Brown’s Parts and Automotive, Inc.

Took my truck there right after I drop my grandson for a haircut I’m a grandmother wheezing two grandsons by myself only cause I heard they were the best at what they do maybe they are the best at what they do have never done anything for me after I help their bleeding employee named Rod trees that his middle finger is bleeding profusely on Tuesday, 19 January when I walked in and they said oh define intervention it’s in are you a nurse I said no medical assistant isn’t good enough so I went back and help this young man clean up the mess he had his bleeding really bad that his finger really bad you could actually see the muscle in his middle finger course from Pollo was kind of hard to clean them up the young man with the beard you brought over this so called first aid kit so old meaning the supplies were so old that the papers on the guys were yellow but I figured it was inside should be clean so we use that. Tell the young man you need to go to the hospital get stitches is what you need he said and so did the guy with the beard apparently he’s probably one of the owners and the short guy with the beard said oh we hung he has no insurance he just started working here little boy I wish our young man Ocean City little boy you just look very young whisk it was very dizzy so I told him you probably still need to go to the hospital if you’re dizzy you lost a lot of blood for some people get very woozy if they see their own. Long story short and this is kind along I apologize I asked them to please look at my vehicle my truck I knew it needed brakes very badly could hear the metal rubbing when you push the brakes and I was worried because I’m carrying two grandsons around counting a school and things that they have going on so when he check and he came back and said it was will give you a good deal because of what you did for our rod and you are our angel for that at least five times when I was there they can open the price of $ 1180 can you believe that this is a deal? Course I can’t afford that I’m barely making it paycheck to paycheck P needs to growing boys I asked if I could do payments they said to check with Don the owner this is on Tuesday I didn’t get a response until Friday course not a good response they said they were not allowed to do payments something to do with the better business bureau in the man on the phone Amanda usually told me that I was divine intervention and the angel said it was anything else I can do for you any questions and I said of course you know what I need breaks! But I cannot afford $ 1180 no way not bite off and I said I can do some payments like I said they couldn’t do it so here I am still with no breaks I can afford it I’ve been looking around to see if I can find someone to help me with the brakes in that either way I’m driving around like this that’s my only vehicle but someone should look into their morals at least they talk about how great they are in this and that they are not good people that to me that’s not a good person and someone came into my business and help someone it’s bleeding get you fixed up imagine if I would’ve said sorry I can’t help him go to the Better Business Bureau I cannot help you bleeding employee what if I would’ve said that? Of course I would never do that not in my nature… But if you asked me doesn’t matter how great their businesses which is a little bit elevated their prices but I think they are not good people at all. This is a family «» business. I know this for sure the Lord in heaven sees everything and I know he saw what happened on that day.

So where to start… I have a 2004 Honda Civic. Over the last 6 months I was chasing a lean fuel error on the car. I took it to the dealer first. They did not find it but they said that they thought that the timing belt was missing a tooth might have been the problem so the replaced that turned off the light and within 2 days it was on again. So I looked for another mechanic. Found one that was recommended mechanic and they made their attempt. Could not find it but saw that the plugs were bad and did a few other things turned off the light and yes it came back on. So one last attempt went to Browns Automotive. They did a complete check and found the issue. It was a bad fuel pump. They found a bunch of other things and recommended to eventually fix them but at the time they could wait. So finally got it fixed. Cost me a little over $ 1000. Kind of expensive but I was real happy with their service and thought to myself finally a good honest mechanic… boy was I wrong. Within 5 days of getting the car back the car started going through antifreeze and it was getting hot. So I thought well maybe they took it out and just did not fill it up. So I continued to fill it for a few days and then finally, while my son was on his way to prom, it overheated. Well back to my trusty mechanic. I figured they forgot to hook up something or it was something real simple. I get a call back from them, mind you I already spent a lot of money with them, and they tell me it was the head gasket and that the radiator was shot. I asked them while they had the car and did the 1000 point check did they not catch it? They told me «Oh sir we really don’t look for those types of things unless you suspect it». Hmm, it was not overheating before they got it and now it is. Was it something they did or did I just win the lottery and it broke right after they fixed something. Not sure but I asked them so what now. They said they recommend a rebuild or replace the head gasket. So I asked them how much. Well they said head gasket alone parts and labor $ 2500. So I asked them how much for the rebuild… ballpark. They told me they just had a 95 civic rebuilt for $ 6500! Wow someone got rooked. So I did a little investigation and found an engine for $ 700, 45K miles, and asked how much to install. They said that it would cost more than the replacement of the head gasket. I asked them why. They told me because they make all their money on parts and they would have to increase the cost of labor to make money. Needless to say I found a mechanic that will replace it for less than $ 1000. So here is the kicker, I went to pick up my car and they charged me $ 55 after I spent all the money with them and it was worse off than it was when I brought it to them. AND one more kicker. So I asked the guy can I take it and is the radiator full. He told me they toped it off and asked if he wanted me to have him check it. I told him no because if it is topped off then I should be OK. However, I check it anyway. Good thing I brought antifreeze because it appeared to be very low and based on experience it would have overheated again. So the moral of the story…, if you want to get great service but get screwed on the price take it to Browns Automotive. Otherwise find you another mechanic.

