Skip to main content

Beware of "Midas"

A couple of weeks ago I had my breaks inspected by a "Midas" shop because of an annoying noise. They told me that pretty much everything was in extreme bad conditions and that I needed to replace calipers, rotors, break pads, etc…all for about $1500. The diagnostic made me quite suspicious since I had the car inspected a month before and the breaks were in good conditions. So I took my car to a Firestone shop and guess what? The breaks were in perfect conditions; my breaks were in almost “brand new” conditions according to the mechanics; to get rid of the sound they did had to resurface the rear rotors for about $120 but told me that it was strictly optional, that my breaks were in perfect working conditions. I agreed to resurface the rotors and the noise is gone now; I’m pretty happy with the Firestone service and will probably take my car to them every time I need servicing

So, beware of Midas. By doing a bit more research online (which I should have done before going with them in the first place) I found that it seems to be a common practice of Midas shops to tell you that you need to do a bunch of expensive repairs when, in fact, your car might be in pretty good shape.

Before agreeing to do any expensive repair, take your car to another shop and get a second opinion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving bucks by keeping your heater warm

When I first heard the suggestion of putting a blanket around my heater I thought: what??!!! After painfully findind that indeed our apartment water heater is an electric one (I know, I should have noticed it before duhh! ) and receiving 100+ dollars bills each month for electricity I decided to dig into the blanket suggestion. It turns out that there are special blankets (jackets) for water heaters that make them be more efficient and reduce the consumption of electricity (supposedly). So my wife and I decided to purchase one in home depot... hopefully our electricity bill will get reduced a bit.
3 comments
Read more

Giving lessons using a digital whiteboard

This simple tutorial will show you how to use and share a digital whiteboard to give remote lessons. A word of advice upfront: be patient . This is a simple process and you can get going very quick, depending on your approach and existing hardware, but it may also take time. Think about this as an investment to help you deliver more effective remote learning; so set aside a couple of hours to learn, try, relearn and try again :)   Step 1. Install or access a whiteboard app If you Google "whiteboard application" you will get lots of alternatives. Pick the one that best suites your needs. For this tutorial I picked Microsoft Whiteboard . Step 2. Learn how to use a whiteboard app Launch the whiteboard app and familiarize yourself with its tools. You will see ways to draw, insert images, etc.  Click around and see what each tool does. Spend as much time as you need to feel comfortable. Think about this tool similar to how you think about Word and Excel, you need to learn the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ziply Fiber Rocks - Just be Patient

We recently switched from Comcast to Ziply.  Blazing fast speeds for about half the price. There is a key to success though:  Patience . On January 9th, I scheduled a Ziply installation for January 16th.  The process took several visits to complete and even though Ziply tells you it can take several visits, there were a couple of snafus along the way that overcomplicated things and required deep breathing ;)  January 12. NetVision, a contractor hired by Ziply, checked if we had "conduit" to our home. We did not so one would have to be buried and that would require another visit.  January 15th. Got a call from Ziply letting me know that a technician would be next day to install the service (not bury the cable). I told them I was under the impression we didn't have conduit yet but the rep said that it was ok and the technician would figure it out January 16th. The Ziply technician came and sure enough, told me I didn't have conduit yet so he couldn't do anything....
Post a Comment
Read more