where I was stranded because the back brakes locked up on me. I then had to TOW my truck to my moms personal mechanic (who I should have went to in the first place) to fix what this shop messed up. I was not about to have this place touch anything else on my truck. Personal mechanic told me that they ripped me off with the price they charged also they put the brakes on way to tight. He said the tech should have known this when he test drove it afterwards. I had to pay personal mech $130 to fix what this shop messed up. BEWARE, DO NOT TAKE YOUR VEHICLE HERE, IF YOU DO, YOU WILL REGRET IT. They are very rude people & do not care about the customer, they only care about the commission that goes into their pockets. I had to give them 1 star in the review but if it was up to me, I would give them zero stars. The WORST service I have ever gotten anywhere. And the nice stuff that they say in their radio commercial is a LIE. Pros: nothing Cons: are these ASE certified mechanics? It does not seem so. more

Consumers beware!! I took our VW in to have it looked at since it wouldn't start unless it was jumped. On first impression; the place was clean and the employees were polite. They came back telling me it needed a new starter and would cost $526 to fix. How could it need a starter if I can jump it??? I discovered that after they put the car back together, the car started now, and it hasn't been repaired yet. So I am thinking it's a loose wire or something...I had one other mechanic look at it and he said everything is fine. He topped off the battery with water and charged us $35. That's it!! This place is trying to rip people off! I will never go there again...I gave one star because I had to. Pros: Clean Cons: They don't know what they're doing... more