Your car just broke down, and the tow truck driver wants to know where to take it.  

What do you say?  Who does good work?  Who can you trust?  

If you are new to St Petersburg, you might not yet have an answer to these questions.  When the time comes that you have to ask them, you may appreciate knowing the name of a repair shop that others have had success with.  This is exactly why we are writing about Middleton's Auto Care.

Middleton's Auto Care is a family owned and operated repair shop established in 1988. About three and a half years ago, one of our  MetroPete contributors had Middleton's replace the transmission on his truck.  More recently, he had a major brake job done on an imported roadster.  This is what he has to say about Middleton's:

"I like that the place is family run, it's been around forever, and it's very clean inside and out.  Their prices are fair...not cheap, but not expensive either.  I guess I trust them because of their long term presence in the community and overall lack of complaints with the BBB." - Middleton Customer / MetroPete Contributor.

We researched Middleton's status with the Better Business Bureau and found them to have an "A" rating even though they are not an official BBB member.  This positive rating is based on the fact that the BBB has not received any complaints about Middleton's in the previous 36 months (or more).  So, they've been around since '88 and enjoy a good standing with the BBB, but a lot of shops can say something similar.  Is there anything else worth knowing about Middleton's?

Yes, a visit to their web site shows that the Middleton family puts a lot of thought and effort into being a superior auto repair shop.  They offer creative ways to engage customers in the maintanance and repairs of their vehicles.  For example, they offer a wide variety of services, membership discount programs, online specials and web based appointment scheduling.

Their premium discount membership program in particular is something we were unfamiliar with before seeing it on Middleton's web site.  The site explains it better than we will, so we recommend you learn about it there.  In a nutshell, it appears to be a discount, pre-paid maintenance program for people who want to keep their vehicle in top condition all year round.  How much of a discount?  The site says you'll pay around $140 upfront for over $500 worth of services throughout the year.  We've not tried it, but it sounds interesting.

Long story short...a MetroPete contributor has had very good experiences with Middleton's and now we've shared the story with you.

Proclaimer: We do not accept any money or any other kind of consideration from the businesses we write about.

Disclaimer:  We write about the good to great experiences we've had ourselves.  If we had a lawyer, we're pretty sure he'd tell us to tell you that even though we had a positive experience with every business we write about, we cannot guarantee you will have the same experience.  You still have to use your brain and take responsibility for yourself.  Buyer beware and all that.  Also, we do not control and are not responsible for the content of any of the web sites outside the metropete.com domain.  Any users under 18 years old should be supervised by their legal guardian.  

Middleton's Auto Care

2740 Dr MLK Jr St

Saint Petersburg, FL 33704

(727) 822-5236

Visit Middleton's Web Site 

The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of MetroPete

Who: We are a small group of Saint Petersburg residents who live, work and play here.  We love our city...especially the urban center, and our focus is on all the good it has to offer.  So, if you revel in crime reports or problems in city politics, MetroPete is probably not for you.  On the other hand, if you do not mind discovering (or rediscovering) why this city of ours is a great place, we invite you to visit us often.

What: MetroPete is a non-commercial outlet for information, advice, pictures and stories showcasing all that is good in and around the heart of St Petersburg.  MetroPete's owner and contributors do not accept any consideration for writing about anyone or anything.

When: We like to think of MetroPete as an online magazine because it contains pictures, stories and advice.  However, it is not published periodically like most magazines.  MetroPete is a living docåument produced on a continuous basis.  As new material is prepared, it is posted.

Where is MetroPete?  Obviously, MetroPete is online, but it also has a conceptual geographic locus within the inner metropolitan area.  We call this area MetroPete or the "Heart of St Pete."  The boundaries of our MetroPete are not the same as the official city limits.  Essentially, our coverage area consists of a 35 block radius around downtown.  We have noticed a quality that sets this dynamic zone apart.  Here, the city center and inner residential areas interact creating a character that is uniquely its own.

Why Did You Start MetroPete? First we want to be a positive voice in our world.  Everyday, mainstream media outlets bombard us with biased and sensationalized coverage.  Much of this exaggerates the frequency of tragic, violent, and criminal events in our world.  In addition, we are also presented with calamitous issues occurring across the globe in regions that have little or nothing to do with our daily lives.  It is simply impossible for the average human to process and respond to the constant onslaught of crises.  This type of reporting contributes to a collective state of anxiety and a dangerously skewed perspective.  Eventually, compassion fatigue can set in, and we end up less able to care about the people we actually know.  This is not good. Of coarse, the writers of MetroPete are not suggesting we all put our heads in the sand, but neither should we consume our media unfiltered.  We have choices.  It is time to choose consciously the information we let into our hearts and minds.  Just as diet affects physical condition, the information we consume has a powerful impact on our psychological condition.  MetroPete strives to combat the destructive media blitz mentioned above by offering a positive, edifying source of information about our community and our lives.  When you get tired of all the bad things in the world, we will help you see the good things closest to you.

How is MetroPete published? The production of MetroPete is an organic process.  This means MetroPete writers do not got out looking for things to write about.  Instead, we simply live our lives in St. Pete, and when we discover something that reminds us of why we love living here, it is our cue to share it with you.  It's a subtle difference, but we think it makes all the difference.