Midtown Tire & Auto Service

Ugh. My fantastic, 4 star experience went south in less than 24 hours.
I just received a call from someone at the shop telling me my four star review wasn’t good enough for them. My original review remains unchanged, if you want to take a look. Like I told the man on the phone, that is not a good way to do business with Unilocal reviewers, and when calling someone about their review, you need to be extremely careful in the way you word things – are you calling to try and fix my experience, or are you calling to try and change my review?
They called me because, and I quote verbatim, «the owner was concerned about a negative review.» Since when has a glowing four star review with only one complaint been negative? Anyway, I have zero interest in doing further business with anyone who thinks they’re perfect and cannot handle criticism about their pricing model. But, I’ll be the good little customer they expected, and point out that they say they’re willing to price match written estimates, and they have coupons on their website. Fair points, for sure.
There are far, far worse places you could take your car. No doubt. Prior to my phone call, they would have been second on my list of places to go. Thanks to this shitty so-​called customer service, they’ll never see me again. If you go here, check their website for coupons first, before you get taken for $ 40 for a 5 qt conventional oil change (for example), or diagnostics starting at $ 119.

Do not ever trust them. I went in for a safety and emissions inspection and they try to tell me something was wrong with a car. Its kinda strange that the car never had any problems until magically when I can to this shop it starts having problems. Made me wait 3 hours for an inspections and made me come back a second time for old wiper blades.

I had a bad tire/​rim problem that I needed fixed ASAP for work. Because of my schedule, I was extremely stressed, but Bill (who I dropped off my car with), was calmingly efficient. Later I wasn’t able to pick up the car right away, but staff were very agreeable to having me pick up the vehicle when I could, which was about a day or two later. When I finally was able to get there, I called ahead saying it looked like I wouldn’t get there until closing time exactly, which I felt super guilty about, but Dave said he’d be there, and he was (incidentally, helping another later customer).
Midtown Tire & Auto got the job done seemingly quickly and well, for a very reasonable fee.

This place is OK at best. They don’t take reservations for safety and emissions inspection. When I dropped by car off this AM at 8, the clerk said the would need the car «all day» for testing which was a little inconvenient. They ended up finishing at noon and I could have picked up my car at lunch if I’d been given the heads up, but I had to leave work earlier to fetch the car by five. The clerk was gruff, although the owner was nice. Then, my car failed the safety check, which I was never informed about (not an the gruff voicemail or when I picked up my car) and won’t have known if I didn’t look at the paperwork myself prior to leaving. It’s close to my place, so it’s convenient in location only. I won’t be back.

I absolutely NOT recommend this shop. Two years ago, I was new to town and had a flat tire first time in my life but was lucky enough to have someone help on installing a spare tire for me.
And I drove to this nearest tire shop.
Guess how much they charged for just one tire for 2004 Camry?
$ 340…
Such a rip-​off. They let me know of the price after everything was done.
i wish I could give them ZERO star.

quick service and fixed right the first time

These guys don’t give you appointments and told me to come at 7:30 AM, as they take cars in on a first come, first serve basis. I showed up at 7:30 the following morning for an emissions and safety inspection and the guy at the front desk told me he couldn’t give me my car back till the end of the day! Go here if you can leave your car at their disposal for however long they want. not to mention the front desk person was very rude. The mechanics might be great but they need to learn how to treat their customers properly. I am never gong back.

I had a terrible experience. The man at the front was rude, irritable, and short with his words. He gave me an estimate for $ 1,000, so I took my car somewhere else to get a second opinion and had it fixed for $ 499. Stay clear of this business.

Trustworthy, but we got a guy at the counter who was quite rude. He kept behaving as if he didn’t have the patience for poor souls who didn’t know all there was to know about car tires. A little bit off-​putting — but their service was efficient.

I wish I had known about this auto shop when I moved to the Central West End a year ago. I didn’t know anyone in St Louis yet, so I ended up driving half an hour away to an auto shop that consistently ripped me off. It seemed pointless to switch mechanics because I just assumed all auto shops would take advantage of a young guy who doesn’t know much about fixing /​maintaining an old car.
Midtown Tire & Auto Service was a pleasant surprise. Walking distance from home and a one-​stop shop for all my needs. The mechanics understood my car, and they understood my needs — to make my car safe enough to drive so that I can use it for one more year before I sell it. Thanks to this auto shop, my car and wallet are in much better shape.

