simon@asylum.DEC (03/23/84)
I have seen other complaints about AAMCO and MIDAS. I was not burned by them, but I watched a very sleezy operation at the SEARS automotive center at Burlington Mall in Burlington, Ma. What they would do is this; You would drop your car off for something like a lube and oil change. The receptionist (or whoever) would ask if there was a place someone could be reached with questions if you were not around. Usually, a home number would be provided and you'd go shop. SEARS would then immediately call the number you gave them and say something like "Mr so and so, this is SEARS automotive center. Your wife left her car here and it needs a brake job and a new engine. May we have your permission to do the work?". Mr so and so gives permission. You finish your shopping and wander back to find that $25 of work is now $500. I may be exaggerating, but you get the idea. Fortunately, I live alone and they never could pull that on me. If you were careful to limit their activity, SEARS was average. Has anyone else had experiences like this?
ksh@cbosgd.UUCP (Karen Summers-Horton) (03/23/84)
My experience was with a K-Mart Auto Shop. We took our Ford LTD in for a front wheel alignment (or I should say I took it in - my husband stayed at home). While waiting for someone to wait on me, I heard the mechanic talking to the woman in front of me - he told her she need a new front end on the car (tie rods, wheel bearings - the works) because look at the way her front tires jiggled when his 250 pound body hung from them. She said she would have to call her husband about spending $250. Then he put my car up on the rack (not knowing I had listened to him talking to the other woman) and proceeded to tell me EXACTLY the same thing - word for word. He couldn't understand why I wanted him to put my car down and let me out of there. K-Mart Auto Shops aren't in business in this part of the country anymore - thank goodness! Karen Summers-Horton
ted@teldata.UUCP (Ted Becker) (03/26/84)
******** My experience with Sears was not as bad but when I had them mount some tires I had bought they came back with a horror story about the condition of the disk brake pads on the front wheels of my car and wanted to replace them at a cost of $60 to $80. I declined and said I would get them fixed later. When I replaced them the old pads where nowhere near the dire condition described by the Sears mechanic and probably would have lasted another 10k Miles. I have been to Midas twice (actually my wife once and me once) and both times were treated very well. My wife took our then 6 year old Fiat in expecting to have the entire exhaust system replaced and they told her it wasn't necessary and just replaced the muffler and a tail-pipe hanger. When took my 1965 Jeep truck in they suggested using a cheaper alternative to the standard muffler recommended for tha vehicle.
knutson@ut-ngp.UUCP (03/28/84)
I have had similar experiences with Rip-Off Shops. My Capri had a front
end shimmy that I was having a hard time fixing. I had put Koni shocks
and solid bushings on for autocrossing about two years earlier. I finally
took it in and they told me I needed new shocks (hah, you can't bounce the
front end) tie rod bushings and struts. I let them change the tie rod
bushings and I replaced the other bushings with rubber ones. The car
ran great after that.
--
Jim Knutson
ARPA: knutson@ut-ngp
UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,kpno,ctvax}!ut-sally!ut-ngp!knutson