I would like to submit a formal complaint against Mr. Sam Ayoubia, Independent Owner of Midas located at 3149 South Broad Street, Hamilton Twp., NJ 08610. I own a 2004 Mitsubishi Galant which I pride myself on continuous and timely maintenance and keeping my car looking and running fabulously! I had an appointment for brake pad replacement of the front end of my vehicle Saturday, December 10th, 2011 @ 8:00 am. At Midas in Hamilton Twp., NJ. A week prior to this appointment, I had severe frontal vibration when I stopped my vehicle. I initially went to the Mitsubishi dealership first and let them assess my vehicle. I was informed there was an issue with the front rotors and that my pads on the front were half worn. They indicated the rear break pads and rotors are fine. I instructed the dealership mechanic to replace the front rotors but I would take my vehicle to Midas because I have the Lifetime Pad replacement warranty. I really don’t care for the pads they utilize at the my dealership because they produced so much noise upon stopping, which is what prompted me to go to Midas in the past and continue a business relationship, the quality of the pads are great!
I arrived at Midas for my appointment and the mechanic began their brake analysis. Mr. Ayoubia asked me to come into the garage. He began to point out that the rotors that were placed on my vehicle were after market rotors and therefore, does not meet their specifications. At this point, he advised that this voided my warranty and in order for me to take advantage of the pad warranty, I would have to remove those new rotors, take them back to the dealership, seek a refund and allow Midas to replace the rotors at cost for the rotors and labor; the pads would be free but would have to pay for labor. The funny thing is, had I removed those rotors, was he not going to replace them, (if he really replaced them), with after market rotors? Mr. Ayoubia stressed that putting new pads on my vehicle with those after market rotors would be a liability for him and he was not going to take that chance. Mr. Ayoubia further advised that my rear rotors and brake pads had signs of visual and severe rust; I would need to replace the pads and rotors on the rear as well. He had not disassembled the brake pad to even show me wear and problem with rust, he was pointing at the exterior of the brakes and rotor, on the left side of the vehicle only, and the right tire still on. In addition, I had just had a full inspection of the brakes system at my dealership one week prior. They confirmed everything was fine with the exception of the front rotors and the front pads being half worn. When I informed Mr. Ayoubia of that, he just stuttered and mumbled some incoherent language but what I got from it was there was no real explanation for why he was advising me to do all of this on my vehicle other than to make money off a woman coming into his shop alone for maintenance.
I have attached the quote that Mr. Ayoubia provided to me. I denied all the service and left the store smelling an attempted rip off and also unfair business practices.
I went home and contacted the Midas location located at 2290 East Lincoln Hwy., Langhorne, PA. 19047 and spoke with Louis. He was very kind and asked me to come in that afternoon and he would do everything he could to assist me. After arriving, Louis asked to see my previous Midas maintenance records to verify warranty and I had brake pads within an hour. Louis apologized profusely for Mr. Ayoubia’s “service”. He informed me that Midas Lifetime Break Pad Replacement Warranty covers pads for the lifetime of ownership of the vehicle, regardless of where the owner gets rotors from. He also informed me there was no liability whatsoever with replacing those pads as Mr. Ayoubia stressed. It appears that was his attempt to get out of the brake pad replacement warranty and walk away with additional dollars to boot. Louis advised me to write a letter of complaint to corporate office and I took that advice, in addition to lodging complaints on several websites and Consumer Affairs.
When the prior owners were at the Hamilton Twp., NJ location, I never had this problem. They were honest, concerned, fair and very customer oriented. You could not pay me a million dollars to go back to the Hamilton Twp., NJ location. However, fortunately for Midas, the Langhorne location has retained my business for years to come. I just feel sorrow for the other individuals that were not shrewd enough to see through Mr. Ayoubia’s high pressure and unfair business tactics.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.