Meineke Car Care Center

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Sean Forbes
5 days ago
They damaged my car!!!I called to ask about brake pads. Jeremy stated that I needed to bring the car in for a free "brake inspection". Once in, Jeremy kept me waiting for 90 minutes while Isaiah L. compiled a report of expensive repair/maintenance offerings for my vehicle. The picture of the cabin air filter on the engine compartment is from their report. Jeremy claimed that something created a "nest" on the filter. I refused their astronomical prices on the brake pads and all the other things which I never asked them to check in the first place. Upon leaving, I went to the local auto part store to replace the cabin air filter myself. When I opened the air filter compartment, I found that they shoved all of the "nest" material and the old filter back into the cabin air filter compartment (see pictures). All that junk rubbed against the blower fan, damaging it. The blower fan now makes a whining sound, and does not blow as hard.I will never trust my vehicle in their care again!

  Bari Fritz
a week ago
Good service and communication about what was needed, but rather shady about coupon use. Coupon states $10 off state inspection and emissions test . Tried to use coupon and was told the emissions test is separate from inspection and I would have had to ask to have that done. Does anyone know those things are separate? Come on Meineke, just honor the coupon. Price for one tire replacement was also high at almost $400. The tire could be bought from Amazon or Walmart for under $200.

  Brian Pak
a week ago
Took my Acura in for a simple state inspection. Got it done and I was driving back home when my engine started smoking. I brought it back to Meineke and said my coolant was leaking. My coolant was not leaking before the state inspection. Either it was incredible coincidence or someone intentionally messed with my car.Someone else had the same issue happen to them a week ago so my guess is that Meineke does this to many customers. DO NOT GO HERE!!! They are dishonest.

  Cameron Kincheloe
3 months ago
I scheduled an appointment for a next-day state inspection at this location (which was super easy). The staff was ready and available early in the morning when I arrived. The maintenance crew was friendly and a member even offered to help me out with some quick bicycle maintenance.The inspection and repairs took about a half day, and their Text Message Progress tracker was actually helpful and not gimmicky. When I returned to pick up my vehicle, the office staff was super friendly and in a good mood. JEREMY was my maintenance manager and he was easy to work with! The repair costs were also a bit cheaper than I had been quoted at a different shop.

  Curtis Brandon
a month ago
Staff was very professional and forthcoming as it pertained to my vehicle needs. Mechanics were outstanding and completed the work in a very short time including on my wife vehicle as well. I would definitely recommend this shop to everyone looking for quality service at a reasonable cost.

  Chris Kontalonis
2 months ago
Beware - they are running a system to up-sell everyone who walks in the door. They seem professional but are taking advantage of folks. Their "process" is simple:-person comes in for literally anything (mine was a state inspection)-someone goes and takes pictures of the vehicle and some supposed "problems"-you get a professional-looking report with all your recommendations via text message-they will make sure you read the report before talking with themThe problem: the report and pictures don't mean anything. In my case, I was told that two mileage-based services are overdue (they never bothered to ask me if I had done them) and that I needed new brakes. I had my oil changed at another shop and drove directly to Meineke. That shop checked my brakes and found no problems. Yet, Meineke sent me a picture showing some someone holding a piece of plastic in on the brake pad and said the vehicle was "potentially unsafe".Total of first shop's recommendations: $0. Total repairs Meineke said I needed: $1,700.Complete garbage, I won't be back. I feel sad they're taking advantage of less knowledgeable people.The next part of their script will be to ask me to call them to discuss. Why? You have my number.

  Rob Budzinski
a week ago
WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF STUDENTSMy son took his Toyota Tacoma in for an inspection. They failed the inspection because of play in a the front wheel bearing. The estimate to replace it was over $1,000!!!! This included a new hub assembly which was $275. This is less than a 2 hour job, and the part from Toyota is only $225 and aftermarket is around $100 (which is what they would use). The Toyota dealer charges less than $600 to replace the wheel bearing. I have personally done 3 of these as a do it yourselfer and the whole job takes me 90 minutes. In addition, they found several other items not affecting the inspection that were misdiagnosed. They said the CV joint boot was split, it was literally 2 weeks old and the grease on it was from the installation - they said it was ripped. They wanted to replace the whole axel. All I can say is for those of you with students at UVA, make sure to stay clear of this Meineke garage if they need service on their vehicle. They are clearly taking advantage of kids

