Meoni's Auto Service, Inc.

Review: I brought my 1980 Mercedes Benz 300CD to Meoni's Garage in June of 2012. I had just bought the car and asked them first to look over it throughly to confirm that it was a sound car and worth investing money in. I went to Meoni's because the car is a diesel and they claimed to know how to work on a diesel. They confirmed that the car was a very good rust free example and so I autorized them to do work. Over the next few months I invested over 6,000 dollars in the car.

In June of 2012 I paid $500.00 for four new tires. Due to another issue with this garage I took my car to another shop which just informed me that both of my back tires are bald and that the two front tires are nowhere near new. When I took the cafr back to Meoni's I was told they could apologize for the "lunkhead [redacted]," but because the odometer did not work they could not replace the tires. Mind you they put the tires on the car without a working odometer and never alerted me to the fact that the bad tires they were putting on the car could not be replaced under warranty because.... the odometer did not work. These were obvioulsy subpar tires to begin with and they had no intention of replacing them once I became aware that they were bad. Oddly enough I was being told from the day I drove the car away from the garage that I had been ripped off. That the tires I assumed were new had no tread on them. I now understand why the car hydro planes and why this winter I went into a 180 spin on ice everyone else was driving right over. Their fraud almost cost me my life.

In March of 2013 the car needed work on the brakes. I was told by [redacted] Meoni that I could either spend $300 to do superficial work on the car but was then told that since the car was in such good condition I should put real money into the brakes and so took theri recommendation and invested $1000 in a new brake system. The brakes are beyond poor. It is downright scary trying to stop the car.

In July of this year I took my car back to them because it was stalling. Two weeks went by and I heard nothing from them. I called to find out where my car was and they tell me that [redacted] has gone on vacation. That he would work on the car when I got back. I was driving a rental to the tune of $200.00 a week. Another week goes by and I contact them again. This time I am told that they won't work on the car because it is too rusted out to put any more money into it. Three weeks they sat on my car. I paid $600.00 for the rental in this time. Now they tell me that the car that was such a great example that they took $6,000.00 from me in one year was not worth putting the work into. The fact was they did not know how to work on diesel's and that they were just taking me for a ride while they ripped me off as much as possible.

I took the car to another shop here where they told me the car had bacteria in the tank. They also confirmed that if the tank had been cleaned out from the begining almost all of the engine problems Meoni's were claiming to be caused by other things would have been fixed. But Meoni's never cleaned the tank. They just kept billing me to the tune of $6,000.00. Almost all of it unneccessary.Desired Settlement: They need to refund me $500.00 for the shoddy tires and $600.00 for the car rental (I have the receipts) for the time they held my car and refused to do work on it.

Business

Response:

AUGUST 20, 2013

To whom it may concern:

In response to the allegations of the service issues of [redacted]:

Her first repair visit after she purchased said vehicle, we did a general checkover and for her complaint of poor handling and fuel leakage After reviewing the entire vehicle and notifying **. [redacted] authorized the replacement of the steering box assembly, cooling system hose and cooling system fan clutch. Also repair was made to the fuel system leakage and brake checkup.

At that time, with the initial contact to the vehicle it was noted to **. [redacted] that the vehicles odometer, cruise control and tripometer was inoperative.

On May 24, 2012 vehicle was towed to our facility after it shut down on the road. The findings were extreme low fuel to the tank and fuel delivery aeration was noted to the primary fuel deliveries. **. [redacted] requested no action to be taken at this time.

On June 20, 2012, [redacted] authorized the replacement of her four tires. Upon request our purchase receipt is available from our file and from our vendor with serial numbers for identification to the manufacture of the tires. As listed by our vendor. These tires came with a 65,000 mile warranty.

On July 6, 2012, at **. [redacted]’s request, we installed a primary fuel lift pump that she supplied to our facility. This action was taken after discussion of the fuel aeration and loss of power.

On July 20, 2012 vehicle was again towed to our facility for a no start condition After checking the entire electrical system, **. [redacted] authorized the replacement of the alternator that created the no start.

