AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Reviews 3

DA

Dave Wright

This experience begins on 6/8/2015 and ends on 6/9/2015. I bought an older car, that I knew would need some repairs. After the initial repairs were completed, my check transmission light came on. My mechanic recommended Aamco in North Attleboro. I had heard other great reviews in the past. I was told Matt was great to work with. I called early morning Monday 6/8/2015 at 9:30 am, and was told to bring the car over ASAP, and that they would look at it before lunch. I dropped my car off at 10:00am with David the CEO/Owner. He took my information, and we had a nice chat. He said they would contact me around noon.. At 1pm I had not heard from anyone at Aamco. At 1:30pm I called, and spoke with David. I was told they needed another hour, and would call me back. At 2:30pm I did not receive a call. I called back at 2:45pm. I asked if they were busy, and needed more time. I asked if they needed until tomorrow. David said "yes, Ill do something nice for you" I was concerned, and slightly put off. I was also curious to why David would not just tell me they were busy, and needed more time. Around noon on 6/9/2015 I still had not heard back from Aamco. I called, and spoke to David who said "Ill have an answer at 1pm for you" Well 1pm came and went. So at 1:30pm I called back. This time Matt answered the phone. He said they were hunting down parts, and would call me in an hour. This time, after an hour had passed Matt returned my call. He explained that I needed a manual lever positioning sensor. For my Volvo the labor would be $59, and the parts $360. I told him I wanted to call a few local mechanic friends, and call him back before I proceeded. Matt agreed. I got off the phone, and called my mechanic. He has been working on Volvos for 30 years. He said he had never heard of such a part, but trusted Aamco. I then called Steingold Volvo. Steingold had never heard of the part either. Lastly, I called Foreign Auto Parts. They also had never heard of such a part for my car. I called back Aamco. David answered the phone. I explained to him that no one seems to know what part he was suggesting I replace, and was curious if there was another name. He said "They have no idea about transmissions" I mentioned the fact I called Volvo. He said "They have no idea either" I said "I am slightly concerned because you kept pushing me aside" David then proceeded to give me a speech about honesty, and how he is only making $59 on the deal. "Your keys are under the visor if you want to pick your car up." he explained. I then proceeded to say "Honesty is not truthfulness. I had to pry answers from you, and now you wont even help me confirm the parts you are recommending" David replied "I have been in business 50 years, if I havent figured it out, I never will" I pleaded, and said "Can I have the Volvo part number please?" "Come get your car, or get the work done. I make my money on the 20% price mark up on parts" David exclaimed. He then hung up the phone. First it was only $59 profit, now its $59, and 20% on parts. I understand how business works, and wouldnt mind paying these prices to Aamco. I am pretty sure from the history of this repair shop the quote was legitimate. However, I am not going to do business with an owner who makes his customers wait 24 hours, and then cant take a few minutes to explain what the money is for. I am sure there is more to the story on Davids side, but I decided to pick my vehicle up, and spend my money elsewhere.

DO

Doug C

I wish I had read Dave, Stephen and Rileys reviews because I had a similar experience. My sons 2001 Altima standard transmission would only shift into 2nd and 4th but was drivable. I called down there asking if they could get it done in a day. That was last Friday morning, 9am 8/14. I brought it down and Dave told me they would give it a road test for free, check it out and call me back in a few hours. 2pm came and went so I called Dave for an update. He told me he had five other customers on the phone and he would call me back. When he called me back he told me the car didnt have transmission cables, they would need to keep the car over the weekend, on Monday they would drop the transmission, look it all over, produce a quote, call me and if I wasnt cool with the price - just pay the $650 and take the car away. At that point I told Dave it sounded like this might get into the thousand of dollars range and I did not want to pay that kind of money to repair a 2001 Altima. He told me that it may only be a $50-$100 part. I was reluctant and said I would come pick the car up but Dave said "Listen, Im not sticking you in the eye here" and for some stupid reason I fell for it and trusted him. My mistake. Wednesday 8/19 morning comes, Ive heard nothing since Friday, so I drive to the shop hoping that I can just pick the car up and take it somewhere else. Too late! They had dropped the transmission, the substructure was rotted, that would cost another $200 plus labor to repair and they hadnt put a quote together on what the repairs would cost. As it turns out, the quote was for a clutch, a replacement transmission, a new substructure, several other parts and labor that would total $2,250. I kind of felt like Dave had just stuck me in the eye. When I went through all of this with Dave, he didnt disagree with any of the above only responding "I dont know until I get into it". To which I said, "I wish you had said that when I told you I didnt want to spend thousands.." Well, Dave just hung up on me but to his credit - Im only paying $650 for this wonderful learning experience. I will need to wait until next week to pick the car up after 10,14 days(?) in the shop. Im just hoping the vehicle is in the same state as when it was dropped off. Im not saying Dave or AAMCO are trying to rip me off, he just was after my business. My beef is he could have simply said, "You know you could be right, it may run into the thousands but we wont know until we get into it". Hindsight is 20/20... Ill take full blame for playing the sucker here, I knew it was going to run into some money. I shouldnt have let Dave play me like a fool. I should have gotten the car last Friday and taken it to a mechanic that would give it to me straight. My bad, live and learn!

KR

Kristen Feller

My experience with AAMCO North Attleboro was spectacular. I am not from the area, and had some problems that led me to Firestone, my usual mechanic. Firestone patched me up and I was on my way. The key word here is patched up. A minor mistake led me to contact AAMCO from a commercial I saw on TV about free diagnostics for check engine lights. Auto Zone does a scan, however, they give you no help because the scan is unspecific, and staff do not have the right training to follow through. This free diagnostic test is priced at $100.00 at surrounding mechanics including Meineke and Firestone. AAMCO will run the diagnostic, and create a personalized list and estimate. In my scenario, Firestone left my oil cap off, which would have caused me to seize my engine on a car ride home between states. My engine was a mess. Not only did I receive a free test that any other place would charge me for, but they also cleaned my engine up and topped my missing oil off. I saved what could have been a lot of money. Aside from what all AAMCOs have to offer, I want to mention specifically, the personnel at this shop. From the moment I called three minutes to close on a Friday night to the end of my business with AAMCO North Attleboro, I was so pleased with the customer care I received. Dave is great business owner that understands what its like to be on the other side. He told me to come right in at opening, called in his best guy on a Saturday morning that was not scheduled, and had me taken care of in forty five minutes because he understood that my time was limited because I needed to return home the next day, a Sunday. Dave and his crew were so professional, economically efficient, timely, and more. I cannot say enough about how a man that did not know me, made me feel so taken care of. Whether for a stop in, or your every car need, you should see AAMCO in North Attleboro.

Other organizations