Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Warning!

One of my exhaust customers in Sydney took his 2 pride and joys (RX-8 and Hymee Exhaust) to a MIDAS francise this morning and has had problems.

They did not fit the exhaust into the correct "place" asthetically, and blamed my component. The component was made off the exact same that every other Hymee Enhanced exhaust has come off. No problems to date.

Wost off, they wouldn't let him in the workshop to supervise, or retrieve something out of the packaging.

And they wanted to charge him another $85 to fix the "problem" they introduced.

Based on the evidence presented to me, and until further notice, I would warn against going to Midas.

Cheers,
Hymee

Gomez

Oh.....My exhaust was fitted at Midas Greensborough.....the guys there had nothing but praise for the Hymee system. Although the place is run by a mate of mine, he wasn't present on the day and the system was fitted by one of his employees....so I didn't get any special treatment.

I did note at the time that the system was adjusted with the use of plastic ty-wraps to get a perfect alignment in the bumper cutouts...took all of 2 minutes and it's ace. Maybe you should name the offending outlet....they are all franchises I think. Not every Midas should be tarred with the same brush.

Cheers, Gomez.

takahashi

Midas is a francise company... individually operated. One will be different from another Hymee.

Go to the people you trust I think :D

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

I agree that the offending Midas should be named. I did originally say a Midas.

I respectfully update my warning to avoid that particular Midas. I just don't know which one it is.

And perhaps Big Midas should be advised of the operator who is giving them a bad rap.

Cheers,
Hymee.

playa78

yes guys, the offending can be named.
it's West Ryde Midas. the only reason I took it there is because it's like 5 min from my house.. very very unahppy with the service that they did.. the owner also seemed to never heard of rx-8, kepting asking me which model/maker it was while doing paperwork etc.. also he would not let me have a look at the work that they carry out, telling me that he will charge double if I wanted to have a loook??? I got sick of arguing, so I had to wait in the office waiting area..
I will post some pics later of the bad alignment that they did... the fitter was also trying to bend the right tip down by putting in a pipe and push it down.. I was also offended at the way that they said I got some "cheap exhuast off internet"?? (like that it was a dodgy deal...) had a fuming argument with the fitter.. also the store owner kept changing words and also stopped the fitter from finishing the job when I told him that we agreed on the fitting price of around $45.. he said I need to pay minimum $85 (charge by hour??) or I take it as it is..
I got quite mad and was not going to pay him $85+ for the job.
if he was going to charge me $85+ I would have taken it elsewhere.
their policy also states that they give full written quote before they commence the work..
he also said he would not gurantee the work if something goes wrong because they did not supply the exhaust.. I do not know what kind of dodgy business they are running there...
I would avoid the West Ryde Midas at all cost from now on. now I will need to take it again and find another mechanic who might be able to adjust the position properly..

on a positive note, the sound of the system is great. It has a very good baritone sound, and also seems to make the drive more easy and enjoyable. I'll just have to get over the fitting ordeal and try to enjoy the positives I guess.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Playa78,

I am absolutley disgusted at the way you have been treated. I have seen some reports on current affairs programs recently about some Midas operators doing it tough because they have been shafted by the franchisor, but that gives them no excuse for the treatment they dished up to you.

I am having a heart attack over the fact they tried to bend it with a pipe to get it to line up. Breath Hymee, Breath!

I am totally flabergasted when I consider all the time, effort that has been put into a project like this, all the worry about making sure it was going to be a top notch quality product that any customers would be delighted to own, only to have some cowboys really bugger up the experience for you.

There is no way that system was out of alignment, or twisted or anything when it left my custody. The only "adjusting" needed when it gets fitted is to wiggle it left to right a few times one the hangers to settle the rubbers down, and centralize everything.

Chin up mate. Lets hope you can get it sorted, and you can be a happy little vegemite at the end of it all.

Cheers,
Hymee.

zoom44

my dad tells people that all the time and he is serious! "i'll fix it/install it for you no problem but if you are going to stand over me while i do it i will charge you double". but he would never stand in the way of someone who wanted to check on progress/fittment a couple of times. sorry to hear of your rough time there. i dont know what midas' are like there but here in the states i would tell people to go to meineke instead. here the midas' do NO pipe bending/fabricating at all. they just put in "stock" of the shelf systems. meineke on the other hand will fabricate the complete piping if you want and have experienced fabricators on hand and will make a whole system for you just pick the muffler and the size of pipingy ou want. also meineke is usually cheaper. i once went to a meineke and a midas for quotes on a whole new dual exhaust for my 65 mustang. not only would meineke do the job exactly how i wanted(as opposed to midas) but they were also half the price of midas.

playa78

yeah hymee, thanks for those comments.
and here are some pictures to support my end of argument about the job they've done probably stopping half way thru.. u tell me if this is doing justice to your exhaust..

playa78

close up of lefft and right tips

timbo

A lesson learnt, I suspect. As my Dad always says "you always pay for your education"

IME, you rarely find great technicians at any of these types of franchises. Great mechanics establish their own goodwill through excellent performance, which is passed on by referrals. Franchisees rely on "the brand" and associated marketing. Of course, there are exceptions.

Gomez

I have no idea what they have done there.....that result is bloody ridiculous. playa, I cant even imagine how they came up with that. The only adjustment required is to centre the tips in the cutouts......it looks as if they have bent something. There was no hammer or oxy work required on the muffler assy during the fitment of my system.

