Complaint Review: Meineke #935

These guys are nothing but scam artists, thieves, and liars.

I took my truck to them for a cooling system diagnostic; I specifically requested that they verify the proper functioning of the thermostat and the sending unit, and to diagnose why the truck was having issues failing to start while hot. I figured that since I was having them look specifically at the cooling system I would also have them flush the system and refill it with fresh coolant. I told them that I already knew that it needed a tune-up, filters, plugs, cap & rotor, and so I didn't want them to waste time on that; just look at the cooling system... The facts included that the truck fired 100% of the time when cold, drive great, and just failed to start when fully warmed up.

So, 4 hours later I show up to get my truck. Their diagnosis indicates that the truck needs a complete tune-up, to include spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor, etc... a $350 quote, and literally nothing about the cooling system, or the issue that I brought it in for. I replied that I already knew all that - that's why I asked them to not worry about those components, and went on to ask about the thermostat and the sending unit. The service writer, Pete, replied "I don't know; we're not going to disassemble your car like that just for a diagnostic, We're not going to diagnose anything else until we've done that tune-up" I was shocked!

I asked him how he could justify charging me that $90 for the diagnostic when they ignored my specific requests, and then went on and did exactly what I asked them not to do. He responded along the lines of "That doesn't matter, buddy. You're gonna pay it or you're not getting your f**king truck back." He literally swore at me! I was totally blown away at this point! I tried to defuse the situation, as he was actually using profanity, and explained that I never said that I wasn't going to pay, I just wanted to know how he was able to justify what he was doing. I work part time, and he was holding my truck hostage over literally a whole week of my pay...

I had no option but to pay. I ended up taking the truck across town to (((competitor's name and address redacted))). First thing the guy there (Richard, the owner) does was 3 different efforts to get the truck to start up, while he was trying different things under the hood. After the 3rd fail to start, he agreed that there was an issue and he's look into it. I asked if he thought a tune-up, plugs, wires, cap & rotor would have any impact on this issue. He said "Nope, no chance at all. I agree the truck could benefit from that, but lets worry about all that fancy crap once we resolve the issue. Besides, you just drove it here from Tigard, right?"

Amazing...! An honest mechanic! As I was handing him my keys, and giving him permission to have it for a week or longer if that's what it takes, a local homeless man approached Rich... It turned out that Rich had left some tools outside of the shop a few days prior, and this man had found them and was returning them to Rich. Rich pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and gave it to the man, thanking him as he recognized that the guy could have just sold them at a pawn shop... WTF was this?!? Humanity at a mechanic shop?!? Rich obviously has the love of his community... and it's plain to see how he loves it back. That is the earmark of a good person; And in this day, no matter what you do, if you can't be a good, decent human being while doing it, you are part of the problem with our declining society (Yes Pete, I'm talking about you).

This shop has shown themselves to be among the lowest of the low. Never before have I suffered service so poor that I found myself leaving on online review such as this one. But the truth is, I'm going to repost my experience on as many of their review pages as I can find. I've got a new fetish, and I'm going to give these guys the best advertising campaign they ever stole $90 for.

I strongly urge EVERYONE and ANYONE to avoid Meineke. Not only this shop, but the entire chain. I would find it impossible to believe that this shop is the only one of theirs that is run in this manner - in fact, I'd be willing to bet that this shop exemplifies their entire corporate business model.

If you want an honest mechanic who is also truly a great person, call (((competitor's name redacted))). Just look up some of his reviews... I wish I would have gone to him first.