MEINEKE CAR CARE CTR

I called on the weekend (Saturday) to make a appointment to get my car fixed. Was almost un-drivable and my only car, so I needed it fixed a-sap. Soonest appointment wasn't until Monday after weekend at 10am. First off, when I showed up for the appointment the guy made it clear that not only were they not able to work on car today but probably wont even fix it that same day. After I explained that I would just take it somewhere else since it was my only source of transportation, he said he would try to work on it and see what he could do. Wondered why I even made a appointment. I explained to him what I thought the problem was and made sure he called me as soon as he knew for sure what the problem was and so I could give him permission to work on it. (Depending on the cost needed to make sure I could afford it) Before I left he approached me "beating around the bush" Saying things like "It's bad and going to be expensive" Not wanting to give me a exact quote. (Keep in mind I had gotten a quote on Saturday for the replacement of a water pump including labor at $330.) He tried to give me a explanation that is was leaking something with the coolant, making it obvious I had a blown gasket and that it was not the water pump that needed to be replaced. After asking him about 4 times what it meant and how much it was going to be he finally said it would be at least 10 hours of labor which alone could be about $1000. I told him to please double check and call me to make sure it was in fact the problem. I was devastated... He said he wouldn't know for sure till about a hour when the car cooled off. Three hours later I had my husband call him to find out what was going on since I had not heard back from him. He told him the same story. I then called and explained to him I would be picking up the car simply because I could not afford it at the time. Myself, I was thinking if I am going to pay that much money in labor alone I want a second opinion. Well lets just say I am super glad I got a second opinion because come to find out it was just the water pump. The part plus labor cost me less then $100 and the problem was fixed. Yes, I had a mechanic I know do it on the side. Which saved me over $300 from having it done at a shop. They tried to rip me off period. Don't know why they wouldn't just charge me the $330 to replace a $50 dollar part and take the profit off that. Instead they ended up with a lost sale, bad review and lost a future client. Not to mention that he had no idea what or where my car key was and then he made me walk around the back of building to get my car rather then pulling it up for me. Then... thank god I had known to check the coolant level considering the leak I had because they ran it dry while it was on the lift. That also he didn't mention. So the moral of the story is they claimed I had the worst case scenario and tried to charge me the most they could. Fortunately for me this has happened to me in the past and that is why I always get a second opinion. I wish I would have had a for-warning about this place and or history.