On August 1, 2012, vehicle was towed to our facility. The cause of this condition was due to the cooling system fan blade which with the excess vibration creared water leakage at the water pump seal and physical damage to the fan clutch..

On October 33, 2012 **.[redacted] dropped off the vehicle for engine oil consumption and engine noise. We checked all fluids and the engine mechanical. We advised her to carefully review the engine oil levels weekly.

On February 13, 2013, brought her vehicle to our facility and asked us to check her glow plug system due to her light illuminated on her instrument panel. She also asked tom check the entire braking system. After checking the vehicle and obtain **. [redacted]’s authorization, we replaced her glow plugs and performed an engine oil service. We also completed the front braking system overhaul.

On April 3, 2013, at **.[redacted]’s request, we made a road call to her home due to her vehicle not starting. We suggested her to purchase an engine oil heater to assist a cold engine start up in her 1980 Mercedes diesel engine assembly.

In summation, all thru the history of [redacted]’s vehicle coming to our facility, it was noted on all repair statements, and verbal discussions, we did request the repair be completed to her odometer of this vehicle.

In response to the time frame alleged by **. [redacted] to the repair to the vehicle, on two occasions we were called to hold off any action to repair this vehicle.

All tire manufactures require for warranty purposes an odometer statement when the tires are purchased and at time of warranty request to enforce applicable warranty considerations.

In response to the allegation of bacteria in the fuel tank, all diesel fuels manufactured today retain bacteria. At last visit with **. [redacted], the vehicle starts immediately, with normal vehicle performance for the age and year to this vehicle.

I retain a Master Certification for the Automotive Service Excellence Voluntary Testing Program, and, I cam make it available on request. This certification also includes light duty diesel Systems.

Please contact us for any statements or purchase receipts that are necessary to finalize these allegations.

Sincerely yours,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Meoni's did not address the bad tires they gave me nor did they address the fact that the car sat with them for three weeks while the mechanic that wrote this response went on vacation and virtually ignored the car. They never addressed the issue of the bacteria in the tank and consequently I had to take the car to another shop that cleaned the tank of bacteria. The car runs wonderfully now. At no time did I tell them not to work on my car while it was in their shop. What would have been the point of that? As to the day in APRIL when they came to my house to start the car - that had to do with the shoddy workmanship done on the car previously (they replaced all of the glow plugs because they said that is why the car would not start in the cold when really it was just a matter of bacteria in the tank)- they did not heat the oil pan to get the car started. In April the temperatures were not such that the car would not start. All facts of my complaint remain - they gave me bad tires - they sat on my car for three weeks while I had to rent a car and did not address the obvious problem of the car - bacteria in the fuel tank. Which again, another shop identified immediately and fixed. Meoni's auto shop consistently took my money while telling me my car was a solid example in which to invest money (the brakes at $1,000.00 are a good example of this). After holding it for three weeks and doing no work on it they told me the car was not worth putting more money into and that they would not work on it further. This after all of those repairs listed by [redacted] Meoni. So in effect **. Meoni's listing of all of the work done on the car just strengthens my point - they took my money, gave me bad tires (apparently passed my car for inspection with an odometer that did not work) took advantage of the fact that the odometer did not work to not reimburse me for $500.00 worth of bad tires.

According to my new mechanic that actually knows how to work on diesel Mercedes this car, with the tank cleaned of bacteria, should give me no more problems. According to this mechanic that has gone over the car thoroughly if the tank had been cleaned initially none of the starting issues the Meoni's attributed to other things wrong with the car would have existed. As a matter of fact when I called Meoni's during the time that they held my car without working on it they told me it was trouble with the fuel lines and that they were having a problem finding the right fuel lines to go on the car. Which in itself is ridiculous because these parts are very easy to find and for the simple fact that this was another fabricated problem they invented so as not to address the real problem which would stop seeing my little money maker in their shop - bacteria in the tank.

So no. I do not accept this response. I want the refund on the tires of $500.00 and I want the $600.00 for the three weeks wasted on a rental car. If this cannot be settled by the Revdex.com acting as a mediator I will take to a lawyer. I certainly have reason and evidence to win my case,

Regards,