Meineke Car Care Center Tony Knight destroys 1996 Ford Explorer, or how to spend $4600 on a front end. Tupelo, Mississippi
In November of 2009 I took my vehicle to Meineke of Tupelo to align my front end because the driver side front tire was leaning in and to have them see if they could find the cause of a knock I was hearing under the center console area. After $1520 in unneeded repairs, they said the knock was coming from the flywheel torque converter area.
After taking it to a transmission shop, they easily found that fluid was coming from the rear seal on the transfer case and not the flywheel. They demonstrated how easy it was for them to detect by wiggling the drive shaft and you could see the free play in the seal area and the leaking fluid. By this time, my transfer case had leaked out most of the fluid which ruined it and I had to replace it.
By Feb. of 2011 (14 months later) I return to Meineke of Tupelo because the front end was shaking, the driver side front tire was making noise and it still seemed to be leaning in. They discover that half of the parts they replaced the first time had now failed and would need to be replaced. Also they found that new parts I had put on just moments before taking it to them the first time were now shot and that parts that never had a problem before had now gone bad. They charged me $500 in repairs and sent me on my way.
March of 2011 I had to return once again because the front end was shaking once again and making a loud noise. They inspected it and it was determined that the rest of the parts they installed the first time were now bad, including a new cv axle, which was now shredded. They also said that they couldn't straighten out my front tire unless they did a "true alignment" which would cost me another $178.
On both the second and third trip, I was told that my parts weren't under warranty but when I showed them the original invoice, everything but the oil filter had a LIFETIME warranty. I threatened to turn them in to Meineke Corp offices and they did the work.
Now I find that the seal around the front cv axle, where it ties into the front differential case has been leaking since my last trip to Meineke when they replaced it. My differential case is now shot and I was told to "Take my keys, get the h*ll out of their office and don't come back!"
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Meineke Car Care Center
United States of AmericaMeineke
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, February 27, 2012
Mr. Harris brought a 1996 Ford Explorer with over 250,000 miles to our shop on November 4th 2009. We recommended everything that we could see that needed to be replaced and Mr. Harris accepted.
February 4th 2011 (15 months later) Mr. Harris came in with some concerns about his ride and handling of the vehicle. Keep in mind none of the parts were under warranty after 15 months, but we replaced his upper control arm under warranty at no charge, including a free toe alignment, and recommended some other parts that we saw needed replacement. Mr. Harris agreed to the extra repairs. Also note that at this visit his CV axle did not have any problems or leaks.
On March 3rd, 2011 (16 months later) Mr. Harris came back into the shop with a shredded CV AXLE. The CV axle had been 6 months out of warranty by this time but we replaced it at NO CHARGE knowing we would not get the manufacturer to cover it for us. The CV Axle had to have had a problem after the February 4th visit or it would have been seen at that time.
Also, Mr. Harris does not have his oil changed at a Meineke location and from November 4th 2009 until March 3rd 2011, according to Mr. Harris, he was not informed of any leak or CV axle problems from those oil change facilities.
I called Mr. Harris February 20, 2012 and have come to the conclusion that he does not want to work with us to resolve his problems. We have repaired and replaced parts under warranty that were not under warranty. We have been short and rude with Mr. Harris because Mr. Harris demands unreasonable requests. He told me today that if I would pay him what he is asking for, he would quit saying all these bad things about us. Thats when we decided to not try and help Mr. Harris anymore with his problems. We have been Platinum Certified in customer satisfaction many years in a row. You cannot achieve those standards by treating people as Mr. Harris recommends that we do.
Additional comments: Mr. Harris has a lifetime warranty for manufacturer defects only. The back of his invoice, which explains all of the warranties clearly, lets Mr. Harris know he was out of warranty and we replaced certain parts for free out of good faith.
Meineke #1632