Meineke Car Care Center

AVOID: Unethical & Recommends Costly, Unnecessary Repairs. This shop is not recommended by me because they are shady and will intentionally lie in order to get more labor done. They upsold me to $1400 of repair work for a $140 job and still did not diagnose my issue properly. These are the mechanics that your dad told you to avoid.

My experience:

This shop was near my house and figured it was convenient to drop my car off and get work done. I previously had my power steering pump replaced. That job was a few months before this incident, and I was marginally satisfied with the outcome. (They should have discovered the PS Cooler was broken and causing my coolant and PS fluid to mix - poor attention to detail.) That cost me about two hours of my time doing a PS flush and bypassing the PS cooler myself.

This incident was when my AC Compressor Clutch seized up earlier this year (February, I recall). It made an awful screeching sound while driving. Not being strong in the field of AC on cars, I decided to bring it in and get it properly diagnosed. It was somewhat of an emergency due to the severity of the noise and they were only a couple minutes up the road from me. My father is an ASE Certified Master Mechanic and counseled me between the discussions I had with the shop owner and mechanic on duty, and he lives a hundred miles away.

The shop owner informed me that my entire AC Compressor was busted and needed a complete replacement including a flush of the AC system and the Accumulator. After he said this, he quoted me at $1400 to complete it. Assuming this was a "recommended" upsell, I asked, "What is the minimum work to get done so it doesn't screech?" He backpedaled and said that if you don't do it, bad things will happen. Great, now I'm dealing with dishonest mechanics.

My dad explained to me how an AC Compressor works and how the clutch on it operates independently of the compressor. Explaining this to shop owner back and forth, he agreed and explained he doesn't replace AC clutches. In theory, if they were honest and would be willing to do it, they could pick up at least a couple hours of labor. I refused their services and requested they take the AC belt off. When I left, I expressed my disgust in their lack of ethics and how they give great mechanics a poor reputation.

I drove my car to my father's house. In a matter of minutes he confirmed that the issue was the AC Clutch assembly and not the AC Compressor. A little searching online, I was able to find a brand new AC Compressor cheaper than a clutch kit and ordered it. The following week, we installed it over about an hour. No recharge or flushing necessary as the AC Compressor was functioning perfectly.

We were still shocked at all the work the shop suggested for such a simple job like this.

If this shop advises you on work, ALWAYS get a second opinion. It is in their best interest to upsell you on services and parts to make higher margins. It is this behavior that will get this shop in trouble with the Attorney General for unfair and misleading business practices. I rarely give "1" stars on Yelp, but this place earns it.

I will never do business at this shop again and I recommend you don't, either. Alternatively, I have had favorable experiences with Tire Pros in Chandler.

Signed,

Joe Manna

98 Chevrolet Camaro SS 5.7L LS1

Original Yelp Review: bit.ly/mD12T2…