Meineke Reviews

Well today, my boyfriend inspected my brakes, explained exactly what to look for, and said they still looked fairly new. I guess Meineke was trying to get over on me. Long story short, I will never go back to that Meineke ever again! Not sure how they knew my rear brakes needed to be cleaned because the discs were pretty much stuck! I bought all the necessary parts to replace my brakes for nothing, well luckily I can return them. I bought the brake cleaner, and that's all I needed. I am very fortunate to have a knowledgeable boyfriend because he saved me about $320! I feel sorry for anyone who goes to that Meineke, but I will start going to Firestone again. Thanks for nothing Meineke.

The next Saturday (09/24/2016) I arrived at 7:25am and waited for the shop to open - another customer was already waiting. When the guy came and open the door, the other customer walked in first and then me. The same guy from last Saturday took the first customer car. When I get to the counter and he saw the paper, the guy told that they cannot make that repair today (this is at 7:30AM). He said that they have other vehicles waiting. I reminded him that he told to come at 7:30AM and now he said he cannot make the repairs.

As I proceed to ask him why he told me come this early and cannot make the repairs, he shrub me off, told me to take the paper back to discount Tire (in Irving) and tell discount tire that ** the owner at Meineke do not want to make the repairs. The guy then open the door for me to leave and said have a good day. I have never been insulted like this in public. The guy was rude and condescending. During this encounter, I was never rude, curse or yell, although I was treated the opposite. I will NOT be going back to Meineke and I will let my friends and family know of my TERRIBLE experience at Meineke.

I had my AC stop working and I knew what it was, it was my condenser and sure enough it was. I knew it would cost about $1000.00 repair while there for this repair I thought I would do my maintenance too. I buy only the best oil to put in my vehicle! I use Valvoline Synthetic only which cost me about and extra $50.00 plus cost of oil change!

The mechanic came back in shaking his head and said I had major problems. He took me outside to see my engine and said "not only is your AC condenser out but you have a blown head gasket!" Showed me some oil around a few bolts on the side of engine I could see due to engine cover. (Now I know what I seen was fresh oil placed there, it was not old oil not only that there is no leakage of oil that would be on my engine.) I also park my KIA inside a garage with a large white carpet ruminate as to keep an eye on any kind of fluid leak - a trick my father taught me!

There has been no fluids leaking on that rug, I never lost any oil, never over heated, my spark plugs had no moisture in them - it was a pure scam! I actually got viciously ripped off and person who is on SSA and VA/DIC and it is not a lot of money! Shame on this type of horrific discrimination towards women and mechanics using this to take advantage of!

I only drive my KIA maybe once a week if that! I take good care of it and it's a 2003 with only 75000K miles on it, yes it is under 100K! I always keep up maintenance and have taken great care of my KIA and I drive it carefully. I am not a motorhead that would race it about! Not only was I mislead, lied too costing me over $2200.00 repairs, the mechanic left all kinds of hand tools in my engine! He did not even bother to tighten back the pulley at which caused it to snap and wrap my serpentine belt all around the front of my engine!

I was left stranded and remember I am disabled with a spine injury! I did have my friend that is a mechanic, he takes it to their shop and he was stunned at such sloppy work and in fact confirmed I had been ripped off! I have photos of the serpentine belt and invoice dated Jan. 29, 2016! Remember I do not drive my KIA a lot or it would have happened much sooner! And if one of those hand tools would have been tossed up in fan or other areas of my engine it would have also caused more damage!

I checked my oil in January and knew it was not the oil I had purchased separately for it was a nasty black cheap oil vs my *Valvoline Synthetic that does not turn black like that! I was ripped off on my good oil too. I checked my air pressure in my tires too and that mechanic had lowered all my tires to 25psi! Told me soon I would need tires lol, well I guess so running them at almost 10psi under their required psi per tire! I am now wondering what else they have done to my engine, because the manager claimed "oh you have an air leak but don't worry it is nothing that will put you on the side of the road!" Lol. Really thanks for that one but your mechanic's sloppy work did in fact put me on the side of the road! My check engine light is on now at 75879 miles on it after Meineke worked on it. (My next schedule maintenance is 78998 per Meineke, this shows you the miles are very few that I have put on my KIA since Nov 23, 2015.)

I am now addressing this horrible rip off with the website of Meineke to see what type of answer or acknowledgement I will receive. Shame on all of you at Meineke for ripping off people, doing sloppy work leaving a disabled woman on the side of the road and stealing money from me too for lying about the unnecessary work done on my KIA! I am wondering if I even have a new head gasket or not, if I do not I am not just going to end with this letter. Yes, I finally stood up for myself and addressing this!

Images are of the pulley and the belt. You can clearly see pulley in photo and what a sloppy job that left me on the side of the road! Now that my check engine light is on, yes what else did they do to my engine while doing a sloppy job on head gasket, no telling what else was left inside my engine due to what all hand tools that were left on the outside of my engine! I just thought I should step up as to prevent anyone going to the Meineke in Deland, FL!

July 7 The assessment of Mgr was that there was an obvious coolant leak somewhere. Further, he determined that the radiator had a split in it (which he showed me) and that it required replacement. His position was that once the radiator was replaced, there would be no more leaking. I specifically asked if they felt comfortable working on Volvos. I have encountered automotive garages where the preference was to not service Volvos (lacking the necessary expertise). I was advised that they were perfectly comfortable working on my vehicle. Given that, I gave consent to repair my vehicle. The location of this Meineke shop is in an area of the city with which I was totally unfamiliar, and since my car was being kept overnight for repair, I was stranded. I was finally able to contact a family member to pick me up to take me home.

July 8 I arrived at Meineke at around 5:30 PM to pick up my vehicle. The car was ready at about 6 PM. I paid my bill of $984.80 and left the shop. At ~6:10 PM (on my way home from work), my vehicle started to lose power. I'm depressing the gas pedal, and the car is slowing. Then, the car loses power steering, the dash panel completely lights up before going dark, and then the car completely shut down and would not restart. Again, I was in an area unfamiliar to me.

I called the Mgr immediately to report that my car was experiencing problems I did not have before going to Meineke, which was obvious to him as well. Quite clearly, with the exception of the tear in the radiator, there were no other problematic issues with the vehicle before this point. The Mgr told me he spoke with the mechanic who worked on my car, but that the mechanic had no explanation for the problems I was having and, therefore, assumed neither responsibility nor interest.

Mgr called for a tow truck who advised they would not be able to come out to my location for at least 90 minutes. Given all this, again I asked if they are comfortable working on a Volvo; Mgr said yes. Soon thereafter, the Mgr came out to see if he could assist. After briefly examining my car, Mgr surmised that the turbo had not been reconnected correctly. Mgr affected the repair using a screwdriver at curbside, and then followed me home to make sure I was safe.

August 20 Until this date, I had no reason to look under the hood of my car (following the radiator replacement). However, I took my vehicle to my regular mechanic for its planned 135,000-mile maintenance check and a great many issues became apparent. Immediately upon their lifting the hood, I was asked who replaced the radiator. Virtually all of the equipment (hoses) that needed to be removed to replace the radiator was misaligned and/or loose. And, the coolant reservoir again was bone dry. There is a leak somewhere that is not in the radiator.

I was advised by both my mechanic and another local mechanic that when they are researching the source of a leak, in both cases, their practice is to pressure-test the hoses to confirm that the exact location of the leak(s) has been found and corrected, so that any hoses that require replacement can be addressed that time. (I have since been advised that some shops automatically replace all hoses if they have to replace the radiator.) Clearly, Meineke does no such thing or they would have realized that there is a leak somewhere in the system not just that the radiator required replacement. My mechanic filled the coolant reservoir with water and suggested I immediately revisit Meineke. My mechanic said it would be unethical for him to take payment from me to effect a repair that Meineke has already been paid to make.

August 21 As of this writing, I have had to add coolant/water to my vehicle every day because of an apparent leak. In closing, I expect Meineke to give immediate attention to the repair of my vehicle (again, since you have already been paid well to do that) and replenish my coolant. I took and forwarded photos taken to illustrate my issues with Meineke. Should Meineke be incapable of correcting this work, then I will expect a refund so that I can secure the services of trusted reputable mechanics. I could not be more displeased with any established company. Very poor customer service. Both the BBB and the Attorney General's Office will receive copies of my formal written complaint to Meineke.

For my surprise he said, "I'll spend more hours than I thought and I need charge you for find the problems in your car." I'm from other country and I don't speak English very well. Every time that I talk to him he was always making fun of me. He never took my case seriously. In July 30 I have reported the case to the franchise and they gave 2 business days to answer me and until today I didn't receive answer. This is my last attempt, otherwise, I'll sue the company.

Being a woman most mechanics will tell you that you need things done to your car you don't. Not this Meineke. I was willing to pay for all these things done. They came back and told me that everything look great. There was no point in having things repaired that did not need to be done. I had just got my tax refund back so I was willing to pay $5000.00 if need be. I know they knew it was tax refund season. Point being out of all of the things I wanted to have done. The only thing I had done was a transmission flush. Which they said I did not need. But I had it done because I wanted to. And I got an oil change. I think that is so awesome that they were so honest when they could have ripped me off. They chose to tell me truth. And they gave me a discount on my transmission flush. I will never take my Daisy Mae (car) to another dealership. Thank You so much Meineke in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The racial slur made by this business owner against an ethnicity group is an insensitive, offensive and derogatory comment made by this Meineke owner due to the fact this man is in a business that services all different ethnicities of individuals in Georgia. I plan to file a race/color discrimination complaint formerly in the court of law against Meineke Car Care, 3020 Canton Road, Suite 1, Marietta Georgia 30066.

I was advised that the front brakes still have over 50% remaining on it. I still had the dealership changed the front brakes and asked for the used brake pads so I could asked the manager at Meineke why the technician misinformed on what needed to be done. As he going over my copy and his copy I noticed that his copy did not match my records and while I was making my complaint that he had changed his copy of the receipt. The owner/manager did not like my assertion and became very defensive to the point where he was using profanities to me. He told me to get out of his ** shop or he was going to call the police. Folks stay away from this establishment as their practices are dishonest.

I then called a friend who was a State Inspector and he called and asked the young lady "was that part necessary to pass inspection according to the State Guidelines?" She called me back and said that my vehicle would pass inspection. I had my friend pick up my vehicle and the inspector showed him the part in question. I took my vehicle to another place of inspection and inquired about the part. I was told that the belt could be loosened and put back on to a proper fit and it did not need to be replaced at this time also. It was not frayed. This was a horrible representation of the company. I was already leery to bring my vehicle there because I am a woman and I now believe that this company tried to escalate the cost because I am a woman.

I refused to send my daughter back to **. I called customer service to complain. They said I had to deal with **. ** called and yelled at me for calling customer service on him. He said I could go to a different Meineke. I called customer service and asked why they told me I had to go to **. They said because ** told them I had to go to him. I asked to speak to the owner of this location franchise. They contacted the owner but I received no response. Again, I was told that I have to deal with **. The owner would unlikely respond and I should deal with **. I took the car to a certified dealer and they pointed out the after market tire sensor that was the wrong frequency. ** would not stand behind any portion of the follow up issues.

Meineke performed a complete inspection of the car, which to their credit, I was not charged for. The inspection, however, revealed a "bad transmission and shifter", (due to metal particles in the fluid, how did they discover that without considerable labor which they would have charged for?), bad valve cover gaskets, and power steering pump. I had not noticed any of those conditions when I looked under the hood myself. I then added Sea Foam Transmission Tune to the fluid (cost $12.00) and drove the car, shifted perfectly, no light! What a wonderful alternative to a $4,300 transmission rebuild by them! Simply a-MAAAzing. This additive has been around for 75 years, but was conveniently not suggested by Meineke.

