Review and Rebuttal: Minute Muffler on 32nd Ave NE

[RondaBonda]

Nothing but complete unprofessionalism there who dont take accountability for their own mistakes. Last week I had my drums rounded there as well as some lube behind the shoes and the idiot cranked my shoes so tight that you couldnt even turn the back wheels. I didnt know, so off I go and notice my car wasnt accelerating as fast. I only live 3mins away so i get home, pull my ebrake and its super tight, so tight it would only go up 2 notches and it took a lot of force! By this time the shop was closed for the day so I would go Monday to talk to them.

I didnt want to drive the car anywhere because the shoes were ridiculously way too tight. Called one of my mechanics, he comes by to back off my shoes. When we had it up in the air, the wheels took a helluva lot of force to move let alone spin. Also the drums were sorching hot and we had to literally unbolt it off after waiting 20mins for it to cool.

We get the drums off and notice the right wheel hub was heatscored becaquse of the heat. The drums were fine and the left hub was fine.

Also the lugnuts on my left wheel were way too loose. They were only torqued to about 60lb!

Go back yesterday to the shop to talk to the manager and (no surprise) they deny everything and basically act all surprised when i tell them. Get this, one of the old grumps there told me rudely "it comes like that" when i point out the heat scored hub to him and said i expect them to replace it. I then told him "then why isnt the other one like that too?" He just walks away. Dont try to play me for a fool. Those lame lies may work on the other customers you pull it on but not me.

They said they cant do anything because unless the wheel bearing is shot they cant, and my wheel hub still spins fine. Its just that the heatscore is premature wear on it, so its not going to last as long as the other now.

Even then they would only replace it with the absolute cheapest brand they can find. Are you kidding me? I have timkens on now, theyre some of the best if not the best for bearings. If youre replacing it, youre replacing it with another timken, not some generic partsmaster POS.

So I left, contacted head office in Ontario and havent heard back. Am I out to lunch to think they should be responsible for covering the cost replacing my wheel hub? They denied everything. And the loose wheel nuts on the left tire, how do you explain that? If I had left it, with the right side being overly tight and the left too loose i would have skided and who knows what could result from it.

They werent willing to do anything but just let me go. Nothing to make up for thier mistakes. No sympathy. They obviously dont realize the huge safety issue of having lugnuts too loose on any wheel. Any shop that allows any car to leave their shop like this should be shut down iMO, just no excuses when it comes to safety.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS SHOP AT ALL COSTS

[dj_rice]

I've been to this shop twice for exhaust installs. I believe its called Apollo Brake and Muffler now. The one across from McCall Lake Golf Course?


If it is, I've had nothing but great results from them for exhaust work. Price was reasonable and the work/welding was good. So that sucks about your experience.

[RondaBonda]

Originally posted by dj_rice
I've been to this shop twice for exhaust installs. I believe its called Apollo Brake and Muffler now. The one across from McCall Lake Golf Course?


If it is, I've had nothing but great results from them for exhaust work. Price was reasonable and the work/welding was good. So that sucks about your experience.

Minute Muffler is different, theyre right by the Timmys on 32nd and Shell gas station.

[adam c]

It's definitely minute muffler, i cringe just looking at that place every time i fill up at Shell

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by RondaBonda


Minute Muffler is different, theyre right by the Timmys on 32nd and Shell gas station.

I think I am wrong about the name. Its beside XS Cargo right?

Then yea its the same place I went too. The 2 times I went, the first time it was just Minute Muffler and then I believe a worker named Ike bought it from previous owner. 2nd time Ike still owned it. So maybe it has changed hands and different owners now.

But I had great service for exhaust work. Sent many people there to get exhaust done and they were happy too.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by adam c
It's definitely minute muffler, i cringe just looking at that place every time i fill up at Shell

Why is that? I have had some work (exhaust, Cv shaft replacement and trailing arm bushing) done by them and was happy with the work performed. Also sent many friends there who had no complaints.

[adam c]

I watch the guys there performing the work and they don't look like they care about what they are doing


One time they couldn't get a tire off so they took a hammer to the rim and just pounded the shit out of it, i was done filling up before they got it off

another time they were joking about how a car almost fell off the hoist

my opinion they don't look like someone i would take my car to, but that's imo

[RondaBonda]

Originally posted by adam c
I watch the guys there performing the work and they don't look like they care about what they are doing


One time they couldn't get a tire off so they took a hammer to the rim and just pounded the shit out of it, i was done filling up before they got it off

another time they were joking about how a car almost fell off the hoist

my opinion they don't look like someone i would take my car to, but that's imo

Well considering how theyre handling my situation i have to say what you said is 100% true. The idiots there just dont care. I could have been a long time returning customer with many referals sent their way if they would have at the very least taken accountability for their actions and make up for their mistakes. But instead they try to deny everything like as if i was making things up and just let me walk.

