AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Reviews 3

ST

Steven Brown

Would not recommend them. I drop my car off around 11am on this past Tuesday and they suggested the problem said the parts would not be available till the next day and the car would be ready by then. I was encouraged not to drive my car and to get a rental. I hadnt heard any back from them by the following day (Wednesday) so I stopped by around 1pm and the attendant said part had just arrived the car would be ready in a couple hours. So I took my rental car back and hung out at the local coffee bar. Its 4:30 and I hadnt heard anything back, so I walked over to the place (BTW, google says its open till 5:30 which isnt correct) an arrived at 5:08pm, the place was closed. I let myself in to see my car in the shop lifted up. The attendant approached me and said its not ready. I asked was it going to be ready today and he respond it pretty rashly "No. Okay?...[I paused to respond]...Okay!?". I took it as rude and I was already frustrated. Currently its 2:40pm on Thursday (2 days later) and I still havent heard back, and Im not looking forward to stopping by to deal with the attendant again. I still dont have my car and havent had any updates. Its been a bad experience with this group and I doubt Ill be returning. UPDATE 4/6 On my way home to NC, my car broke down on the highway 85 in the middle of nowhere in the early afternoon and it was a transmission issue....a line had ruptured and emptied most of the fluid out as I was driving (residual fluid spattered onto the back window). Suspecting it was a transmission issue, I contacted this Fairfax AAMCO and corporate only to find out no one was in the office. I ended up towing to the nearest motel and staying the night. The next day we contacted the AAMCO nearby in Chester, VA only to find out their mechanics dont come in on Saturdays (BTW google says they open at 8 and thats not true). Rather than leave my car (and myself) stranded on the road, we (my dad and uncle came from NC at this point) got a U-Haul trailer to tow my car back to NC. AAMCO returned our calls on today,4/6, at 11am after we had found a mechanic who identified the problem as a portion of the hose that was improperly installed by the Fairfax AAMCO and ruptured. This is what allowed most of the transmission fluid to leak. I explained this to the Corporate office and they said the only way it would be covered under their warranty is for me to tow my car to the nearest AAMCO (which was 30 miles away).....not even feasible. Besides paying for towing costs, I was broke down much sooner than this and having to wait this long to find out their "solution" its dissapointing. We eventually talked with the Fairfax AAMCO and they were even less apologetic and hid behind their warranty while "standing by their [$900] workmanship" that left me in the middle of nowhere on the side of the highway spending extra $$ to fix what I payed them to repair. BTW the local mechanic fixed it for <$50. Again, Im extremely dissapointed with this group.

TH

Thane R

Forget any reviews on this shop, its a new owner as of Nov 2015... PLEASE READ!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do not go here. This has been the worst experience i have ever had in my life. The promise the best warranty in America. The warranty is a joke. The warranty does not belong to AAMCO it belongs to the AAMCO that you originally bought it from. Corporate cannot do anything to help you and has 0 pull. Took my truck for a new transmission. He promised me that he would have it back in 3 days. During that time. he told me he broke a bolt on my manifold. it would be another few days. then he told me he broke my o2 sensor. and it would be another few days. Then he told me the NAPA guy didnt bring him the trans fluid he needed that it would be another day. (NAPA is directly across the street. less than 400 yards.) Then i get there to pick it up on the 11th day. at 1130. he says its ready. i get there and its not done. turns out he forgot to change the gasket in the manifold. my ride had left so i had no choice but to wait. during this time, i notice he forgot to put my heat shield back on the car. the one protecting the fuel lines. it was tossed in a corner. i asked him to put it back. finally after 15 min of debating he looked and turns out i was right it was my shield. Then i get the car back at 6pm.. after waiting at the shop for more than 6 hours!!!!! . FINALLY. next day turning onto 66. my transmission blew again.!!! he told me to bring it in. i take it in right away he says it will be done in 24 hours. Then i find out when they were looking at it they frogot to place my engine cover back on properly .. thats an expensive part on my car. so he fixed that. Then the next day says its going to be another 3 days before its done. so i go back FINALLY got my car back. less than 100 miles later My transmission blew AGAIN!! 6 hours on the phone with corporate and several threats later from the owner of the shop i still have no car. Turns out there is a chance he also lied about the work he did. he told me i had my transmission re built. when i asked him if it was or it wasnt he refused to answer me. so i have no idea what crap he used. so here i sit .. 4,000 in the hole. still need to pay for towing again, another rental, and this guy has all my money. This is a review on the new owner of Fairfax... he has only been the owner since about November. any good reviews prior to that was the old owner, ... This guy is hack. and will rob and steal from you!!!! STAY AWAY!!!! at any cost..... and this is only the short story, its far far worse

A

Anonymous User

I was fortunate enough to find Jason Canipe and his team at AAMCO. I was having a strange issue with my transmission which was creating unusual shifting practices and difficulties in getting the car to go into gear. I became concerned that further damages were occurring if this issue was not addressed correctly. My normal neighborhood mechanic followed the diagnostic codes which pointed to pricey component removal, but with little explanation or reassurance that this would resolve the problem. My concern with this approach was that this was going to be another less than cost effective hunt and peck part replacement approach, which I believe most people have experienced with a less skilled technician. Blindly replacing parts based on codes rather than truly analyzing the problem and cause & effect issues could prove costly on my 6 year old vehicle. I then went to the dealership thinking they would have the most experienced technician and specific insight into any systemic or targeted issues with my vehicle’s transmission, but more of the same, with their only proposed solution a total replacement of the transmission at a considerable cost. While researching and exploring my options for repair, I was most impressed with Jason and this AAMCO shop. He took his time in discussing the problems and symptoms of my transmission, scientifically explained the diagnostics and rationale behind how they would check the vehicle, in addition to the confidence I had in knowing they could handle the issue turnkey, regardless of what their diagnostics revealed. They truly had my best interest at heart with the way they targeted the issues and cost of repairs. I did not find that level of experience, knowledge of transmissions, or just professional consideration when I looked elsewhere. In the end, incredible service and value with targeted diagnostics and costs that put me back on the road quickly and at considerably less cost than others. If you are experiencing a transmission problem, I would strongly suggest and endorse Jason and this AAMCO shop as your solution. I will be telling all my friends and local neighbors should they have a problem as well. Thank you for the incredible service Jason!

Other organizations