Complaint Review: AAMCO

As previously mentioned, I had taken this case to court before the District Justice, which happens to be in the same county where AAMCO of Camp Hill is located, not in the county of where I currently live in. That's a negative point for me right from the start. During the court hearing, Shawn Lilley had mentioned to the judge about some prior conversation he had in which I had no knowledge of. The judge admitted to Shawn that he had known about this. I found this very strange, that there was some discussion prior to the hearing. So, something was discussed between the court or the Judge and Shawn Lilley before I had even entered the courtroom. Another coincidence is that the case was found completely in the favor of AAMCO and not me. The case was somehow "fixed," as Shawn or someone he knows must have have known the judge, or someone who works in that District Court. I had written documentation stating that the supposed bad drive axles that AAMCO had removed from my vehicle were tested by a NAPA Repair Center who sells and installs these drive axles and even the Ford Dealer who checked them as well and reinstalled them back in my vehicle, noting that nothing was wrong with them. These supposed bad NAPA drive axles according to Shawn Lilley have been reinstalled in my vehicle now for about 8 months or so and still have absolutely no problems whatsoever. In fact, the vehicle was just PA State inspected by the same Ford Dealer on 10/29/09 and nothing again was found wrong with ANY component in the front suspension OR the drive axles!!! So, as I originally stated, I was sold a set of drive axles that not only did I not need, AAMCO sold them to me so they could make a profit and rip me off!! That's why they refused to remove them and give me a full refund, because they knew they were pulling a fast one on me. As far as the damage to my pinch welds caused by AAMCO improperly lifting the vehicle, this again was a true fact. Shawn had some paper written up by some new mechanic he had recently hired (which I had never seen on any of the numerous times that I was in his AAMCO shop and coincidentally never received a copy of it either when the service was conducted) and had him state that the damage was there prior to me bringing my vehicle in his shop. Whenever there is prior damage to a vehicle, a shop will most likely give you some kind of documentation noting this to protect themselves from the liability of pre-existing damage. It's strange, how I never received this, since there was no prior damage! When the judge asked his mechanic how long he had been employed with AAMCO, he was stuttering and had to think of an answer. I think one would know how long they have worked for a company and not have to think about it all that long. So, this was another fabricated lie!!! Shawn was not even at the AAMCO the day I saw the vehicle incorrectly put up on the lift and my girlfriend and I did both witness the damage to the pinch welds happen there. So, in summary, even when you think justice can be on your side, there is corruption even where that is!!! May the next customer of this AAMCO beware!!!

This complaint filed by Ira was taken to court. AAMCO of Camp Hill won the court case on all points. The judge found that AAMCO did nothing wrong in the diagnosis or recommendation for repair and the pricing was fair. Also, Ira sued for damage done to the 'pinch rails' of his vehicle and claimed he and his girlfriend saw the damage take place by a technician at AAMCO of Camp Hill. Written evidence from both AAMCO and another garage proved that Ira misrepresented the facts of this claim. Therefore, the judge found in favor of AAMCO of Camp Hill on this point as well.

AAMCO of Camp Hill stands by the quality of our work, experience, and warranty.

Shawn Lilley
Owner
AAMCO of Camp Hill, PA

When I came to initially pick up my 1998 Ford Windstar on 10/6/08 after AAMCO of Camp Hill did their repairs, the only items that I was ever given back were the drive axles. I was never given back or shown, the supposed bad sway bar links. Furthermore, when I was called and told that these items were the source of the front end clunking noise, I was never asked to come over and physically see these supposedly defective items while they were still installed in the vehicle. I had to rely on their diagnosis as they assured me that these parts were absolutely the cause of the noise.

When I came to pick up the Windstar, all the mechanic showed me was that the ends of the drive axles moved around. I used to repair my own vehicles for many, many, years, prior to having a back injury, so I am unable to perform this type of labor, hence the reason that I had AAMCO replace these parts. Otherwise, I would have certainly checked them myself and replaced them myself, had I determined that they were faulty. I can say from when I used to replace drive axles myself and anyone who knows anything about drive axles which have CV Joints and rubber boots around them, will vouch that the axle ends are supposed to move around in all directions, as this is part of their proper function. If the rubber boots are torn and the grease inside them is washed out (which was not the case on either of my drive axles that were removed) then one could then determine that the drive axles would most likely be faulty, as they would make a loud clicking noise when making turns, as this would be an indication that the internal balls and cage of the CV Joint is worn out. The drive axles removed from my vehicle did not have any of these symptoms, therefore there was absolutely nothing wrong with them.