I just sold the car to an experienced transmission rebuilder who said he would take it even if there were any transmission problems - it was an extra vehicle for me, and I had purchased it for a terrific price. At this time, he has no plans to rebuild the transmission and shifter, power steering pump, or valve cover gaskets that Meineke discovered. I know that this owner has at least 2 other shops in Las Vegas, so maybe he is getting a wee bit hungry, if you know what I mean. In addition, my wife hit an obstruction in the road, damaging the suspension of our Acura MDX, and had it towed to one of his shops in an emergency. Long story short, the Acura dealer stated that the repair work was done improperly or not at all. Bye bye $1000. It is possible that down the road, those items could show up, but in the new owner's opinion, there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. I will not use Meineke again for so much as an oil change.

To make this short, I made 7 trips to Meineke (within the warranty time frame) concerning this converter. Each time Meineke reset my Jeep so that the check engine light would go off. A year later, my check engine light is still on... catalytic converter. I called corporate with a complaint and they were not helpful at all. They recommended that I take my Jeep to the dealership. This location is not worth the time or money!!!

After looking at it the O'Neill guys told me that the control arm was just fine and the tie rod was put in incorrectly. They said that without a doubt the person who put the tie rod would have known the correct way to put it in and did it in a way that would cause the tires to wear out very fast. Of course I went in to see if they would make matters right, and all they had were excuses and then they tried to tell me I still needed the control arm fixed even though it had just been cleared at O'Neill Honda. Will obviously never go back and hope others don't trust their cars or money to these guys.

In his response ** gave me back my registration card and said: "I only make $6 on an inspection so I don't care and if you do not like to wait 45 minutes then you can go somewhere else." I even pleaded with him: "Please, I already waited all this time here and I am late from my break at work, please just do it." But NOOO, ** had to go on a power trip as a proud franchise owner that he is and flat out refuse to inspect which takes ONE minute to do - lights, brake light, blinkers, tire tread and horn. Yes, you read it right, full refusal of service because I dared to complain about the wait by saying: "about time!" Avoid this place at all cost. If this is how an owner of a business behaves then I do want to imagine what the rest of the employees represent. What a joke!

They were never presented with a title to begin with and never asked me for any identification. When I asked for their corporate number, business ID, store number, any information I was told they didn't have any of that because they are a franchise. It took me having to call the local police for them to even take my payment and finally have them release the car to me. I will never do business with any of your locations. The most incompetent staff I have EVER dealt with. I will never take my business to any Meineke. I will let everyone know how big of a joke this was and how you do not value your customers!!

Another issue I have is why do I have to pay their regular price for each inspection when there is a special going on. They made me pay the regular price for the emissions test which came to $31.42 and he told me the next time I will have to pay for safety inspection which is $18.00 and additional $6.00 for sticker. Why is it that I am charged regular prices? How do I get charged regular inspection prices when they are running a special for inspection? I will never go to Meineke again! I will never recommend this place to anyone!

I took it back the next morning and asked if they had taken my wheels off during the oil change. The person working said that the “mechanic” who had worked on my car wasn’t in yet, and when he came into work they would find out; it obviously wasn’t important enough to warrant calling him and I was too nice to demand they do that. After having my car for 5 hours without calling to update me, I called to find out that not only were they claiming that they had not removed my wheels during the oil change, but they had proceeded to take them off that day without calling for my permission first. To my horror we also found out that they had dropped a lug stud into my drum and attempted to remove my drum brakes, which they could not do.

When we went to pick my car up they showed my husband that they had tried removing the drum with a pulley, and when that had not worked they had tried hammering on it many times to dislodge it. I demanded they take my car off their lift, and my husband had to wait over 30 minutes while the mechanic struggled with the simple task of putting my wheel back on. I will never know what they did to my car the first time they had it, but on this visit they damaged my car while incorrectly attempting to take my brake drum off.

I got my car out of there and I took it to Les Schwab’s where they diagnosed that the lost lug stud may have been the cause of the loud clunking sound (which if it was the cause, proves that Meineke did indeed take my wheels off during my oil change, then they lied about it). They also diagnosed that my drum had been excessively hammered on, warping the wheel mounting surface, and that the spindle had also been damaged by what looked to be a pulley being used while not properly centered causing a divot in the top left of the spindle. Lucky for Meineke that was able to be fixed with a file. When my husband called and spoke with the owner of this location, Rob, he sounded as if he doubted what Les Schwab was saying and that he would covered the cost of the drum but that was it. I wouldn’t accept that so I called Meineke “customer service”. I had to file my complaint then wait for an agent to call me back.

I found the agent who called, Leah, very rude and unsympathetic. Leah informed me that this Meineke is a privately owned franchise and she couldn’t actually do anything to make the owner pay for the damage his “mechanic” had done to my car, so all she was doing was playing mediator. She told me she spoke with Rob who said that drum brakes can’t be damaged from the outside (which is false) and that he would only pay $150 for the drum. I told her I expected him to pay for not only the drum but for the labor and two other parts that would not have needed to be replaced if not for the drum having to be replaced, which came to a total of $293.15. After waiting several business day without hearing back, I had to call myself to find out that Rob, the owner, is refusing to pay the total bill.

Additionally, Meineke made no attempt to contact me after I sent my complaint letter to them. They have responded to a BBB complaint (because as members they have to), but they still deny culpability. Apparently Meineke, as a brand, once trusted as a nationwide chain to which we could all take our vehicles, has gone down the tubes with customer care. Somewhere along the line, they took the shady route to make their money. I can see on the complaint websites that I am not the only one who has had a terrible experience with Meineke.

I posted similar review everywhere in the internet. The Meineke manager called and asked me to remove the review and told me that he will fix everything, and then comes the catch. He said some wire was not fixed properly and then told my brake boosters are losing power and he will change it for free. Note that it never had issue earlier. I fell for the trap and he took my good running Toyota brake booster and replaced with a worn brake booster. But eventually it started giving issue after 6 months. Now I'm getting gushing noise while applying brakes from the dashboard. I'm going to Toyota to fix it. Seriously, if you have soooooo much of money and want to ruin your car, please go there. I actually lost my car. It is a sentimental icon for me so I'm not selling it. And trying to get it fixed. Please don't believe and fall for whatever Meineke is saying... CAUTION CAUTION.

Writing this is Mark ** for my son Derek. I paid for this and I'm pissed and will go to every TV news station. And I will have a permit to picket on the sidewalk in front of the store. I work too hard for $300. I also hate the thought of the two guys sitting at the front counter laughing about screwing another one. My phone number is ** if anyone would like information in filing a class action lawsuit against these guys.

So now I'm leaning toward not trusting Meineke ya know? So I take the car to someone I should have found in the first place but did not. He looked over everything and told me it looked like they'd done the work they said but that he or just about any other place in town could have done everything they had for around 800. Nice, right? So that was my 1580.00 lesson for the day. I hope that you can benefit from my experience and take your car anywhere but here. I'm very sad to have to write this as the people there seemed so nice. Not cool man.

Original Review: Oct. 19, 2015

Took vehicle to store #1969. They assured me that they could repair it. $1600 was quoted. They had the truck for 3 weeks and the price went up to $2700. Then they said engine needed replacing $3000 plus labor plus original engine repair of $2700. I filed a complaint at local and headquarters then filed complaint with bbb. They still have ignored me. They towed the truck to my home, not running.

I called back before going to pick up my truck and was told that it was not done yet, and that it was still giving problems, and that they needed to send it off to the location in Arlington off of Green Oaks and Matlock, where it stayed for another week and a half. (Grrrrrrrrrrrrr) After that time, I called the location off Alta Mesa and then again was told it should be done by 12 pm & gave me the number to the location off Green Oaks. I called and spoke with the manager & was told my truck was nowhere near finished and in fact, the motor was still taken apart and being worked on.

After waiting another week, I was called to pick up my truck so I asked if I can have my used lifters & was told by "EDDIE" that I cannot have them because they had a core on them (WTFFF). In all my life I have never heard of a core on lifters, so I called Ford to confirm this & even they laughed. So I called "Eddie" & told him what I found out & asked him who was lying to me, and he stated that he just got off the phone with Auto Zone and found out the same, and that I can have them. Really?

Arrived to the location in Alta Mesa and at the same time, my truck arrived. So I proceeded to inspect my truck & first off I find my driver door, driver seat, center console covered in grease or dirty oil. I nearly lost it when I saw that. I then did a walk-around and saw my bull bar (upper and lower) scratched and greasy with shoe prints. I complained and then a tech tried to wipe the grease off with de-greaser. I told him to stop using de-greaser on my seats and get my truck detailed. So they told me that my complaints will be submitted to corporate about the grease and scratched bull bar.

I took my truck and found it still very sluggish and had a bad case of the hiccups. On top of that, had a bad oil leak. Could not do anything about it 'cause it was on a weekend and Meineke was closed. I called Meineke corporate on Monday and found out that not only Meineke and Maaco were sister companies, that my complaint was never submitted. NICE! Made my complaint and was told that I should be contacted by someone in a few days. So I then called the Meineke off Green Oaks and told them the problems the truck was still giving. "David", the less-than-educated manager told me to bring it back. So I did and after a day, I had a nice lady call me from Meineke named Leah ** who generally was concerned greatly about my situation. I found out that Meineke actually is franchise-owned and I'd have to wait for someone to call me again.

A day later the manager "David" calls me and tells me the oil leak was fixed and they are going to detail my truck. So then asked about my bull bar and he stated that it was not going to be fixed or replaced. I asked why and that piece of trash began talking over me and shouting on how that was not done at his shop, blah, blah, blah. So I then proceeded to avoid having a non-productive argument and terminate that convo.

With the no high school diploma-bearing manager, on the forth business day (Friday), I was called & told I can pick up my truck. I arrived to the Green Oaks location. I was greeted by the lady at the front desk. I asked her if she could give me a document stating my bull bar is not going to be replaced or fixed and she stated "sure" and added that my bull bar looked like it had been buffed. My eyes could not get larger and I said "Lady I just purchased it two weeks prior and did not have time to buff something that already was mirror-chromed." She stated "ohh no I was just saying." I then asked to have a test drive, she told the "manager" and he sarcastically began to shout at the technician "wash your hand, shoes, pants, shirt and body to go on a test drive." (So unprofessional.)

I inspected the inside of my truck and found a very poor detailed job, seat still stained and center console plastic stained. Upon the test drive, found the truck running good surprisingly. I asked to get a receipt or a copy and was told I could not have one, go figure! I take the truck home and find scuffs & new scratches all around my truck. One of the franchise owners, Adam ** never contacted me about the problem. I will never go back and will slander this place 'til I cease to exist!

I'm contemplating whether I should get a lawyer because there's clearly some foul play here! I take it to another mechanic who told earlier that mount shouldn't have failed like that and they should've inspected the other mounts and that strut 2 days prior when they did the work!!! I am totally flabbergasted by their greed and un-loyalness to their customers. They were trying to charge me another 720$ for the exact same work they just did 2 days earlier! My mechanic told me they overcharged me for that work and the new quote!!! I will NEVER spend another hard earned red cent at another Meineke and will discourage others as well!!! They are quite ridiculous charging double for parts even from the manufacturer!!! I don't understand how they are still in business while treating people the way they do!!!

Well guess what I still didn't pass the emission after he wrote on the invoice stating it was ready for emissions and would pass! I did not yet go back because I will not waste any more of my money or time there ever again! When the right side bearings went bad it didn't go bad immediately. It took a while but the left side went bad immediately after I picked it up. The bottom line is he is not trustworthy. Never go here, it's the Meineke in Crystal Lake IL on Pyott.

I tell them I need to call my dad while I am standing there (which always makes them mad). Of course my dad says BS and don't do anything. I ask them to give me a print out of what's needed so I can show him. I took my car to my dad. He cussed (a lot) and laughed a little. He said my car does not have sway bar links, it has some other part, and there was nothing wrong with either of them! Then tells me there is no stop leak anywhere and the anti freeze is perfect! He then noticed the filter they put on is old and used and there was NEW oil leaking all under my car. I will NEVER go to that place again!!!

I dropped my boyfriend off and two workers were acting sneaky watching him walk into the shop from the road. I instantly thought something funny was happening how they were looking to see if he was coming into the shop and how they were acting. Anyways they said they did nothing to the truck so we took it home. When were home we notice they had clearly done something to the truck... the exhaust pipe was gone.