  michael hylton
3 weeks ago
DO NOT GO HEREI had my state inspection done at the beginning of February. The shop I took it to found two holes in my mid pipe and suggested I take it to Meineke. I brought my vehicle in for the exhaust repair. The following day, I was informed over the phone that there was a coolant leak in my heater core. I declined the $2,000+ repair proposed by the representative and requested that only the exhaust repair be serviced. Needless to say, I was shocked and confused because my car was not leaking coolant before my visit.When I retrieved my car there was coolant all over the floor of the cab. I took my vehicle back to the shop that did the initial inspection for a second opinion on the heater core. They replaced the heater core and gave me the old one. They showed me the source of the leak. It is clear as day, there is puncture in the fins of the coil.For a bit of background, the heater core is a part that sits deeply inside of the car's console. It is shielded from the road and debris. Nothing short of a foreign object or tool could cause this type of damage. I am unable to prove malice or intent, however, I am able prove through the evidence available that the damage was caused by mechanical intervention.Either someone made a mistake and didn't want to own up to it, or they wanted to gouge someone out of $2,000.I repeat DO NOT GO HERE.

  Carolyn Pikey
3 months ago
I got in to start my car and it would not start. It was a Saturday and a lot of places are closed. I called and Chris gave me the name of a free towing service if within 5 miles. I didn t have to use it as I was able to pop my clutch. The were efficient and friendly and thorough. He recommended I do things but told me others to wait until I had enough money. Would go back there

  Anthony Santa Maria
2 months ago
Absolute garbage. Walked in for a nail in the tire and left without it being fixed and them implying I was lucky to be alive driving that car (it had been serviced 2 weeks earlier at another dealer w no issues). Thought I should also get a new battery which was only 8mo/30k miles old. Also did not mention that any appt is at least 90 min. Scam artists at their finest here. Stay as far away as you can.

  Terri Gerald
3 months ago
Was told that I would have my truck looked by the end of the day Friday. So I had my truck towed in, got a notification that it was checked in that morning at 9:31 and heard nothing back until I initiated a call this Tueaday morning to inquire about my truck. This new management is totally different than the former owner that I knew for 16+ years. Less friendly. Less interested in keeping their customers informed about their vehicles.

  Zech Phipps
2 months ago
Great service and friendly staff! Diagnosing and repairing an unnoticed oil leak was quick and was done before COB.The online service portal that lets you decide which repairs you d like to make was very nice in deciding what I wanted done to my car. The labor costs seemed expensive, but understandable given the current t Charlottesville area economy.I ll be recommending this Meineke to friends!

  Maryam Kashkooli
3 months ago
Horrible place both in the technical work they do and customer service. I was assured that my car would be safe to drive after having $2,000 of work done on it. We drive a baby around in this car and it was of utmost importance to me that I got reassurance that the car would be safe to drive. There was a bunch of work done on the steering column, wheels, breaks, etc. and we paid a total of $2,000. As soon as we drove the car off the lot we noticed the wheel was still pulling to one side and the car was unaligned. After multiple members of my family called a total of 4 times over 3 weeks to get the car fixed with absolutely no response, they told us that they would not do anything about it and that we d have to pay full price to get another alignment done on the car. I recommend going to Reggie s Auto Service over this place as he guarantees his work and is much more trustworthy. This is not the first bad experience my family has had here but we made the mistake of trusting them again.

  Hieronymir
3 weeks ago
I had my car towed to Meineke on 11/26 and did not get it back until February 24. Everytime I called to ask for a progress report they would say someone would call me back and no one ever did. I had to call almost everyday to get any answers and then they told me to stop calling them. They said the warranty company was the hold up but when I called my warranty company they said Meineke was not sending them what they needed. When I finally got my car back it was dead and had to be jumpstarted and then died just an hour later and had to be towed back. They charged me $300 for a new battery after I had already paid over $6000. Told me the battery was bad because the car had been sitting for so long??? I don't know how it could have been sitting for so long if they just fixed it. I've had tons of electrical problems since picking up my car. It honks when I open the doors or turn on the lights, the hazard lights come on randomly and now the a/c isn't working. Disappointing to say the least.