Replacing the wheel hub isnt expensive, the timkens only cost me $90cdn shipped. So its not about the cost but about the principle.

[revelations]

(OP is an idiot)

[n1zm0]

you took your car to a muffler shop to get your drum shoes machined? cmon man wth...

j/k i know they 'do' brakes too

ever since i worked at a dealership and had to clean up after the horrendous jobs quik-e-lube/quik-brake kids did on customer cars, i vowed to never ever let anyone close to me go there and i would do their oil change and/or brakes if possible for them if i had time.

no offence to them but imo theres a reason ppl stay stuck in those types of shops and dont move onto dealerships or privately owned mechanics shops, they're just backyard mechanics as said and only want to know the basics and quick fixes. not ALL ppl working at those places are shady/mechanically declined but the good majority of them are im sure.

[RondaBonda]

Thats true nizmo. But at first i figured machining drums and throwing some lube on shouldnt be that difficult so i could trust them.

Well hopefully H.O. gets back to me, dont you think they should be covering the cost of my new wheel hub?

Im also going to do a charge back on my Mastercard for defective goods once the transaction shows up on my statement. I called my bank and they said to put it under defective goods followed by a letter by my mech stating the problems he had to fix which i have no problem getting.

[BensonTT]

Ike doesnt work there no more.. he retired and sold the place like 10 yrs ago... lol

[culebra]

I used to go to Minute Muffler for all my oil change past 4 years. Simply it was close to my work, that's all.

Last time i went there was about a month ago for my oil change and I noticed they now have a new management. i guess the new ownership isn't great as previous.

[RondaBonda]

Just spoke with the regional manager on the phone, gave him the speal and will get in contact again tommorow after he has a talk with the goons at that store. I already told him, i know all of them will just deny all of it. Not even one has probably never manned up in his life, so theyre not going to change now.

Im still doing a chargeback on my card and will get the money for a new hub from these cheeseballs.

[YamahaV8]

Originally posted by culebra
I used to go to Minute Muffler for all my oil change past 4 years. Simply it was close to my work, that's all.

Last time i went there was about a month ago for my oil change and I noticed they now have a new management. i guess the new ownership isn't great as previous.

Bingo. I have gotten lots of great exhaust work done there just like a lot of beyonders. I think most people here defending the shop didn't know they got new management recently. Since the new managers took over I have heard nothing but horror stories. Stay away from this place.

[bourge73]

^^ crap. They were my go to shop. Well any other suggestions? was about to go for more work

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by bourge73
^^ crap. They were my go to shop. Well any other suggestions? was about to go for more work

Carline is the 2nd popular suggestion. Locations not too sure which are recommended. You will have to do a search

[forced_eg]

Steven I cant say im shocked that you are posting this about my shop, you are one of the pickyest customers ive dealt with. But I am dissapointed because when you were leaving my shop, you didnt argue my decision NOT to replace your hub/bearing. I apologized for the inconvenience you had of the misadjusted rear brakes and explained how a ring of heat discoloration (not scoring) is not enough to warrant replacement, and you responded with a simple "thank you" And now that your raving and ranting behind a computer screen shows how spineless you are.

That being said, in an effort to defend my (newly aquired) shop, let me explain the whole story to everyone. Steven came in last week complaining that his brakes were "dragging" and that he himself replaced his drums, shoes, spring kits, wheel cylinders and the problem was still happening. He wanted me to loosen his brake lines to somehow test if his brake lines were holding pressure, this made no sense to me so I asked my tech Chris to see what the problem was, Chris brought the vehicle in and rechecked his work. Everything seemed fine and no dragging was happening at the time. One thing we did notice was that the rear shoes were contacting the drum on 2/3rds of the contact surface and a crack/chunk was missing from the LR forward shoe. Chris brake-kleened his shoes and we recommended driving it to allow the shoes to seat in properly. No charge for that visit, Steven thanked me and was on his way

