Meineke Car Care Center

Reviews 3

SA

Sara C.

Our service was TERRIBLE. In fact, it wasnt just terrible, it was downright dangerous. My husband visited Meineke in Costa Mesa for a routine oil change. After the oil change was finished, my husband drove home (approx 2 miles) and as he pulled up to our house, he noticed an abundance of smoke coming from the engine compartment. He immediately pulled over, opened the hood only to discover a small fire in the engine area. He immediately extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher he keeps in the car. He then called Meineke to inform them of the situation asking them to send a tow truck so it could be towed back to their shop for inspection. The Assistant Manager, Eric Rios, refused to call a tow truck and indicated that we needed to pay for the tow truck and that we could possibly get reimbursed. My husband then realized there was still smoke coming from the car. Upon further inspection, we discovered that a shop towel had been left in the engine compartment down near the oil filter which subsequently caught on fire during the drive home. We were able to get under the vehicle and remove the remaining parts of the towel which were still burning. We took video of this as well as kept the remaining bits of the shop towel. We called the Assistant Manager back and informed him of the findings. He told us he could not do anything about the matter and that we needed to call back the next day to speak with the Manager. We told him that all we wanted was a refund however he said that he did not have the authority to process a refund. We then went down to the shop to show him the shop towel that was retrieved from the car. We asked again for a refund to which he declined. We asked him to call the manager so we could speak with him. He called the manager but the manager refused to speak with us. This whole situation is UNACCEPTABLE. The gross negligence performed by the technician who serviced out vehicle could have caused not only extensive damage to our vehicle, but also great bodily harm to my husband. Were it not for my husbands quick thinking as well as having a fire extinguisher in the vehicle, our vehicle would have burned completely and possibly could have killed my husband. No remedy was offered by Meineke. In fact, a complete lack of responsibility was exhibited. For this I will be pursuing further action against Meineke. So the next time you think of going to Meineke for any sort of service to your vehicle, GO ELSEWHERE. Your life may be dependent on it.

BR

Brittany Woolsey

Avoid this place at all costs. Either they dont know what they are doing, or they just want your money. I came in a few weeks ago on a Thursday (missed work) with my 10-year-old Pontiac G5 and asked them to diagnose everything, and left my car in their care for a few hours. I made sure to tell them to check my electrical issues, which were my main concern. A few hours later, I came back and all they recommended was new struts. Cool. The guy said Im "lucky to have this car" because it should last me a few more years with little maintenance. I put down the $500 for that and brought the car back the next day for the fix. I ask the guy if they checked the electrical issues. They didnt!! But then diagnosed my check engine light (after I pressed them about it) and found out there was something wrong with the throttle position sensor, which I told them about Thursday after my friend originally ran the code. They said I would have to come back another day for the repairs and I said "So you want me to take another day off work?" The guy was like "Have you really missed that much?" But he seemed totally sarcastic, like he didnt take me seriously. Oh, and when I asked them what the throttle position sensor was, they said they didnt know! Well, after buying the struts and getting new tires that day (also at their recommendation-- about another $260), I decided to take the car to the dealership for a second opinion from experts. The dealership had the car for a few days, diagnosed EVERYTHING, including the electrical, and discovered I had about more than $2.5k of work to be done. Guy said it wasnt worth it, and I should just invest that money in a new car (I did- got a sweet Prius from Carmax in Irvine). I just wish I had known this information sooner from Meineke. Had they looked at EVERYTHING like I had asked them to in the first place, I would have not gotten the new struts or tires and just sold the car. I wasted almost $800 because of these crooks. Do not go here! I wish I could get a refund but the Pontiac is now in Carmaxs possession, and the new parts didnt even help with my appraisal. Save your money and go to experts who actually care and know what theyre doing.

L

L W

What a huge mistake coming here. I wish I had read the reviews before coming in. I came in for a brake check because of a certain noise I was hearing at the back of the car. Turns out it was weakened shocks. Well, they actually told me that the dealer had put my rear brakes on BACKWARDS and they would need to completely redo them if I didnt want to take it back to the dealer. I was pressed for time and didnt want to drive the distance to HB Ford, so I asked them to redo my brakes and rotate my tires. They charged me $50.00 to rotate the tires (??) and another $154.00 to redo the brakes. The invoice looked suspicious, but I failed to question it at the time...another mistake. Then the same noise comes back in 2 or 3 weeks. Took it back in to get checked today. Was treated exceptionally horribly by Rudy who said he was the manager. He called me "an ugly customer" and kept pointing his finger at me when I insisted they check out the noise under their mickey mouse labor warranty. He got into a shouting match with me after I expressed my disbelief that the brake parts might be defective (they were factory made and new). Then Tom comes out and tried to make everything right but he stopped short of doing the right thing. He did not have his guy Rudy (not really the manager) apologize to me for his insults. Tom told me there was nothing wrong with my brakes, that it was the rear shocks. They wanted to charge me another $272.00 to do that work. No thanks!! That was very likely the problem they should have noticed 2 months ago but didnt. I spent $204.00 for NOTHING, got insulted, and then Tom was upset that I wouldnt sign off that I declined to get further work done. Stay away so you dont throw your money away and leave with an awful sense of having been taken advantage of by a horribly inept staff and an extreme jerk claiming to be the manager. Oh, by the way, Tom said they lost their license awhile back??? What a MESS. This place ought to be investigated. Go somewhere else.

Other organizations