emergency brake problem 325 cis

[freddil]

I am posting this on behalf of my computer illiterate friend so not sure I have all the details, but here goes. When he engages the emergency brake handle, the car brakes, but only for a short amount of time. This presents a big problem while parking on a hill and trying to restart it without rolling back into something. He has had it at the mechanic 4 times and 4 times they claimed they fixed it but it keeps doing the same. He doesn't want to bring it to the dealer due to the excessive price they always charge for repairs.
I believe it is about 7 or 8 years old and is a stickshift. Has anyone had this problem and if so, was it sucessfully repaired?