Word of advice/ warning!

[oldsoldier]

Any one here considering / planning on having any vehicle exhaust work done on your vehicle(s) PLEASE avoid midas!! Before we went to the cabin for vacation I had them replace the exhaust on my 92 cherokee. The used a defective muffler on it and......281.jpg

[oldsoldier]

We were lucky, Wife and dogs got out okay which was the most important thing! Plus having a fire extinguisher allowed me to slow the fire enough to disconnect my trailer and get most of my gear out of the vehicle. I wasn't able to get the gear ( tent, sleeping bags, blankets and such) out of the topper or my electronics ( CB, ham radio and such) from the drivers area. But that's all replaceable. I contacted the shop that did the work the nexr day ( fire happened a week abo last sunday) and politely asked the owner what Midas policy is after explaining what happened and telling him the FD said a defective muffler was the cause. His reaction.......................??

A laugh and a " Good luck proving anything in court a$$hole and hanging up on me.
I have contacted Midas corporate as well as the BBB the state attorney generals office as well as a lawyer am just waiting on a call back from their corporate office.

[Sparky93]

Wow what a fire, glad everybody was okay! What an A-hole, that is not a way to conduct a business let alone talk to another person! The guy at the local auto shop is a;ways there for about an hour after they close up shop, if he see's you walk up to the door he'll unlock it and get what you need. My truck has a fire extinguisher in it close enough the driver can touch it, and almost caught on fire one time cause the dern chipmunks stuffed the heater full of crud. Luckily it just smoldered cause the mechanic said where the heater box is there is no way to put the fire out and would of probably burnt the truck to the ground. And I can see why after cleaning all the crud out, they had it packed full!

I hope you get this straightened out, and the Midas guy aught to lose his job for talking to a customer like that!

[Rick]

I know how much gear you had in there. I'm glad you got most of it out. Hopefully, insurance will cover the loss to the vehicle and some of the stuff inside but it will probably be a stipend. Sadly, you'll have to weigh the cost of the attorney and civil litigation to what your loss is over and above the insurance. Suing on principle can get expensive and any money recovered will go to reimbursing the insurance company first.

I wouldn't denigrate a corporation based on the action of a single employee either. Any company could sell a defective product. I doubt you'll get much satisfaction from their corporate office, though. They've probably dealt with this situation before. Time will tell I guess. I would certainly report the actions of that employee to corporate. That could have and should have been handled much differently.

I'm glad everyone got out okay. As you said, that's the main thing. "Stuff" can be replaced even if it is a pain the tush to do it. It broke my heart to look at that picture. I just remember how much was in there.

[crashdive123]

Glad you and your family are safe. Hopefully the employee will be a former employee. I hope it all gets worked out for you.

[gryffynklm]

Glad everyone is OK. Sad to hear of the fire.

[Sarge47]

1st, just let me say that I'm glad everybody got out safely. 2nd, if you sue the bast*ard then remember to sue for enough to also reimburse the insurance company as well as your losses. Perhaps you can prove mental trauma as a result of the fire. That "anus" cannot predict what will happen in court, but juries usually find for the single person over a company. 3rd, "word-of-mouth" advertising can either be a blessing or a curse! Negative criticism goes farther than positive. Word-of-mouth advertising can make or break a buisness. Good hunting in your endeavors, hope you bring the bas*tard down!

[jake abraham]

sorry about the lost ,glad your family safe

[natertot]

Glad everyone is okay.

If it were me, I'd file a suit in small claims court providing a copy of the receipt of the work done to the vehicle and documentation from the FD stating that it was the muffler. Most companies will just pay out at that point because it is cheaper then to send out a lawyer and fight it. It is also beneficial to a company to pay out because a pay out doesn't reflect as an actual lawsuit on public record. In fact, it doesn't show up on records at all except the court record and usually will state "dismissed" on the disposition. You get the $$$$ and they still get screwed, just not as badly, but your chances for a desireable outcome increase!

[SARKY]

I agree, small claims court is the way to start out. If that doesn't work out, make hundreds of posters with the photo of your car, stating what happened and post them everywhere. I would also post on facebook (it might go viral) that will put their feet to the fire.

[oldsoldier]

Rick, thanks unfortionattly since the jeep was a 92 it only had liability insurance on it so I won't get anything there. Have discussed the situation with the state atty, generals office and they said if midas doesn't make good they will see thst they regret not doing so.

Crash the guy I spoke with is the OWNER of both local shops. So Unless midas pulls his franchise he won't lose his job.

Everyone else thanks for the good words, we appreciate it. Just a matter of wait and see for now.

[hunter63]

Wow, that really sucks....glad y'all are OK...... but that really sucks.......

[crashdive123]

If you proceed and it gets big enough, I would think that corporate doesn't want the bad press it would generate. This sounds like the perfect story for the local news stations and their consumer advocates.

[Winter]

I think Midas should buy you a nice ranch.

[Winnie]

Well, good to hear everyone is safe.

[Rick]

I hope you win a LOT of money from them.......Cousin, Don.

[Wildthang]

The owner of that Midas shop needs his azz kicked until his nose bleeds! I am just glad you and your family are OK!

[oldsoldier]

I hope you win a LOT of money from them.......Cousin, Don.

Tell ya' what cousin Rick...... If I get a big pay-off I'll sponser the next jamboree!

[Wildthang]

You know, that guy put the lives of your family as risk, and he deserves to learn a lesson as far as I am concerned. I would be the owner of a Midas shop if that happened to me. I dont beleive in suing people for just anything, but when that guy made that remark on the phone, that opened the door for some serious retaliation!
Wring him out like an old rag Oldsoldier!

[Rick]

To heck with the jamboree, sent the money....I mean, that would be great.