I brought my car in for a exhaust check. It sounded a bit noisy beneath the engine. The manager at the MIDAS in Bloomiongton, IL told me that I had had my pipes cut from a previous repair, and that they had been incorrectly welded/bonded back together but that I would need a entire new exhaust system to fix the issue. I said fine, because I'm trying to keep the car in good condition, and paid a little extra for Magnaflow exhaust with mufflers. Imagine my suprise when I discovered (after I had picked up and paid for the repair) that they had not even attempted to fix the problem. All they did was hang the new mufflers and tailpipes and left it at that. They actually gave my car back tot me with the same gaping hole in the exhaust pipes that it had when I brought it back in. I called to dispute and the manager said that he never told me he would fix the problem. WTF? Why would I install an "entire new exhaust system" if it didn't fix the issue of the cut pipe? Basically the manager lied to me to get me to purchase a MUFFLER system. I'm in the process of taking them to small claims and recouping money from my bank because of it. I WILL NEVER GO TO MIDAS AGAIN.

These guys told me that a MAPP sensor would cost me $150. The NAPA truck arrived to deliver the part as I waited. A quick call to the NAPA dealer revealed that their RETAIL/ Joe Customer list price
on the part was $30.
When I called the manager to complain about being charged this much, his response was "When you go to 7-11 to buy a gallon of milk, you pay more though, don't you?"
My response? "Everyone in America knows the price of a gallon of milk- I bet the less that one percent know the price of a MAPP sensor for a four-cylinder Chevy Cavalier!!"
His crafty little response was- "But if you go to 7-11 because it's the only place open late at night, you have to pay more for the convenience."
I told him, "Had I known I was "inconveniencing" you guys to the tune of $120 for having a part delivered, I would have picked the damn thing up myself!!"

November 11, 2008
4302 Newbold CT
Woodbridge, VA 22192-5558



Mr. Craig Trump
6151 A Fuller CT
Alexandria, VA 22310

Dear Mr. Trump,

First, I want to apologize for losing my temper when I called and left a message earlier today. You did not deserve that. You’ve been wonderfully accommodating and understanding.

There is something terribly wrong at your facility in Woodbridge. Rickey is a terrific person but there seems to be a serious problem with the other workers skill levels, attention to detail, pride in their work, and consideration for the customer.

I think it is necessary to itemize everything that occurred to me:

1) Antwone worked on my car with a cell phone in his ear the entire time.
2) He never checked my tire for leaks after he “repaired” it the first time.
3) His plug/patch failed – it must have been done incorrectly
4) One of my lugs snapped off undoubtedly because the nut was cross-threaded when he reinstalled my wheel after “fixing” the flat. He obviously did not start the nut onto the lug with his fingers ensuring the nut was threaded correctly. Instead he used the air wrench and forced the nut regardless of the cross-threaded difficulty.
5) In the morning the tire was flatter than flat.
6) The lug snapped of clean at the base when I went to remove the nut to put on the doughnut spare tire.
7) Rickey decided he had to replace my tire – it wouldn’t hold air – he called for a tire and came within 10 seconds of installing some unknown tire but I caught the mistake only by due diligence and observation.
8) My tire was unavailable and on indefinite backorder – I personally had to find the correct replacement by making one call to Tire Rack.
9) Rickey had an interim replacement installed and the mechanic put over 40 psi in the tire instead of the 35 psi I specified.
10) The correct replacement tire was delivered at 2:11 pm Monday afternoon. Nobody called me. I found out the tire had been delivered by calling Tire Rack just before Noon on Tuesday, November 11, 2008. I had specifically asked Rickey to call me when the tire was delivered. He signed for the tire on Monday.
11) I discovered the directional replacement tire was installed backwards. I had to go back to the shop – again.
12) I have aluminum alloy rims on my car – the same rims I’ve had for close to nine years. I bought this car on February 24, 2000. In those nine years nobody has ever scratched, gouged, or in any way damaged any of my rims – until I took my car to your shop. The rim in question is gouged and scratched.

This is too much to be isolated. There was a woman in the waiting room who had tire work done by your shop. She too had had to come back. The nuts had not been tightened on her lugs.

You’ve got a problem there Craig.

Rickey bent over backwards to make things right – but over and over and over and over – all this trouble just to fix a flat.

Obviously, the muffler work is out of the question.

Sincerely,




George C. Collins