Meineke Car Care Center

March 17, 2016
Cristian, an auto technician at The Meineke Care Center, 742 So Main Ave, Fallbrook, CA
has, once again, helped my husband and I with both of our cars needs.
Cristian has been accurate, explaining solutions, very reasonable quotes and always giving our autos special attention. (even if it is only a tire problem).
We APPRECIATE HIS PROFESSIONALISM and his PROVIDING GREAT SERVICE!

I’ve had multiple vehicles serviced here, and they do a great job every time! My engine light came on twice in a row and they did a diagnostic test for free (usually it’s $ 100) and cleared the light for me (fortunately nothing was wrong with the truck). They’ve never tried to sell me parts or services I didn’t need and are very helpful. They even gave me a ride back to my house after I dropped my vehicle off and were willing to come pick me up… I’ll be getting all my cars serviced here from now on!

Went above and beyond to make sure my car needs were met. Even when I was driving away and needed another light replaced they flagged me down and replaced it right there.

Jack is awesome. Had a light come on so swung by and he was super helpful and really quick. Would definitely go back!

Can I just say how great the customer service is here? Wow I came in as a walk-​in at around 7:30 am a few weeks ago and although they were completely booked for the morning they were able to squeeze my car in for an oil change. Took a little more than hour but it was decently priced. Very friendly and will definitely be recommending this place to anyone in the fallbrook area.

Went to get a tune up service and see why my «check engine «light turned on. I was treated fairly and taken care of … They even dropped me off at home and picked me up when the work was done. I needed new tires and they marched the lowest price I found just like they said they would … Honest and fair service. I’ll definitely give them my business and referrals !

I am a Meineke customer for 4 years now. On Monday, I went to the Fallbrook shop to check why my display is showing the «maintenance need“since it is not time for another oil change. The technician took my key, look at it, came back and told me that the display need to be reset. I had oil change in the same one place 2 months ago. Obliviously, the person who change it did not reset it correctly. He asked me if the maintenance had been done in certain mileage. Any way, no explanation what needs to be inspected, no correction on the display. I left very disappointed and confused! What Do I have to do now? He advised me to reset it myself! Maybe next time I will be advised to change the oil myself as well!

Just got my car serviced today and all I can say is WOW! I had my oil pan gasket replaced on my leaky 02 Sentra and being that it’s an older car it was a little tricky with all the worn and rusted exhaust manifold bolts that needed to be removed. With that said, this repair could have turned into a nightmare in extra costs associated with replacing the exhaust manifold and other items. Being that they were so skilled with the repair this was not the case and were able to remove the old rusty bolts to the exhaust manifold so they could get to the oil pan with no problems! It did take a little longer as they needed to soak the bolts overnight but I rather them do that then rush and rip off the bolts and break something in the process making the repair WAY more expensive. In the end, the repair cost was WAY less than I thought thanks to their skilled technicians and most important, HONESTY! It’s so hard to find good honest auto repair shops these days and they have definitely earned my business for life! So if you need something fixed on your vehicle and are worried about the cost, take it to Meineki of Fallbrook and you will know you are getting a fair and honest estimate and outstanding quality repair. Thank you Meinike of Fallbrook! You are the best!!!

My wife had the brakes done at Meineke Car Care Center because they offered a really good extended warranty. They have not only honored the warranty, but they identified other problems with the vehicle, that we were not aware of, but have since confirmed. Not having a long history with Meineke Car Care Center, we verified their diagnosis and also checked their pricing. What we found was that what they said needed to be done was correct and the price they quotedp was the cheapest quote we received.
They have made the repairs to the car and provided us with great customer service and earned our trust. We used previous comments from Unilocal as a reason to go there for the brakes and now we will use them for both our cars. Everyone wants to feel comfortable that your car is being tended to by professionals who do good work and are honest and fair. I believe we found this with The Meineke Car Care Center and highly recommend their services! A+ 5***** for quality of work, service and most of all honesty!