My car and I have always had a positive experience when receiving service at Brown’s. Service is thorough and professionally performed. Extra work is always preceded by a phone call explaining what the problem is and what needs to done to fix it, plus the anticipated cost. I have complete confidence in their work and it’s a great feeling to know that your car is safe when you leave their place of business.

I’ve brought every vehicle I’ve had for the last 5 years… Wether it’s my 58 chrysler or my 99 Durango. By far the most honest shop in town. Trust these guys so much I even send my grandmother there.

Dustin was prompt, friendly, and knowledgeable. He took time out of his busy day to drive me into work after dropping my car off in his caring hands. I don’t know of many auto shops that would do that. After giving my car a thorough inspection he informed me of the repairs needed and the time in which they would be finished. Brown’s truly cares about the customer and the relationship they have with them, I will not take my car anywhere else!

Unfortunately I chose the shop closest to my house (car would not start), instead of a trusted shop further down the road.
At the end of the day, I paid $ 250 for a starter replacement that I did not need, along with highly inflated diagnostic labor charges. It took me 30 minutes to install a $ 30 starter in this vehicle when I did it. Due to space limitations, apparently it was not installed at precisely the correct geometry. An experienced shop would have diagnosed this within 5 minutes of having the car on the lift and fixed the issue (MAYBE installing a new starter if necessary.)
Instead, there was never an actual diagnosis, just attempts to throw parts at the problem when they happened upon the solution, still overcharging (2 hours to install a starter when I did it on my back in 30 minutes?!) me in the process.
I called the owner Dustin and he offered shop labor credit — sorry I won’t be back. I was REALLY hoping this would be an honest, experienced, local shop I could trust.
Oh, and my car sat there for a week as it was constantly pushed to the backburner after assurances that it would be next up in the work flow.

I took my vehicle in on a recommendation. I had a few things for them to look at. They were thorough and I think know what they are doing, however they are not to be trusted. They found two problems with the rear suspension and recommended repair. The parts alone were over $ 600. After I got off the phone I started looking on-​line and found they were marking the parts up between 500% and 700%, and that was over dealer prices. I thought there must be a mistake but checked several places. Old fashioned mechanic highway robbery. I understand the need for shops to charge $ 90 or $ 100 an hour for labor, employees and all the related expenses add up, and I could also see a little mark-​up or parts, but this is just wrong. If they knowingly do this on parts what else will they do for profit? Stay away at all costs.

Brought in my 1964 Chevelle Malibu for a diagnostic check on systems and to see why the points were burning out rapidly. They are very professional, take the time to explain what they find and recommend work to be done by priority to help decide how to budget for it. I didn’t feel I was being taken for a «ride». They take the time to explain thoroughly rather than look at you and act as if you are an ignorant fool like so many mechanics are wont to do.
Nice touch was the follow up call a week later to see how the car was getting along. Oh, and the wonderfully preserved old Route 66 station is an added plus. Thanks for being thoughtful!

Had my brakes serviced here.
Back pads/​rotos and front pads. They did it all in one day. Worked late to get it done. Extremely good service. They gave me a ride home, friendly, and called a couple weeks after to check up on the car. Brakes are working great. The price was a bit on the higher end but I think most people feel that way about auto repair. Total came out to be ~600.

Great honest work, Dusten is great at explaining what needed to be done. He saved the old parts and showed me what the problems were with them further establishing my confidence in the quality of work.