Mid-Atlantic Muffler & Brake

Hi Hashim,We appreciate the review and the kind words. We're glad your experience was positive for the most part. Id like to explain the pricing in hopes it clears up any misconceptions. The original estimate you were given was about $975 which included 2.5 hours of labor @$115.00 per hour which in our industry is on the lower side. It also included a new Interstate battery which is a top of the line brand that we carry in house as well as an OEM grade Starter which was priced at $437 and is only about $50 less than an online source you mention. We also gave you a slightly cheaper starter option but still a good brand that was $345.00. Unfortunately we cannot use online suppliers for a multitude of reasons such as the part taking a few days to get delivered. Most people need their vehicles back as soon as possible and cannot be without it for a few days. Another reason being if that part fails it is a much longer warranty process because the starter would have to be reordered and then we would have to ship the defective part back. When using local suppliers it allows us to develop a relationship with them and get any warranty work done and back to the customer as quickly as we can. The quality of part is also reflected in the price. In our experience a lot of cheaper remanufactured starters have a high failure rate which will result in more tow bills, time without the vehicle and inconvenience for both the customer and us. Therefore we prefer to use the highest quality parts we can but we also will give cheaper options when it makes sense. As you stated we also did not charge you a diagnostic fee. Your battery was so dead we couldnt perform a proper battery, starter, alternator test with the battery being dead so we installed one of our interstate batteries so we could diagnose the issue. We also did not charge a storage fee after you declined the repair although the vehicle stayed in our parking lot for a few days and we of course swapped our battery back out. So technically the price could have been as low as $665.00 with the lower starter option and no battery or $775.00 with the better option of starter. Also as you state it took you 4 hours to complete the job where as it would have taken us less time due to having the experience, tools and lifts to do the job in the most timely fashion.I hope this clears up any misunderstanding of our pricing and policies and we wish you the best of luck as well as hoping you give us another chance in the future. If you have any more questions you would like answered you can call us at 410 323 5022 and ask for Randy or Chris. Thank you!