Ok, maybe horror story is a little exaggeration.

I went in to Midas today to get an oil change + rotation for $35. Not the best deal in the world, but I didn't have a second jack to do the tire rotation and I figured I'd save the trouble of trying out the oil change because I calculated the cost and it was relatively the same...

I get there and tell them what I want. They go out and take my car, and within five minutes, the mechanic comes back and tosses me the keys. I was pretty satisfied with how quickly he did it, so I go out and drive around. I go to a parking lot to check on the oil level, and I see my front tires were still in the front. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed, but there was a scratch on one of my front rims. I was pretty pissed, so I drive back and I tell them that they didn't do the tire rotation, and the lady tells me that they decided not to do it because the tread wear was the same on the front as the back...

One problem... They CHARGED ME for the tire rotation. I've always heard about scams and things and I always figured they were a one in a million chance.... Learned my lesson for sure.

From now on, I'm doing my own oil changes and tire rotation. Besides... It looks like a lot of fun.

Any of you guys have a similar situation happen to you? Or were you guys smart enough to avoid them in the first place?

 

I've never taken my car to a real shop before or any of my previous vehicles either. Its always been easy stuff like routine maint I could do on my own or small failures like ball joints, egr valve, brakes, sensors, etc. However, I did go to a National Tire and Battery for a tire patch since I dont have a 'tire machine' and didn't feel like using screwdrivers and a crowbar on my brand new rims. Anyway, they preformed the repair and while the car was up on the lift I noticed they offer a free rotation. I figured what the hell, why not. So I asked them to do it. However, they told me it would be $20 since the car had tpms. I was like "lol wut?" They said the tpms had to be reprogrammed and it costs extra. I just let it slide and said no thanks on the rotation since they were already doing the tire patch for free (they had to cancel an appointment I had the day before for the same thing). However, I have since rotated my own tires and had no problems with the tpms. I guess all shops have to watch the bottom line. Its a business like any other. As a company profit is more important than any single customer. It's just the way things are.

 

Stories like what the OP had are strange. Then again they're not unexpected as we're talking about Midas here.

The local Midas franchise here, Rapide, has also had all sorts of horror stories about them: substandard brake pads, inspections suggesting parts replacement of perfectly fine parts, and bad engine oil used for oil changes. No thanks. I decided to take my car's maintenance elsewhere.

I'd love to do my own oil changes, but labor here is cheap so hardly anybody bothers. I do rotate my own tires however - I just use a couple of scissor jacks from my own car and my sister's. It's a good opportunity to survey the tread for embedded rocks or debris that might lead to a puncture in the future - not to mention you can also clean the inside of the wheel while it's off the car.

 

Man, that's evil. There's a Goodyear shop here that tried to scam some money for unnecessary changes when doing a simple safety check. Took it to the Shell across the street and they did it in 20 minutes.

I just used the spare tire & 1 jack to rotate my tires. It was kind of a pain jacking the car up & down though.

 

I'm all for businesses making a profit. They just need to actually do the work they charge me for...

 

Haha, wow, that's a decent amount of work...

 

i used to take my old car to midas. i became pretty convinced they werent always installing new parts.

 

thats weird cause ive been taking my car to Midas for like 1 1/2 year now and ive never had a problem...

 

I consider it a crap shoot when you entrust your car to anyone to have work performed on it.... You are lessening the chance of getting screwed by doing as much of the maintenance and repair work on your car as possibly can.... You know that the job gets done that way and and you aren't out the cash you'd have to pay to wonder if the job was properly done or not.

 

Innocent question time:
Aren't there any service places in the US where you can watch the car being worked on by the mechanics? Personally I enjoy doing this as it allows me to understand the workings of my car.

One added benefit is you can also check that the mechanic/s are doing what they say they'll do.

 

this video is regarding jiffy lube, but can be applied to some other independent auto shops as well. you might want to check if they even changed your oil/oil filter. was your oil fresh-looking? YouTube - Jiffy Lube Scam Caught on Tape!

 

People complain about the service of Quick-lube and budget repair shops, but hundreds of people still visit them a week. Pay cheap money, get cheap service. It's simple as that. You cannot expect top notch technicians at a place that charges $19.99 for a LOF (lube, oil and filter change). At the same point, you can't expect them to offer a "free" rotation and either expect them to (do it), do it right, torque the wheels correctly, or even thread the lugs on right.

