A Tale of Two Auto Shops

I called the Firestone Service Center around the corner (1323 Ben White) for an appointment. They said, "Sure, bring it down in an hour and we'll take a look at it then." So, I do, and I find the parking lot is overflowing with people and cars. Apparently they thought it would be more important to host a radio remote than serve customers.

I called from the cell phone and they said maybe I could sneak in a back way and park in a lot behind them and they could maybe look at my car in an hour. I explained, "No, I don't want to sneak in a back way." Besides, I made an appointment to have my car looked at now, not an appointment to maybe have my car looked at in an hour.

So, I drove down the street to the Brake Check (3501 S. Lamar). The manager said they could throw it on the rack right then and take a look. The guy pulled all the tires and inspected the entire brake system. "It's just low on fluid," he said. "The pads have another ten thousand miles on them."

They topped off the fluid level, bolted the tires back on and didn't charge me a penny for it. That made for a very nice day.

I thought I'd mention the experience, in case somebody in South Austin is looking for brake service. Instead of, you know, like, standing in a parking lot listing to radio deejay blather.