Midas Ridiculous and Could've Been a Potential Lawsuit Hoover Alabama

Took my CRV for an inspection at my nearest Honda dealership. Learned I needed the outer tie rod ends done, among a couple of other things. So I shopped around for cheaper prices and came across Midas in Hoover, AL. Took my 2000 CRV to have the radiator and outer tie rod ends replaced/repaired and an alignment done on January 29, 2015. A week ago or so I noticed something was off with the ride of my vehicle. It would pull and had a slipping feel when turning and braking and just driving in general. It worsened and I felt I shouldn’t be driving it. I started thinking I needed to take it back to Midas because something wasn’t right with the steering and suspension (which they’d “repaired”). On February 23, 2015, I cranked the car up to leave work and the steering wheel loosened and turned far right on its own. Called AAA to have my baby towed. The AAA guy instantly diagnosed it and said the tie rod wasn’t done right. The pin wasn’t inserted in the tie rod end. We found the bolt that came off in the parking lot.

All three AAA guys diagnosed the problem and confirmed about Midas improperly installing the outer tie rod ends. One even said that could be a lawsuit and Midas would eat the cost. Had I drove home, that could have been my life on the road. My baby was towed home on a flatbed and then towed straight to Midas the next morning on February 24, 2015. I was not confident in Midas working on my CRV again. Especially since they didn’t do the job right the first time and it had to be done again. And on top of that, the same technician from the first time ended up working on my car this time around. They apologized and claimed the part was defective. I seriously doubt that. This was completely their fault. Point blank.

And to top it all off, that same technician (initials TT, according to my invoice, I believe) that worked on my car both times and drove it out afterwards, stole $20 from my ashtray compartment. He reached down and picked something up off the floor and got out of my car while putting something in his pocket. We caught it before leaving and went back to confront the guy, a short white male that looked to be in his 30s maybe; thick southern drawl. They compensated my stolen possession…with the exact money he stole from my vehicle -- minutes before. We made a little scene about it. It’s the principle of the matter. I usually take my stuff out of my car when having it worked on or having it in the care of someone else. But I failed to completely take all my significant possessions out…like my frikin’ gas money left in the ashtray. Another technician informed us that that wasn’t the first time something like that happened around there and that ‘we didn’t hear that from him’.

So not only does Midas not properly repair parts on a car, they also search it and steal possessions. I’m not confident in the repairing of their wrongdoing. I’m wondering if something else might go wrong. Their credibility is shot with me. I actually feel I should be refunded the cost for labor, if not the whole amount. And since it was a "defective part," they should refund me the cost for parts since the problem had to be fixed (and hopefully it actually is this time and nothing else goes wrong from them working on it). I will be going to the home office about this. I will reach out to corporate about this. I will review the hell out of this Midas location. A situation like mine was potentially life-threatening and a definite lawsuit waiting to happen. They will not be getting my business.