Customer Complaint - Meineke Car Care Center in Crestwood is a rip off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…read more
I am extremely disappointed with my recent experience at Meineke Car Care Center in Crestwood. I had been a loyal customer of Roberts Frame since 2005, and when Roberts Frame was in business, I always considered it a great, honest, and trustworthy repair shop. Unfortunately, my recent experience with Meineke was completely different.
I have approximately 18 years of experience in the automotive industry, including working as both an automotive technician and a service manager at a dealership. Because of my experience, I have a good understanding of automotive repairs, labor times, parts pricing, and diagnostic procedures.
I originally brought my 2005 Chevrolet Express 3500 to Meineke because the check-engine light was on and the vehicle had a misfire code. Before bringing the truck in, I had already told Mike, the service manager, that the truck had received a tune-up not that long ago.
Mike told me that the truck needed another tune-up and new spark-plug wires. When I brought the truck in for the tune-up, I specifically asked Mike whether the tune-up would take care of the check-engine light and the misfire problem. He told me that it would.
I was then given an estimate of $1,354.68 for a tune-up. When I reviewed the estimate, I noticed that Meineke was charging $44.50 per spark plug. For comparison, the same type of spark plugs were selling at AutoZone for approximately $13.50 each. I understand that a repair shop needs to make a profit on parts, but this pricing appeared extremely excessive.
Based on my 18 years of automotive experience, I also believed the labor time for replacing the spark plugs and wires on this vehicle should have been approximately 1.5 to 2.0 hours, depending on the circumstances.
I contacted Mike and expressed my concerns about the estimate and told him that I felt the customer was being overcharged. I also explained my automotive background and experience as a technician and service manager. During our discussion, Mike told me that the service writers were new employees and did not know how to properly charge for the work.
After our conversation, Mike reduced the estimate from $1,354.68 to $1,031.31.
However, when I picked up my truck after paying $1,031.31, the check-engine light was still on. The vehicle still had a misfire code. This was especially frustrating because I had specifically asked Mike beforehand whether the tune-up would resolve the check-engine light, and he had told me that it would.
I had already explained to Mike that the misfire could potentially be caused by something other than the spark plugs and wires, such as an ignition coil or an electrical problem. In my professional opinion, the tune-up was not necessarily going to fix the underlying problem without properly diagnosing the cause of the misfire first.
When I brought this issue to Mike's attention, instead of addressing my concerns, he walked away and told me to "deal with corporate."
I was charged $1,031.31, despite the fact that the original estimate was $1,354.68, and the truck was returned to me with the check-engine light still on and the same misfire problem.
I am extremely disappointed with the way this situation was handled. My biggest concern is not simply the amount I was charged. It is the fact that I specifically asked whether the recommended repair would resolve the check-engine light, was told that it would, paid more than $1,000 for the repair, and then received the vehicle back with the same problem.
I had been a customer of Roberts Frame since 2005 and had always had a very positive experience with them. They provided honest and reliable service, which is why I continued to trust the shop for so many years.
Unfortunately, based on this experience, I will never bring my truck back to Meineke Car Care Center in Crestwood. I hope corporate management takes this complaint seriously and reviews the estimate, parts pricing, labor charges, diagnostic process, and the way this situation was handled by the service manager. I told Mike I was stopping payment. Mike said Ok Deal with Corp!!!!!!!!!
Customers deserve honest estimates, proper diagnosis, reasonable pricing, and professional customer service. My experience did not meet those standards.