So I called the shop to ask where it was, I was told my boyfriend said he'd be back Monday, which was a complete lie because when we picked the truck up he said he was taking it elsewhere to get repaired, since they seemed to have no clue what they were doing and we were not going to waste another day to have nothing done to the truck!!! So we had to drive back to pick up the exhaust pipe. Not sure why we were lied to about them not touching the truck when they removed the whole exhaust pipe... did they think we wouldn't notice?

So now we are stuck with a truck without an exhaust pipe for our road trip tomorrow. The whole reason we went to Meineke was because they assured us it would be fixed today!!! We would have been more safe driving with a crack in the pipe than no pipe at all. Now I read online you can get carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide poisoning from driving without an exhaust pipe. Looks like our road trip is going to have to be canceled thanks to you guys. Two very unhappy EX-customers.

For being the owner of the company and to give that level of customer service is appalling. Not once was my father in law yelling, or using profanity. He just wanted know why they were using such crappy parts? No one in my family or friends will ever being going to Meineke for any type of work again. Also, I should mention the last time they did work on my car they forgot to tighten the lug nuts. I swore I was never returning there, and only did because I knew this part was under warranty still. I have declined them replacing the part and they will never ever touch my car again.

I called him 2 days later and the manager told me the engine needed a new timing chain and gave me an estimate. He also told me they would need to order a kit to put the new timing chain on, I asked if he had ordered the kit already and he told me he still needed to "find" the kit he needed to order. I proceeded to call them periodically every couple of days just to get no actual update each time. It wasn't until two weeks after I left the car with them when I went up to the service shop that they could give me a concrete update. When I got there I saw my car in the parking lot and not in the shop. I asked the manager what the situation was and he told me he still hadn't order the kit for the timing chain yet. He asked me if I wanted him to order it at that time and I told him yes. He said it probably wouldn't get there for another 2-3 days.

A couple days later the manager finally calls me to show me what's wrong with the engine and to ask me if I want to go ahead with putting the new timing chain on. I told him yes, and the next day he called me after they test drove my car to ask me if I want them to fix the wheel bearing (a condition that I was aware of that I wanted to get fixed at a later time). I asked if it could be delayed but of course he said it couldn't. The next day I thought my car was ready to be picked up but the manager called me to say after another test drive they found an oil leak (that they somehow didn't find during the first test drive), so they would have to spend another day fixing that and delayed returning my car to me. On the day I was finally able to retrieve my car, which was a full three weeks after I originally left it with them, I got the final total from them which ended up being over $2100.

I literally drove my car from the Meineke's to the gas station to fill up the tank, drove it from the gas station to my house, and from my house to my grandmother's house down the street and then my car stopped AGAIN. I only drove it ~4 miles before it stopped, so the next day I go back up to service shop again to tell them what happened after they just finished "fixing" my car. They agreed to tow my car back to their service shop, but after they got my car they spent another THREE WEEKS with it before I was able to retrieve it again.

During that time they never called me at all to give me any updates or information. It wasn't until I called them that could finally tell me something. This time they said it was an electrical sensor and some wiring that was the problem. They did not charge me though, which was fortunate because I was not gonna pay a second time after they had my car for a grand total of SIX WEEKS. In the end, I know I won't be returning to that Meineke service shop anymore.

When I asked the mechanic about it, he came out with more wire ties and tried to push the wiring harness up out of the fender well and was bending one of the brake lines that was in the way. He said the only way to get it better was to order lines from the factory. I am a backyard mechanic and I have done a better job. So I talked to the manager again and told him all the guy did was doing was trying things together. All he had to say was "I'm sorry." I paid $900.00 for this job and all he could say was "I'm sorry." I have never been so angry. But I guess that's what you get from the Bridgeport, Ohio Meineke.

The guy at the desk almost had a heart attack when I suggested that. This is exactly what he said with a very confused and shocked face "whyyyyy??? It costs just $16!" I said "I just want to do it myself". He gets mad and his tone changes and goes "do you want to do your own tune up?" I was willing to get the tune up done, which I didn't think was necessary by the way, but his rude tone and throwing his hands up in the air and the mechanic telling me that I wouldn't save any money doing it myself got me to change my mind. I took the car and paid for the inspection. I changed my own light and saved $5. Even decided to buy another bulb for the other side. The people there are at least in their 50s but don't let that mislead your judgement. There's a lot of fishy business going on there.

He called back and told the mechanic that they WERE going to do the A/C after all, but when the mechanic immediately came into the office to speak with the manager I overheard him tell the manager that he had already drained the A/C, so apparently he had been told that I had wanted it done before then. I went to Meineke because they are a well-known name and previously I had a problem with another car and had gone to a small and unknown mechanic, which I paid after repairs had been made and who declared to have fixed the issue, but the issue was not fixed. I thought with a well-known name I would pay a little more, but at least my mechanical issues would get fixed. I was wrong.

I paid just under $500 to have NONE of my issues taken care of and they want to charge me another $2000 to do additional repairs which they said WOULD fix the problem. Also, my outside headlight lens on the driver's side was broken and it was not when I came in. I cannot prove that, but SHAME on whoever broke it and was not willing to just say so!! I am sure it was accidental and I would not have been angry if I had been told, but I am sure it was not disclosed due to not wanting to have to pay to replace it and/or to avoid getting into trouble with the boss.

The front manager was friendly and I enjoyed speaking with him while I was waiting. I walked in at 11:30 am without an appointment and was told there were 2 customers in front of me, but that they had a slot. By noon my car was taken into the shop area. I told the manager before agreeing to wait that I had to be home by 4:30 pm because I had an online class to attend for my graduate degree. He assured me I would be home in plenty of time. I did not leave there until 7 pm, when they closed the doors.

I was told that the diagnostic brought back ONE code, which was the Downstream Oxygen Sensor and that replacing it would fix the reason my check engine light was on. The part cost almost $230 and that my total bill would be about $320. Also, I was told by the manager, as long as there are no parts needing replaced, my A/C would be repaired, with the knowledge that the system was currently an R12 system and would need to be converted to take the new R13 coolant since that was a simple thing to do. I was told not to worry about the ABS light and that he was sure it did not indicate anything that would be a safety concern and it would not need to be looked into. He did say that it was not returning any codes.

I asked if the ABS light could be due to a blown fuse and he said it would not come on if it was just a fuse, but it could be a bad sensor. Less than an hour later I overheard him tell another customer that her ABS was sending a code and it was probably just a fuse. I guess since mine did not give a code, that must be why mine could not be a fuse causing the light to be on.

After it took 7 hours, with NO mention of additional codes being found, I was presented with a bill, which included an estimate on additional repairs needed, for a total cost of $2,406.80. In this estimate was an Intake Manifold Set, said to be a gasket kit. When I asked the manager why I would need this and why it had not been mentioned to me AT ALL in the 7 hours I had been there, he did not know and told me he would have to ask his mechanic. Also, one part was listed TWICE for the A/C with two DIFFERENT prices. The manager was entirely confused over the bill and estimate.

While the manager was speaking with the mechanic, I looked up A/C parts, specifically for my car, on my iPhone and was shocked at how much they wanted to charge for the parts and how much lower the price was on the parts in the very first result I found and I showed the results to the manager. A $115 part was only about $30, the one priced at two different prices was less than $20 and they wanted $60 on one price and $62.92 on the other, but obviously I would not have to pay for both of them.

When I pointed out it was listed twice, the manager seemed agitated with his mechanic for having put him in the position of having to explain all of this. I was told in the end that they cannot compete with online pricing and that their parts come with a LIFETIME guarantee. NO parts to my knowledge ever come with a lifetime guarantee. Additionally, he could not tell me what brand of parts he was going to provide. Obviously if he does not know the brand, he cannot state the length of their guarantee.

On the back of my invoice, under Additional Parts and Services (anything that is not a muffler or exhaust related) it states, "All other parts and services itemized on your receipt are warranted for 90 days from the original date of service." Also, the manager said he did not know anything about A/C repair (not his department of expertise) and could not explain what may be a fair cost or an actual need. I paid the near $500 and requested the old Oxygen Sensor, which they gave to me without issue, but politely declined the additional repairs.

When I started my car, the check engine light and the ABS light were still on and my A/C was blowing cooler, but not fully cooling. Meineke remove the R12 and replace it with R134a after installing a different port necessary to recharge the system. That port comes in a kit, which can be purchased at an auto parts store. This is what I paid the $29.95 for. My only reason for taking the car to have this done by a mechanic was to ensure the safe, legal removal and disposal of the R12. I do not know if they did this properly or not, but it may be worth investigating whether they do in fact possess and did use the proper recovery and disposal equipment.

I have the same kit used by Meineke to convert my system, which I had purchase before learning my system was an R12 system, but as I said, I could not personally do this conversion since I could not safely and legally evacuate the system of the R12 refrigerant. The A/C is actually cooling moderately, when it did not cool at all before. This is probably because the R12 was old and depleted. For now it is cooling well enough and I expect it will continue to, until I can affordably replace any parts which may be necessary in the future. However, I do not plan on having Meineke do the work because I could probably replace my entire system 3 times on my own for the cost they want to charge for the parts alone.

I was told I could buy my own parts and they would do the work, but I am not interested in doing this. It was at the time I had asked if I could buy the parts and have them do the labor that the manager asserted several times, "Yes, you could do that, but our parts come with a lifetime guarantee and you would not get that by purchasing your own parts". I already pointed out earlier what the warranty on the back of the receipt actually states.

I Picked up the van the next morning. ** said they took everything apart, dried everything out and I was good to go. BUT if I wanted a safe money give him $250.00 cash and he couldn't give me receipt otherwise he would have to charge me a lot more. I paid him! Drove to the job site opened the back door. The glass on the right hand side was cracked. When I closed the door it exploded... There was greasy hand prints all over the door and back windows where they had pushed it into the garage. I needed to keep the van on job site. Everything we needed was in it! Called safelite. They replaced the window $170.00.... Got into van. It would not start!!!

One of the electricians on the job checked it out coming to find out there was a short in the alarm system. It cost me $20.00 to have it fixed! Went back to see **... He said they couldn't do anything about the window but drop it off and they would check it out!!!!! REALLY **.... GOOD LUCK!!! I will never do any business with Meineke again!!!!!

I showed him the shocks that had been taken off and asked to speak to the owner. Every few months I would call or go in in person and ask to speak to the owner. I'd leave my contact information - no return call. Now in May of 2015, I finally get to speak to someone who takes my case to the owner. I have all the receipts from the work. They warranty the work for "life." Yesterday, I was told that I waited too long and didn't go back to Meineke (REALLY - like I'm going to trust them to do work they didn't do the first time) so they are not going to refund my money. That would be $657.89 - not chump change. Anyway, after reading this - you decide to use Meineke or not.

When I got back home, I checked with Toyota dealer (where I bought my car) and their information site (see **) and found that 0W-20 oil is NOT REQUIRED, and the lower priced 5W-20 oil is fine. I feel that I was unfairly charged a higher price package where a lower price service would have sufficed -- a classic example of bait and switch. I was lured me into the center with a lower price package and coerced to buy high price service with mis-information. Will never use Meineke again.

I decided to go out for evening entertainment after supper and after driving for another 200m or so, the dashboard warning light came on telling me to have the traction control and brake system need to be serviced. That is about CA$600 by Meineke's estimate. Definitely, I will never, ever go there so I will for sure know how much tomorrow. What is funny is I asked for a second opinion from my colleagues and they said anybody can do oil change. One even suggested I do it myself. That is what makes me wonder if they did it intentionally? (while being fully cognizant that things do fail by themselves - I myself am a computer technician know about failure probability, but then the way it is communicated makes me suspicious.) Keep away from these guys! A victim.