  Stephanie Racer
4 weeks ago
In addition to the last review we went to take tires off to take a look at the brakes and the lug nuts were replaced so loosely that my granddaughter could have taken them off. Thanks for almost causing me a terrible accident on my hour ride home boys. Not cool. Note to Women: take your cars to a reputable repair shop this place will take advantage of you and put your life in danger

  Kristin Skidmore
7 months ago
Scam scam scam. I can't believe what type of service I received here. I ended up taking it to a reputable car repair shop, and they stated the master switch is fine. The problem was a loose wire, and was charged nothing. I WANT MY MONEY BACK FOR LABOR!!! In addition to not fixing my car, they didn't put the door panel on correct. They didn't put all the screws back on. I can charge you for not putting my door panel back on and stealing my screw!!!!My experience with Meineke is as follows:2 different guys quoted me 2 different prices. One guy said it wasn't the master switch Saturday, and now another guy is telling me it is the master switch today. Then the price went from $500 to $900.I forgot why I didn't come to this place anymore, but now I remember. They take advantage of you!!! Don't be a woman going in there either.Added:I just picked up my car. The guys said he worked on my car for 4 to 5 hours today, and called me at 9am. I guess they open at 4am or 5am in the morning. I hate liars.

  Stephanie Racer
3 weeks ago
I made an online appointment earlier in the week for brake repair at 1030 am this morning.� The service employee brought my Jeep back to the garage fairly promptly.� This is where the great customer service ended.� Instead of doing the brake inspection and providing me with an estimate, they decided without my permission to perform a head to toe inspection on my vehicle and took it apart to gain access to cabin filter etc...� 2.5 hours later the front desk clerk provided me with a 3 page estimate of my "Brake job" which was about $2900 over what I could have ever imagined having to pay.� He did offer me in store financing! (another way to scam)I can buy Rotors, Brake Pads and Calipers for both rear tires for $388.00 and they were attempting to charge me $680.90 + $291.42 for hoses that were unnecessary and $71.00 for a flush which was also unnecessary and then $683.81 for labor�. � This is not even including the other unnecessary items they attempted to make me purchase for an additional $2000.� I witnessed 4 UVA students go through there being completely taken advantage of and others as well.� This switch and bait and overinflated pricing is discriminatory and criminal.� I will be blasting this out all over UVA so that others are not taken advantage of.� The owners and employees should be ashamed of themselves.

  Sam Smith
4 months ago
Had a very easy time getting my brakes done as well as a thorough job keeping me up to date on things I need to watch for as well! Erin helped my partner and I through the whole process and was an extreme delight to work with through the whole process! Happy to have a great local mechanic shop!

  Jen Marie
a month ago
Would leave negative stars if possible. My mother in law had her vehicle towed to this location Monday. As she broke down at a gas pump near this location. She explained all that was acting up with it. And they told her that it was a certain issue with the fuel pump and that they would fix it. She was also looking to get her motor mount fixed. (She was going to go to someone else until her vehicle wouldn t start Monday.) They told her it should be done by 10 am this morning. The guy she spoke to also informed her that he would knock 100$ off her bill. Which was indeed a lie as her initial bill was around 2,100 and she ultimately paid 2,079. Then when she called at around 9:23am they told her that it was going to be done later on. The woman supposedly brought up that her grandmother had passed recently. Not sure why that was needed to be brought up. They never mentioned anything else was wrong with the vehicle other than the fuel pump. They also didn t mention anything about other parts being ordered. Supposedly the mechanic made the call to order said parts according to the female she spoke to earlier today. When she asked why she wasn t informed on other parts being ordered for the vehicle. Then after her vehicle was ready to be picked up she noticed her dash signals were popping up. As in signal for abs, gas, etc. Now she cannot see when she needs gas, etc. When she asked what was wrong with it , all they replied with was you can get that fixed but it s gonna be an extra cost. She was charged for the previous work then they decided to let her know about the signals in hope of swindling her out of more money. Nothing was wrong with the signals prior to being at this car center. I don t know what they re trying to prove with doing this. But it s very unfortunate to be taken advantage of after already forking out over 2k in repairs. I would understand if it had been an issue prior but it wasn t and I whole heartedly believe they tampered with the vehicle in order to get more money. They never showed proof that the dash signals were acting up. But while she and my fianc� were there she noticed the same woman (mentioning her grandmother) calling other customers and updating them on their vehicles. Will not be coming back. Don t recommend. And do not send me a sorry for this bad experience. Not tryna hear about it.

