Middle Country Automotive
I always give a place the benefit of the doubt, so I went twice to have two different cars serviced. The first time I went there, it was for an inspection for my Mazda. The inspection part went fine, if a bit long of a wait, but when they returned my car, it was filthy INSIDE. There was a gritty feel to my steering wheel and shifter, and they left the paper floor mat on the floor. I have kids so I used baby wipes I had in the car to clean the steering wheel. It was filthy and all this black junk came off. I went in and mentioned this to the man inside and he offered to clean my steering wheel, but at that point I had already done it. Fine. I brought my Kia in last week to have an inspection done, and they suggested an oil change - since it had been about six months, I agreed. But then they come out and tell me my cabin/engine air filters are dirty and needed to be replaced. There had only been 5,000 miles since the car was purchased certified used. I felt like I was being lied to, but I never checked it when I bought the car, so I agreed. In hindsight I wish I had asked him to show me the air filters. Turns out the price was $90 - for what involves opening the box in the engine (and then the one in the glove box) and swapping out a $20 parts. Yikes. So now a $10 inspection trip is ringing in $150 - I guess doing only an inspection wasn't enough? That said, if this was it, I wouldn't bother with a review, positive or negative really. But what really got me annoyed was when I was given back the minivan, the steering wheel and shifter had that same gritty feeling when they gave me back my Mazda. They left it filthy again. This was what came off my steering wheel on the Kia. The Mazda was worse but to have this happen a second time after I complained the first time and after being hit with all these upsells is the final straw for me. I have a really good mechanic in Syracuse, where I split my time. He never suggests superfluous air filter changes, always returns my car as clean as I left it, and is as awesome as they come. He's coaxed my older car to 140k and keeps it running without incident. I know what a good mechanic should be, and this place is not it.
I want to thank you for bringing to my attention the dirty condition your vehicle was left in. I apologize for the bad experience you had. I have had a meeting with my staff to address the situation and to ensure such a situation will not happen again. It was unacceptable and not part of our normal procedures. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, and I hope I resolved the situation to your satisfaction.
- Middle Country Automotive