People complain up and down at my highline dealer about outrageous labor charges and upsells. Thing is, the high labor rates are there because techs at highline dealers (for the most part) use more skill, the right tools and pay more attention to the car than even a good independent shop.

Substandard repair shops wouldn't exsist if people did not patronize them.

 

My girlfriend took her car to Valvoline. We didnt even get out of the car while they worked. They pull out a filthy fram (white with red rubber) air filter and recommend changing for $50. I tell her I'll put it in for $15. $40 for an oil change- hardly cheap. Next day, I pick up an air filter, open the housing and there is a nearly new green paper filter in there!! Total BS. I like that she takes care of her car, but I told her from now on I'll do her maintenance.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at that particular Midas but, It is a big franchise with shops all across the states. I'm sure there are just as much honest Midas shop owners out there who's main goal is to provide quality service. If you really feel you were wrong, then perhaps try writing a letter to the corporate office or even the BBB. just my $.02.

As for the $35 for an oil change, that is about what people pay for on the east coast, tire rotation would be extra unless you are a regular or you know someone.

 

Learn to do your own basic maintenance. You'll know what your getting.

The oil quality that you get from those "garages" is questionable. They get bulk oil that's pumped into their tanks (usually 200 gallon tanks). Not the same quality that you get from purchasing known name brand oils in small jugs.

Oil filters are another area for "scams". I've seen places where they take off old filters and leave them on a rack to drip (drain) and then they wipe them clean an put them back onto the shelf for reinstalling. Beware!

Get some basic tools and learn a bit. I'll pay off for you very quickly.

 

I once had a flat tire and brought my car at the time (a Suzuki Siekick) to Canadian Tire to get it repaired. I had originally bought my tires from Kal-Tire but they were closed since it was a Friday. I waited for about 3 hours until the employee told me it was unrepairable and suggested that I purchase 4 new tires because it was not recommended to just get one or two tires replaced. I asked them to put my spare tire on instead of replacing the damaged tire that they had removed. I had to wait another hour for them to do this... and I actually find and alert someone to the mechanic I saw trying to shove the damaged tire and wheel into the back seats instead of attaching it to the spare tire mount on the rear gate!

When my car was finally ready to go, I had to pay for having the tire replaced by my spare. It cost $15 for a job that I could have easily done myself!

The next day, I brought my car and tire to Kal-Tire. They fixed my tire entirely for free and reassured me that it did not have to be replaced at all! And the wait was only 25 minutes!

 

I've seen a number of odd hacks from Valvoline/Jiffy/Sears, etc. Since our drain pans are generally aluminum w/alum drain bolts - numbnuts at quick lube places tend to strip then regularly and fix them with something hazardous and stupid to cover their tracks. I've seen an oversize bolt cross-treaded into the drain hole, a bigger bolt with a smaller bolt inside, and I've even seen drain bolts held in with silicone (WTF??). The best are the vulgar things seen written on filters sourced from Jiffy Lube.

Every Audi (most VW's, and for the most part all German cars) have a bellypan made of fiber reinforced fiber that covers the entire engine. I once had an 03-04' A4 1.8T come in for a LOF and found the bellypan to be CUT away around the drain hole opening. Mind you, these bellypans are held on by about 6-8 1/2 turn flathead screws. Just goes to show how hack these places are.

Had another shop send a customer away from getting an alignment after getting 4 tires because "something was bent in the rear, and couldn't do an alignment". Found 2 of the 5 rear lug bolts missing on the rear, and both holes stripped out completely. Likely they hoped it would be pinned on the dealer it went to next. After we replaced the hub and put it on the rack we found nothing bent and the alignment in spec.

Remember people, its much better to learn maintenance by yourself than to trust it to someone who would let your car leave with lug nuts missing.

 

After goodyear broke TWO lug studs that we fixed ourselves rather than let them try their luck I'm never using a oil-lube. Seeing as they managed to break lug studs on a car that requires 110 foot pounds of torque, I'm afraid to think what they'll do to a car that only requires 80 foot pounds to tighten. The ONLY thing I'll trust any tire shop to do is mount and balance tires for me. I'll just buy four car jacks, take the tires and borrow a friend's car and take the tires to them and have them touch only that.

 

Well I'd hope so since she is your girlfriend...

 

I plan to never ever go to Jiffy Lube ever again. In a world full of crooks like this, it makes me not want to trust dealers and do everything myself.