Meineke Car Care Center

I had to go to a different repair center to shell out more money for a job that Meineke should have done. The truth of the matter is that I would actually like to sue this service center in court for the nonsense the service manager put me through. I took my car to that location to deal with my engine check light. I knew what the problem was all along and said it to him from the start. He remembers nothing that you tell him since he lives in his own mind and only what he says has any meaning. The fact is that I knew that the problem was related to some type of EVAP units in the front and back of the car. I was told that a year ago by a different service person, but it did not affect the operation of the car, so I waited until I was closer to an inspection date to get it fixed since I knew it might be costly. I have always had great experiences at Meineke Center's in several states, and even long ago at this Jersey City site when different personnel worked there, so I thought nothing of bringing it a Meineke Center. After a diagnosis was done, I heard the employee quoting 2 numbers to the service manager over and over again; it almost looked like a comedy routine as the manager kept misquoting him and he kept correcting the manager (I thought they were playing with each other), but it etched the numbers in my head (441 and 446). The manager additionally mentioned that I might need a tune-up which made sense since I hadn't had one in quite sometime. So when the work was done, he showed me the work order and told me what the problems were and I had no reason to doubt anything; he then reset the engine check light and I was on my way. I have 2 cars and I usually drive the other in good weather, so I put this car (the one worked on) in my garage thinking it was totally fixed. A month later I took it out since when I checked on it, a tire had lost some air, and within minutes of driving down the street that damn light came on again. Of course I was furious and immediately drove to that Meineke center and spoke to the guy about it. He seemed genuinely concerned, put a portable diagnostic unit on it and decided from that, that it must be that I haven't put gas in the car in awhile, which was true. I didn't see how that made a difference, but he said the diagnostic machine highlighted the gas cap. I decided to take care of that at some point, so he reset the light again and I was off again, thinking that this was a minor problem. I put the car in the garage again for the weekend and decided to drive it the following Monday to work. It seemed fine but later on my way back home, within minutes of driving, that nightmare light came on again. I stopped at a station to get gas just in case there was anything to that theory. Here is the part that makes me the angriest. When I took it back to the guy after adding gas to the car, he put that unit on again to diagnose it and then he says to me "oh no, this must have happened since we did the work" . When I asked what the heck he was talking about, he said the numbers that came up were 441 and 446, and that was the moment which was toughest for me to keep my cool. He then mentioned and even showed me the words they related to, and that term EVAP was clearly written on the machine. When I said that this was what his employee said in the first place and why I came there in the first place, he of course said this was not true, as if he didn’t remember it. I then made the point that I was a college math teacher to get his attention as to the fact that I recall numbers very well. He scoffed at the thought of my being a math teacher until I told him to call the school and check, at which point he obviously believed me; that is a totally side point, but I bring it up to illustrate the type of thinking I was dealing with (only what is in his mind counts, not anything anyone else says). However, he totally ignored the fact that I heard his serviceman say those numbers and we were back to square one with him quoting a price for the repair, mind you after I have already paid over $500 already to get my engine check light removed. So even if there are discrepancies in our accounts, which I am certain he will foolishly present and probably get his underling to back up, THAT ENGINE LIGHT PROBLEM was never fixed and there is no disputing that this was the reason I went there in the first place. Now it is quite clear that the only reason the light was removed in the first place for a single start or at most a second one was because he reset it each time. The problem was never fixed. I just didn't want to see his face again, so I have taken my business elsewhere, but I am considering either taking him to small claims or simply just never setting foot in that stupid station again. This has put a black mark on Meineke for me and now I would be wary about bringing my car to any Meineke repair center.