Robert
Bowie,#2Consumer Comment
Fri, September 07, 2007
A North Carolina Inspection facility simply does the visual portion of the inspection, then plugs the car into their DLC. This is a dedicated phone line that goes directly to Raleigh. There is no 100 mile anything. Do not let this issue drop. BTW, a CATCO 2505R converter is the correct one for your car, providing it is not set up for California emissions. If it is a "Cali" car, then you must use a OEM direct fit assembly. Good luck, and congratulations for the refund.
Steve
Asheville,#3Author of original report
Fri, September 07, 2007
First, previous poster giving the Meineke regional contact info, thank you. We already have comtacted them several times in Charlotte, and they actually do not care and put everything back on the individual franchise owner to deal with. In fact, the last phone call to Charlotte Meineke, we were told it was highly unusual for a customer to contact them with a complaint, and that the only time they would ever address a customer would be in a court situation..!! They told us they did not care about our comlaint and act only in a mediary fashion. As an update, we did have the local Pontiac dealership here repair this catalytic work, and when they sawed off what Meineke welded under our car, their service manager and mechanic stated "What the hell is this?". The contraption taken off looked like something from a Jetson's cartoon and nothing like what the normal catalytic converter looked like... As soon as the correct converter was installed with new gaskets and clamps, etc and all tested, the car ran quiet like when it was brand new! Not loud and heavy like it had been after the Meineke catalytic converter fiasco which we addressed to Meineke early on, and they said they didn't notice a difference in sound- but we sure did. Car runs great and quiet and powerful and like brand new. Also, the original O2 sensor Meineke took out of our car and told us was bad and reason "service engine" light came on was tested at the dealership and found to be absolutely in good condition and nothing wrong with it!!! We had the original O2 sensor put back in car and took the one they said we needed along with the sawed off abortion back to Meineke and demanded our money back. The Owner/Manager (Jeff) did not like this and was embarrassed with customers when we came in, and tried to say he never gave a credit before and did not know how to work their computer system. My wife gladly told him let me back there and I can operate your computer and run the credit fast, and all of a sudden (Jeff) remembered how to use his computer, telling my wife customers were not allowed behind the service desk, and immediately issued the credit for the catalytic converter work plus O2 sensor that was NEVER needed. Because we already paid Meineke to do the inspection 6 weeks ago, the dealer told us to take it back to them to complete. As far as the inspection sticker, Jeff told my wife regardless of the new work we just had done (repaired) from the Pontiac dealer, we had to still drive the car another 100 miles before he would put his hand held analyzer back under dashboard to "retest systems" and finally install the inspection sticker- So we have to go back for the 9th time to this Meineke center just so they can put on the inspection sticker, and oh yes, made it clear we will be charged for that too... THIS TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INEPTNESS, NO CUSTOMER SHOULD EVER HAVE TO ENDURE OR PAY FOR REPEATEDLY TIME AND TIME AGAIN COSTING US FAR MORE IN PERSONAL LOSSES BEYOND REPAIR COSTS WE ALREADY HAVE PAID.
Robert
Bowie,#4Consumer Comment
Thu, September 06, 2007
This is where you need to voice your displeasure. Ask for Kenneth Walker. He's the boss. Phone: 704/377-3070, Mon.-Fri., 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM eastern time Write: Meineke Car Care Centers. c/o Customer Relations Department P. O. Box 32401 Charlotte, NC 28232-2401 Nearly all Meineke's are franchised, so each uses their own supply chain, in addition to Maremont. Good luck.
