Midas Auto Service Experts

I recently came to Midas in Hamden to have some work done on my car, and I must say that I was completely and utterly shocked by the poor reviews given by previous customers on this website. Apparently the store is under new management, and based on what the previous users have posted it seems that the new manager has completely turned the place around. Members of the staff were efficient and professional, fitting me in with just a few hours notice and getting me out within a couple of hours, all at a fair cost of repair. It is too bad that the dissatisfied customers comments cannot be changed, because their experience with this Midas was the polar opposite of my own. Cannot recommend it any higher. more

I had had some poor experiences with this store in the past, but when I saw they had a new manager, I thought I would give them another try. I am so glad I did! The new manager, Rich, was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He worked with my budget and did not try to sell me anything I didn't need. He had them work on my car right away and I was out within the hour. I will definitely return there as long as this manager is in the office. Call ahead and make sure you go there on a day he is there. It's a pleasant location to wait too. Several restaurants and shops right there to occupy myself while the work was being done, and easy on-off access to the highway connector. more

Furthermore, I have never had this sort of problem with my regular mechanic (whom in retrospect I should have gone to in the first place more

I took my car into Midas for a routine brake check. The brakes had been making a sound which suggested to me that the pads needed replacement and, since I had received an inviting coupon from Midas, I decided to give the business a shot. That was, to say the least, a serious error of judgment. Upon receiving an assessment from Mark which was difficult to understand over the phone, in so far as he gave me quote for $226 (for what I am still not sure), which I asked him to itemize. After struggling for a bit to get him to itemize it, he broke it down into two prices of $79 and $158; what these were for I, again, could not get him to state clearly. It seemed, however, that this was the price for the changing of the pads, plus some accessorial work to brake area, such as flushing the system. I told him that I would call him back to consult the price with someone who knows how much these things should cost and, after they agreed that that was a fair price, I called him back intending to approve the job. Before I approved the job (which he prompted me to do several times—eliciting as it would in anybody a certain amount of suspicion), I asked him for a total of the cost (I had to ask twice) and suddenly it had been raised to $507. I became frustrated with what seemed to me a willful act of miscommunication and told him to stop working on the car, even though he had suggested that I would not be able to drive it off. Following the earlier confusion, I of course did not believe this—and promptly went to pick up my car. But when billed I saw that, on top of the brake check, I had been charged for the removal of wheel locks from three wheels, totaling at $99.35. Not only had this price not been explained to me—he then suggested that I had a problem understanding, comparing me to his children. Now, when I came in, he oddly asked me if I was a student, perhaps believing that a “student” would be more susceptible to bullying from a supposed specialist, and indeed although I am a student, I am a graduate student and teacher at Yale University in English Language and Literature. In other words, I feel that my skills for expressing myself and understanding others are quite strong. more

Furthermore, I have never had this sort of problem with my regular mechanic (whom in retrospect I should have gone to in the first place—but, like I said, I was giving Midas a chance). When basically telling him that his assessment of my ability to understand was bull***t, he told me to “go **** myself,” and gave me a complaint number along with what seemed to be a threat if I contacted them, “see what happens.” Obviously, Midas has my address and personal information on file so I have particular cause to be nervous in filing this complaint (even though, I should add, my name was misspelled even though I had spelled it aloud—begging the question of who was having the problem understanding)—but it is necessary that I do so because, when calling the “customer hotline,” I hit another brick wall. Rob, whom I spoke with there, acted surprised to hear a complaint from the Hamden location, even though after looking online I see every consumer awareness site (citysearch, yelp, googlereviews, yahoo reviews, consumeraffairs) has complaints for this particular Midas shop. But, since I was not only complaining about the willful miscommunication and the caustic and threatening environment of “service,” my car was also now making a strange squeak on the front right tire which was not there before, plus was swerving to that right side as if the alignment had been messed up, I was offered to take it for another brake inspection to a nearby Midas shop. Not, I should emphasize, to fix the problem which Midas service had created, but simply to do what I had already done all over again. Reading the reviews for other Midas shops in the area, there is no way that I am going to take my car to another shop (as the kinds of problems that I am complaining about here are evidently systemic to the entire company). I asked Rob if I could have my money back and he flatly refused, saying I had work done on my car and that was that. The notion of a (dis-) satisfied customer was not at all at play in our conversation. Moreover, I was not even given the discount from the coupon which brought me to try Midas out in the first place. That coupon was kept by the store—and I was left with a $99.35 bill for leaving my car with more problems than when I brought it in. The least Midas could do would be to refund what money I paid to be poorly serviced. Trying Midas out was, I reiterate, a serious error of judgment. I will be taking the car to its regular (reliable) mechanic this week and will recommend them to anybody that asks. Their garage is quite full (I will happily wait the few days to bring the car in) while Midas’ looked pretty empty. Can Midas really afford to be losing customers like this? more

I took my car into Midas for a routine brake check. The brakes had been making a sound which suggested to me that the pads needed replacement and, since I had received an inviting coupon from Midas, I decided to give the business a shot. That was, to say the least, a serious error of judgment. Upon receiving an assessment from Mark which was difficult to understand over the phone, in so far as he gave me quote for $226 (for what I am still not sure), which I asked him to itemize. After struggling for a bit to get him to itemize it, he broke it down into two prices of $79 and $158; what these were for I, again, could not get him to state clearly. It seemed, however, that this was the price for the changing of the pads, plus some accessorial work to brake area, such as flushing the system. I told him that I would call him back to consult the price with someone who knows how much these things should cost and, after they agreed that that was a fair price, I called him back intending to approve the job. Before I approved the job (which he prompted me to do several times more

Ok. they deleted every reviews that i wrote about them. I do not know how they did, but they did. I dont feel like to re write two page review about them again, but just do not go there. They put over charge on every where. They do not even check out what the real problem is. They assume you wouldn''t know anythin. They charged me $1000 of oil pump problem but from another place they charged me $270 and it wasnt even ther problem with oil pump but engine coils that this midas has replaced few weeks ago. They over price. They dont know or dont care about real problem. They always ask you to leave a car for them to test drive. They drive with this dirted gloves on and makes your seat and wheel DISGUSTING. Plus they deleted all the reviews i wrote. If they do this once more i might have to sue them or something. DONT GO TO THIS PLACE, trust me you will not get antyhing worth you pay and plus you will even get more problem. Pros: Nothing Cons: SUCK more