Meineke or Midas or ??? for brake work?
Will Adams
to decide between Meineke and Midas. Is their life-time guarantee on the
pads worth anything? How do they compare on things like customer service,
etc.? Are there others I should consider? Any recommendations would be
appreciated.
Thanks, Will Adams
Saxon Brown
NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo!!!!!
Don't do it!!!!! Don't fall for it!!!!
I'll give you the skinny on the Midas brake story, and I doubt that
Meineke is much different. This is my story about the Midas on 30th
street at Walnut.
I will intersperse the recommendation with my own experiences, so that
you can know how I came by this information.
Okay... back in 1995, I spent over $950 on my brakes at Midas. I had it
all done- brake pads, pad shims, shoes, grease seals, drums, discs,
rotors, calipers (x2), master cylinders 1 front, 2 rear. ( I dug up the
receipt, which I am religious about keeping) Suddenly, in feb '98- no
warning, I was driving my car back from telluride, and my brakes failed-
no warning, no nothing. It was VERY frightening. The pedal went to the
floor, and went clickclickclickclickclickclick as I attempted to brake.
This was less than 20,000 miles after the big repair in '95. Ask ANYONE
who is a decent mechanic how long a total brake job should last, and
they'll tell you at least 40,000 miles.
Of course, I took it to Midas, because I had this "lifetime waranty" for
the pads and shoes. Guess what? Midas said that I needed $600 worth of
work- AFTER the "guarantee". Why? I "NEEDED" new pads and shoes of
course, but also new grease seals, new drums, new rotors. What was
"recommended that get fixed" was: shims, "hardware kits" rotors,
calipers, drum hardware kits.
In 20,000 miles? I picked my car up and took it for a second opinion at
a mechanic that I had used for engine work and had excellent,
responsible results from (this is a 1984 full-sized Ford Bronco, not
exactly the hey-day of American car manufacture)- I knew that he would
give me the story, and here it is.
Have you ever had your rotors machined? Basically it removes the
grooves that have worn into your rotors, a natural thing. Keep this in
mind.
Midas pads/shoes have no "squealers", which are bits of metal in the
pads that, well, squeal when the pads wear. You've heard it- but not in
Midas brakes. Why don't they have squealers? Because they WANT your
pads and shoes to wear into your rotors and groove them- WHY? Because
they buy cheap rotors, which they then machine to within a few
millimeters (whatever the minimun width is) *before* they put them on
your car. That way, when you groove your rotors, you CANNOT get them
machined (which is about $20 bucks)- they are already too thin-
convenient, eh- the rotors- sans labor are $75.00 each- My car has
rotors on the front and drums on the back.
Midas also charges you to machine the new rotors when they install
them- It's right on my bill- new rotors-$150, and machining my REAR
rotors- $20.00- guess what- I don't have rotors on my rears! Good
rotors should be able to be machined about 3 times. Midas rotors can be
machined... well, quoth the raven, nevermore. They were usually warped
to begin with (cheap rotors from overseas). By the way, I got American
rotors for 61 dollars from an excellent mechanic- with room for
machining (I'm not diggin on foreign vs. American, but my point is that
the standards and materials are different- i.e. aluminum vs steel, and
they don't have to undergo the same shipping, and warping potential).
BUT... and here's the real problem- the thing that was actually wrong
with my brakes was the calipers- remember an "optional" item for fixing,
according to Midas- because they wanted me to be stupid enough to come
back when the bad calipers ruined the next set of cheap-ass pads and
shoes that they graciously installed for the next $600 bucks. Whoohoo.
So- I hope that this in some way explains that scam that Midas runs- ask
anyone- brakes should not fail in 20K miles- I don't ride my brakes down
hills- I am a faithful downshifter that had the coolest brakes of the
day at the checkpoint on Pikes Peak. PLease- if you have a good
mechanic- go there- If you don't, Go up to Auto-Motion on N. Broadway
and have a chat with them.
Saxon
RAMole
I've had good luck with Meineke. I've heard many stories of villians telling
young girls they needed new pads, rotors and callipers, all for $600. (Most
people have never heard of needing callipers, ever.)
I was waiting for a muffler at Meineke and heard them quote $215 for the same
work -- but I don't think they usually say you need callipers. Anyway, I don't
think they rip you off. In fact, they and the Amoco station at 9th and Canyon
are two places I believe to be capable and honest, and I think there are many
places that aren't. Not that these are the only two good places, just the only
two I know.
Hope this helps,
Alan Mole
Alan Mole
Daniel Packman
RAMole <ram...@aol.com> wrote:
>Hi:
>
>... I've heard many stories of villians telling
>young girls they needed new pads, rotors and callipers, all for $600. (Most
>people have never heard of needing callipers, ever.)
Too true. I've heard this of many sleazy gynecologists in the area.
Oh, you meant their *cars*....
Never mind.