When we asked about it we were told that it should go off in a couple days, if not to call back. A week and a half later to our horror the car was overheating again and the check engine light was still on. We called Meineke and was rudely told the goal is to get the car running!! Yes that is the goal but also to have the issue fixed that we bought the car in for. Now we have a blown head gasket which is nearly 1500 or more or replace the motor!! I spoke with ** the operations manager who was zero help, and let us know the technicians didn't even check our vehicle for overheating!! Which is what we had the car towed to them for! Meineke is certainly responsible for the damage to the vehicle since they didn't fix it properly the first time!

On 02/10/2015, Meineke actually towed my vehicle to my home in a non-working condition, blaming it on the age of the engine; even though it ran just fine when I brought it in. I spoke to my brother, an L5 mechanic and learned that not making sure that the timing is correct can cause lots of damage to the engine. I called Meineke headquarters threatening further action if I wasn't reimbursed and given a vehicle to drive. I also told them how upset I was that I brought a perfect good running vehicle into their place of business and was given back something completely not working, saying that was just the way it is. They said it could take up to 48 hours to respond. I also spoke to an attorney and he said to start taking notes of all the interactions and excuses, and to wait it out and see what the final outcome is before proceeding further.

The next day, ** at Meineke called me and said he felt bad that I didn't have a vehicle, and was going to tow it back to their garage and repair it at their cost. But, he did ask me if I would pay $500 for labor. I couldn't believe he said this! If they actually believed the motor problems were not their fault, they would not have offered to pay for all the parts it would take to fix the engine. And I have yet to be offered a loaner vehicle to get to work and such.

As of 03/03/2015 and multiple calls, my vehicle is still not running, and ** insists that it was not any fault of theirs that the engine is not running. I was very vocal, stating that my vehicle, although an older vehicle, always started great and ran smooth. And I also expressed being very upset not having a vehicle for a month, having to rely on other people to get around. This has cost me to miss 4 straight weeks of study I attend in Dallas. Prior to bringing my vehicle in, I had not missed a week in 15 weeks straight. And I attend band practice every week as well, which has also been very damaging to our schedule. I also let it be known that due to having to get rides to and from work every day, I have been late to work for a month. Also, I have to leave work when the last person leaves so I will have a way to get home. This causes me to lose a lot of hours, resulting in a large loss of income this past month.

Meineke called me on 03/05/2015 and said my vehicle was running great and ready to be picked up. A co-worker gave me a ride to Meineke this morning (03/06/2015) to pick up my vehicle and take it to work. The engine was a lot rougher sounding and had a clicking sound under the hood I had not heard before. After work, I decided to take it to the car wash to have it cleaned. Unfortunately, I never made it. A couple of miles from work, the engine overheated and steam was coming from under the hood. I pulled into a gas station and called Meineke to come and tow my vehicle back and to have it looked at. I also called my co-worker to come take me home.

Later that day, Friday, Meineke called and said it was fixed and asked me to come pick it up. I told them since I have no transportation, it would be Monday morning before I would have a ride to their garage. This seemed to upset the employee, causing him to say he needs my truck out of their garage at this point, that it's taking up space in their garage. I explained that it wasn't my fault that it's still there and offered to walk more than 2 hours from my home to come get it. He said ** would come pick me up. A few hours later, nobody had shown up by then to pick me up. I was called on 03/07/2015 and was told they sent my vehicle to another shop since there was something not quite right with the way it was running. Said it should be ready by 03/09/2015.

As of 03/10/2015, I haven't heard anything for over 2 days. I am still relying on people to take me to and from work. Today marks 5 weeks since I dropped my vehicle off to have an antifreeze leak repaired and have yet to be offered a loaner vehicle. 03/11/2015 I called Meineke to check on my vehicle. ** said it was ready. He drove it for quite some time to make sure everything was fine, and he said he ran great. I had a co-worker take me there to pick it up this morning. Not only is the vehicle running a lot rougher that when I first took it there, but now the check engine light is on, preventing me from getting it inspected. This vehicle isn't anywhere close to running great.

03/12/2015 I called Meineke to inquire about check engine light and to get my truck inspected. ** said it was nothing they did to cause the light to come on, yet the light has never been on in the 8 years I have owned the vehicle. He suggested I take it to the dealership, which would be an out of pocket cost to me for something they should repair. He said this was out of their realm of expertise and there is nothing else they can do. They were getting no reading from the vehicles computer, like it was connecting to it at all. 03/13/2015 I took my truck to Auto Zone to see if they could pull the codes, showing why the check engine light is still on. They tried, but their machine could not get any reading from my computer at all. It never would connect, which is what Meineke told me.

03/14/2015 ** at Meineke called me this morning, asking if I could bring the vehicle to them for a couple of days, saying they might know how to correct the check engine light problem. I let him know that I needed it to at least drive to Dallas on Wednesday for my study group, so I would drop it off that Thursday morning. I'm still unsure why I was given the vehicle back in this condition to begin with since it is in nowhere near the condition I brought it in as. Even if the check engine light issue is fixed, the engine still runs very rough and there is a loud clicking noise under the hood that wasn't there when I brought it in. They claimed to have practically rebuilt the motor at this point, so it should sound and run at least as smooth or better than when I brought it in. This doesn't make any sense.

03/19/2015 I dropped the vehicle off at Meineke this morning. ** said he would need it for probably a couple of days to address the check engine light problem. He asked how it was running and I told him it was still very rough this morning and that I have only driven it once this week to get to my study class in Dallas, in fear of receiving a ticket for my inspection being outdated. I noticed this morning that it was leaking fluid underneath again. When I left the garage today, it was leaking, so I pointed it out to him as well. I am not expecting to see my vehicle for quite some time now.

It has now been 6 weeks since I first brought my vehicle to them, and I have never actually gotten it back in anywhere near the condition I brought it in. I also called an attorney today to have him look at all the notes I made every time something went wrong or when I was contacted by Meineke. He suggested I wait until I get my vehicle back before proceeding with any sort of lawsuit. He thought I should give Meineke the benefit of the doubt and see if they return my vehicle in a good working condition first, even if it has been close to two months since I dropped it off the first time.

03/26/2015 I picked up my vehicle from Meineke this morning. As soon as I left, I already heard a new sound that wasn't there before. A loud, almost siren sound. And, my turn signals don't work now. No blinking light inside the vehicle, and when I got to work, I checked and they weren't blinking on the outside either. I called ** at Meineke again and he sounded surprised. When I described the loud siren type sound, he said it was something to do with the speedometer and the sound was coming thru my speakers. But, when I turned the radio off, I could still hear the sound. Also, driving down the road, I rolled the windows down and the sound was clearly not coming from my speakers.

Why do I keep getting lied to? At this point, it's very insulting. What I don't understand, why is the vehicle not being checked over, making sure everything works before giving it back to me. Now I have to bring it back there to have that problem looked at, and inconvenience another co-worker to take me home again. Even if the turn signal problem is corrected, it still doesn't run anywhere near as good as when I first brought it in. I'm surprised they didn't offer to refund what I paid in the beginning so I could use that as a down payment on another vehicle. It would have saved both of us a lot of time, trouble and money, and I would have been perfectly fine with that. Once I receive my vehicle from them, I will not be taking it back. And it is basically worth nothing at this point in the condition they have given it back to me.

03/27/15 Meineke called me this morning. Said the blinker problem was a switch that was out under the steering column. I was told it would cost around $100 plus 2 hours labor. The blinkers worked perfectly fine before, so this is yet another thing they messed up and won't admit to and fix. I told ** to park my truck outside and leave the key in it and I will pick it up tonight. I have officially reached my limit with Meineke and this location.

At the time I didn't have my phone so I had nobody to call so I had to push my van towards my house. As I was going down the street a ex-mechanic named ** helped me out by giving me a jump start but the van wouldn't turn back on and ** stated the reason why it wouldn't turn on was that I have a starter problem because it was either placed wrong or it was defective and I also had a fuel injection problem so there nothing he could do. So I continued to push my van until I couldn't push it anymore then a man (unknown name) came out his house and I asked if i could borrow his phone. So I called my dad and I told him what happened. We left the van at the mans house because he offered the help. Again we took the van to get it repaired and surprisingly it works better than the first time we took it; for now of course.

So it went from a simple oil leak repair to all these random repairs that shouldn't have been there in the first place because the van passed smog. Everything was great and these "mechanics" decided to mess it up just to take more money out of us. Another thing my dad also took his car to get it repaired because his front bearing were damaged. The manager ** stated the left axle had a bolt that was broken so they replaced it. Then the mechanics decided to replace the right axle to be on the safe side with my dads approval.

When they fixed the axles my dad took the car home but as he was driving, the axles were making noises and my dad complained about the noise and ** said it was ok. But it was not ok because the mechanics told my dad not to drive it on the freeway a couple days later when my dad already drove it on the freeway, due to the fact his job is 20 minutes away on the freeway. Their careless behavior could have cause an accident and people would have been injured or killed.

They normally close at 6:00 p.m., but had to stay until about 6:45 to finish the repair. You better believe I'll not only be going back to them again, I'm telling everyone I know about how wonderful they were. Even the gal at the counter engaged me in a conversation, and made it clear it was no problem for them to stay later (they open at 7:00 a.m., but are there early). What a pleasant experience. I can't remember a car repair being so pleasant! Thank you for being human.

When I went to the Manager ** he was very unprofessional and refused to take responsibility for his employee’s actions. He told me the employee was coming down to speak to me about the incident but he arrived and never even looked at me. He did a test drive of my car because I told them that the air bag sensor light was also staying on since the damage to the column, but a scan of the system showed it was not related to the damage to the column. Then I was told that we were through take my car and leave and his last words to me is I hope you did not call corporate headquarters.

I have never been treated so poorly as today and if I could have stopped payment I would have, but the transaction had already cleared my account. (NOTE) I do not have a scanner to post a copy of the receipt. I am not the only person that has had problems with this store. Something needs to be done about this.

UPDATED ON 09/27/2015: I filed a complaint with my bank for the charges and they fought for my rights as a consumer and I am pleased to report that Meineke after 3 months refunded all of my money totaling 550.00. I took my car to another shop and they repaired the steering column lock that was broken for 250.00. I will never use Meineke again and I advise anybody considering it not to. None of their mechanics are ASE certified and it is clear that they are only after your money and not the best interest for your automobile. I am one of the lucky ones. I had just purchased my car 3 months before and the dealership provided an accurate record of service and vehicle condition proving my account of fraud and damage.

I then called the general manager and he was rude and claimed he was not there, so he does not know what happened therefore he cannot do anything to help. He was arrogant and dismissive and seemed like your stereotypical corrupt mechanic. After living in this country for 15 years, this is the absolute worst treatment I have gotten from an auto mechanic and I suggest that no one provide business to the Meineke brand. That is all we are to them, not people but floating dollar signs.

They left old parts under the hood!!!!! I brought my truck in to have the intake gaskets changed, and at that time I was told that I was missing the heat shields from the plug wires. This was at a different shop, of course. I pulled out the old plug wire and was shown the heat shield that was still attached to that one. I then went back to Meineke and spoke with Henry, the owner. He was very nice when he was taking my $550.00 on the 4th, but a week and a half later, when he was confronted with the issues of not only leaving the old plug wire in there, but not putting my heat shields back on the wires, he was straight up rude. I was calm and collected, polite, but he was rude. He accused me of lying and saying that he didn't believe that the plug wire I had in my hand was even from my truck. He refused to even apologize for the plug wire being left in a hazardous position under the hood of my truck!

I asked for either my old heat shields back, or new ones, and he laughed at me and said that I voided the warranty of something. I am not asking for warranty work, you took accessories off my vehicle, did not put them back, and threw them away, and now I am left having to buy new ones. Worst customer service EVER. Worse than Microsoft, and I had to make countless calls to them with an issue. At least they did not accuse me of lying. I will NEVER go there, and I will make it my mission to tell everyone who will listen why.

I still have unresolved vibrations that they said looked fine. But didn't the defective tire look fine when they balanced it? They replaced all my brake pads and rotors. Because they don't resurface them per the owner. I uploaded to yelp. Photos that showed my brakes were fine just 3k miles before their assessment. I went to Toyota after Meineke worked on my tires and they said it was unusual to replace all the pads and rotors the first time and that the rotors can be resurfaced at least once. The owner's a "nice" guy. But so aren't used car dealers?