In my rebuttal to Shawn Lilley saying that I was the only one who claimed there was nothing wrong with the axles he had removed from my Windstar, I contacted NAPA who sells these drive axles that his shop removed from my vehicle, which are actually remanufactured by Cardone of Philadelphia and I not only found out that they had a lifetime free replacement warranty on them, but I even went as far as taking them to an Authorized NAPA Repair Facility. The owner of the NAPA repair facility is also a Certified Pennsylvania Inspection Station, and a Certified Mechanic as well (whereas, AAMCO is not a Certified Pennsylvania Inspection Station and most likely not required to employ PA Certified Mechanics). The NAPA Certified Mechanic personally checked both of the drive axles and also even signed and documented that there were No Problems Found with the drive axles. Therefore, I revert back to my former statement; AAMCO claims perfectly good parts are defective to rip you off due to their lack of repair knowledge!

So, not only was I charged for parts that didn't need replacement, but the parts were marked up 300%, so AAMCO could profit on selling me the axles and tried to make me believe they were saving me money by installing them for free. When I asked AAMCO to remove the new axles and put the old ones back in (as I knew there was nothing wrong with them), suddenly, I was told that there was going to be a labor charge, as they knew that once they installed the new axles, even if they removed them, they weren't going to be able to return them, as they would now be considered used and not resellable by the auto parts store. Again, I confirmed this by going to the store that they were purchased at, so, by charging me labor, it would offset the money loss on the axles on AAMCO's end. I never stated that I did not want the old axles put back in, I just said that I would not pay labor to reinstall something that should not have been replaced, as there was no defect in them. AAMCO then refused to reinstall the old drive axles.



Shawn keeps claiming that their parts supplier is getting upset that I come in there and try to find out his cost on the parts he sold me. What the real truth is, Shawn is getting frustrated because I was able to find out how much money he made off of every part he sold me that he marked up. I used to be in the wholesale auto parts business and worked for an Automotive Warehouse in Philadelphia, which I even proved to Arthur his manager by showing him a pay check stub from 1986. So, I know how the auto parts business worksthere are different prices set for different types of customers. By me now being on the consumer end as far as AAMCO is concerned, makes them feel like they have the right to mark up parts they sell me by 300% and I am not supposed to know or find out about this.

AAMCO did do damage to the underside of my vehicle on 10/14/08. My girlfriend and myself, both saw his mechanic put the hydraulic lift directly under the pinch weld on my vehicle, which bent it on both sides when he put it up on the lift. There are correct lifting points built in on the underside of the body to avoid this type of damage and lift it correctly, but his mechanic was just too lazy to bend down and set the lift correctly underneath. I had a previous conversation with his mechanic and he claimed he needed to get out of the business, as his knees have been bothering him from bending down constantly over the years. Consequently, one day when my girlfriend and I was at AAMCO and Shawn wasn't, I heard Arthur talking on the phone to the previous AAMCO owner, who is still his friend, telling him how the mechanic, Harry, was leaving there in a few weeks (around November 5th) and Arthur said he was doing the right thing! Arthur also told me that Shawn is a moron and has no clue how to run a business and he also wouldn't be staying on much longer either! He felt he had stayed there too long already!

Despite Shawn's claim, I never waited two weeks to report the body damage, it happened on 10/14/08 when I was told to bring the vehicle back to AAMCO for them to further check out the front suspension noise, which they then told me I needed a whole new slew of parts to fix the noise that the axles and sway bar links supposedly fixed, that was still present. In fact at my earliest convenience, I took the Windstar to get an estimate for the damage at a body shop. As mentioned in my earlier statement, I also had to take it to other shops to get a proper diagnosis of the front suspension noise and each shop had documented that there was body damage already on the underside of the vehicle prior to them putting the vehicle on the lift. Since I had left Tennessee, AAMCO of Camp Hill was the only shop who had put the vehicle on a lift and there was absolutely no underside body damage prior to this.

Shawn did make a verbal deal with me to install the necessary additional front suspension parts due to their misdiagnosis and selling me drive axles and sway bar links that I didn't need. He agreed to install the additional parts needed if I purchased them and not charge me labor. Shawn, again from his lack of experience, doubted himself after making this promise to me and said Arthur's going to kill me for making this deal with you. When Arthur returned a few days later, I got the nasty phone call from him, telling me not to bring the vehicle in for the additional work, Shawn shouldn't have made any deal with me and he felt he owned me nothing. I have never seen a business run in such an unprofessional fashion and such a lack of customer service. I even went as far as contacting AAMCO headquarters in Horsham, PA, but all they were able to do is try to mediate a resolution, but that didn't happen as AAMCO of Camp Hill refused to cooperate and make good on their promises. I was told by the corporate office that they couldn't force anyone to do anything, since every AAMCO is independently owned and operated.

