Broadway Automotive & Tire — Local services in Broadway

Highest prices in town! Guaranteed!!

My best friend had tires put on here and she found out after the fact that they charged more for the tires And the installation then the other local shops would have.

So I guess I should have known better, but thinking that maybe it was just higher tire prices, when my car broke down I decided to have it towed here.

It turns out my brakes had failed and I needed new ones. At first I was quoted $493! When I said that was way too high, the receptionist said she would double-check and call me back. A couple minutes later she called back and now said it would be $378. I usually check prices for everything, but I made the mistake of assuming they were quoting me a fair price, which it wasn't. So initially I said okay to proceed.

But almost immediately I thought about it, and decided to check prices. I found out on Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) you can also find out a fair price range for different auto repairs in your ZIP code. That was the first indication I was being way overcharged.

So then I decided to call another garage in Broadway and get a quote. I was shocked when I was quoted between $200-$250! That's around $150-$175 cheaper!! I was also informed that Hart's towing in Broadway only charges about $50-$60 for a local tow. So it actually still would have been cheaper to have my car towed to the other garage and had the brakes done there.

So I called Broadway Automotive back (about 30 mins later) to cancel the job. I was told the brakes and rotors had already been ordered, delivered, and the mechanic was already far enough into the job they couldn't quit. Really?! I didn't believe it, but since I don't live in the area I couldn't go down and check.

Regardless of that, for KBB And another garage right down the road to quote me around $150 cheaper, there is no doubt they way overcharged me! So I would definitely avoid this place unless you like paying more.

A side note: I called the next day and spoke with the manager, whose name is Dallas. His family owns the shop, BTW. I wanted to ask how could their prices be so much higher for the same parts and service. He gave me a few corporate answers, and when I basically persisted, he essentially said "that's what we charge". So, there you have it.

Also in the course of our conversation, when I had mentioned my intent to have it towed to another garage, he said they charge around $50 just to assess what is wrong with the car (which I wasn't informed of beforehand). So I assume if I would have been able to cancel and have it towed, they would have charged me $50 just for looking at it? Doesn't sound...

Extremely disappointed. Been taking 3 vehicles here for the last several years. One of them started making a noise so wanted to get it looked it. Mechanic supposedly looked at it and couldn't figure out what was making the noise and suggested we take it to a dealership. The problem is he wouldn't tell us what was actually checked or what steps were taken to diagnose the problem so we have no idea what if anything was done. I had already had the exhaust looked at by another shop to rule that out as a potential cause of the problem. The notes on the receipt say we indicated it's a transmission issue which is the opposite of what was said when the vehicle was dropped off - clearly we weren't being listened to. The receipt also says fluids were topped off, I currently have no windshield washer fluid at all so it's unclear what fluids are being referenced. When we asked additional questions and expressed frustration for the lack of transparency we were told "we're not a noise specialist."

When my last oil change was completed and I was leaking oil everywhere because the filter was incorrectly installed I didn't think much of it because people make mistakes, we're all human. It seems more likely the shop either takes short cuts or is lacking in knowledge or skills, maybe there's been a change in staff or something, I'm not sure.

Per your recommendation, I will be taking my vehicles to another shop going forward.

Update: another mechanic (not a dealership) was able to determine the car had a bad wheel bearing. They were able to figure this out simply by going for a drive. That's it. Got up to speed, heard the noise, knew it was a wheel...

Took my truck there on December 27th for an inspection and was told everything was fine. Less than (3) weeks later I had to have both the rear brakes and rotors replaced because they were in such bad shape. There is no way this could have been missed as the right rear brake was metal on metal. Had I known to have a Virginia State Trooper look at the parts while they were on the vehicle, I would have told the mechanic I had replace the parts. Per Virginia State Code 19VAC30-70-5 this should be a Class III offense for the inspector, but I guess he gets off easy this time. On the plus side I did get a refund for the inspection, but only after I insisted. $20 vs. a couple hundred that could have been avoided and potentially getting killed in...