After much debate, he agreed to replace the motor with a partially rebuilt used motor of a smaller size. We agreed to the compromise and finally we were notified in the middle of January that our vehicle was repaired. We were also presented with a bill for additional work replacing the motor in excess of $700 dollar. Mind you, this is for replacing a motor that they ruined and supposedly warrantied.

We refused to pay labor but compromised on the parts required to install the motor, which I believe was more than reasonable and not at all our obligation. Again, we picked up the vehicle and again it was not repaired. At this time, the gauges would not work and there was a water leak. After speaking to the manager again he told us that the gauge issue was a simple fix that would take about three hours when we dropped the vehicle off that morning at 9:00 am. At 5:00 pm when we went back to retrieve the vehicle that same day, the manager informed us that unfortunately the repair was beyond their level of expertise and that they had no one there that could make this repair.

I then attempted to contact the owner but to no avail. I proceeded to contact the Meineke Corporate office and they attempted to mediate on our behalf. To make a long story shorter, Corporate finally told me that they could not force a franchise to complete the repair and that in the wording of the warranty statement, it specified that the warranty work was at the store's discretion. In closing, the store choose to refund us the $200 spent on the parts used replacing the motor and refused any further repairs on this vehicle. PLEASE BEWARE of allowing this store to work on your vehicle and carefully examine any warranty statements. I am totally disappointed. I thought Meineke was more reputable than this.

At 10:30 pm I was picked up for a friend, after waiting almost for 4 hours in a cold weather NOBODY CAME!! TO MAKE IT WORSE they gave silly excuses: the first time they said that the truck they send got mechanical problems in the road and they will hire another truck (the driver never called to let me know that he had mechanical problems), the second car said that in 30 minutes will be in the place to tow my car. After an hour nobody showed up. I called 18773703753 to report it. Again they use another silly excuse: they said that the police stopped his car.

I had a police officer in front of me and I asked more information to verify it, and then suddenly they said that the police didn't stop them but the Office of Regulations. I asked them again "tell me more about it maybe the police officer could help us" but they refuse to keep talking (I believe something was not right there). Andy said that they will call me but until 10:30 pm nobody called.

At that time I was picked up for a friend and I had to leave the car. I was exposed to cold weather for 4 hours and I feel bad with pain in my legs for the cold. I want to make an official report and let you know if something happen to the car or my health situation it will be at your fault. I trusted in your company because I thought that you had good reputation. I changed my mind about it and I will place reviews to alert people about probable scams and fraud with "The Car Care Club" that I would call "The Big Scam Club"

There was 2 mechanics present, of which both gave 2 different stories as to what had happened and how much oil had ran out of my engine. I refused and called in reinforcement because I could see I was going to get mistreated. I called the owner and informed him of the situation and agreed to leave my Suburban with them and return later that day to go over it with him. He agreed then that my engine was ruined.

I gave proof of the age and mileage of my engine but the owner decided that it was suitable to replace mine with a used one with 30,000 more miles on it. I did not like the sound of it but was told by the owner that it was my best option at that time because of the year of my vehicle. The owner said they would do the work there in their shop. I did not know it was going to be many months later before my Suburban was returned to me. In the process, one of the mechanics working in that Meineke informed me that the transmission/transfer case was dropped while it was being moved, but the owner never acknowledged or disagreed this happened.

I kept a running log of my visits and calls to Meineke. The engine that was purchased to replace mine was no good and it took them over 3 months to figure this out. I checked in frequently on my vehicle and to my dismay, it wasn't getting fixed in a timely manner and the workers at Meineke seemed put out by me coming into and calling. Keep in mind that the owner did not make any contact with me through this process. After 3 months I called a complaint line for this company but after over a 20 minute hold, was informed that all they could do was call that Meineke and voice concern.

All this time I was also paying out of my own pocket to rent a vehicle to drive. I was told that the Meineke was finishing up my engine at that time. A month later I still did not have my Suburban back. Finally on November 3, 2014, almost 6 months to the date, a worker from Meineke called me to come get my car. I went to get it and the driver's window was down and wouldn't roll up, the vehicle smelled like an automobile wrecking yard, it had a solid coat of dust covering everything inside of it, and it didn't sound good. I asked the mechanic and he did not feel any of this was their problem.

So in a cold winter storm I had to drive my Suburban home without a driver's window and to my dismay, the transmission wasn't shifting and the engine sounded horrible. I called Meineke and they finally agreed to have their neighboring business, a transmission shop, look at it. That shop had it for 3 days and the mechanic's and owner there said that the transmission needed adjusted and that Meineke should not have messed with my transmission and my engine was not running on all cylinders. They also stated that NONE OF THEM had ever gone over and looked at my Suburban even though I was told they had.

I recorded every word of the conversations. I had a friend that is a certified GM mechanic look at my Suburban and he too said that my engine was not running on all cylinders. I notified the mechanic from Meineke of this and he texted from his personal cell about this. I informed him of the situation and NEVER heard another word from anyone from Meineke. I sent emails to their corporate and received a voice mail later from the mechanic that had texted me stating that he understood I was trying to reach them. That wasn't what I had said. I said it was time a certified mechanic took over and that Meineke needed to make it right with me because I was paying over $400 a month to rent a vehicle, and continue to do so to-date.

As of January 10, 2015 I still do not have my Suburban back in the condition it was in on May 5th 2014 when I took it in for a routine oil change. It leaves puddles everywhere it's parked and Meineke has made no effort to make it right. I installed a recording application on my cell a couple months into this because the mechanics would tell me one thing and my friends that were trying to help me something else. I have written affidavits from people about the condition of my Suburban before this happened. I have all the recordings, voice mails, & texts. I have pictures of the puddles my Suburban has left since it was returned to me. The rebuilt engine leaks more oil than my original engine did and I now have a leak somewhere around my transmission/transfer case. I went in with a small oil leak on the front of my block and now have a vehicle that leaves large puddles every where it's parked.

I am severely deflated in how this company treated a single mother and basically left her stranded without a car. I understand that my suburban was not brand new when THEY broke it, but would expect a reputable company to care more about their work and do more to make it right. I do not have a receipt for this as for no one from this Meineke ever offered one. I'm beside myself with how I was treated throughout this situation and overwhelmed with the rental payment. At this point in time I do not believe that Meineke is capable of fixing this engine and believe it's time a certified mechanic took over. It's time someone cared enough to make it right.

I am a disabled single mother taking care of two children, and at Christmas this could not have come at a worse time. I called Meineke headquarters who "investigated" and had a girl call me back who was highly unprofessional. She informed me they would not help me resolve the case or get my money back. I informed her of my current situation (being a single mother of two children, one who is 10 months old) and she answered by hanging up the phone on me! I tried to call back and the offices were closed for the day. Dealing with Meineke has been disastrous to me, my finances and my family. If this is a risk you wish to take, then Meineke is the car repair shop for you.

The tech took her back to show her the oil that was all over the engine. It was covered in oil - splattered up on the underside of the hood (right above the oil cap) and all over the manifold. She didn't think about it at the time, but the oil was fresh - definitely not oil that had been running through an engine for three months. The engine looked fairly clean except for the fresh oil. There was no dirt and grime that would have certainly accumulated and attached itself to the oil if there had been an oil leak happening for a period of time. Since it was fresh, the oil had to have already been changed at this point. Furthermore, the car was in the garage for about 10-15 minutes before the tech came to speak with her - sufficient time to change the oil, but too much time to not have already noticed the mess of oil that was all over.

The tech explained that the car was going to need about $500 worth of repairs. My wife immediately called me worried about the cost. I asked her to have them finish the oil change, but hold off on the repairs while I called my automotive friend at the car lot where we bought the car. My friend asked if we would bring the car by so he could look at it.

My wife drove the 15 miles from Meineke to the car lot. After looking at the car, he immediately told her that with as much oil as it was losing, that she would end up on the side of the road if she tried to take it home. He said that there is no way anyone could drive the car much more than a day without ending up on the side of the road. But that wasn't all he said. Because of the pattern of oil on the top of the car above the oil cap and all over the top of the manifold, our automotive friend said, "I'm 100% certain that the car was started with the oil cap off." He explained that if it was just the manifold leaking, there is no way the oil would seep "up" to the top of the manifold and to the hood of the car.

The next day, after he replaced the valve cover set, he explained that he didn't like to accuse people of shoddy work, but this looked very suspicious. The valve cover gasket was split in half in a way that does not happen from normal usage. It almost looked as if someone had taken a screwdriver and wedged it up against it. He suggested that a possible scenario was that a rookie technician mistakenly left the cap off, started the car, and, in an effort to cover his mistake, wedged a screwdriver into the valve cover gasket.

That last bit is quite speculative. But what is not speculative is that my car was working fine before I took it to Meineke, and it was not after I left. There is no way we could have been driving around with that bad of a leak, and for three months up to that point, no one has been under the hood of that car except for Meineke. Ironically, if the Meineke technician had come to my wife and told her, "I'm sorry. We made a mistake and we need to keep your car for a bit longer to fix it. Don't worry about the cost - we made the mistake, it's on us..." I would probably be a Meineke customer for life. But don't expect to see me at Meineke after this.

None of the work they said I needed did not need to be done but only brake pads.. The owner’s daughter also damaged my Dually fender which is going to cost $800 dollars to repair. The truck was taken to the shop that the owner’s daughter contacted... Well the owner of the Meineke shop will only pay 400.. for a 800 dollar job at a reputable shop.

About 30 minutes later, Harold showed me a small leak (displayed in some green colored dye) on the front of the condenser. About 25 minutes after that he walked to the front counter, and told me that my vehicle was ready. After I paid the $170.52, the mechanic drove my vehicle to the front of the shop. As I was about to drive away, Harold was standing at the Shop front door staring. I asked him, what’s the problem? Or does he have something to tell me? And he said “no, you're good to go”. I rolled up my windows and turned on my A/C. But it was still blowing hot air. I let the A/C run for about 5-6 minutes while I was driving back to work and it was still blowing hot air.

I immediately called the Auto Shop on my mobile phone. Harold answered, and I told him that my A/C was still blowing hot air. His response, “oh, the mechanic said that the fluid just ran out and the A/C would not charge”. My response was, “I am not expecting to get nothing for free, but why would you let me pay for work without informing me of the situation? And why didn't the mechanic inform me; while I was sitting in the lobby for nearly an hour, before I left the Shop?” Harold said, when I return Saturday September 13, 2014, and we will settle up.

When I arrived, Harold asked me how I was doing. I told him, that I was Blessed, but very disappointed about this whole customer service experience! I reiterated about Wednesday September 10, 2014. Furthermore, I told Harold that it was illegal and dishonest for him to withhold that vital information. That way I could have made an intelligent and informed decision. He said that the EVACUATE AND RECHARGE AC SYSTEM W/ FREON was a diagnostic. I told him that wasn't in our written legal original agreement or discussion. Furthermore, a diagnostic doesn't cost $170.52 at any Auto Shop or the Auto Dealerships. Therefore, I would have paid more than just $170.52 for services; that were supposed to be performed. More importantly, why would the mechanic waste his time pouring coolant into the condenser; with a so-called unfixable large hole in the system? Which is the same thing as pouring a $170.52; through a bucket with a hole at the bottom?

My time and money is too precious to throw away. God’s laws of physics shows any mechanic from a simple observation; if parts are damaged beyond repair or patching up? Harold then asked why I was so upset, when he said that he would accommodate me when I returned. (Note: I had the same professional attitude, from the previous visit). He was attempting to evade the potential legal issues at hand. However, my response to him was, “you withheld important information and changed your story. Furthermore, I've never had any Auto Shop; over the past 20 years, pull something underhanded and dishonest like this”. And to add injury to insult, Harold acted like nothing was wrong and everything was OK.

