I went to them for breaks in Louisianna about a year or so ago. Spent $400 on breaks and calipers, etc. Got performance grade pads, etc. They came with a "Lifetime warranty" on the pads.
Jump forward to like Sept.'03. I needed a tune-up. Midas had a special. My car was running fine, but it was due. I also needed a muffler but really didnt have the money for that so just opted for the tune-up and an oil change. I dropped it off as soon as they opened and was told it would be done that evening. It wasn't. It was nearly the end of the 2nd day when they finally said it was done. When I went to pick it up, it ran like a tank.
Coughed sputtered, shook, no power at all. I complained to the mechanic before I even backed it out of the garage stall. He started telling me all the "Other parts" that I should have replaced but didn't. I kept saying it was fine BEFORE he tuned it up. He'd list off more parts that should be replaced. I finally ended up leaving with it as-is just to get out of there. I returned it 2 days later INSISTING they screwed something up and needed to fix it. They found "Several" cracked spark plugs and my car was running fine. Hmm guess it didn't need those "other parts" after all.
I got a call from the "headquarters" asking about my recent service. I explained it all in great detail and told them how disappointed and ripped off I felt. The lady on the other end of the phone sounded shocked and really wanted to straighten things out for me. She said she would forward this on to management and they would call me to see what they could do to make me happy. Im still waiting for that call.
Jump forward to March '04...
My brakes started squeeling so I took it in to Midas ONLY because of the "Lifetime warranty". I told the manager about my last experience with them and explained how disappointed I was in them. He also sounded sincerely upset by my story and said he would check out my car and be sure it gets taken care of this time.
As he was writing the service order, I noted the prices of their brake service posted on the counter, $109 including pads, labor and turning the rotors. When I got the call later telling me the estimate, I was blown away. Total $100. Under warranty! I asked him what the warranty saved me? $10?
He really tried to explain how the pads were actually worth $70 and I was getting them free. If that was the case, the price they had posted should have been $170 not $109. After alot of his illogical math, I told him to forget it and took it to another shop. I got the whole deal done NOT under warranty for $120 with another "liftime warranty".
After several emails and calls to the national headquarters I was assured they would take care of it. They forwarded my comments to the local shop. Of course I never heard back. I attempted another email to the national headquarters and gave up.
Their guarantee states the values that have made them a success: trust, service and reliability. I no longer trust Midas or their service and the only thing apparently reliable is poor overall service.
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