AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Reviews 3

MI

Michael Moody

This is a story you must read to believe, but it is true. Im still in a pleasant shock. I had my 2008 Ford Fusion towed in after another shop made a mess of it and were overcharging me. I could see that they were in way over their head, so I brought the car here. They seemed very knowledgable and caring, and they repaired the mess the other shop created and fixed my car for me. The other shop was going to install a used transmission with a 30 day warranty for $2700. Curtiss and his group rebuilt my transmission and gave me a 1 yr warranty for $2300. It took a little longer than I expected, but then again they had more to repair because of the first shop then was expected. There are often unexpected costs when working on a transmission, and there was with mine, almost $5oo more, but Curtiss absorbed these costs and didnt charge me a penny more than we had agreed upon. Unfortunately, Ford Motor Co had told me the only way to fix this problem was to totally replace the transmission, even though it was a defect in the 06-08 Fusion that they knew about, but thats another story. But, it turned out that Ford seemed to be right, because after all of this, the hard 3-4 shift was still there. I took the car home and just resigned myself to the fact that this was a Ford defect, and I would never buy a Ford product again. But, Curtiss (the owner) didnt come to the same conclusion. Unbeknownst to me, he kept researching the problem of the Ford Fusion transmissions, and came across an article in a trade magazine about another transmission shop who had stumbled onto the solution. HE CALLED ME and told me to bring my car in because he "thought" he found a fix for my car. I had been driving the car this way for almost 4 years, so naturally I was a bit skeptical. I asked him how much this was going to cost me, and his answer was, "not a penny". So, I took the car in and left it with him for 3 days. He tore the entire transmission apart, bought a $300 tool that was created only to work on the Ford Fusion problem. He replaced more parts, did the special repair that he had researched, replaced the entire torque converter along with selenoids and all mechanical parts. He then called me and told me to come and get my car, that it was fixed. When I picked up the car and drove it home, for the first time in 4 years the transmission shifted smoothly through all 5 gears. Im a Marine, but I almost cried, because I love this car. He never once even hinted at how much money he was losing on this job, and acted thoroughly excited and overjoyed to get it fixed when Ford said he couldnt. His devotion to customer satisfaction was mind boggeling. I believe Curtiss to be an impeccably honest man, and would entrust my car to his care again. And if you know someone who is having this same problem with an 06-08 Ford Fusion, tell them you know of the only shop in the Orlando area where they know how to fix it!

JO

John Hutchinson

Our 2005 Chrysler Pacifica was acting up badly, would jump in and out of gear, speedometer would bounce from 10-20 mph while at a stop, whining noise from under the hood, check engine light, overall just not good at all. Even though the website says call for an appointment, I stopped by after lunch hoping they could take a quick look-see, and pretty much convinced myself that we would be facing a huge repair bill for a new transmission. They were extremely busy but the manager, Curtiss, took the time to listen to my concerns and right away calmed my fears saying he didnt think it was a transmission issue. And I was convinced it was! He quickly grabbed his lead mechanic and confirmed it was most likely a faulty alternator that was sending mixed signals to the transmission sensors causing it to act so strangely. Alternators arent cheap (more on that later) but a heckuva lot cheaper than a new transmission so I was elated! During their checks they also found the battery was old and failing and some of the noise we had been hearing was in fact a right front wheel bearing going. The Check Engine Light was also partially due to a bad gas cap, of all things, that was preventing the gas tank from ventilating as it should. He also suggested a new oil and filter but gave me the option of doing that myself to save money. Speaking of that, knowing that I was on a limited budget he offered to allow me to purchase my own alternator and battery rather than pay the markup required by AAMCO provided parts. He even called the NAPA store down the street and told me which parts guy there to ask for. This kindness alone saved me $150 or so. Plus, AAMCO offered a 10% off coupon online but Curtiss applied that discount automatically without need of the coupon. He didnt have to do any of this, but he did. On top of all that, they even completed the repairs hours ahead of schedule. I was apprehensive when I first came to this AAMCO shop as I expected the worst... high sales pressure, price markups, most definitely pushed into a new transmission, etc.... but my fears were totally unfounded. I immediately found Curtiss to be very personable and professional, yet still maintain a great sense of humor, and felt as if I had known him for years. While there, I also got to meet his oldest son who works beside him, as well as some of the staff, and its obvious they work well as a team and share many of the same values. I cant speak for other AAMCO locations or the franchise itself, but I was VERY pleased with the service I received from Curtiss and his staff at the East Colonial location in Orlando. I recommend them highly and will definitely visit them again. 5 Stars! And yeh, Ill bring donuts the next time! :)

A

A Burgos

Today, 11/18/15, was my first experience was okay. I saw they had great reviews so decided to trust them with a simple brake job. Initially when I called, I gave Rick an opportunity to easily get money off me by stating I wanted all four brakes done. He did, however, show a lot of integrity by stating that based on the mileage I would likely not need the back brakes changed. He stated I didnt have to set an appointment and can drop the take the car in anytime after 10:30 am the following day. I told him I was working OT this week and it would be my mother taking it in and waiting for it, while I would pay over the phone; which he said they would accommodate. According to Rick, there was a back up and it took 2hrs just to get my vehicle on the lift to inspect it. He confirmed the back brakes were at approx. 47% and 55% and would not need to be replaced. He did, however, state the rotors needed to be replaced. All parts were reasonably priced. However, I feel the specific labor rate was a bit above average and was not mentioned clearly upfront. The labor ended up being 112% more that the parts and it is questionable whether 2 hrs was really necessary to perform the task. In addition, some consideration could have been placed on the fact that they had already had the car for 2 hrs and a cost break could have been issues to accommodate for any inconveniences the delay caused. In conclusion, The experience was not terrible. I would consider bringing my car back to them for necessary work in the future. Although, I will likely compare their labor rate and times with others and I will likely schedule it so I can be there and physically confirm anything which may result in additional costs. As a disabled Marine Corps veteran, I rely on other to help me with things that I cannot do myself or would take me significantly more effort than an able bodies person. I feel any company should have the customer experience in mind, and if anything affects that in any way (i.e. unexpected delays), costs breaks can be given to customers to help counter the negative affect on the consumer experience. It is also necessary to be clear about ALL costs to ensure completely ethical business practices as perceived by all consumers.

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