Lady claims auto shop rips her off

Cynthia Rivera is a wife and mother of three living in Wellton just outside of Yuma. After having car troubles she went to Meineke Car Care in December on Fourth Avenue.

Rivera says out of all the auto shops near her she went there because she believed in the brand. Little did she know she’d be stuck with a $900 bill and a car that still wasn’t fixed.

“Betrayed, taken advantage of. You know? You expect something from a company. You expect them to guarantee their job,” said Rivera.

Rivera was told her rack and pinion needed to be remanufactured, for her power steering to work, that would cost her $900.

“I trusted them with it and two weeks later the exact same thing happened, they told me to bring it back,” said Rivera.

After taking it back to Meineke, she says they kept her car for another two weeks without explanation. So she decided to take it somewhere else.

“I took it to the dealership that’s where I was told everything that was not done for my car. Even though I have paperwork saying this was done to my car,” said Rivera.

That third party was Alexander Toyota in Yuma who says her rack and pinion was never even touched.

“Driving with your car still not fixed and them saying they fixed it, is kind of scary as well because it puts us at risk,” said Rivera.

After trying to reach out to Meineke she says she got the run around and wasn’t given a refund.

“I hired a constable about a week and a half later I finally got a response from the constable and it actually had notes saying they went to the business four times. They were told not to told not to come back,” said Rivera.

Unsuccessful in her attempts to get a refund, she says she just wants the auto shop to make changes.

“A new owner or a new policy or something. Something other than just me getting my money would be better,” said Rivera.

13 On Your Side reached out to Meineke on Fourth avenue last Thursday. We spoke to a manager who said they declined to comment. We attempted another time on Monday and were asked to leave.

“I want them to be investigated. I contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB), they have an F,” said Rivera.

According to the BBB there’s been 12 other customers not satisfied with the services Meineke claims to have delivered.

“Even if I don’t get my money and they get shut down. I’d actually be content with that because then they can’t hurt other people,” said Rivera.

We’ll keep you updated on this story. If you have a story for 13 On Your Side we want to hear from you. Message Denelle Confair on Facebook by clicking here.