He then made an appointment Saturday to come have it checked again because the problem was still happening, I brought the vehicle in, noticed slight drag after the brakes were released, but nothing out of the ordinary. Steven explained to me how he "let some air into the brake line" on the LR wheel and the "dragging" reduced quite a bit. Something didnt make sense so I boset the car down and took it for a drive. It was not a brake drag that was his problem, but more a groan, or a creak relevant to vehicle speed. The groan also was existent when pulling the handbrake so that eliminated the hydraulic side of things. I brought the vehicle in, hoisted it up and spun the wheels, Gary (who is the assistant manager here) noted that the rear drums were out of round because they would bind/drag at a certain position on both wheels and reccomended machining the rear drums. Steven was convinced that that was not the problem since the drums were new and it couldnt be possible, Gary was now offended and didnt want to waste any more time with Stevens car as there were 3 customers waiting for service. I continued to pull off the drums and noted that there wasnt any anti-sieze used, basically everything went in dry. Since Steven did his own work, it was basically pointless for me to do anything. I told him to head to autovalue, pick up a tub of anti-seize and pointed out where to clean and apply. I also recommended he take his drums off and try to get warranty, or bring to me to machine. I set the vehicle down, wished him good luck, reminded him my brake inspections were FREE and sent him on his way.

Steven comes back to get me to machine his drums for him and asked me to apply anti-seize "while i was there" (fellow advisors hear this countless times when someones looking for something free) When i was driving the vehicle in, I noticed that he did go buy anti-seize from auto value which led me to believe A. he was too lazy/unknowledgable to do it himself or B. his mechanic was sick of him coming back and said that wasnt the problem. I brought the vehicle in, started machining his drums and lubricating certain points of his rear brakes. Gary adjusted his brakes and put his drums on and I proceded to torque his wheels, I spun the right rear wheel and it did drag a little bit but I thought nothing of it, spun the left rear wheel, tightened it up and set the car down. We took it for a road test, noise went away, everybody wins. I charged steven $20 x 2 for machining, 35 for a hoist charge, and 15 for shop supplies (anti-seize and brake kleen for 3 visits) which I think is more than fair.

Monday morning I arrive to work and I hear the story of how the brakes were too tight and they had to be backed off on Saturday, I told Gary (assistant manager) and Pat (licenced tech) to have a look into this. They checked both drums on the brake lathe and they were not out of round, checked the shoes and they were not cracked, and the drum surface was not showing any signs of heat discoloration. Steven comes into the front office and tells me that he wants me to buy him a new hub/bearing, I go to the back, pull off the wheel/drum and see a blue ring on the hub around the center (like the tip of those fancy mufflers kind of blue) Gary explains to me that he came in with a dragging problem and that may have been there to begin with. I told Gary that i didnt remember seeing that there and its possible that it was due to our misadjustment. I then turn to Steven and explain to him how the bearing is showing no signs of damage and if its that cosmetic blue ring then I will not replace the bearing for him. Also I explained to him that if he insisted that I put a bearing on, I would put on a partsmaster from auto value. I also explained to Steven that if that bearing was damaged then i wouldnt mind putting on an SKF unit from NAPA. Steven thanked me and he seemed like he was okay with me rejecting his claim. And here we are...

Back to you Steven. I have a few problems with your story because alot of it simply isnt true. You left the shop at 2pm Saturday, Gary and myself were there until 4:30, not a single phone call from you, and you didnt drop by when you had a chance. Secondly, I torqued those wheels myself, please explain to me how you determined that they were torqued to 60lb/ft. And C why didnt your top notch mechanic do the damn job right the first time

That "old grump" who said it comes like that is Pat, hes been doing this since before myself and alot of the members of this forum were born, he figured that was from production (heat treating) of the hub and it wasnt machined out.

A gentleman named John Moch from head office will contact you tommorow morning about this issue, he advised me not to reply to this post in the interest of discretion. Gary, Pat, Chris and myself (Ravi) work really hard in making sure every customer is happy leaving the shop. Your personal attacks and untrue statements are a slap in the face to everything weve tried to accomplish these last four months under new ownership and that is the reason im so pissed off at your whining

To all other forum members, this shop is under new ownership. This place wasnt up to par before 05/11 when I took over and major changes took place. If you have any concerns/warranty issues with the old management feel free to give me a call to discuss it. Ravi 403-250-5010

BTW: that blue quad is mine

[forced_eg]

Originally posted by YamahaV8


Bingo. I have gotten lots of great exhaust work done there just like a lot of beyonders. I think most people here defending the shop didn't know they got new management recently. Since the new managers took over I have heard nothing but horror stories. Stay away from this place.

This issue with the OP is my first dissatisfied customer since we took over, please tell whoever told you these stories that they should not hesitate to call me if they have any concerns.

[bourge73]

forced_eg: Is Paul and Gary still there ? if so I WILL return.