WARNING: DECEPTIVE PRACTICES
I took my van to Mountain View auto after a road hazard incident that caused a catalytic converter code to be thrown. P0430 for catalytic converter insufficiency. I explained to Mountain View auto what happened and what I needed for my insurance company. When I went to pick up my quote, Roger accidentally deleted it and was working to create a new one. I had my nearly 2-year-old daughter with me, and she was getting quite fussy as I wasn't prepared to stay for a significant amount of time. Roger addressed many things that he felt were wrong with my van. However, not once did he address why I had brought my van into them in the first place. He emailed me a quote, as you'll see in the pictures, for all of this work that he said needed to be done. For some reason, on the quote it says "customer States that..." I never states any of it. I was angry that he did not address the initial issue. Instead, he said that I should return the Meineke as it may be under warranty. Well, this could be true, but I'm thinking that the warranty is likely not going to cover a road hazard. Regardless, my dad and I went to the next business day to get my van and take it over to Meinicke, as Roger had suggested. He was visibly angry about us doing this despite it being his recommendation. Within 30 minutes of assessing the van, Meineke had an answer for me
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A hole had been torn in my flex pipe that leads to the catalytic converter. This was causing it to code P0430.. It may have caused catalytic converter damage as well. I will know more after the weekend. The photo below is a picture of my flex pipe off of my van where the damage occurred. Damage that Mountain View auto ultimately failed to see and assess. I am a single parent, a graduate student, and I work hard for my money when I can. I canceled an appointment to get my teeth fixed because it was more important to have a safe car for my daughter to be in than to fix my teeth. I cannot begin to express the level of anger that I have for this company trying to take advantage of a woman and a parent in the way that they have. I did ask Meineke to do a thorough investigation of the van to see if anything else needed to be done, and there is not. Of course, I will keep up with the preventative maintenance, but that is going to cost me far less than $2800. The catalytic converter, while spendy, is thankfully covered by my insurance under the incident. Roger should try padding his pocketbook by doing honest work instead of trying to take advantage of somebody who can barely afford the work. read more