Ken S.
"Rip-Off" Isn't Nearly Strong Enough
The Midas location at 6021 San Mateo, Albuquerque, NM 87109, charged my wife $700 for a battery, instead of replacing the failed alternator that AutoZone had already diagnosed as the problem. It was a Saturday, and the battery icon lit up on my wife's Durango. She was 500 miles into a 1300 mile trip, and was alone. On my advice, she went to AutoZone, where they diagnosed it (for free) as a failed alternator. Midas was the only place open on a Saturday, and they said they could replace her alternator, so she went to them. Once there, she asked for the alternator to be replaced, and explained why. Instead, they did their own $170 diagnosis, and said that no, the problem was the 4-year-old AC Delco Gold battery instead. And they said they'd have to remove the front passenger seat from the Durango to replace it. My wife put me on the phone and I told them that I'd personally replaced the battery, easily, without removing the seat. Regardless, Midas stuck to their claim. Midas had my wife in a bad position - she has ligament damage in her wrist and could not replace the battery herself - and they milked it for over $700. $260 for the battery, $170 for the (incorrect) diagnosis, $170 to install the battery, and $51 for "shop supplies". That's bad enough, but the real kicker is that after the Durango had run as far as it could on the new battery, she got stranded because the problem was never the battery - it was the alternator, as AutoZone had said. I replaced the alternator, and it permanently fixed the problem (over 1000 miles driven confirms it). Needless to say, I'm mad as hell about this sorry experience, and I will be pursuing every available avenue to force them to make it right.