Steve
Asheville,#5Author of original report
Thu, September 06, 2007
I appreciate the experienced mechanic's responses above and I am a little aware of what they are saying. I have an engineering degree behind me and was involved in electrical troubleshooting over 25 years on various systems so know a couple thngs about testing & troubleshooting verses blowing smoke ina customer's face liek this Meineke is doing. I also have dealt to due diligence and investigative research work and fraud investigation matters so get a "feeling" when someone screws me or is attempting to do so. Right now, I can tell you the dealerships here DO NOT outsource anything to Meineke and even will not deal with them. However, the Pontiac dealer here has 2 OEM converters for our car and offered to sell to Meineke which actually was priced lower than what Meineke said they would charge us from "their supplier out of Alabama". But the Manager/Owner of this Meineke refused to use this local "correct" part we found. I also know of some other converter resources mentioned above and still this Owner/Manager refuses to go there and get the correct converter and says they will not deal with anyone except their own supplier and basically dropped the ball on us, the customer. This morning my wife has gone over there to demand refund of what we already have paid Meineke and we are taking our car to the local Pontiac dealership who has the correct part, including gaskets, etc and can do this professionally this morning so we can get our inspection sticker on and be done and legal. I cannot trust Meineke after this to even do the right thing now... I can't believe all this #$#%#^9 we as customers have to go through all because some red "service engine" light comes on after Meineke started working on our car, and since we paid them for inspection, the Owner/Manager refuses to put the inspection sticker on blames everything else but their own ineptness and incompetence. What irks me most, is this Owner/Manager (Jeff) lied to my face and again lied on the phone when I called him from the dealership, when they told me it was the incorrect converter to begin with and for the stated above specs, but this Owner/Manager acted like he didn't want to hear anything and perhaps it must be something internally in our engine which they were willing to get into for $75/hour!! OUTRAGEOUS SCAM ARTIST!!
Robert
Bowie,#6Consumer Comment
Thu, September 06, 2007
Your car does accept a universal converter. The problem is the Meineke you used installed the wrong one. Yours' requires a "cat" with a 16 inch ceramic chunk. That Meineke probably installed one with a 14 inch chunk. CATCO makes one specifically for the Malibu, Grand Prix, Impala, etc with the 3.1/3.4 engines. Using anything other than the correct universal converter will cause the light to illuminate, as you found out. Also, there are companies that claim their "cats" are OBD2 compliant, while they are not. It also depends on whether your car is set up for California emission standards, or not. As for the Dealership, nearly all of them have their exhaust service outsourced to Meineke, Midas, and the other undercar specialists. It is cheaper for them to do this, and they know the shops are all using universal converters. The NC supplier for CATCO is Conerters Unlimited. They are located in Kinston. They have a 1-800 number. Use information and ask them for their recommendation. Good luck.
John
Whitman,#7Consumer Suggestion
Thu, September 06, 2007
The aftermarket converters have less noble metals on the honeycomb substrate. That is why they are so cheap. They work fine on pre-obd II vehicles because the computer doesn't check for converter opperation. You must use an original equiptment converter on 1996 and newer vehicles if you want the check engine light to stay off. These converters have the correct amount of noble metals coatind the substrate. I have bee an A.S.E. Master Technician for 18 years and have run into this problem many times.
John
Whitman,#8Consumer Suggestion
Thu, September 06, 2007
The aftermarket converters have less noble metals on the honeycomb substrate. That is why they are so cheap. They work fine on pre-obd II vehicles because the computer doesn't check for converter opperation. You must use an original equiptment converter on 1996 and newer vehicles if you want the check engine light to stay off. These converters have the correct amount of noble metals coatind the substrate. I have bee an A.S.E. Master Technician for 18 years and have run into this problem many times.
John
Whitman,#9Consumer Suggestion
Thu, September 06, 2007
The aftermarket converters have less noble metals on the honeycomb substrate. That is why they are so cheap. They work fine on pre-obd II vehicles because the computer doesn't check for converter opperation. You must use an original equiptment converter on 1996 and newer vehicles if you want the check engine light to stay off. These converters have the correct amount of noble metals coatind the substrate. I have bee an A.S.E. Master Technician for 18 years and have run into this problem many times.
John
Whitman,#10Consumer Suggestion
Thu, September 06, 2007
The aftermarket converters have less noble metals on the honeycomb substrate. That is why they are so cheap. They work fine on pre-obd II vehicles because the computer doesn't check for converter opperation. You must use an original equiptment converter on 1996 and newer vehicles if you want the check engine light to stay off. These converters have the correct amount of noble metals coatind the substrate. I have bee an A.S.E. Master Technician for 18 years and have run into this problem many times.