Associated Muffler & Brake Shops
reviews and complaints

Associated Muffler: They replaced my serpentine belt last March and did not properly check the entire system with any kind of test drive so my car was screeching for days until I took it back in and they then told me they had to replace a pulley in regard to the belt. (They charged me another 40.00 on top of the 120.00 original charge). The screeching continued. I took it back. They then told me I needed an Air conditioner compressor and they couldn't do it (conveniently gave the name and number of another garage they were 'friends' with) and it would probably cost me 4-500 dollars).

I did not take it because all along I knew it was something to do with the Serpentine belt as my car never made a sound until the day I took it their garage to have them put on a serpentine belt. I continued to drive it for months with the screech as they told me it wouldn't do any damage to the car but that they couldnt fix it as they "needed to hear the car make the sound". Hence, while I was driving by their garage and the car was making that sound, I drove straight to the garage. Within 5 minutes a different employee (the only one who didn't treat me like I didn't know what I was talking about) came out, and used a device to check the serpentine belt and said, "Oh yeah, that's the tensioner on the Serpentine belt". They then told me in order to fix it they would have to replace everything they had already done last March but that they would "do me a favour by only charging me another 100.00: for the replacement of the serpentine and the pulley and the new tensioner". The next day, I took it to them and they fixed the tensioner and lo and behold, the screeching stopped and then told me, it was 113.00 not 100.00.

All along it was a problem associated with the serpentine belt and could have been fixed when they did the original work last March. I should never have had to replace the serpentine belt and spend more money regarding a mistake they made eight months ago. In addition to the poor and improper service their misinformation that the screeching had anything to do with the AC compressor could have cost me another 4-500.00.

I certainly felt vulnerable as a lone female with them and feel that at the very least they should have done the service in December free of charge to compensate for the time, inconvenience and prolonged annoyance of noise that their lack of care cost in the first place. I have complained at length to the Better Business Bureau but the business has refused to reimburse me a simple sum of 153.00 to make things right.