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Tried to rip me off! Plus, broke pieces while fixing car (Reply to this comment)
by paullin2
The Midases in Cleveland are horrible. (it's a franchise, so I expect they are owned by different people across the country).
When I had my brakes replaced, they quoted me a price higher than what they posted on the wall OVER HIS HEAD! I pointed this out to him and he corrected the price and tried to brush it off.
Another time, I had him fix my control arm and I found out that he broke the boot on my CV joint! I had to fight and even call his district manager before he finally admitted he was wrong and agreed to fix it. In fact, he even yelled at me!
AVOID.
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Sep 19 '10
9:05 pm PDT
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Similar horrible experience (Reply to this comment)
by spiffdude
I had a similar experience with the Bethesda, MD Midas.
1. After soaking me for repairs above and beyond what another mechanic said needed to be done, and trying to get me to replace the leaking steering column (the leak which no other mechanic has found evidence), they install defective parts that cause the rear brakes to fail completely.
I should have smelled trouble at a shop where the mechanics are arguing with their managers about vacation schedules right in front of the customers, with no regard for professionalism.
2. If that ain't enough, they don't find anything wrong with them when I bring the car back for warranty service! I have to helpfully suggest that they might want to take the *wheels off* and *look* at the brakes instead of just driving it around the parking lot and try to detect trouble with their ears, like the blind guy in "Contact".
3. One month later, the brakes have failed again, emitting smoke after my evening commute.
Save yourself some trouble and get a horse, but don't go to the Bethesda Midas.
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Nov 21 '03
3:29 pm PST
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funny review! (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
So you do have a sense of humor. Hehe. I updated my Origins essay if you would like to reread it. There actually is a method to my seeming madness!
Thanks,
Jan
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May 17 '01
5:12 am PDT
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Great Review (Reply to this comment)
by colleenmf
And I have no qualms about being known as a b**ch when it comes to stuff like this. TS on them.
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May 11 '01
7:01 am PDT
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Here's my trick - it works pretty well for me (Reply to this comment)
by Penguinlady
Whenever I bring my car in for anything specific, like routine service or a brake job, I automatically say "NO" to any other work they recommend. No matter what it is. No matter how dire the warnings of doom if I decline. Then I take the car elsewhere and ask for a going-over. It the second mechanic makes the same recommendation, I know it's on the level.
Here's the worst horror story I've ever heard: I was in the bathroom at a service station in a small town waaay out in the middle of nowhere, in the high desert, when I heard, through the closed door, the mechanics chortling and high-fiving each other because they had successfully screwed an elderly lady out of $350 - she had brought her car in because it was making a terrible clanking noise. She had left it with them and they had discovered a lug-nut loose in one of the hubcaps. They had told her that her stangifram had come loose from the universal doojab and was on the verge of cutting through her melaplop, which, had she been driving, would have killed her. They soaked her $350 for removing the hubcap and replacing the lug-nut, and she left singing their praises for their excellent diagnostic and repair work. You should have seen their faces when I walked out of the bathroom. Unfortunately, this had happened earlier in the day and there was no way I could find out who she was.
Unfortunately, for every unprincipled creep out there who would even think of pulling a stunt like this, there are more who think it's funny...
Margaret
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May 03 '01
3:20 pm PDT
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From what I understand... (Reply to this comment)
by chrisceb
anytime you take your car in for work, you can expect to be called with at least $300 worth of repairs. It's just a round number, but they do try and nail you for much more than you brought the car in for. Especially if you're a woman.
Great review!
Chris B
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Apr 29 '01
12:14 pm PDT
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It is possible to shut them up... (Reply to this comment)
by platypus55
First of all, read EVERY word of that warranty and memorize it. Then go out and learn something super technical about your car. My magic word was "dwell angle" and "points" but I don't think they have those any more. When you take it in, wear a pair of greasy coveralls with a spanner hanging out of your back pocket and splash a little beer on yourself just for good measure. When you get there be TOTALLY aggressive and bluff till you drop. Either that or just get a mechanic like mine, who counts on repeat business and is 100% straight.
P.S. This works for computer shopping and repairs too. I don't know how many times I've had some ignorant computer salesman insult me about computers but since I do know about them, they will always make a mistake and I catch them on it. Hee hee!
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Apr 28 '01
8:03 am PDT
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ah to be married to a mechanic (Reply to this comment)
by christy13
Luckily, my husband's a mechanic. I've put motors together with him, so I know a lot, myself. My girlfriends undoubtedly call us when they have a problem or think they're being ripped off.
On the odd occasion I do have to take the car to someone, I'm a b!tch. Yep, you're not ripping ME off.
Great review, as always.
C-
Oh, I'm a programmer, so I give my husband free tech support in exchange for his mechanical expertise. Fair trade.
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Apr 28 '01
5:33 am PDT
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I hate dealing with car repairs (Reply to this comment)
by gerper
It always seems that when a woman stands up for something (like you were, in the face of being ripped off), we are considered a b*tch, but when a man does it, he is being "assertive".
Anyways, good for you, glad that you got this straightened out, maybe now is a good time to sell your car. As for me, Midas tried to pull the wool over me, but I was all over them about my warranty. I'm sure they gave me the bird as I dove out of the parking lot (with my NEW free muffler)!!
gerper
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Apr 27 '01
11:39 pm PDT
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About Midas (Reply to this comment)
by Ahab1973
I've had problems with Midas overcharging me before in other areas, but the one I go to now is great.
The man who runs it really does seem like a very honest guy. I recently had all four of my brakes replaced there at a price that I probably couldn't beat at any other garage.
But your review is very well written and quite witty. Good job!
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Apr 27 '01
10:40 am PDT
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Boy... (Reply to this comment)
by flamepillar
That Midas dude sounds like, in the words of John Travolta in Face/off, a real "jag off". LOL
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Apr 27 '01
10:24 am PDT
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