Midas

I procrastinated on my poor baby’s maintenance and I had free time finally to do the usual oil change. Dreaded looming experience ended up being pleasant and Merle is bad ass! Fast, informative, efficient service I’ve ever experienced. In and out within the hour. Not pushy on sales but still sold me. Clean bathrooms. Didn’t even get to finish review when he said done. Will be returning. Hit Merle up, way cool dude.

I was very impressed with my visit to Midas. My lady friend’s car didn’t pass inspection but unfortunately they didn’t have a reason. Another business told us they narrowed it down to something having to do with the breaks, but that’s all they could give me. We mad an appointment with Midas and are glad we did. They diagnosed the issue within 15 minutes and repaired it in another 10. Not only that, but they took the time to take us into the bay and SHOW us the problem. Instead of just replacing the brakes, he gave us the option to adjust them for 35 and then replace the brakes later. He then told us to call him just to let him know if it passed inspection and we’d talk about where to go from there. GREAT customer service!

Rip off for sure. Went there with a $ 30 off $ 300 service coupon from the Midas website. Had brakes fixed for almost $ 500. Aaron Hoglund the «manager» REFUSED to take the coupon stating, «We already gave you a deal» and «we can raise the prices on the invoice if you want to use the coupon». Wow! I should have just gone to a shop closer to where I lived. Will NEVER use Midas again for anything and will spread the word.

Buckle up kids, we’re going for a ride. This review may run a little long, but it’s important to hear the whole story about my recent dealings with Midas so grab some beef jerky, sunflower seeds, and crank up the tunes ‘cuz we’re going for a road trip in my pickup truck.
August is the magical time of year for my vehicle ownership. And by magical, of course I mean dreaded. That’s when my registration comes due and it’s time to get my car inspected. This year was the time for not only safety, but also emissions inspection. Since both are pretty routine operations and I’ve taken my truck to Midas for this in years past, I scheduled an appointment (they prefer you do that here) and on the appointed day I dropped it off and was told they’d call me with an update or when it was ready to pick up.
I got a call a few hours later and was told my front thingamabobby looked like it needed to be replaced. You know, tie rods and the whatnot. Since I’ve been taking my truck here on and off for several years and haven’t found them to be overly salesy on unneeded repairs, I told them to go ahead and replace what needed to be replaced so I could pass safety inspection. Four hundred dollars and a few hours later I got a call from Aaron saying my truck was all done being repaired, safety and emissions were done, but that their alignment machine had just broken and they couldn’t perform the alignment. I could come down and pick up the truck, and come back when their machine was fixed. This was Tuesday the 30^th.
So, I picked up my truck (the dash and panel were cleaned — nice touch) and headed out. Immediately I noticed it was riding different. Very loose. About halfway home I approached 35mph and the tires started chirping at me. It was so far out of alignment the tires were fighting each other and every time I hit a bump the steering bounced. I made it home and knew the truck wouldn’t be driveable until it was fixed. With a big event the next day with lots of stuff to haul I was less than thrilled, but a broken alignment machine is a broken alignment machine. Things break, I knew the truck was out of alignment, but they thought it would be driveable and it just wasn’t.
The next day my wife took her car in (August is a big month for vehicles in my house, apparently). When she reappeared back home 20 minutes later I was surprised. Apparently, their emissions tester had also broken and they couldn’t perform the inspection on her car that day. Frustration grows. I spoke with Aaron again to check the status of the alignment machine and he apologized again for both the alignment and the emissions problems. The next day we tried the car again, verified the emissions machine was fixed, and as an apology for all the hassle and inconvenience Aaron performed the safety and emissions tests at no charge. Very appreciated, and the right thing to do.
The next day Aaron called to update me on the status of the alignment machine. Even though the only news was that the manufacturer’s rep wasn’t going to make it out before the Labor Day weekend, I still appreciated the communication. He offered to let me take the truck to another Midas shop in Kearns (Kearns? Magna? I don’t recall.) but since I didn’t want to wrangle it out there and I was busy with other things I declined.
We spoke a couple of times after Labor Day, and long story short, they called on Friday and I was able to come in that afternoon and they performed the alignment. I wasn’t charged for the alignment — again, this goes a long way for my forgiveness — and the truck rides just as it should, good as new.
It was a crappy situation. But Aaron and the crew made the best of it, and here’s why: he gets it. He understands that repairs come and go, but that I’m a guy who’s probably always going to have a car that eventually needs servicing, repairs, and inspections. If I’m charged for an emissions inspection that I had to go there twice to receive, it’s probably the last time I show up. There are just too many other shops out there doing it and while we’ve taken out cars here for many years it’s easy enough to jump ship. If I’m charged for an alignment that takes 10 days to complete, sure as shootin’ I’m out of there for life. Even if it’s free but I have to keep after them I’m probably going to be steamed about it. But they kept in touch and let me know what was going on. Nice work.
Now, if equipment is failing left and right you still may raise an eyebrow. Hopefully it was just a terrible coincidence, but I can guarantee the next time I take my truck in I’ll be calling ahead and asking if everything is clear. But I guess the point is that because of their focus on me as a human customer and not on my wallet, I *will* be calling them again. I’m willing to move cautiously ahead with Midas and hopefully we’ll have nothing but smooth, open road in front of us.

Finding a good car place is HARD and NOT FUN. As you’ll notice, I’m clearly an expert on this subject as I just called it a ‘car place’. Mechanic? Service shop? Car place.
A very long while ago, an overly-​friendly sales guy came to my workplace selling punch cards for a bunch of oil changes, inspection, and emission all for one low price at Midas. With a Midas location close to home AND a current need for all of those services, uncharacteristically, I purchased.
Well, Midas came through. They did a great job, it was a good deal, they made me feel comfortable, they didn’t try to push a bunch of extra stuff on me, and they were nice. So, that’s where I’ve been going for all sorts of ‘car stuff’ ever since.
If you’re looking for a jiffy quick oil change it may not be for you. It’s best to call ahead to see what their schedule looks like and let them know you’re coming. Sometimes they’re swamped, sometimes they’ll get you right in. It really works best to drop your car off early and pick it up later, which may not be the most convenient but I prefer it to waiting.
I would recommend them for repairs and other services as well. They have always been quick to call with the diagnosis and to explain everything very clearly.
Their waiting room is fairly large, relatively un-​stinky, and has a pretty good selection of reading material. Although, as I mentioned, I don’t like to stick around long.
So, while I’m not a ‘car stuff’ expert, they have never made me feel like it and that goes a long way in my book.