ComplaintsforMeineke Car Care Center

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  HERE IS TIMELINE: I received negligent oil change service at Meineke on June 18, 2024, for my 2013 X3 28i. This resulted in turbo/engine failure the following day. Please review the following, with attachments proving my case.- ***, your onsite manager, after 40 minutes waiting for oil change, indicated they had the wrong year/model (after I clearly indicated it at arrival). I told him I only had 20 minutes before I had to leave for an appointment; the oil may have been changed, but not the filter.-After the turbo/engine failure the following day, I reported this to *** who indicated it would need to be taken to an approved Meineke repair shop and I should return and talk to **** *******, his boss. **** then sent me an email saying the oil and filter were changed properly according to make/model (this was not the case).-No repair shop was given, so I took it to Coopers Auto Repair on June 21. After inspection, it was determined incorrect oil filter and oil used. Coopers then did a complete oil change and recommended I drive the vehicle for a short time to see if the problem would resolve itself. The vehicle continued to whine and drive at much reduced power.-On July 3, I took the vehicle to Coopers for an estimate on complete inspection and repairs. They determined the turbo was blown and engine damaged. I declined repairs to get a second opinion; the cost was more than the vehicle fair value.-on July 4, I took the vehicle to *************** as this shop is expert in older Euro model repairs. I kept the old oil filter from the *********** change (still in my possession) and gave it to the tech. The tech determined the oil filter model on my Meineke oil change DID NOT MATCH the oil filter given. This definitively proves the filter WAS NOT CHANGED; the botched oil change led to the vehicle damages as determined by both repair shops.During this time, I have emailed **** ******* several times to work with Meineke to resolve this; he has ignored me.

• Initial Complaint

  05/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Paid for work that was not completed and Meineke accepted payment and misrepresented the work as having been completed.

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My husband and I took our vehicle to Meineke #**** ********************************************* on 12/15/24/for a AC compressor replacement. When we picked up the vehicle and started to drive home we noticed there was a heavy vibration when the car was running. This is not an issue that the car had before. We immediately returned to Meineke stating this issue. Meineke wanted to keep the car overnight to look for the problem. The next day while the mechanic was working on the car he left it running and unattended in an area open to the public. Someone walked by and got in the vehicle and stole it. This is the Pierce County Sheriff's case number **********. Our insurance considered the vehicle a total loss and paid out the value after a two week waiting period. The issue we are having with Meineke now is to refund the money we paid for the service that was never completed. Also to pay for the contents of the vehicle that was a loss to us due to the theft. PDF below. The theft of the vehicle was 100% their fault due to them not taking reasonable care to protect our vehicle. We have emailed and spoken by phone to Meineke but have gotten little response back and no refund for the service bill. Service bill ******** Contents of car ********

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On 11/15/2003 my girlfriend took her car into have a piece of pipe replaced and 1 piece of pipe welded.instead they removed 3 pieces of pipe that was installed a week before she brought it to them,removed the safety heat sheild designed to protect mechanical components from getting to hot as well as protect the carpet from catching fire,removed the clamps from the pieces of pipe that was just installed,they did install a new section of pipe as requested.the work they did leaks exhaust into the cabin of her vehicle which is causing her headaches and feeling tired.i went there with her the next day to find out why they removed the new parts why they took off a critical safety component and to have them repair their mistakes and ask for all the new parts back.the manager simply said we may leave now.refused to answer any questions,return parts,or make repairs.my girlfriend is 65 with health issues she can't be driving a vehicle that exhaust is coming in.i think this is the reason they did what they did .because she was a 65 yr old lady.

