took my 1990 caprice in becuase it was making a so uncool rumbling noise. i figured i woudl take it to midas, as it was on the way to my work.

took it in, they look under the car. the tech came back and said that it will cost $700 for and exhaust rebuild. yeah, right...it's not even a dual exhaust....

i told them nevermind, i'll drive it like it is...

the manager then came out after the tech went and talked to him and told me that they could do a simple exhuast for $175

apparantly the catalytic convertor back was "bad" this included a long pipe, muffler, a short pipe, and a resonator housing then the tip, plus all clips...

well, hell, i don't need all that--just give me a long pipe, muffler and tip....and somehow, the bracketry was able to be salvaged (amazing)

word of caution, always know what you are getting into...

Just because a place "specializes" in a certain type of work, doesn't mean they are always better or cheaper. It is a good idea to get at least a couple of estimates from the chains, and also an independant garage. You might be surprised at the differences in price. Case in point, I took my 1994 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup to two muffler shops in my area for an estimate. One place wanted $730 to do the work, while the other wanted over $850 to do the same work. I took it to a garage that does repair for me on my other vehicles, and he did the work for $324. He replaced only the parts that were bad, as the other parts of the exhaust were still in good shape. The chains wanted to replace everything from the "Y" pipe to the back of the truck, as it was the easiest fix for them, and reaping the most profit at the same time.

it's about profit for them. it was just funny that all of a sudden i didn't need a lot of parts as i was walking out the door.

The Midas mechanics, like those in other franchise shops make about 15% commission on all the parts they sell. Of course they will oversell everything they can.

I'd be expecting stainless steel for that kind of money. But stop and think how many people don't know and would just pay the initial price. Probably a slow day at the Midas shop.

Midas and AAMCO are probably the worst national chains to take your car for anything.