so i was takin my cat out to replace it with a straight pipe and i couldnt get the bolts off cuz it was so rusted...so i took it to meineke and they blowtorched the bolts off since the straight pipe came with bolts, after they took it off i asked if i could have it and they said to come back in 2 weeks cuz it was the law that they had to keep it for 2 weeks. two weeks pass and today i go back and he looks around and tells me they f*ckin threw it out!??! i was so ****ed...he said if someone else with a max comes in and replaces theirs then he would hold it for me but who knows when thats gonna happen? i'm wondering if i should contact meineke headquarters or something because i need that when i go back for emissions testing. i'm thinking that i should get some sort of reimbursement because they said i could have it in 2 weeks and its my cat but they threw it out but i dont know what to do...any help or ideas? if worse comes to worse i'll have to buy another cat maybe random tech. cat or a stock one from someone but i dont wanna have to pay for something i shouldnt be paying for. please help!

 

what kind of law says they have to keep it 2 weeks? That makes no sense at all. Either way, I don't suppose you had a receipt or anything to prove you left it and they were gonna return it?

 

Sounds to me like they owe you an oem cat. I wouldn't take anything less.

 

Honestly, it's ILLEGAL for them to remove the cat(or anything emissions related).

Most likely...he knew that and covered his tracks.

I'd start scouring the classifieds for one.

 

Along the same lines, wouldn't they be inclined to find it or give you another one, since they did something illegal?

 

If you still have the receipt for the work. You should threaten them to give you another one, or else report them to the consumer affair for illegal work (remove a functional catalytic convertor). Tell them that you had consult w/a lawyer and will prosecute their business if they don't comply to you. You seem to have an upper hand on this matter...so execute your action w/caution.

 

damn man that sounds insane, sorry to hear about that and good luck...

 

Note to you for gettting work done in the future: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

Don't take ANYONE'S word.

All you have to say is, "write it down please".

Take it from me who has also learned the hard way, and who has now had my a$$ saved many times by getting promises written down. even things that might seem simple.

For this issue, I would continue to push. They fed you a lie and now ripped you off 1 good CAT. Law to keep it 2 weeks...booooolsh1t, they just wanted your $300 cat and bargained you would go away. I'm sure they sold it "new" to someone. I would go in there and throw the biggest frigin hissy fit in front of all their customers until I got a new cat. From a legal standpoint, since you didn't get this in writing, the only leg you have to stand on is a hissy fit and their desire to make you go away.

 

You're lucky they even did the work for you. I went to midas here in Sc to take mine out to put in my straight pipe, and the guy told he they store won't do it because it's illegal.

 

I just had the same experience trying to get a y-pipe installed. Because it modified the original emissions, Federal law wouldn't allow them to do it. They wouldn't touch it. From the cat back is okay. Find why they would do something illegal and then jerk you around. Was there a work order written for them to do this work?

 

you def have the upper hand. go and argue untill they order u a new one.

 

Did you Know your CAT was worth money to the exhaust shop..?.... my Buddy owns a exhaust shop , they do CAT converter replacments, he told me most shops will try to keep the old CATs b/c they could get atleast 30.00 for it!

-Anthony

 

I went in for a plugged/melted cat on my old truck and they told me $700.

I said F'that...and had it punched out for $20 by a local mechanic friend.

 

Also, you will have to buy a used cat from a private party it is illegal for a business to sell a used cat. The reason here is technically your cat is hazardous waste.

 

sounds like a good plan of action to me!

 

Sounds like you got snookered. Unless the receipt you have is detailed with the cat work performed, you are probably out of gas. The only legal way I know to have a functioning cat removed is for military personnel shipping their cars to a place that doesn;t sell unleaded gas. They would have to show the shop their military orders to have the work done. I'm talking about removing it to replace it with a straight pipe only, not replacing an old cat with a new one. Good luck getting them to give you a replacement.

 

I think you should be happy they did the work for you in the 1st place. Did they screw you over by keeping the old cat, yes. However, they did you a favor by doing illegal work. If you demanded a paper trail, they probably would have told you to go away.

 

yeah they owe you a cat...

Write down all you can remember right now, peoples names, who worked ont he car.
Take it to the law. you can say you were setting up the max for a drag car, aka off road vehicle which I don't believe has to ahve the same reg's as on road cars.

Also mention that they never questioned taking it off.
I think that 2 week thing with the cat is total ****. he probably had a friend that needed one.
Don't drop the issue.... go back in there and demand it, then tell them you are calling corporate...

 

same advice i would give you

 

I don't know if that would help his case or not. If it was to be an off-road car, it would have to be towed away from the shop on a wrecker or trailer to be legal. He really cannot go to any law enforcement without implicating himself in the scheme. Unless he has the work description on paper, it will be their word against his. Other than a video from a hidden camera showing the whole removal process, he may not prevail.

 

funny how they had a pretty big sign posted on their wall stating it was against federal law for them to remove the cat for any reasons and yet he did it without any questioning...unfortunately there was no paperwork involved which i guess he didnt want any papertrails coming back to him...i just asked him if he could take the bolts off i didnt even ask him to take the cat off...just merely the bolts but he took the whole thing off...and now that i think of it that whole 2 week thing is a bunch of BS...looks like i got the short end of the shaft on this one...i'm gonna call every week to see if he got one for me or can reimburse me..i dont think going in there and throwing a fit will help. and since its against fed. law i dont think going corporate will help either. i got till 2005 to figure things out...thanks for all the input...i greatly appreciate it, and i'll keep you all posted on anything that happens.