I don’t believe that his mechanic attempted to put any coolant in the Condenser all. The mechanic was standing around into garage, with his son and his friend. And I did not see any device, hooked up to my vehicle. Point blank Harold Dunham Jr, Owner tried to rip me off! And thought that I was too stupid; to see what kind of business scams they are running here. More importantly, I told him that he had a Legal obligation in agreement with Meineke’s Customer Service policies, the Better Business Bureau, and the Laws of the Land on business practices and regulations: to conduct himself accordingly.

Next, he asked me for my debit card and my last name. After I signed off on the Refund process, he handed me my receipt. As I was about to make a final statement, Harold Dunham Jr, Owner said, “I don't give a **!” I told him that I was going to report him, to the Meineke Corporation and the Better Business Bureau. Harold Dunham Jr, Owner said “You're not my customer anymore; GET THE ** OUT of my Store!!!" Right then, I should have called the Police and file a report for verbal assault. However, my very last reply, JESUS IS LORD AND GOD HEARS AND SEES EVERYTHING. For It Is Written in Matthew Chapter 12: 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

On Friday September 5 of that same week I stopped and got gas and check the oil - that is when I noticed only one of the 2 heater hoses were replaced. I calmly return to Meineke and spoke with **. ** said bring the truck in tomorrow and we will take care of it and make it right. On Saturday, September 6 Meineke had finished replacing the 3rd hose. They called me and told me they are only going to charge me $69. This brings the total bill for a simple replacement of 2 heater hoses and one upper radiator hose to $339, and required 2 trips.

Monday, September 8, 1st day out on the road for this service truck. Half an hour into the drive I notice my temperature gauge is higher than it's ever been before. I pull over and let the engine cool, then checked the water level in the radiator. It required approximately 1 1/3 gallons of antifreeze to bring it up to factory specifications. The old manager named ** was a straight up guy to whom my colleagues have had good service - that is why I went there in the 1st place. I did not know that management had been changed to this "**" fellow whom my colleagues and I have had no experience dealing with. If you are considering taking your vehicle to the Meineke located at 1702 SW. Roxbury St in Seattle, if ** is the manager I strongly recommend you go somewhere else. ** is a heavy set older guy wearing dumpy street clothes and sporting tattoos. If you do take your vehicle to ** make sure you read the invoice carefully, make sure what you ask to be done got done. ** manipulates the invoice knowing that most customers don't thoroughly examine it to cover his butt.

They gave me a price and then told me the warranty would be 3 years or 36,000 miles, which in the end he said 12,000 miles or one year, another bait and switch. The price he gave me was much lower than what I was ultimately charged. The resolution after contacting Meineke corporate office by ** was to give me a $300.00 credit against future labor. **, who manages the store said that I needed to replace my rocking pinion steering and so I told him the next time the car is in we would get that done. He told me the cost would be between $300.00 and $400.00 for the parts and that the labor would be covered.

The current situation is that I had begun noticing some issues with the transmission and he said the linkage needed to be adjusted so that was done. I told him that it still felt like it was dropping into gear instead of smoothly shifting. They looked at it again before I took a trip to San Diego and I was assured that it was in perfect shape and nothing to worry about. I continued to have concerns.

Last week when I went to back out of a parking space there was nothing. I couldn't back out and I couldn't go forward. I got ** on the Phone and he suggested trying it in different gears. I was able to get the vehicle moving and took it directly to his shop. He determined it was the transmission. He assured me that there would be no cost to get this repaired. There was a phone call regarding the bell housing and he said that a new would cost a few hundred dollars but that he told them to weld the current one so there would be no charge. I asked him if that was a good idea, he stated that the weld would make it even stronger than it was before.

So during this time I had to rent a car for 5 days ($272.00) which I told him somebody would need to pay for as it was related to the failure of the product he had put in my car. I was assured the car was ready and turned in my rental car to only get a call after doing that the car was not ready because the steering issue had not been corrected.

When I arrived I was presented with a $300.00 bill for the bell housing and a $600.00 bill for the steering a $70.00 bill for a front end alignment. The alignment by the way which he agreed to refund pulls to the right and there is now significant vibration in the front end when I drive at 60MPH or above. To say the least I was upset. ** had left and he was called on the phone and he initially refused to talk to me. I was between a rock and a hard place. Had already turned the rental car in, paid 40.00 for a cab ride and now couldn’t take the car unless I paid cash for the bill presented. I was told this because they were afraid that I would contest it with the Credit Card Company and stop payment.

** finally called back. He agreed to dispute the $300.00 bell housing bill and would give me cash for it since I had paid cash. He said it would be easier to do that than to adjust the bill by cancelling the transaction and just doing it for the other portion of the bill. So I said all right that I would come back and they could finish working on the steering. He also stated that he would just have the store dispute the charge for the bell housing and just not pay it as there's plenty of places that they could take their business.

When I showed up yesterday to finish all of this, I saw ** and suggested that we talk outside not in front of other customers as I did not want to have a negative impact on potential customers.. He declined and when I proceeded to ask for the money and resolution to the steering issue he told me “you’re getting nothing.” I asked about why the steering was worse than when I brought it in, he said “well you need a power steering pump.” I asked “well didn’t you check for that before you did this other work,” and he said no. That it was my fault because I didn’t get it fixed when the transmission was originally done.

Clearly this is not an isolated issue for me. Each time I have had to deal with ** is has been a disaster. I am looking for the following: Reimbursement for the Bell Housing bill of which they were charged $275.00 and I was charged $300.00. Reimbursement for the car rental $272.00. Reimbursement of $300.00 from the original agreement. Reimbursement of $70.00 for the front end alignment.

I am prepared to do what is necessary to resolve this matter based on the promises that were given to me by **. In closing, for fourteen years ** took care of me, never had an issue. Sent a lot of business your way. Since ** has been involved it has been a disaster. I would like to get this behind me and will take my business over to ** at one of your other locations in Phoenix.

I went to the shop that did the work and the Manager/Owner said he could do nothing for me since I had another mechanic touch the car and he had no control. I told him I would contact Corporate and he said good luck. Upon contacting Corporate they said that the shop was independently owned and they could not help me. I told them what the shop said and she said that was not true - so basically the shop lied to me and Corporate did not care. VERY disappointed. I am attaching a picture of the part that my mechanic took out that Meineke had put in less than 3 months prior and less than 3,500 miles used on this part.

The recent incident is worse and it resulted in me driving my car out of there with an oil leak which I didn't have when I drove in. They replaced parts as routine maintenance for the age of my car and didn't do it right. He then tried to say that I drove in with a leak and put that on the invoice and wanted me to pay again for the part they ruined, another part on top of that and labor, about 3 hrs. worth. I paid for the messed up work in order to have my car released to me. So, now I'm going to be out of pocket around $700 because I don't trust a word he says and have to go elsewhere. He verbally apologized for the inconvenience but wouldn't admit that he and his mechanic messed up and didn't put it on the invoice. If you have money to burn this would be the place.

Details: I had a 14-pass. van towed to this business on 7/16/14 after it would not start. Over the next 2 1/2 days, they replaced the water pump and radiator and installed a start/stop switch to bypass the ignition, saying the ignition wiring was bad. After I paid $3,123.30 for the repairs and loaded my tour group of kids into the van to start the trip back to Knoxville, TN on 7/18/14, we drove only 40 minutes when the serpentine belt flew off. I located a repair shop close by and was able to baby the van to that shop. They said the water pump froze up and failed because it had been installed improperly, the new radiator was too small for this vehicle, and that Meineke had outrageously overcharged for parts and service. They installed a new water pump - total charge of $607.93 and included a statement on the invoice advising that the required work was totally the fault of Meineke for their faulty work.

After I got my van of kids back safely to Knoxville, I contacted the Meineke manager and complained about his work and the price, saying I want to get the 2nd repair bill paid because it was caused by Meineke's shoddy work. After I send him a copy of the 2nd repair shop invoice and gave him the phone number of that shop, he insisted that I had to send the faulty water pump to him to inspect and that he didn't believe the information from the other mechanic. He said the warranty information on the back of the paid invoice required me to call him - I told him I certainly would not take the vehicle back to his shop even if I had some way of getting it there while I was finding some way to lodge/feed my van full of kids because of his shop's shoddy work.

I contacted Meineke Corporate "Customer Service" but the person there was completely unhelpful, advising that she is only a "mediator" with no say over what the local franchise does. As of 8/13/14, the shop manager is still insisting that I must send the water pump to him to examine to see if it was defective. I told him I would not do so since I am sure his examination would miraculously show that the water pump that caused the serpentine belt to jump off was perfect. I have filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against this business but don't expect to get any satisfaction there, either, based on a prior experience with them doing nothing.

I took my mother's vehicle into Econo Lube because we had used this location before for not passing smog only to find it had changed ownership to Meineke Car Care Center 100 W Chapman Ave Placentia, CA 92870. I was told that the car would need a tune up and it would pass smog NO PROBLEM. There are 3 areas on a smog check which of two were passing upon agreement to service. Once I picked up the car I was told the EGR valve was cleaned along with the tune-up. There was also fuel injector cleaner added in that is not normally done during a tune-up. I went to drive the car to warm it up for the smog check, it would not even run pass the signal getting out of the place.

I returned immediately to which they took the car in and spent a couple hours investigating. I was told that the coil was bad so I ordered one online and had it put in. The coil did not work properly and was affecting electrical in the car. The bottom plate was replaced by the old part and the electrical works most of the time. The vehicle was taken to the smog facility to retest and did not pass. I took the car on my own to another garage for a Catalytic converter and took it to the smog center to be retested. The area of the smog check that I took the car in for initially now passed, however the two areas of passing before the tune-up and additional parts were not passing. I went back again to the garage and was told it needed an O2 sensor. Once again back to get a smog check and it did not pass, but the two sections had now become a gross polluter. The total spent on this car was 705.00 way beyond what should be.

I spoke to the head guy ** one more time and he stated emphatically that they could have done nothing wrong except that they should have given me all the costs upfront to make a decision from instead of being pieced together costing more and more money.

The last trip in was stated that the head gasket may be bad and that the cylinder #3 was bad as well. Not being able to diagnose this problem to start and costing enough money that could have been a down payment on another car is just wrong. Get all your numbers upfront before agreement to any repairs. Hopefully my credit card dispute will ease some of the sting.

I had no ac in my van. It blew warm air so I walked in to Meineke service center in Turnersville N.J. to ask a question on pricing. Manager PETER ** came to the counter. I explained my situation and asked if there was a price he could tell me. I had a very important event to attend and would have a full van up to and including my 80+year old mother. He said, “just give me the keys we will check it out.” Surprised, “I said oh... I just wanted to ask about pricing. I don’t need an appointment?” Well, he replies, “I will hook it up to the machine, inspect it then let you know what is wrong with it. I can do it right now and don’t worry it’s free.” I then let him inspect it.

An hour or so went by. Manager Peter ** came back and said he inspected the ac unit, seals, pressure and so on and the good news was that it only needs coolant and I was in luck cuz there was a special no charge for the diagnostics and they usually charge a higher price but this is the price for today. He will put the coolant in some kind of sealant just in case there is any tiny leaks and some dye that would show if that were the case. Based on his description and diagnostic tests that I felt confident Meineke was a trusted car care center and authorized the work.

Manager Peter ** went back with my van again. I sat there as some time passes. Peter returns. Stating, “Yah that's what it was, your ac unit was 'really thirsty'." I paid believing in Peter and Meineke. I got in my van the ac was running. I put my hand to the van - it felt cool. I pulled out, drove about a minute down the road and it started getting warm then hot. I called Peter. He said, “Bring it back the next day. It’s probably nothing.” Having 5 young children that I care for I returned the following day around 11:00 a.m. I was once again greeted by Manager Peter **. He says, "I needed you here early in the morning.” I said I have 5 children I care for and this was the earliest could get there and he never said a time during our phone call not to mention the time I spent there the day before. Peter ** snapped, "Well I have 7 kids and I’m here at 5 a.m.,” took my keys and left.