That's just butchery...

Good luck....., Gomez.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

It wouldn't have fitted in the box if it was that crooked. I am really pissed off at that.

Do you want me to instigate legal procedings? Providing workmanship like that on someone else's product is a form of defamation I reckon. I need Roy and HG's opinion - if they would be prepared to give one

They didn't put your rear bumper on crooked when they fitted the reversing sensors, did they? J/k If your rear end is that far out of alignment, it would be driving left hand circles on right hand lock!

All the best mate. If there is anything I can do to assist, please let me know. I inspected the jig today, and it is in perfect condition. Les just can't believe it.

Cheers,
Hymee.

AMG

Playa, my sympathies go out to you and your car, that looks terrible.

Just hope they haven't bent something doing that botch job. If repair work is easy and cheap better off writing it off as a learning experience, however if they had damaged something get in touch with consumer affairs.......better still......any lawyers in the group?

Choppy

I know the Midas you are talking about.. The girl in the office next door got a quote to fix some odds and ends on her car..

I wrote her a list of things to ask.. and they would not answer her qustions and they kept saying dont worry we will take care of it.. They wanted to do it right then and there.. But she refused until she got a quote.. The quote came back ended up on my desk for inspection and they were charging 20$ plus for liquid in the spary jets and 100$ windscreen wipers. Her car is an old RAV4.

Very rude people she told me and i informed her not to go back there and suggested a local mechanic for her needs that quoted half and was very friendly.

Playa78, I think you should go to Unique Mufflers in Catenbury Road or Hi tech mufflers in Petersham next door to Ryda on Parramatta Road.

Regards
Phillip

Lock & Load

Hymee dont be inconsiderate you arent allowed to have a heart attack or fall asleep at the wheels until you and DR phil have completed the screw type supercharger kit and got at least 70kw extra power for our RX8 . :D

cheers
michael

If Midas did that sort of job on my exhaust there would be one less franchise store in sydney . (dont get mad get even )

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Player78,

Any chance of getting some photo's of underneath? Particularly where the new system meets up with the stock intermediate pipe?

I'm still beside myself over how they treated you.

And I gunna send them an invoice for the "Hymee Enhanced" sticker they through out and wouldn't let you have.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

I have a mate who is one.

Cheers,
Hymee.

rx88er

That just plain sucks....This doesn't stop my plans of getting a Hymee exhaust but it does make me realise that you need to go to a reputable workshop.
Hope it all worked out for you playa.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Phew - that is a relief! I hoped by being honest & open about this it would not harm any reputation for the product.

Lucky for you I can recommend an experienced fitter in Brisbane! And he only charges $40. (Read that as "How hard can it be? FFS!!")

Imagine how much trouble that Midas fitter would have been in if they actually had to do anything hard, like doing some actual welding or cutting or someting???. Apart from one factory joint that is hard to get apart, it is a simple bolt-up.

Cheers,
Hymee.

BTW, my father was at my place yesterday. I showed him the picture of the dodgy work, and told him the story. He is a retired Manual Arts teacher, and a fitter/turner in his days as a tradie. He couldn't believe it. I was showing him one of the exhausts I have at home, ready to ship. He said "How could anyone look at that and say it was 'some cheap junk off the internet'?". He was even more surprised when he realised the one I he was looking at was the "cheap" mild steel version, and the one of Player78's was the "expensive" TIG welded, polished stainless steel system!

takahashi

The Mazda cars are the technically challenge for them to service, as they are well pack and fitted with millions of screws and boards. Fitting a muffler in will need to take away 5 stoppers and some prefer to loosen the cat to give more space. It is hell of a job compare with a Lancer where they are do a 6 sec change.

People swear when doing service of them as it challenges their brain. It will be easier on them with the Nissans - a more "simpler in their brain" design.

For the owner - I love sophisitication.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Procedure to remove the stock RX-8 rear muffler assembly:

1. Undo 2 nuts holding the spring loaded joint, mid-pipe to intermediate pipe, just after resonator. No need to touch the "cat".
2. Undo nut holding earth strap to muffler.
3. Slip 4 rubber hangers from muffler - 1 at each corner.
4. Slip 1 rubber hanger from intermediate pipe.
5. Swing muffler and intermediate pipe towards rear to allow flange to clear studs (front of intermediate pipe)
6. Lower front end of intermediate pipe, and remove pipe and muffler together as an assembley towards front of car.

3 nuts to undo!! Easy when you know how. Shouldn' they teach that in "Exhausts 101" anyway??? Or is it just using your brain - I guess you can't teach that.

Putting the Hymee Exhaust back on is equally as simple. The hard bit is separating the stock intermediate pipe from the stock muffler.

Cheers,
Hymee.

takahashi

So Hymee

What do you think the cause of misalignment of the muffler?

8A8Y 8

Playa68 let me know when your free
i can take you to where i fitted mine to fix it up
those ppl are great and then charge hardly nothing
and best of all they do a great job

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

3 possibilities...

1. The rear-end of Players car is bent.
2. Someone sabotaged the exhaust. (Player didn't even get to look inside the box.
3. Some stupid ******** installed it who didn't have a frigging clue.

Struth!

Cheers,
Hymee.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

4th and last possibility - There are 2 RX-8 designs running around. Player's is different to all the rest.