Midas
Overcharging, failure to report issues, theives

I've been taking my 2000 Toyota Camry to Midas for the past few years, simply because it's close to my house and I can walk home if I need to leave it overnight (this is almost always the case). But that's the only reason I've gone to them, and you can be sure they'll never get a dime from me again.

My car was up for inspection in July. I didn't think it would pass, and I was correct— but I didn't think there'd be as many things wrong with it as they told me. Here's what they said I needed to pass inspection:

2 Sway Bar Links
1 Control Arm Assembly
1 Tire
1 Charcoal Canister

For that, they quoted me roughly $2200 parts and labor. Of course, there's a few other things not listed that added up, smaller things mostly; my check engine light was on and they charged me almost $100 just to find out why it was on (I later found out that Auto Zone, located two buildings away, will do this for free)— it was the charcoal canister.

I'm not the kind of person that has two grand just kicking around waiting to be spent, so I took it somewhere else. Long story short, I drove 100 miles north to Kingston, NH where I know a mechanic who would charge me exactly what he was supposed to. After all was said and done, I paid just under $1200, parts and labor. That includes money spent on gas to drive two states away. Isn't it pathetic that I can take a day off work, drive 100 miles and still save almost $1000? Anyway, I got everything fixed, and the car runs great. Much respect to Mark at Lepage's Auto in Kingston, NH.

But oh no, it's not over...

I went back to Midas this morning (9/1). Why? So I wouldn't have to pay another inspection fee. Well, my fault— I didn't realize that today was the first of the month until I got there (I had until the last day of August to get it inspected). $39 is a pretty standard inspection fee, so whatever, not a big deal.

I figure I'll be in and out without incident, because I got everything on their list fixed. Of course, Midas found more reasons not to pass my car. Apparently, in the state of Rhode Island, tinted windows are illegal. My rear passenger windows are tinted, and they were like that when I bought the car (not in RI)... And they've been that way for years. They were like that last year when I got my car inspected... At the same Midas that failed me this time. When I told them that, the mechanic said "well, that wasn't me." I told him I didn't care if it wasn't him, it was his establishment that passed my car "illegally." I told him to give me my keys so I could take it somewhere else, and he wouldn't. He insisted we talk to the owner. Fine. The owner, after some arguing on my part, agreed to pass it, probably just to get my loudmouth out of there. Gee, thanks, Mr. Midas!

But wait, there's more!

I come to find out that my steering system is loose. I had no idea this was a problem, because Midas never told me. If I knew, I would have gotten it fixed. When I asked why I wasn't made aware of the problem a month ago, they said "well, you've obviously had to drive the car, and things will wear and break over time, and we saw this car over a month ago..." The mechanic was correct about that.

However, when I looked at my first inspection report, I noticed that under "Steering" the word "loose" was circled, and the "fail" box was checked off. So they lied right to my face when they told me they didn't know. When I confronted the owner about it and showed him his mistake, he said "well, the guy who fixed your car should have noticed it when he was working on it." I told him that wasn't the point; they knew it was a problem, something that would cause me to fail inspection, and they didn't tell me it needed to be fixed. I walked out of there after paying the $39 re-inspection fee, still with an inspection sticker that reads "07-11."

I know most chain mechanics (Monroe, Meineke, etc.) have a habit of overcharging clients, but I've never experienced price gouging and rudeness from employees like I experienced at Midas. Needless to say, they'll never, ever get another cent from me again. I urge everyone across the country to never, ever give Midas your money. They WILL rip you off, and they'll do it with a smile. They're soulless, heartless criminals.

The Manager of this particular Midas is Steven Matera, and his phone number is 401-353-7121.

Company: Midas
Country: USA
State: Rhode Island
City: North Providence
Address: 1640 Mineral Spring Ave
Phone: 4013537121
Site: midasprovidence.com

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