I gave them 3 chances. This time I made the decision never to return. I won’t get into the other 2 times I visited but this one is a handful. Lets start with why I came here. I needed to have my Lincoln Navigator breaks redone. I know that around 72k miles I needed to make sure they’re good to go. So I brought it in. And I gave them a list of things to check: differntial, transmission, tire pressure, balanced and rotated. So They come back to me about 2 hours later: you need a new fuel filter, transmission fluid and resurface the rotors. I give them the ok. 4 hours pass and I have an $ 1,100 bill. So no problem. I pay it. Soon as I drive off the lot I see my tire pressure warning light is still lit, my windshield washer light is blinking low. I call them and tell them what’s up with these warnings? They said they would take care of it so I said I would return tomorrow to have them finish it up. So I go home, check the bill, it says they checked the differential, they topped off the fluids, 23 point inspection. And to add to this, they did the «computer alignment» and the tire rotation. Now I’m missing 2 tire caps, can’t tell if I really got my tires rotated or balanced. Weights still look really old and no sign of removal on the inner metal of the rim. So I take it back, tell them the metal plug on the differential hasn’t been touched since I bought it in 2005. So they check, tell me «yes, it is very very low and we found shavings and gunk inside. It will cost you $ 500 to take the plate off (4 bolts) and clean and replace fluid». $ 500!!! So I call my mechanic in San Diego, says to take the plate off, inspect the gears, clean the area, get the shavings off the magnets, then refill is around $ 90.00. So I tell Meineke forget it. Fill it up and give me the keys. That was the last straw. I really don’t know if they put new transmission fluid in the truck since it doesn’t have a dipstick to check it. So I’m going to VP Racing off Ingraham ave in Pacific Beach to have Eric (best mechanic on the planet, honest, and reasonable prices) and have him look at it all. The $ 500 price-​tag just put me in a bad mood for the rest of the weekend. NEVER will I go to Meineke to even have them look at my vehicles. I own a computer company and if I did that to my customers I would be out of business. And oh, forgot. The labor came to about 10 hours of labor in a 4 hour period. That’s how they rake you through the coals. They do one thing and it’s .5 labor, then on to the next item on the list then it’s a 1.5 labor, then it’s 2.5 labor while it really was all within an hour of time passed. They restart the clock when they jump to the next item. Forget this place if you can. Sorry for the rant but I just had to let anyone who cares about their car or truck, money in your wallet that you worked very hard to get, and have a cut throat rinky dink so called mechanics mess up this bad, you need to look elsewhere. This is a small town and I won’t bend over taking it anymore.
REVISED: As of today, May 4^th, 2015, I received a threatening phone call from Carl at Meineke. He has left me a message (which I saved thanks to the great technology we have today) threatening me with a lawsuit, Says that it is slander, no make that «criminal civil slander» say’s that he want’s to talk «man to man». And Since you believe your team of lawyers are big and you have handed this to them to «take care of it», and I have «exactly 24 hours», not 8, 12, or by the end of the day, but exactly 24 hours, whatever that means, and you say that they will win, I just may counter-​sue you and see where this goes. So let’s see Carl how far Meineke want’s to go. You left your voice mail saying you’ve only been there 2 ½ weeks on the job. I would highly recommend someone on your «team» who actually has a degree in speaking to the public, contact me like you did on my cell phone and leave more messages. Somehow you decided to take it upon yourself to call it, 4 times now, and leave a nasty message. I can’t wait to hand this one over. And every single item listed in my first letter above is 100% accurate. I even have your $ 1,131.77 invoice, which totals 6 hours of labor in a 3.5 hour time frame. So please, have one of your guys call me anytime.
ADDENDUM: Carl is now is calling my place of business asking questions from his personal cell phone. Call logged: 12:32pm May 4^th, 2015. He asked who I was and what is my capacity here at my office.

Great care Center hands down. The customer service is outstanding. I used to go to Express Tire but now they are my main care service. If you haven’t been to this center yet, now is the time. The price is amazing and cheaper than the normal care service provider!

I gave them a try for basic service as I received a coupon in the mail for an oil change, they had an in house special and
a better price. Inspected my car identified a head pan gasket leak and no other issues other than my windshield wiper blades and an air filter that indeed was due. The diagnosis was correct as I took it to my regular shop. They were pet friendly as I sat in the lobby with my furry pal. At a later time they changed out a tire at no cost but of course I tipped the mechanic. Other than missing on placing paper on the floor of my car their service was perfect, polite, on time within 15 minutes. I felt they were based on my experience a well managed garage and professional with the small town appeal of Fallbrook merchants. I don’t always give high marks, ask Carlsbad Mercedes Benz

Great people had some issues which were resolved pretty quickly and these guys went way out of there way to help and fixed a lot on my car really pleasant overall ¹⁰⁄₁₀ will come back

I’m new to Fallbrook and had a coupon for a 19.99 oil change for this place. They told me it was going to be 39.99 because my car takes 7 quarts and they needed to put a special oil in my car. What a rip off my car doesn’t take 7 quarts it takes 6 and it doesn’t take any special oil. I ended up taking my car to Indy Performance Pro-​Tire and paid less than Meineke wanted to charge me and got better service. I found my go to auto shop and its not Meineke I won’t trust them again.

I’m new to this town and needed an oil change on my car bad. Great customer service was seen quickly and best of all No appt needed! Def coming back!!!

I was not impressed with the customer service provided by the manager. I made an appointment (I was five minutes late) when I arrived my name was no longer on the white board. When I dropped my car off I asked how long it would take and the manager said it would be 45 minutes to an hour… okay. Well an hour and a half later I was on my way. I would have appreciated an accurate estimate of time since I had plans for the day and my toddler with me to keep happy while we waited for my car to be ready. The service was fine as usual, but i’m not pleased with the lack of accurate communication on behalf of the new manager. All of the techs are polite and helpful, but I would not go there when I have my child or a time constraint.

Went in for an oil change. Nothing more. Mentioned I was planning a road trip. He called 15 min in and said he could see my front brakes needed replacing. Got a nice discount on the oil change and a very reasonable price for the brake work.
My card was declined for the payment, so he let me take my newly repaired car to the bank to bring back cash for him. He had nothing more than my address and the promise I would come back. Love that small town service!

Great experience today. The staff was friendly and helpful. They even told us they offer a military discount of 5%.
We went in for an oil change. We were given an estimated time of about 30 – 40 minutes which was spot on.
Overall it was a great experience.

Today was maybe my 4^th visit to this location. I was in there around lunch time and out 30 mins later. I had an oil change and inspection and everything went smooth! Would definitely recommend their service to everyone!

Before I begin, one star is too much.
I went in the other day for an oil change. I had been going in for one at a rate of 20 bucks. The guy at the front tells me it is 35. I asked what happened to the 20 dollar one and he tells me it was discontinued a long time ago. So in light of that I say this will be my last one. While they begin, I go and get breakfast.
I come back and the main supervisor/​owner, Joseph comes out and begins to lecture me with the ends and outs of business and why its not economical to give a 20 dollar oil change anymore.
Excuse me? I understand if certain promotions expire or prices jump up. But don’t ever come out and lecture me.
So let me lecture you, Joseph. Never insult the intelligence of your customers when they complain. That is what you call customer service. Its not very economical to be a jerk.
For simply installing a drain pan was going to run me $ 200! For simply examining my fuel tank to determine the problem would run $ 180! Where do these people get their prices!!! There must be a gas leak in the shop because they have got to be high if they think I’m paying that for a simple job. I would even be supplying the parts!