MEINEKE Consumer Complaints
July 13, 2012
Do you have a complaint with Meineke Car Care Centers or a particular Meineke franchise location?
Please share your Meineke complaint or problem below.
Meineke Car Care Centers seem to have a disproportionately large number of angry complaints and serious allegations leveled at them across Internet complaint sites.
Have you had a bad experience with Meineke?
Do you think it’s a problem throughout the chain, or with a single Meineke franchise location?
Angry Meineke Customer Vents on YouTube
This angry Meineke customer broadcast his Meineke complaint on YouTube.
The man claims his wife brought their van into a new Meineke location in their small town in Virginia to get a $19.95 oil change.
The Meineke worker allegedly told his wife that the car was not safe to drive and needed many immediate and expensive repairs.
The Meineke worker told the woman that there were major problems, that the timing belt was bad, there was water mixed with the engine oil, and the water pump was bad.
The woman claims that the Meineke worker told her she should not drive the van, as the engine could seize up at any moment.
The husband took the van to his trusted mechanic who told him:
There was no water in the engine oil.
The timing belt was fine.
The water pump was fine.
The man said that he spoke to three local women who all had the same experience: they went in for the advertised $19.95 oil change and were all told they needed major, expensive repairs.
On our MEINEKE Franchise Complaints post, we reported that many Meineke franchise owners are struggling to keep their centers open.
For some, like this center in Virginia, it is just a matter of time before they’ve damaged their reputation enough that they are sure to fail. This man even suspects Meineke switches license place bulbs with burned-out bulbs just so they can charge to replace them. Whether they do or not, it just shows how far this Meineke has destroyed consumer trust.
Meineke Care Care Centers: Share Your Experience
Are you familiar with Meineke?
What was your experience – good or bad – with your Meineke Care Care Center?
What steps should Meineke and Driven Brands be taking to stop bad consumer experiences?
Do you think these consumer complaints and bad practices are the result of a few bad Meineke centers, or are they all the same?
Please share a comment, opinion or insight below.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH MEINEKE? PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Tags: Meineke, Meineke franchise, Meineke Car Care Centers, Meineke complaints, Meineke scam, Meineke rip-off, Meineke ripoff, Meineke fraud, Meineke lawsuit, Meineke class-action lawsuit, car repair scam, auto repair scam, auto repair complaints, car repair complaints, car repair fraud, Meineke consumer complaints
Comments
5 Responses to “MEINEKE Consumer Complaints”
I dont think we should paint them all with them same brush. I know there are some Mienekes where if the owner saw such things, that person would be fired ASAP. They are all independently owned so it cant be a company wide thing. You may get the same thing at Jiffy lube, Walmart etc. People are looking to rip you off no matter where you go. For cars slaes, repair, hair, resturants, beauty counters pushing “miracle” cream thats nothing more than mud etc.I have seen on shows like Dateline where even the car dealerships lies about things being broken or even showing the employees poking holes in radiators! We just have to be savvy enough to spot the scamers.
What I would like to know is that obviously there are a lot of meineke complaints, and there are a lot of us with very real complaints on this website, however, what is the point if there isn’t a direction we can take with this. I lost over $1000. and almost lost my life. If you know of a class action against meineke that we can participate in, please let me know.
I realize all of these outfits are franchises, but in looking at these comments I sense a trend none the less. Whatever value this brand has left, is being consistently eroded by the low standards they apply to selecting francisees. I had recently moved, and all of my tools were in storage. I’ve been doing brake jobs since I was 16 and can’t remember the last time I paid someone to do one for me. However I took my car to the shop at 1227 Caldwell Blvd, Nampa, Idaho (208) 465-0600, and was prepared to do it this time, to save myself the trouble.
I was met by a man who appeared to have his butt welded to his chair. He asked me what I needed although I didn’t get the feeling that he really cared. I told him, “I need my pads replaced, and rotors turned. I would do it myself but I can’t get to my tools.” Which is guy code for “I know how this works, I know what I need, so don’t waste my time by playing with me.” He said, I can do that for $199.99. (So much for that 10% off coupon for any service over $200 that I downloaded.) I pointed to the price board, where the basic service was listed at $129 and asked where he got the $200 figure from. He said “Its our pricing.” I said, “That answer isn’t very informative, please indulge me, your posted pricing suggests otherwise.”
Still sitting in his chair, “It’s for ceramic pads, and my labor.” I told him I was anxious to see what his labor looked like since he couldn’t even stand up to talk to a customer. I told him I didn’t want ceramic pads. He said, “That’s what requires the vehicle.” I asked him if he was telling me that OEM for my car was ceramic pads (more guy code) and that he could not put semi metallics on it. He said again “That’s what requires the vehicle.” I asked him if he was aware that I knew he was lying to me. He stood his ground. So I thanked him and left.
It was apparently a slow that day, not a single other vehicle in the shop, (is it any wonder?) but I didn’t feel like contributing more than my share to his day’s receipts to make up for it.
Never again!
I experienced terrible customer service, work, and ethics at Meineke. They put the wrong part on my car and then quoted the correct part at a cost 4 times as much as the original. They will not refund the original amount only credit it towards the correct job with the overpriced part. They say they are getting it straight from Toyota. I believe this because the price they quoted me happened to be the price Toyota gave me for the part plus the amount they would “credit” forward. Thus the price I paid was what they have to pay for the part nulling my “credit.” I was able to get it done correctly locally for the same amount as I originally paid. I feel like this was a scam. On top of this I went back and forth with Meineke for over a month until I had to get the job done elsewhere. This voided my warranty so now I can’t get anything and they can be as rude as they want, which they were. I will never use Meineke again anywhere and advise everyone else to never use as well.
his particular Meineke Car Care Center is a Virginia vehicle inspection site. I do not recommend that anyone use this facility. The manager there attempted to rip me off for $1,300 in supposed problems including exhaust system, rack and pinion repairs, and brakes when I took my daughter’s car for annual inspection. I was suspicious and declined the offer to do the repairs immediately. I was issued a rejection sticker and told I had 15 days to have the repairs done. I would then have to pay another fee to have it reinspected and passed. The car was then taken to another inspection site for a second opinion and I was told the car would have passed with installation of new wiper blades and a couple of bulbs and there were no major problems. The story is not ended. 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.
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