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On July 22, 2022, I took my car to get serviced, specifically to replace my spark plugs, fuel emissions and fuel injection service, and a 23 point vehicle inspection. A week later, I used my windshield wipers and they weren't working. They worked prior to Meineke servicing my car. I automatically thought it was Meineke's failure but the weather was nice so I decided to delay getting it checked out. When it started to rain on October 21, 2022, I went to *** Boys to assess what the issue was. *** Boys called me and asked if my car was serviced by another shop and I told them it was Meineke. *** Boys determined that the wiper motor harness was disconnected which they fixed and my wipers worked again. *** Boys charged me for a diagnostic fee which I agreed to. I then spoke with ***** from Meineke and he told me that his men in fact accessed my windshield wipers component when they worked on my car and I told him I would like to be compensated for what I paid *** Boys in the amount of $217.06 as it was Meineke's failure to connect the wiper motor harness that resulted in the failure of my wipers. ***** told me that *** Boys should have reached out to Meineke so they would have the opportunity to fix it, and even went as far as to ask me if I gave *** Boys permission to work on my car and asked if they fixed the issue. I told him I authorized the work and that it didn't make sense that *** Boys would not resolve the issue when they were all ready working on the car. It was raining that day and what kind of poor customer service would that have been to not fix the issue, and potentially put my life at risk because my wipers didn't work? All I want is for Meineke to take accountability and do the right thing by compensating me for what *** Boys charged me. If it wasn't for the lack of competence that Meineke exhibited, I wouldn't have needed to pay for a service that could have been prevented.I even went in person as ***** told me to and gave ***** copies of the work order and my receipt from *** Boys.***** took over 2 weeks to get back to me since he originally said that he needed to bring this attention to the owner or the person who makes big decisions. He said that the best they could offer was store credit that was less than what I paid *** Boys. I asked him what made him think I would return to them ever again since they were so incompetent and that I was not satisfied with their response. I also said that the amount he offered didn't even cover what I paid *** Boys and he gave me a lame explanation that I didn't even care to understand because at that point, it was all about principles for me. I then asked for their corporate/headquarter's contact information and he gave me this email, which I don't think is legitimate: *********************************************************** All I want is for Meineke to reimburse me in full for their mistake and to not do this to another customer.

• Initial Complaint

  09/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Meineke ********* Center replaced my car's alternator on 8/24/2022. I paid for the outrageous price of $1,284.49 (which included a heavily marked up price of $494.13 on the remanufactured alternator, and 4.3 hours at $150 per hour of shop labor, plus tax). Apparently, it was required to remove A LOT of components to replace the alternator. After paying, I drove my car and noticed that the Air Conditioner no longer was pumping out any cold air whatsoever. The air coming through the vents into the car was actually a lot warmer than the air outside. I called Meineke and they told me to bring the car back in so they could take a look. The mechanic hooked it up to a machine and 'recharged' the system he said, and it started blowing cold air again. He told me that I simply didn't have much refrigerant in the car and that it was fine now. When I drove the car just a few days later, the Air Conditioner again did not work. I called and setup an appointment at their earliest convenience, which was a few days later, on 9/1/2022. The mechanic told me that my Air Conditioner Compressor Case was cracked and that it would be over $1,100 for parts and labor to have it fixed. I explained that the Air Conditioner worked great until I dropped the car off at the shop for the Alternator repair. He immediately got defensive and said there was no way that anything could have happened to the Air Conditioning. I again reminded him that A LOT of components were removed for the alternator replacement, but again he said it wasn't possible. I let him know that I would be filing a complaint with the BBB as the fact that the Air Conditioner stopped working and the Case being cracked seemed to clearly be linked to damage suffered while tearing out components to replace the alternator. He then was ultra-defensive and told me that I was calling him a liar. I have never had any issues with the Air Conditioner, so the fact that it was cracked and now had a bad leak was really suspect.

• Initial Complaint

  06/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On May 18, I took my 2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance into the Meineke ******** shop to have new Suspension Springs installed. I was it shouldn't be a problem as long as the springs were brand new, which they were. I arrived that morning, and the shop techs were very unprofessional. One of them was driving a car erratically in the parking lot and yelling out the window and blowing the horn erratically that I even had to speed walk out of the way because he didn't see me. Inside, there was so much horseplay, yelling, and blasting music. After about 45 mins of waiting, I was told they couldn't install the springs because Tesla has suspension sensors. I immediately knew this was wrong and told them if they get it on the rack, they can see there are no sensors on the suspension. They put the car on the rack and confirmed it. I was quoted around $650 before taxes for the install and a full alignment. I called at around 5pm to get an update since they said it would be done that day and I knew they closed at 6pm. They said the tech was struggling and was only done with the front. I got a call about 40 mins later saying they are done with the vehicle and I'd need to pick it up within the next 20 mins because they close and I'd have to wait until the next day. There is no way they finished up the front and installed the rears in 40 mins and I was irritated I had to rush to get my car.On top of all that, they said they couldn't do an alignment because they only had the specs for up to a 2019 model. I said that was fine. When it came to pay, they didn't take any money off the quote even though I was quoted for install+alignment. Totally unreal.Right after, I noticed a slight rattling from the front driver side of the car. Over a couple of weeks it started to become more noticeable. Today I decided to remove the wheel and I see the stabilizer bar end link nut is completely missing. This is a locking ****** nut and when torqued to spec should never come off. Completely unsafe

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