  pete young
4 months ago
EXTREMELY overpriced. I dropped a vehicle off and assumed it needed an alternator. I bought the alternator and asked them to verify before placing as well as install an alternator belt (I did not provide) and check for an oil leak. I was charged almost $100 to look over the vehicle (I assumed it was to check the things I asked about, but it wasn't). They said it was an oil leak (duh), but I'd have to pay more to find out where. Then I was charged about ANOTHER $100 to check to see if it was, in fact, the alternator. With the cost of the belt ($80) and labor (almost $200/hr), the bill was just over $750 (remember, I provided the alternator). The first $100 was too fully look over the vehicle which is not what I asked, so that was a waste. The main reason i originally dropped it off was because they were open on a Saturday, and on the phone, they said they'd have it done that day (it wasn't). They put you in a tight spot, so you kinda have to do it. I promise I will NOT be back.

  Karla Yanira Borja
5 months ago
I am so thankful to have had the pleasure of working with Erin at Meineke. I walked into Meineke after having gone to my local dealership for break problems & they turned me away. She was wonderful to work with and really helped me understand what my car needed in order to fix some issues it had. She also greeted me as soon as I walked in & with no doubt said she will get me in to get my car looked at since it was possibly my breaks and she cared about my safety. I did go back a day later, but she made sure that they checked my car again & there no issues made on their behalf. Thank you also to Orlando for making sure that my car was good to go the second time around.

  Jessica wilks
2 months ago
I drove a hour to get there. Showed up before they opened. Was second in line. They took my information and keys and instructed me to sit and wait. Then shortly after handed my keys back and dismissed me saying that they weren t able to get to any cars that day. I wouldn t have bothered to leave a review but they ve texted numerous times after asking for one despite the fact that they wasted my time and I received no service or explanation.

  Justina Jones
4 months ago
I called in to make an appointment because my traction control light came on. I was thinking I may need a wheel alignment, but wasn t sure. I trusted them to get my vehicle fixed. They charged me 835.94 for a tire rod and wheel alignment. My traction control light is still on. They wanted to charge me another $176 to diagnose. What was the point of me keeping my vehicle there for a week to still have my traction light on?

  Laura Boh
5 months ago
Great facility and service for my state inspection. Staff was friendly. I was shocked, when they said how much the two replacement air filters would cost. When I commented they said it included installation labor. I know from experience that it is quick and easy to replace both; five minutes max! Their markup was over 150% with exaggerated labor time. Needless to say I did not get my new air filters here!

  Teska Diero
2 months ago
No matter what you go in for they want to upsell you more products and services...just say no. Tried to help my daughter navigate their B.S. and stalling only to recommend she retrieve her car and never take it back there. Felt bad because this shop USED TO BE GOOD but they've lost their way. Frequently saying, "we're swamped" and using the same excuses and forgetting they told you that one already. Shameful and unprofessional.

  Seth Ferguson
3 months ago
Employees were friendly, but my goodness are they expensive and they made me come to the store for a quote-they wouldn t take details over the phone. They wanted to sell me two new tires and an alignment for a little over $600 on my compact sedan. Got tires at Walmart and an alignment at a local shop for a total of $305. I was looking for economy that that wasn t it.

  Timothy McCormick
2 months ago
My job requires me to travel extensively throughout virginia and i was very far away from home when my car failed . Meineke was able to acquire parts and repair my vehicle almost as quickly as a nascar pit crew . They made me feel like i was their only customer . Thanks guys and gals for leaving me with great piece of mind in completing my mission .

  colleen Fortine
2 months ago
Old change and coolant flush services: job was done correctly. My only issue was not turning off my car correctly. Staff only turned off car and pulled parking brake. When I got back in the car I couldn't start it. It's important for a engine to be turned off correctly. Also, they left the paper mat in the car. Please take your trash it should not be the customer cleaning up your paper.

  Jackie Webber
2 months ago
I had an appt. for state inspection at 2 pm. I arrived 10 mins. early. It took 30 mins. for thr mechanic to get to my car and then he spent 10 mins. looking for the keys, which were in the car. I left in my car st 4:15 pm. Way too long for an inspection.

  Carla Rodriguez
5 months ago
Been coming here since 2021 and quality has gone downhill. Decent for inspections and preventative maintenance but expect to get recommended a lot of things you don t need at a high price point. I also have to emphasize that if you don t have a plan and need a diagnosis or are having engine problems, RUN! Diagnosis for a CEL ran me $197 only to be told I needed a new engine for $12k. Went to another mechanic and the only things wrong were spark plugs and an ignition coil. Won t be coming back.