If you read Shawn's rebuttal, you will notice how Shawn says that he talked to me about possibly doing some work just to get rid of me. Is this what he considers customer service? Telling a customer you just want to get rid of them after you screw up? I have never experienced anything like this in a business that is supposed to be professional. I have never harassed anyone as Shawn mentioned. I just simply brought to their attention things that I was unhappy with, things that they damaged and that were not mechanically correct. I am simply fighting for justice as an innocent victim of being ripped off!!! I don't feel that AAMCO of Camp Hill knows what the meaning of honest and up front is!

I'll just let the legal system handle it from here and may justice prevail!

On September 29th, Ira Schwartz brought his 1998 Ford Windstar into the AAMCO shop in Camp Hill, PA under warranty for a transmission built by an AAMCO center in Nashville Tennessee. The problem turned out to be a cut lip seal which we repaired at no cost to the customer per AAMCO's warranty.

Ira also asked us to check out a noise coming from the front suspension. During our free TranScan we confirmed that there was damage to the sway bar links and the axles including other suspension items which was causing noise.

We replaced both front axles per his authorization. When he arrived to pick up the vehicle we requested the technician to show him the damaged axles. We did this because the customer was concerned that his axles were replaced a few years before and we wanted make sure he could see the damage. We even gave him the damaged axles as evidence. Ira probably used the boxes from the new axles to determine our supplier. At this time the customer had absolutely no complaints. He now complains that his old axles were perfectly good which is just not true. If we were trying to hide perfectly good parts why would we give him the parts to review?

According to Ira he personally...found absolutely nothing wrong with them much later after he authorized the repair and was physically shown and given his old axles. If you read his article you'll notice that he took his vehicle to numerous shops; but no technician at any shop said there was absolutely nothing wrong with them...only the customer.

The charge for the axles (just the parts) was less the the axles he purchased several years earlier; even though customer's complaint to us was about price. We also saved the customer money by not charging labor for the work. We did this because the transmission was already out due to the warranty work. The total parts cost to replace both axles was $300 which is very in line with industry standard. By the way, Ira only complained after he went to our supplier to find out our purchase cost. These new axles have a lifetime warranty on parts and labor through our shop; so if anything went wrong the customer would get replacement parts and our labor for free again.

Once the customer felt slighted by the price of the axles he made a crusade to find fault with the work we did for him. He continually stopped at our supplier and tried to get our costs for parts. On Monday, October 20th, a manager at our supplier said that Ira came into his store once again this time asking for our costs on the sway bars that were replaced. They are very upset that our customer keeps coming back to them trying to get private information from them.

Another thing the customer is not mentioning is that he doesn't want his old axles put back in his vehicle and he shouldn't because they are damaged. He wants to buy new axles from our supplier, have us return them, and give him the refund money back. He essentially wants the new axles but not have to pay for them.

The customer claims we did damage to the underside of his car. The customer never saw the technician lift his vehicle improperly; so his claim of seeing damage done to his car is completely false. If he did see someone damage his car wouldn't he immediately say something; not wait two weeks to complain about it? In addition, Ira had his car repaired in Tennessee and has taken his car to Firestone twice, Dellinger's Auto Body, and then GoodYear in the past couple of weeks. Who knows when where or how this supposed damage occurred; but it did not happen at AAMCO of Camp Hill.

Ira says that I made a verbal deal to install the ball joints with control arms and radius bushings. I did NOT ever say we made an error on the diagnosis of the axles because I was physically there when the technician demonstrated to the customer why the old axles were damaged. Ira's vehicle has several suspension related problems even according to other garages and does need additional work.

I did talk to the customer about about possibly doing some work for him for just to get rid of him because he kept coming back again and again to our store and to our supplier trying to get money for repairs already made. When I talked to my center manager the next day he said 'absolutely not'; we don't owe the customer anything.

Ira has been harassing our store and our supplier for the past couple of weeks. It has been an exhausting process for us, our supplier, and probably all the other garages he has been to. Everything we did was honest and upfront and our home office is supporting us on our claim.