Charlotte Maxi Muffler

Happened to be in Charlotte when suddenly my car was making a loud rattling sound. Fortunately, I saw Maxi Auto Center and stopped in. They were great. They looked at my car and fixed it within the hour.

I just had the best vehicle breakdown of my life! I hate taking my car for repairs... But today was a different story. I tend to procrastinate on necessary auto Maintenance and repair. Our brakes had been making a scraping sound for at least a month, and my husband kept asking me to bring the van in To have them fixed. I asked some friends for recommendations, and had two service shops in mind for the repair. One of them was Maxi Muffler in downtown Charlotte. I had literally JUST passed Maxi, when my brakes made this loud clicking sound. The brakes locked shut, so I had to force the gas pedal a little harder to get the car moving at the green light. I went around the block, deciding that today was the day... I couldn't put it off any longer. I was headed to Maxi Muffler immediately. At the second light of my route, the brakes locked again. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor at the next intersection, which was luckily just a block away from salvation. The brakes weren't working, and I was pretty scared. After safely parking my vehicle, I went into the shop. I never know what kind of reception to expect at auto repair shops, so I was nervous about what they were going to say to me. (I have had some pretty lousy treatment from auto mechanics... I hate being scolded like a child. The cost of repairs is usually sufficient punishment for my procrastination) I was greeted by the owner, Eric Stiver. He was friendly and courteous, and refrained from giving me a lecture about waiting too long to service my vehicle. Eric was good-natured and kind, while he informed me of the terrible damage he suspected on our brakes. He also informed me that this was my lucky day. They had an open bay available, and they were able to inspect the brakes immediately. They were experiencing an unusual break in the day, so my timing was perfect. Another reason I put off going in for service, is never knowing how long I will have to wait. We only have one vehicle, so leaving my car overnight is really not an option for our family. I was relieved to learn that the brakes could be done today. The repair took about 2.5 hours, and they were very fair in their estimate. Initially, they thought we needed to replace the calipers, rotors and pads on the back wheels. They were able to save the calipers, allowing room in my budget to replace the rotors and pads on the front brakes also. I really appreciated this consideration, since money is tight and a complete brake job saves me another trip to the repair shop. I wasn't looking forward to coming back to do the front brakes, and now I won't have to replace them for a couple of years. He stayed within our budget and gave me a more complete repair job than we had discussed. They also rotated my tires and topped off the motor oil, at no extra charge. Eric and his crew went above and beyond my expectations. I will definitely return for other maintenance and repairs (when necessary), and will be recommending Maxi Muffler to my friends in the Charlotte area. This scenario could have gone in a totally different direction. I am grateful for the excellent service, fair price and prompt repair job. If my brakes had to fail (and they did), I'm so glad it happened around the corner from Maxi Muffler. :) I can not stress enough, how important it is to treat your customers with kindness and respect. It really makes it less painful to pay for auto repairs, when you feel like the service people care. Now if we could just get someone to make auto shop waiting rooms to be more inviting and comfortable, I might just keep up on little things like replacing brakes, belts, etc! (I know that is too much to wish for, unless you are willing to pay the extra bucks to go to a dealership).