My daughter just got a quote from our local Midas to replace both rear brake calipers, rotors, and pads (all aftermarket) for $1500. Mechanic told me that most of it was going towards parts and $200 for labor –This father-daughter team paid only 20%

The automotive industry has become very dishonest independent to dealers 200% parts markup is not uncommon $200 an hour labor rates nothing fair about it anymore and I don’t know where you find an honest tech They have 20 groups that are teaching everybody how to steal

It is articles like this that continue to uphold the stereotype that mechanics are always scamming the customer. Using the term "unreasonable mark up" is really not helpful. Yes, parts do get marked up and that profit is used to keep the lights 9n, paying workers comp insurance, health insurance, training, updating software etc. All of these are required to provide the customer with a quality product. Also, there is NO WAY that the parts purchased for that low cost were actually genuine. Likley zero warranty. As long as you continue to only focus on the negative nature of a few mechanics we will continue to fight the outdated stereotype that you continue to perpetuate!

It's not a scam. You're paying for professionals to do their job and especially for brakes done at a Midas that has lifetime warranty on brake pads. If you are confident in working on your car, more power to you. Why even take it in to get an estimate if you're just going to do it yourself? Brake work is a safety heavy system on your vehicle. Don't chance installing brake pads backwards or getting excessive air in the brake lines. Think before you post a tabloid about a field you are very obviously not familiar with.

99%of the time your calipers are fine. I don't know why they insist on changing calipers for a brake job. Aftermarket parts are not tested as thoroughly as oem parts due to regulations on the oem and cost.

I'm sick of mechanics lying about the cost of parts but they all seem to do it. My last quote for brake pads and rotors was $600 from the shop, the job takes one hour or less and you can get good quality parts with good reviews for just $100 so why pay $500 an hour for labor? No thanks. Next mechanic wanted $600 to replace two rear struts, there's that magic 600 again almost like they have a formula, must be a number most people will pay... Anyway the strut job is actually way easier than brakes, takes less than an hour, good quality replacement struts on Amazon were only $52 (for the pair!).

To my car to get alternator bought new battery drove car from tue to Fri notice car was running tight and loose fuel cap.light was on on Friday while warming car up it stopped running the pick it up said all power to running all systems but won't charge period

They aren't scamming. One of my local mechanics have gone up just like everything else. Generally speaking the cost is almost 50/50 parts and labor. But many mechanics won't offer aftermarket parts. They'll look up manufacturer parts which are fine but astronomical compared to aftermarket you can find yourself. I have a different local mechanic who is much more reasonable on prices and he will use aftermarket parts but will just not guarantee them past what the manufacturer states. I swear this is not a sales pitch, but those extended car warranty companies actually do come in handy in situations like this. But, I'm not sure if things like brakes are covered.

The author should be fixing his daughters brakes, instead of writing an article about it.

Having been in the auto repair business previously, as a dealership tech, owner of an independent repair service, and as an owner of a Snap on tool franchise that gave me a back door view of every shop in town, I do take a bit of offense of the view that car shops are ripping off their customers and aftermarket parts are somehow inferior.

There are good shops and bad shops, good parts and crap parts. OEM parts are not necessarily always the best choice, and with brake parts only the dealerships are using OEM.

It's common knowledge in the auto business that the brake chain shops sell you everything whether you need it or not and push that with their "lifetime" warranty. I think that's due to a combination of corporate bean counters pushing profitability and CYA for the business. Their techs are trained and required to do that. Back in my repair days, even in the dealerships we usually be at the chains in price because we didn't sell the unnecessary stuff (like new calipers and hoses with every brake job).

As far as DIY and all the videos out there these days, there are some mechanically gifted people out there that can do a lot of their own work and a lot of people who shouldn't pick up a wrench. Many of these videos make the public think that car repair is simple and anyone can do it. Not so at all. There are a lot of excellent techs out there with tons of training and real world experience. The trick is finding one. Unfortunately, for the average DIY'er out there, you just don't know what you don't know, and that lack of knowledge can get you into trouble. It's only brakes, after all. How hard can that be?

That said, I've been out of the car business quite some time now. Though I still do almost all my own work still, I occasionally have to find a shop to do some of my repairs. I suffer like everyone else and understand where all the bad press is coming from. I've had the same issues myself with sub standard work and attempts to sell me parts I don't need. I just have the background to call them on it. Then I search for another shop for next time.

I've seen some of the Royal auto repair videos. Those guys seem very good. Even if you don't do your own repairs, just learning more about what's involved with a repair can give you a leg up when communicating with your repair shop.

People who don't know what they are doing should not be doing brakes, period. A u tube video don't make you a mechanic.

Too much vital information missing from this article. This reads more like an ad for the embedded video than an actual event that happened.

What was the vehicle? What were the parts and the associated costs relevant to the story? Who were the people? Who independently confirmed the veracity of the social media post?

I can tell you for certain that Nissan brake pads, rotors, and calipers will cost a lot more than $326. More likely, they got the cheapest set off eBay, NOT Nissan products. Big difference.

I've been looking at suspension parts for my 2017 subaru forester 2.5i premium. I noticed aftermarket parts and O.EM parts were the same parts with different part numbers that can be cross referenced only difference is the price

yup I had exact same issue at a Midas. tried charging me like 1600$ for front. brakes and rotors. I didn't actually need either of them immediately. an alignment fixed the issue. will never go to Midas again!

To all those complaining that this Midas has been somehow misrepresented and wronged; I have a story of my own dealing with a Midas that should clarify that these corporate garages are scam artists.
I took my car to my local Midas on a Wednesday from a rear brake job. I had a car trip planned for the weekend and my normal mechanic couldn't get to the car in time, and I was willing and able to pay a premium for quick service. The Midas manager called me a few hours later to say the car was done. I arrived at the shop to find my car on the lift with all four wheels off the vehicle. I was confused, and annoyed; I was on a coffee break and didn't have time to screw around.
The Midas manager informed me that the front rotors and pads were also trash and needed to be replaced. I asked why he told me the car was done. He apologized and said his tech didn't check, but that I couldn't possibly be allowed to drive on such dangerous brakes.
The problem is this: those rotors and pads were only 3 months old. I'd had them replaced at a time when money was tight and my regular mechanic warned me I wouldn't get six more months out of the rear set. The Midas lied to me, and attempted to hold my car hostage to extort more money from me.
There are good mechanics out there. And I've got no confidence or talent for repairing my own vehicles. But there are also scam artists trying to prey on the uninformed.

Hi,

MIDAS is a scam. I had oil change couple of months back and after paying $100+ on that and when noticed after 1 week the oil was all dark. Additionally, in 2 months I see oil low light on dashboard. When I confronted Midas manager he said it's normal to get oil color dark if I drive a car too much. Moreover, after complaining to Midas Customer service multiple times, they just answer saying it's franchise structure and there is nothing Customer service department can do.

Awful, pathetic, ridiculous MIDAS. Never visit it!!!!