Again I sat there for a number of hours with a 7 year old special needs child. Finally he came back and informed me that when the coolant was put in, it leaked out the same spot that it went in this type of thing happens all the time. I questioned him about the dye, he said there was no dye visible but assured me that he had repeated the process and this time it would be fine and not to worry about any fee because of my inconvenience. Once again I put my hand by the vent it wasn’t cool but it was cold. Peter stated that it was 32*C. I said it didn’t feel like that but Ok maybe I’m wrong. Once again trusting Meineke Car Care and its management Peter ** I pulled out and went one traffic light or two, parked the car and went into a store.

When I came out INCREDIBLY NO COLD AIR! I went back TO Meineke Car Care Center and as per all my visits Manager Peter ** greeted me. I told him the air wasn’t working and he said, “just drive it, you may have a block and the engine is overheating and the ac is doing its job and shutting down!” Terrified! OMG! Is it safe to drive? "Oh yes," he assured me, “it will clear itself and call me tomorrow.” I reminded him about the upcoming event and he assured me all would be fine.

The next day there was NO AIR. I called the center I was told to return. I again went back to Meineke. This time Peter was off even though Mr. ** clearly stated that he would be there the day before. After hours of sitting there the mechanic came out and said it was the rear ac seals (something like that) and would now cost me an additional $300.00. More to the point Peter never tested the Ac unit, pressure and that he had not properly inspected my vehicle. That he had no explanation as to why the manager did what he did or said what he said but had he properly checked he would have saw it was not just the coolant. I asked for a refund and I was denied he stated I would pay that anyway. I said I would not have authorized a $500.00 repair to begin with nor would I have put coolant in a defective unit. I was turned away and handed a business card that put me directly back to Manager Peter **!!!!!

Meineke car center Management robbed me! I believe the management did unnecessary repairs to my van and did so by deceiving me and now refuses to return my money. No one answers the 800# nor do they return calls........Just to let you know my important event we were all sweating!

I told my wife about it and she said it would be best to go back to the Meineke to have them check it. About 200 ft. before the Meineke there was a red light. I stopped and the car began to violently shake and the "tapping" sound quickly became a "loud knocking" sound. I pulled in and spoke to ** and told him what was going on. He went to pull her car into one of the bays and the car died out. He asked a few of the mechanics there to help him push the car into the bay so he could inspect it.

Once on the lift, he called my wife and I into the shop area and told us that they had installed a "defective" oil filter and that her engine was blown! My wife became extremely upset and began to take an asthma attack and I had to try my best to calm her down because she did not have her inhaler on her. ** told me to tell her that they will "do the right thing" and replace her engine free of charge. My wife and I insisted that at the very least, they must install a "rebuilt" engine with a warranty. He said he was not sure if he could do that.

Once we went back to our apartment, my wife called Meineke Corporate and told them what had happened and demanded that they install a "rebuilt" engine with a warranty. She spoke to a CSR by the name of Ellias. He said that her request was extremely reasonable and that he would contact the Woodbury Meineke and tell him to honor the request. Ellias called my wife back and told her they would install a "rebuilt" engine with a warranty.

About 2 weeks later, the Woodbury Meineke called us and said that her car was ready. Once there, we spoke to someone named ** and he said that he personally took care of everything and had ordered a "rebuilt" engine from a company called ITC. He said that if we had any problems whatsoever, to take her car back to Meineke and her would personally take care of it. About 5 days later, the "Check Engine" light came on again.

We took it back to Meineke and ** said that he would take a look at it. He called us up and said that there was just a simple "communication" problem between the catalytic converter and the engine and all he had to do was "reset the soft light" and everything would be fine. He asked if he could keep the car for a few days to test drive it to make sure that the "Check Engine" light would not come back on and that everything else was okay. My wife agreed and we picked her car up 3 days later.

Everything seemed fine with the car...at first. 3 weeks afterwards; on my wife's birthday no less; the "Check Engine" light went off again. We took it back to the Woodbury Meineke to find out that they now have a new owner, new management, and all new mechanics. No one that was working there now was there when we had taken the car for the initial oil change or when we brought the car back after the "rebuilt" engine was installed.

The new manager ** had no idea what we had gone through, but we explained everything to him. He said he would inspect the car to see what the problem was. He called my wife and told her that she would need a new catalytic converter. My wife and I were sure that the "rebuilt" engine had something to do with the catalytic converter going bad.

My wife called Meineke Corporate and asked to speak to Ellias. She was told that Ellias no longer works there and spoke to an extremely rude CSR that would not let my wife explain anything or get a word in edgewise. My wife told the CSR everything that had happened to her car and that she was sure that the "rebuilt" engine was the cause of the catalytic converter going bad. The CSR told my wife that her warranty was only on her engine and that there was no way that would have made the catalytic converter go bad.

My wife had became extremely frustrated with this CSR and told her that we would contact a lawyer. The CSR told my wife that if she did that, she would "erase all records of all of her phone calls and complaints!" The next day, ** the new manager of the Woodbury Meineke; called my wife. He said he wanted to try to find out any information he could about the "rebuilt" engine that was installed. He told my wife that it was not a "rebuilt" engine. He said that it was a "used engine from a junkyard"!!

My wife and I have gone through so much since the economy went down the drain. We both lost our jobs, we lost our home, and have gone through bankruptcy. I am back to work now, but my wife is still unemployed and needed her car to look for a job because I cannot afford everything. We are in an apartment now and are falling back further and further in debt. We don't know what to do now. We cannot afford a lawyer unless we can find a pro-bono lawyer or possibly a lawyer that would handle our case on a contingency basis and add all of their charges and fees to the total amount my wife and I are seeking.

We gave Meineke one shot to "do the right thing" and they did not and lied to us! The only way I can see them doing "the right thing" at this point in time would be to cut my wife a check for the entire amount that she has paid to Toyota. I have heard that the best we could hope for would be "Blue Book" value, but we will not be able to get a car as reliable as hers was with that value. Besides, none of this would have ever happened if they just recognized the defective oil filter BEFORE they put it on. Are there any lawyers that would be willing to take on this case as described earlier? Either by pro-bono or on a contingency basis? Someone... anyone?

I saw him exhibit this behavior more than once with other customers on the phone while waiting for hours for work on my car, then redo incompetent work. WHAT HAPPENED - ** has a female working in the shop who apparently should be sweeping floors and used as a go-for rather than work on anyone's car. After 4-1/2 hours to get tune-up and flush, left at 6:10 p.m. car jerked, and attempted to stall for the 8 mile drive home - they were closed so I couldn't turn around. Went back next day another mechanic spent over an hour correcting her mistakes (but apparently not all).

Two days later I find huge oil leak on my garage floor. Go back to find out that gasket had been pinched and broken so oil was leaking all over engine and ground. Lost 1/2 day of working waiting for this to be repaired. ** was to order hose that female broke and has played games - 1st he couldn't find part (I found it at dealer and gave him both name of dealer and phone number - cost $27.00). He said he didn't have TIME to order until later in day. Week goes by I call, what about hose, now ** tells me that wrong hose came in had to reorder, but that I was welcome to order, pay and pick up hose for them - something I offered in 1st round to get work done and move on. Told him no I wasn't going to do that because the manager had said he didn't want me to do that because he had to handle all sorts of paperwork.

Two weeks later I call and talk to ** - no he doesn't have hose again claiming doesn't know where to get it. I told him I already gave him name of dealer and phone number. He now states it was his understanding from ** that I was going to order and pay and pick it up. At that point I told him no, that is not what was discussed and I no longer had patience for his incompetence. At that point he said conversation was over and hung up.

I am going to file complaint with Better Business Bureau as well as post VERY NEGATIVE REVIEWS OF YOUR MANAGER, YOUR DEFECTIVE WORKMANSHIP, YOUR INEFFECTIVE SHOP IN GILBERT. You have wasted my time, money and most likely caused damage to my engine (I am also considering filing a lawsuit against Meineke) which I will seek replacement of a new engine since your shop's quality of workmanship is defective and suspect. Unlike a professional business that wants to rectify legitimate complaints and speak with customer - your manager, ** lies and denies - doesn't accept responsibility for his work or lack of it. Wouldn't trust them to take out the garbage. Apparently he is more interested in ONE TIME SERVICE and NOT REPEAT CUSTOMERS which is he was a competent manager know is needed if the business is to survive and grow.

HE HAS VERY LITTLE BUSINESS COMING THROUGH THE DOOR THAT I SAW WHILE SPENDING HOURS WAITING. Must be why he thinks it is better to agitate a customer even further having performed incompetent work over a $27.00 hose which could have been taken care of in 3-5 days (time for dealer to get part). He said dealer would deliver part to him. Ooops, did I say he said he had contact with dealer (add sarcasm). He is competent because instead of mechanics working on new car repairs, they had to REDO the incompetent work performed on my car. Time is money. He neither appreciates customers or repeat business, nor knows how to manage efficiently and effectively his mechanics, therefore making money for the shop. Again he is not qualified for the position he holds. No ethics, not competent.

I went to pick up my car and went across the street to Old Time Pottery, went to turn off my car and noticed that my ABS light was on, then my battery light came on. So I went right back across the street to Meineke, by the time I got there the engine light came on. So , they look at it again and say my alternator is bad, but don't know why the engine light came on. They tell tell me to go to AutoZone and have it scanned there because my car isn't communicating with their scanner but that the alternator needs to be replaced. So I go to AutoZone and go to turn the car on so it can be scanned and the car turns on for about 3 seconds then makes a clicking sound and turns off. It did this about ten times. Had to call my husband to pick me up, then I called Bill to tell him this, he hung up on me.

This is when I called the Meineke customer service. I try to turn the car on again to see if it will start and it stayed on with me pushing on the gas pedal (the guy at Auto Zone can attest to this) so I go back to Meineke with my husband following me to make sure I make it there. So, when I get there they look at the car again and scan the car (it works this time) and nothing is coming up, the engine and ABS lights are off but the battery light is still on. So I figured, okay I will just have someone look to see what's going on with the car at home.

When I drive off the Meineke parking lot and get to the light at county line, my car starts to overheat so I call Bill and he says to just bring it back so he can take a look at it so it stayed there yet another night. This morning I get a call from David telling me that he personally looked at my car and doesn't feel like anything foul was done to it and that him and his guys are honest people and would do anything to tamper with anyone's car and that the issues I'm having could happen to anyone. At this point Meineke has my car and it is. I was informed by David that my car is not drivable at this point until the alternator is replaced to see what else is going on with car. According to David I am being offered a great deal to have the alternator replaced at $356 ($219 for a remanufactured alternator, a new one at AutoZone was $119).

The only things that the car had prior to taking it to Meineke was SRS light being on, which has been on since 2006 when I got it (no one can tell me why it's on....including Meineke), the A/C not working and the inside heater blowing hot and cold air on and off and I turn it on on cold days. Nothing has ever leaked, the ABS light, the battery light, the overheating has NEVER happened!!! No problems with the car running what so ever!!!... And I find it to be too much of a coincidence that it all started within an hour of picking up my car. I don't know if it's because I'm Hispanic and a female to boot that they think they can screw me over. While I was in there two other guys where in there concerning issues they had with services performed by Meineke.

They replaced the water pump and they suggested two hoses. This cost another $378. The car two days later started leaking coolant from near the hose. It turned out the plastic on the radiator was cracked right at the hose connection. The radiator was replaced 18 months ago and was fine. The plastic doesn't corrode, it cracks when forced! The hose was not the same as the factory and had to bend over the battery. Art refused to replace the radiator as it was not his fault. He said it must have overheated - it did not. He charged for a new rad and labor. This cost $368. This same shop also charged $249 to replace the rocker cover gasket as that was the source of the oil leak.

When I returned and said the oil leak was not better, they said it was the oil filter gasket. This was replaced. They also said the head gasket was leaking oil and this would be another $1023. So they diagnosed the cooling problem wrong and the oil leak problem wrong but wanted to keep charging for more items. Finding an oil leak is very easy and you add dye to the oil and it shows up a day or two later. But there is no money in that. Stay as far away from this location as possible.