A trustworthy mechanic. They let me know light was not service related and just came on as a reminder for my oil change. My car was due for service soon, so while they were under the hood, they wrote down the services I would actually need (out of that long list of crap that you’re ‘supposed’ to get done). I really appreciated that they
didn’t make up some expensive repair that needed to be done, and they just told me my oil needed to be changed.

My front brakes were making that horrible, teeth-​gritting, scraping sound that I’ve dubbed, «roll of thunder, hear my cry,» and I was off to Chicago in less than 24 hours. So, I Googled auto repairs near where I work in the CWE and hoped for the best. Well, I got the best for sure! I called Midtown right when they opened and asked, «I know I need at least new front brake pads, if I bring my car in within the hour, will it be ready by 3 p.m.?» «Absolutely,» the man replied.
When I arrived at Midtown, the man behind the counter – Dave, I think – listened to me and asked me questions and continued to listen. I mean, he could have been a model for quality patient care with the Affordable Care Act! I usually feel totally disrespected by auto repairs guys, they’re all like, «sweet heart,» and stuff, and I usually resort to invoking my dad. Dave, however, listened to me and showed respect.
They offered to drive me to work, which I totally appreciated as well. I chose to walk, since I work only about 5 blocks away, but it was still a great gesture and good to know. Within an hour they called me back, explained everything that needed to be fixed, and 2 hours after that, they were done!
When I arrived, Dave knew immediately who I was and told me right away to give myself about 15% more braking space for the first 20 brakes. He remembered that I was driving to Chicago and told me about how much he loves the Hard Rock Café there. He even searched their website and found me a coupon, which covered the sales tax.
I will definitely return to Midtown Tire & Auto Service, which will be in about 5,000 miles – that’s when my rear brake pads are going to need to be replaced.

I went here for my safety inspection in the morning before class at 9:00am, but they were unfortunately booked and wouldn’t be done until 10:30am, which was when I had class. So I came back the same day after class at 2:30 to try to get an inspection. They do not allow appointments for safety inspections, so I had to keep stopping by to see when they could fit me in. The man at the front desk told me at 2:30pm that they wouldn’t be done until 5:30pm with the safety inspection. 3 hours for a safety inspection? I decided to wait instead of coming back once again, because I didn’t keep coming back again and again. I’m giving 3 stars because they finished early around t 4:00pm instead of 5:30pm. However, the man at the front desk rudely told me that they don’t make appointments and I should’ve planned for 3 hours (not just 1 – 2 hours), when I asked him how long it would take. This contrasts with my visit to Columbia Auto Repair for a safety inspection, where they were courteous and polite and told me they would fit me in as soon as possible. I still waited 1.5 hours at Columbia Auto Repair (Which is about the same time as Midtown), and I expected this for a safety test, but they were nice about it. If you go to Midtown Auto for a safety inspection, go at 7:30am when they open so you can be fist in line… or go to Columbia Auto Repair because they allow you to make appointments, and they are nice to you when you ask how long it will take.

I had a nail in my tire on Monday…
These guys were super fast and the price was incredible.
I will definately be back.

Auto shops are so far removed from my league of knowledge I have trouble reviewing them, but I can certainly say that Midtown Tire & Auto has done a good job of being reliable and friendly while not going out of its way to rip me off.
I’ve brought my car in here a few times; last time it was to have my battery replaced after I left it in the garage for almost a whole winter month. The whole procedure cost $ 170, but that included the battery, installation, some minimal repair work, as well as a $ 30 diagnostic on the battery to make sure nothing else was going on. That’s more than I expected to spend, but at least the car is up and running again.
Customer service always seems decent here, too. They generally call in to let you know about what they’ve found and what they’re looking to do to your vehicle. My battery job was completed in a day.
Thanks, Midtown!

I’m currently an out of town student at Slu. I have used this auto shop probably 10 times over the last 3 years. Most of the time its for inspections, or minor tire repairs.
This week I took my vehicle in because I wanted to get the tires replaced. They gave me a quote and guarantee me that it was the cheapest price. I looked at other places like Dobbs and Sears who were around $ 90.00 more then Midtown.
I took my car back later that day to get the work done. They were quick and guaranteed them just like other places for less money

These guys are great! I had to get a yearly inspection for safety and smog, and saw a review on this place (on another website). I decided to there since it was close to my place.
They are great, affordable and were able to see me right away. They are usually busy, but I went on a hot Friday afternoon.
Also, they give discounts to students on a few services!

great service at a great price. I don’t need tires often, but if we’re still in St. Louis when the Corolla hits 135,000 miles, I’ll be back for new Coopers.