Complaint Review: Midas - Howell New Jersey

My 1999 Dodge Durango needed a heater core. We had the original diagnosis done at Pep Boys because it was the closest place to get it to. After calling a few places, the best price we could get it repaired for was Midas in Howell, NJ. So we brought it in on October 13th. It was supposed to be a 5 hour job. But what it turned into was a nearly month long nightmare!

They called my husband on the 14th to say that they hadn't the job yet. They were waiting to have their "best" mechanic work on it so that the job would be done right. They then called on October 16th to say that it was completed and we could go pick it up. I went within an hour of that phone call to get it. The manager didn't give me the key until after I paid them. As soon as I got into the car I noticed something was wrong.

On the bottom center of the dashboard, where it meets the carpeting, a plastic cover was missing. So it was now exposed metal. I put my key into the ignition and turned it on and attempted to move the shifter, located on the steering column, into drive. It wouldn't budge. The orange indicator was not even showing up in park. The manager, Mike, came out to try it. He then forced it out of park and tried saying it was fine. I had to argue with him to fix it since they had to take the steering column out to fix the heater core. Obviously, they didn't put it back in right.

Mike then called on October 19th to say that it was ready. I went there with my mother to check it. It still was not fixed. Instead of clicking into gears it would just slide between P,R,N,D,1 and 2. It wouldn't lock into them and the orange indicator to show what you are in was not showing up in any of them. He said it was fine and was viciously moving the shift around and being very arrogant towards me and my mother. We left and went back with my father. The manager then told us that he would try fixing it again.

That night my husband received a phone call from Mike stating that he thinks he figured out the problem and that a cable was needed in the steering column. I went back to Midas on October 20th to see what was going on. As soon as I drove up I could see something was wrong. My driver side door had a huge gash in it and they were already attempting to fill it in with bondo. Mike tried to assure me that it was nothing more than a scratch and that another customer had opened their car door on the truck. I told him not to do anything else to the door until I was opened to photograph the damage. Mike then told me that he would not be repairing the door, but they would be sending it to a local auto body facility for the repairs to be done. He said he just needed to put the cable in and fix that and it would be sent over to the auto body place. He also said that there were problems because "someone" installed a security system. That security system came FACTORY INSTALLED with the truck.

On October 21st I went back to Midas to take the photos of the door. When I went there I discovered that they had filled in the gash and covered it with a similar paint. So the full extent of the damage was not documented. The District Manager, Rob, was also there at this point. He told me that there was no cable ordered or put on. He also said that he would personally be working on the truck from that point on. I had expected things to be fixed but they just turned into a deeper nightmare.

On October 24th, Rob called to say that the steering was fixed and that we could take the truck for the weekend. He said they wouldn't be able to get it over to the auto body facility until October 27th. My husband went over to pick it up. This is when we discovered just how many other problems there were. My husband brought the truck home and I went out to look at it. These are the problems: Interior lights didn't work, no heating or a/c, door locks didn't work,  when you hit the door locks the lights on the heating and a/c controls would light up, when you played with the heating and a/c controls the interior lights would come on and you can dim them with the same controls, parts of the backing on the dashboard were broken off, they "lost" part of the bottom piece of the dashboard.

We brought the truck back to midas on October 27th and explained to Rob all of the issues. He first attempted to blow it off as another issue all together. Then said he would try to fix it. The truck was then brought to the auto body facility on November 2nd. Midas called on November 5th to say that my truck was all ready to be picked up. I went that day to pick it up. I asked Mike what the compensation would be since we had already discussed that we would be getting something. He said he didn't know and that Rob would call. I get in the car and discovered that it still was not right.

Now, the factory cigarette lighter was gone and replaced with a used plain one that does not fit right. The missing part of the dashboard is still not replaced. The interior lights still do not work properly. The steering column is still not fixed right. The shift is still not fixed right. The door locks still do not work and I discovered that my front passenger door panel was taken off and it is very obviously glued on. The power outlets also are not getting any power to them. After reporting this to mike I took the truck home and spoke with my husband.

We called Midas again on November 7th. after not hearing from Rob like we were supposed to. I again asked them for the paperwork showing what else was done to my vehicle. I was told by Rob that I do not need any paperwork and that he doesn't have to give me anything. He told me that he fixed the truck and that was that. I informed him my truck is not fixed and that I need some sort of proof of what was done to the truck and how long the truck was there for. It turned into me going down there with my husband and having to call the police because they refused to give me any type of receipt. Now, I at least have a police report of how long the truck was there for.

I have to take my truck to the dodge dealership to have an estimate done of how much it will cost to fix the things they broke on my truck. I will have to take them to court to force them to pay for the repairs. I have a 3 year old to drive around in this truck and I don't even know if it's safe to drive. This is the only vehicle I have!