AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Reviews 3

JE

Jeff Rutherford

Last spring I went through an extensive rebuild to include EVERY mechanical aspect of my truck. When we were pricing out rebuilding the transmissions, both my wife and I were calling various places to get prices. When we were finished we compared prices and found that we had both called different Aamco shops. MY wife had gotten a price of $1100 (with $100 off coupon) where as my bid was closer to $1500. I called the shop that she had called (on Martin Way) and inquired as to how they could be sooo much cheaper than one of their other shops and they responded by telling me that they were not technically part of the franchise and therefore were not governed by Aamcos pricing. Long story short we elected to go to them. I dropped the transmission off and went to a job that I had in Coeur dAlene, Id. I received several calls while there saying that this item or that item was bad. Some items suppedly costing an additional $500. When all was said and done my proce was sitting at $1800. Some of the items that was I being charged for as additional costs were standard replacements at their other shops (i.e. torque converter) When I went to pick up the transmission. The managers were not in. Lots of calls were made to the managers as to how to write it up. I was told that one of the items that was $500 purchase only cost $100 as they bought in quantity (This is BS as there isnt enough purchase power to reduce an item 80% for bulk purchases. They just dont do enough business to justify anything like that. When the gentlemen finished, I was told the computer added an extra charge to the bill and that I would need to contact the manager so that he could fix the issue and refund the money. I had him write on the receipt that I was overcharged $25.00. I contacted the manager the following business day and was told that he would get with the owner to get that refund. Long story short 3 months later I still did not have my refund and so contacted corporate office. I gave them all the information and they said that they would check in to and get back with me. 2 weeks later they responded by telling me that they talked to the shop and they said "blah blah blah" nothing more said on it. I was told that I needed to bring the truck back in to have them look at it in order to start the warranty. We installed it and rear seal leaked, immediately, at the drive shaft. Once the transmission warmed up it would downshift incredibly hard. I was told that this was an issue in which was not covered by the warranty that we received (lifetime with unlimited mileage). Long story short, Rear seal, bushing and pump were bad. One of the vavle springs was installed improperly and very visible once the transmission was back out pan removed. Repairs that SHOULD have been covered under my warranty was another $600 on top of what was paid to them for the initial rebuild. Through all of this, corporate was contacted regarding the issues and the same reply came back stating that they talked to the shop and they said blah blah blah. During these issues I asked if I could take the truck into another shop as this particular office was nearly 60 miles away from me. I was told by corporate that they shop was within a 50 mile radius (by crows flight - not driving) and that I HAD to take it to them. NOT only was this shop incompetent but corporate offered no real attempt to resolve the issues. DO NOT TAKE YOUR TRANSMISSION TO THESE GUYS. I cant express this enough.

MA

Matti Julkunen

If you want to get ripped off and have your car destroyed then this is the perfect place. I spent $3700+ to get my transmission rebuilt. I went to pick up the car and they tried to send it home with me with the check engine light indicator still on (indicating that there were still serious problems.) They checked the codes again, said they were getting the same codes as they initially got when the car came in. They reset the check engine indicator light and sent us on our way. The light came back on within 3 miles of driving. I returned the car to them immediately. They worked on it for several more days and says that one of the parts they used appeared to be faulty. I picked up the car again. It ran and shifted like crap. I returned it. They said that it was shifting a little rough, but this was to be expected and things would get better. They did not. Three months and less than 2000 miles later, check engine light comes on again. We happened to be within 1/4 mile of Honda dealer and pulled in. They checked the codes. Total failure of the transmission. They estimated that the cost to replace the transmission at the dealership would be $5900. The car is not worth that much. We ended up buying a new car. Got nothing on the trade-in of the old car because it was not running at all. Aamco is a totally unprofessional and unreliable business. They will give you a "lifetime warranty"... after they go make a copy of it on the copy machine. It has no identifying information about the vehicle, the customer, or the work performed on the vehicle. They said I could take this to any Aamco service center in the country if I had problems. What a joke! So, after $3700, hours and hours of dealing with these people, and my car sitting at their shop for several weeks on end... I walk away with absolutely nothing! So, if you take your car to Aamco, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting your car back repaired and running as you would expect it too. I hate the place. I have, and I will continue to tell anyone that has issues with their auto to definitely stay away from Aamco. If you have ever been nervous about getting ripped off by an auto maintenance or repair shop... dont be, these guys are guaranteed to do it to you. Damien and Dana?... Crooks to the core. Just add my review to the many others that also say they absolutely hated their experience with these guys. My fault, I should have researched these guys before I let them touch my car. Hopefully others will not make the same mistake.

JE

Jeremy Siguaw

Do NOT buy the groupon deal from AAMCO Olympia. This was the worst experience I have EVER had at a Mechanic shop. I dropped of my vehicle just before 9 am during the week. Was told it would take 4-5 hours to complete the service (rear brake inspection, pad change, rotor resurface and oil change) I had no problem with the timeline as I was told upfront and planned it into my day. Dana called me shortly after dropping it off and told me that I needed new calipers on both front and rear brakes, 4 new rotors and 4 brake pads. Because of the groupon they said they would waive the labor cost but it would be over $800 in parts. I had Dana call my husband. My husband told Dana not to do the breaks and Dana told him my car would be ready in an hour. I showed up at AAMCO expecting that my car would be done shortly and would have the oil changed. I told the lady at the front (same one that checked me in) that I was here for my Dodge Caravan and wanted to let them know I was in the waiting room. I waited for 2 hours and then politely asked how much longer I could expect. Dana wasnt even sure what they were doing on my vehicle, I reminded him and about the discussion with my husband. He still seemed clueless. My husband called to ask him what was taking so long. Dana tried to say that I had just walked in and when I said that was not true that I had checked in over 2 hours ago he told me that I didnt come talk to him and that he had over 5 vans out there. I told him that his front desk person should have come and asked my name then. I ended up leaving at 3 pm with NOTHING done to my car, I expected the oil change only. He then tried to say that I bought the brake service and it came WITH 8 oil changes and I didnt have the break service so he wouldnt honor the oil changes! I left practically in tears after being yelled at in the office. When my husband called to see if I had left I busted into tears. DO NOT GO HERE! While I was there I witnessed another dissatisfied customer and hear him tell 2 other people they needed costly repairs that sounded very similar to what he told me. This place is a SCAM! On the other hand, Groupon was great to work with and gave me credit for my purchase price plus an additional $10. If you did buy this and had a bad experience, dont just be out the money. Call groupon to complain. If enough people complain maybe they will stop offering this groupon.

Other organizations