I asked for corporate number and he started giving me crap that even if you make an appt., that doesn't mean you will be taken in on time. "Like a doctor's office, do you get called in at your scheduled appt time?" If it were 20 or 30min, fine but at least an hour and a half later, before my car will be taken in is ridiculous. As I was leaving, he ridiculed me about calling corporate, not once but twice said "have a nice day" as if he were trying to goat me. I assume to impress his friend whom was waiting for her oil change to be finished. I could not believe it! Wasn't my first visit but definitely my last!

We went back to dealer and told them and they ran a print off showing the battery was bad and to go back to Meineke with info. Went back to Meineke and this time they tested it right away and said it was bad. The man at Meineke said there was nothing he could do as they no longer handled AC Delco batteries. After calling him a liar and a cheat, he said he wasn't and to prove he was an honest person, he said he knew he sold it to us but still wouldn't do anything as he didn't have Delco batteries. The original battery costs $114.99, but with all their add ons, it cost him $147.53. The buyer of this battery is in the mid 80's and he got ripped off. We called around and found Delco dealers but they couldn't help us as we didn't buy from them and it's the dealer that warranties it, not Delco. They wanted to sell us a new one.

We shopped around and found a good buy for a new battery at Costco. We told him the problem as they don't sell Delco but he called Meineke Corp Office and talked to a lady and she said that if the customer had problems, he should call himself. We have been calling for two days and nobody answers and after about 10 rings, you get an answering machine saying leave name and number, someone would call us. That was two days ago. We did and nothing (no calls back). We still keep calling.

I called, Art answered. I told him I was canceling because of rude customer service. He started yelling over me saying he's not rude. I said, "Talking over me and yelling is also rude." He hung up on me as I was talking and trying to get his full name. He would not give me his full name. After he hung up on me, I called right back and once again talked over everything I was saying so I could not get a word in. Kept repeating myself with the question of what is your full name, he hung up on me again. So this will be posted on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and the BBB. Thanks.

I park my car facing out everywhere I go so it gives me the opportunity to look at my car. I check my car over everyday no matter where I am. He told me that he had to speak to the owner and would get back to me the next day. As the day went on I didn't hear from Chris, eventually I called him around 1:45p because I felt like he would not call me as he stated he would. He stated that his boss, Jerry Morton, told him there is nothing they can do because how do they know that I didn't cause the damage when I left the property. I told him I went next door to the car wash, which is the next building over and that's when I noticed the damage. I came back over within 4 minutes of me leaving Meineke parking lot. He told me he was sorry that he checked over everything in the shop and there no burgundy paint on anything in the shop. He again stated there is no way that the damage occurred in the shop. I stated my car isn't burgundy but Rondo Red; furthermore my car is not a piece of crap car, it's a 2006 Acura TL that I take excellent care of. And I know for a fact that scratch was not there when I dropped my car off because I parked it face out and looked at it as I walked toward their building.

I let him know I will never come back to Meineke and that I am a Store Manager of a very large optical company. I will tell all my family, friends, coworkers, and customers about this incident. I also stated that I would file a complaint and bring a lawsuit if I have to. I also called the owner of Meineke Car Care, Jerry Morton on 08/06/13. I left a message for him to return my call and to this day he has not done so. I have wrote a review on what happened to my vehicle to the BBB and now Consumer Affairs. They are accepting zero accountability for the damage to my vehicle and I will not stop until this is satisfied to my liking. SN: I park my car in my garage every day and night to prevent birds droppings from causing to damage my paint. My car is my pride and joy. I have a 05' GMC Envoy XL that I've had since 07' and it's in excellent condition. It's also parked in my garage when I am not driving it.

On 07/13/13 I took my truck in for replacement of a "lifetime warranty" muffler installed by this shop less than a year ago, which had gotten progressively noisier in the past few months. Because it would be awhile before they could get it in the shop, I left it and was to be called once in the shop and examined and hopefully, the requested work done. Received a call from CSR (Garrett?) who informed me that the muffler was not covered by warranty because the damage was done by an engine backfire, to which I responded - as the only driver - that there had never been a backfire. Then I was told it had to have been a "silent backfire," which I've never heard of. In addition, the mechanic(s) had done a "23-point courtesy inspection" (always done to find more work and $$$ for the shop) and found several needed items: 1) Serpentine belt needed replacement (which I already knew and had purchased a non-OEM belt to install myself); 2) Oil / filter need changing (which I knew and usually do myself); and 3) Fuel-injection system badly needed cleaning.

The background noise was loud and the CSR sped through the above telecon, so I could hardly hear and have time to digest... but I agreed to have the work done even though I could do most of it myself, but felt the charges would not be significant since the truck was already in the shop. Little did I know, but subsequently learned or confirmed (all prices before tax): 1) Cost of the muffler work totaled $251.48 L/M @ Meineke vs. $75.00 L/M for a first-time install of lifetime warranty at an "exhaust-system" only shop; 2) There is no such thing as a "silent backfire" per local muffler shop and Dodge dealer's shop, and a backfire is always very noisy... just as I thought; 3) Cost of after-market serpentine belt was $111.90 vs. one I already had at $42.99 from local chain-auto store vs. $65.00 for OEM belt at local Dodge dealership; 4) Unrequested "23-point courtesy check" cost $7.00 but is always free at private shops and dealerships; 5) Labor cost by the "shade-tree" mechanics is $95.00/hr. vs. $90.00/hr. for professionally trained at local Dodge dealership.

Had I known of the Meineke's corruptness I would have chosen different avenues for any auto work: 1) Made a first-time purchase of a "lifetime warranty" muffler from one of several "exhaust-system" only shops at $75.00 L/M vs. $251.48 L/M at Meineke; 2) Installed the serpentine belt myself at $42.99 M vs. $159.40 M at Meineke; 3) Had the local Dodge dealership install a Dodge/Mopar OEM serpentine belt at $110.00 L/M vs. $159.40 L/M at Meineke; 4) Gotten a free "23-point courtesy" inspection at the Dodge dealership vs. $7.00 at Meineke; 5) Had the oil / filter changed at the local Dodge dealership at $34.00 L/M vs. $28.95 at Meineke; 6) Avoided the $29.99 "shop supplies"; and 7 ) Avoided any "imaginary fuel injection system" clean-out at $79.95 at Meineke, where the air-filter cover over the carburetor had not been touched, thus no fuel-system work performed.

Bottom Line: Having all the work done via 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 above would have cost $219.00 at a local muffler shop and Dodge dealership vs. $543.27 (2.5x) at Meineke, for a savings of $324.27 (Note: all prices before tax). Conclusion: Avoid all Meineke Car Care Center shops and save yourself lots of money, not to mention avoiding all the anguish. In subsequently asking around re: Meineke's reputation, I have yet to find a satisfied customer.

Unfortunately, the truck was not ready when he said it would be. As we're waiting to get on the road on standby, he kept it one more night without even notifying us! We were upset, but we were just happy the truck was almost ready! Mind you, we are waiting for our truck. We sold our refrigerator, washer, stove; all of our furniture is in that truck, and sleeping on a ton of blankets over some hardwood floors. :/ So we get the truck the next day, pack up the blankets and head to the gas station to fill it up and it won't take gas. So my husband has that taken care of and we decided to leave the next day. We packed up our blankets for the second time and the truck is on the expressway and loses power, just like what it was doing before we took it Mario at Meineke! I'm so upset... It's Sunday, so we have to wait until the morning to call corporate, and another day without his very ill father that we will never get back. :( I've been looking over the receipt and it doesn't even show that he did the work he promised to do... I'm hoping that I'm wrong about this guy. He better hope because I will be going to the news next!

I left with my daughter, who had followed me there, for lunch and returned at approx. 1:00. My car didn't look like it had been moved. I went in and was advised that they hadn't gotten to my vehicle. I asked if since they hadn't honored my appointment time, if I could now get the $19.95 basic oil change and was told no. I asked for my keys and left the premises. While driving back to work, I was extremely frustrated as my vehicle needed an oil change so I turned around and went back into Meineke. I asked him how long it would take to get my oil changed and he advised me that he didn't want to service my vehicle. I have to assume that since I voiced my opinion regarding his policies that he refused to service my vehicle. How childish is this?

Now the second inspection station has to involve the state police because Meineke's rejection is called into question and the police will have to rule on the matter. By the way, the Meineke manager ran a credit check on me without asking, which I am told, is illegal. He told me my credit was good for $2,500 and they could finance the cost of repairs. I was given a schedule of financing costs by the manager. This was based on my giving my name and telephone number. I am a woman and 68 years old.

I kindly asked him to explain to me why the bill was so high. He stated that they did a diagnostic test, $89. (She did not request that, she asked them to check her battery.) He also said that it needed a new battery and had bad cable corrosion, and that it had an issue with the fuel injection. I questioned him as to why that was all so necessary when the issue was obvious. They never took the time to ask her what the symptoms were. We hung up and he turned on her, yelled at her for putting me on the phone. I had been polite the entire time I questioned their actions. He proceeded to yell at her three other times during the course of an hour while waiting. Other customers looked on. Needless to say, she was quite embarrassed by his belligerent words. You could not be more unprofessional in any service related business. We will never go back there again and continue to tell this story to others. Do yourself a favor and never ever go to this Meineke. A battery at Wal-Mart (if it even needs one) across the street is half the cost with the same warranty and they won't charge extra to clean the cables.

As soon as my husband drove it off the lot, the car had the same problems, if not worse. We took the car back to them and they explained we needed to pump the air out of the clutch (keep in mind, the car wasn't running; this was not air in the clutch as we have had our clutch replaced before). The service manager explained he would look it over but it was "just the air in the clutch." Five days later, they called and told us it was the master cylinder, and it needed to be replaced. Fine. Add another $300 to the repairs, just get our car working! On the 6th day, my husband went to pick up our car and it was worse than it was when we took it to them originally. He refused to pay for the car until it was fixed.

Long story short, our car broke down within 2 hours of having our car back and we had to tow it to a transmission shop. We were told because the clutch was put in wrong, it is possible our transmission will need to be replaced! My suggestion to anyone that needs their vehicle worked on, please google Meineke and read the review prior to taking your car there. Also, we have requested to speak with the owner or General Manager on several occasions. They refuse to allow us to speak with either of them. Why?

Please consumers, be careful and do your research prior to taking your car to any Meineke. When I searched for the phone number to Meineke's Corporate office, I had the misfortune of reading the bad reviews. Of course, this was after we took our car there.

Ten months went by and the muffler just fell off from under the car while I was driving and the muffler took a lot of superficial damage. My dad called them the next day and they said to take it in the day after in the morning. I took it in only for them to tell me that the manager was the only one who can validate the warranty and he wasn't there due to his "busy schedule.” Apparently, he was moving between 3 shops or something. So there was no point in me leaving it there if nothing could be done about it. The only technician that was there (or at least from what I could see) couldn't even speak a lick of English and the girl behind the desk talked to him in Spanish for me. They said they would call me when the manager came in and they never did.

I called them back the same day and they told me he only came in to drop off paperwork and then left. Neither of the two girls at the desk even called me or even told him about my car. So I called the other location at DeZavala looking for him and he said he would meet me the next day at 10 am. Next day came around and not only is he not there, but he is apparently at home "conducting business from there" according to what the girl behind the front desk said. She was "doing business" with him over the phone and told him about my car, apparently. She told me he was going to come in later in the day, but she said, "I don’t know what time he is going to come in." (Gee, sounds like one hell of a responsible manager). So she would call me "again" to let me know when he arrives. Needless to say, that never happened. Ever since then, they haven't made an effort to contact me about the warranty.

I'm also wondering how such a terrible weld got past the manager to begin with. It looks as if someone was shooting at it and missed the target location over and over again. There is also a good-sized gap in the weld and it looks like they stopped halfway on the weld in one of the areas. College is going on right now, so I don't have the luxury of making a huge situation about this at the store, but I am definitely going to make sure I can inform as many people as I can about this place. I will also provide some images as well. I will try to make complaints to as many places as I can in order to give this shop the reputation that it deserves.