Meineke Car Care Center

I cannot actually rate their service work, but… as we drove into town to catch an early flight at O’hare the next morning, my right front brake started to stick & was not releasing.
I read reviews on here and decided this was the place to drop my vehicle and keys overnight before taking shuttle to airport.
While out of town they (Gary) did a brake inspection twice and found no problems. The problem went away on its own and I offered to pay for their time but they said the brake inspection was free.
They seemed to be honest people that you can trust to work on automobiles. I Would recommend this shop for repairs.

Plugged my tire, ended up wrecking it. Had to buy a new tire, which if they hadn’t touched my car at all, the tire would have been fixable. Thanks. Also, the managers NEVER look at me. I’ve been going here for oil changes for years (which are just fine) but I hate being ignored. It’s rude.

I came here because I got a nail in my tire and they told me that where it was it couldn’t be patched and I’d need to buy a new tire for $ 125. Fortunately I knew that was complete B.S. I told them to fill up my tire with air so I could at least get to another place. I went over to Discount Tire in Round Lake and they patched it in 30 minutes and I was on my way. So in the end, I wouldn’t recommend taking your car here for fixing a tire. I 100% recommend Discount Tire in Round Lake for your tire needs.
Also, your mechanics should wear gloves when working and then take them off when driving a customers car because your mechanics filthy hands rubbed grease all over my ivory steering wheel and it was a pain to try to clean off.

Gary and Rick are great owners! There staff are very good at the work they do on vehicles. I have been going here for several years with my 2000 VW Jetta and they were always helpful. If it was ever work they did not do, they would refer me to others who did great work. Now I have a new truck and I will still go to this location for my oil changes and breaks. Definitely beats the dealer cost.

I came to this Meineke after reading several positive reviews online (not Unilocal) because I wanted a 30,000 mile service (which the dealer advertised at over $ 400) and my brakes were making grinding sounds.
For me, going to an auto repair place feels the same way that some people feel about going to the dentist. I avoid it unless absolutely necessary and almost have an anxiety attack beforehand due to many bad experiences in the past. In all my years of having a car, I only found one mechanic who I felt was honest and he sold his business to a bunch of clowns who I swear have just been using it as a front. Needless to say, I have spent a long time looking for another honest place.
I walked into this Meineke just after they opened at 7am and was happy to see Gary there, as he had been mentioned in a few of the reviews I had read. Sure enough, he blew me away with an honest quote. Instead of some rinky-​dink, pre-​packaged deal for the 30,000 mile service, he looked up the dealer recommendations and listed each component individually. Total estimate was just over $ 150.
A brake inspection was included for free and I expected to hear painful news to the effect that my pads were worn out and the rotors were damaged. Instead, he told me that my brakes were as good as new. I had not been driving the car often and they had apparently gotten rust on them, causing the grinding noise.
I have been here for additional repairs since then and have been very happy. Somehow I’ve gotten Gary each time and that’s a good thing. He can be a bit of a smart alec sometimes but not in a rude way so it’s worth it. I plan on coming here for every service I need aside from an oil change.
One thing I’ve learned is that if Gary says your car will be ready in two hours, go pick it up at that time. Don’t wait for another phone call saying «it’s ready now» because you won’t get one. Also, the waiting room/​office area is the size of a phone booth so be prepared to walk around the neighborhood to visit a nearby restaurant (I suggest Gail’s about a block north on Elmhurst Rd).

I apologize for having taken so so so long to write this review. After all, a great mechanic is like gold. Actually anymore, it’s rare where you get work done on your car and you don’t feel cheated or confused afterwards. And since the guys at Meineke have been so terrific to us for so long this review is long overdue.
The first time we used the Mt. Prospect Meineke was for a squeaking noise that my wife’s car was making. It sounded to me like some sort of front suspension noise, perhaps a strut or shock absorber. If you pushed down on the front fender it would squeak. We went to Niles Midas and the guy tells me I need $ 2000 worth of work. He wants to replace the entire front left wheel hub and a bunch of other parts because that’s what’s causing the squeaking noise. I couldn’t believe it! The guy was absolutely unapologetic-​I needed $ 2000 worth of repairs to fix the squeak. We left after a few heated words about honesty and integrity and the seeming complete lack thereof in auto repair garages.
Not sure how I wound up taking it to Meineke’s but I am glad that I did. I followed my wife there and we dropped the car off at Meineke to get an estimate for our annoying squeak. We went to a diner across the road to get some breakfast and we had not even received our food before Gary from Meineke called us. He gave us a diagnosis and a firm price for the repair. Evidently, all we needed to do was to replace a small suspension part (one that the other place had not even quoted for us despite having quoted us $ 2000 in repairs) Price for the repair? Less than $ 200. We were thrilled! The squeak was gone. And most importantly we had stumbled onto what seemed like the only honest garage in the world at the time.
We’ve had much more work done on our cars at the Meineke since then. A brake job here. A tune-​up there. New tires once I believe. Last year we had the brakes done on my wife’s car. A few weeks ago, the front left brake began to squeak (we seem to always get squeaky cars. I don’t know why that is) and took it back to the guys at Meineke. They found the source of the noise immediately– a bit of a bent metal guard was rubbing and causing the squeak. A few cuts here and there and the squeak is gone. My cost for the repair? ZERO! These painfully honest gentlemen at the Mount Prospect Meineke refused to take any payment for fixing my squeak because they felt that it should have been caught when they changed the brakes for me a year ago. I asked them, «What if it happened after you installed the brakes? It wouldn’t even have been broken when you did the brakes!» They didn’t care, the repair would be free and they thanked me for my continued business and that was the end of that! Wow! I was speechless. It was more important to them to keep me as a happy customer and make sure that I was 100% satisfied than it was for them to make a buck or two on a repair that we were all sure wasn’t even their responsibility in the first place! Very cool.
Thank you, Mt. Prospect Meineke for being responsible and honest and for caring about your customers. You are a refreshing breath of fresh air in the auto repair business and it is a treat to do business with you.