Complaint Review: Aamco Transmission and Total car care

On October 8, 2020 I contacted Aamco Transmission and I spoke to the new shop manager, who did not give me his name, just said that he was the shop manager.

Anyhow it was regarding the warranty on my transmission that they had installed on my 2006 Audi Last year, and he rudely commented to me that my transmission is out of warranty and that I got two transmissions from them, so that’s to bad my transmission went out again. I proceeded to explain to him that my transmission is still under warranty, but he hung up on me before I could get a word in. So, I called back and quickly told him to have the owners call me before he hung up again. How professional is that manager wow? So, then I contacted Melony Brighton at Aamco’s corporate office in Pennsylvania. She then called Aamco of Puyallup and without really listening to myside and allowing me to show her proof that my car should have still been under warranty, she did not want to take the time to do her research and listen to a customer that just spent over $6,000 on a transmission job that went badly wrong. Instead she calls me back and vagally said well your car is not under warranty, so they said. There is nothing that she can do.

The situation with my car is that last year I was working with shop manager Dan, whom they fired for all his mistakes and dealings regarding my car and possibly other customers.

Dan quotes me $4450. On 1/24/19 I paid Dan $100.00 and I was to give him a little more each week, till they got at least half down to start working on my car.  Months go by and I figure, why not apply for an Aamco loan to speed up the process. Dan helps me apply for the loan and I needed a cosigner. So, I get my mom to apply and she lives in Hawaii. My mom qualified for $2500. We make it happen that got the ball rolling.

Then on June 28, 2019 Easy pay loan company paid $2500. August 5, 2019, I paid $1000 cash,

August 10, 2019, I paid $500 by visa and $800 cash. Dan forgot to apply the $100 I paid him in January, which I had paid by visa, so he asks me for a copy of my receipt. So far, I paid $4900. I ask Dan why I was charged $450 more from what he had quoted me. He said because the transmission he received cost a little more then the original one that he first ordered. He had to send back because it was the wrong one. I did not care at that time; I just wanted my car back.  I sign some paperwork and we go over warranty, Dan said that they normally give me 12 months but since I waited a long time for my car, he will give me 18 months.       

Saturday August 10, 2019 as I drive my car home, my car starts to feel rocky and sounded like a windmill, it feels like it was slipping again, like it did when I first brought it to Aamco. As soon as I get home, I call Dan and tell him about my car. Dan tells me since there closed on Sundays to drop the car off first thing Monday morning. I drop the car off Sunday night and leave the keys in there drop box. I had my car for only one day and back to the transmission shop it goes. I do not here from Dan Monday or Tuesday. Finally got a hold of him Wednesday. Dan tells me that I need a new transmission. I said what, you just installed a new transmission, he said that one was faulty, and he cannot get credit for it. Dan now must order another transmission at there expense since I already paid for the first one.

Weeks go by and I do not here anything or even a return call after I left them a dozen messages. I then go to Aamco, its almost September 2019 and Dan looked like a nervous rec. I ask him about my car he said well transmission is in and now I need a new radiator, I said what? How much more do I have to pay for the radiator. He said $500 out the door taxes included. It is almost October and I cannot get a hold of anyone at Aamco regarding the timeline of my radiator. So, I go there, and I do not see Dan or the tech. that worked on my car, but a lot of bosses and the owner of the company. Did not look good.

Aamco of Puyallup was overwhelmed with cars and they Stayed closed for about 2 weeks and had some gal name Trish working at the front desk, who I am now dealing with.  Trish tells me that before they install my radiator, they need some down payment. I then tell her that it has been weeks and Dan was to order my radiator. She informed me that Dan is on a permanent vacation. So, at that time I was just going to take my car home and order a radiator and install it myself. Trish tells me if I take my car home without Aamco installing the radiator that Aamco was not going to warranty my transmission. So, I gave her $120 cash as a down payment to order and install the radiator.

On October 16, 2019 was when I finally got to bring  my car home after I had to pay them $620.20 even after I paid them $120 for a down payment and on my transmission bill I had a quote from Dan saying $500 out the door. They told me that Dan no longer works here so they are not going to honor the quote that was printed on their letter head.

CONCLUSION of my CASE: I was quoted $4450 but paid $4900 transmission 1 I had for one day and it turned out to be faulty. Was quoted $500 for a radiator but was charged $620.20 and $120 deposit

In total paid Aamco $5640.20 for this transmission job that included a new radiator and 2 axels. Only for transmission 2 to go out in 9 months. And Aamco refused to warranty this transmission. The new manager said that my warranty expired in August. They never updated their records to show that this transmission in question is a second one and I did not pick up my car from them until October 2019. Which makes my car still under warranty?

I had to move back home to Las Vegas to be with my family because of this pandemic I could not get my car in to an Aamco shop until September/October. I had my car towed from Washington to Las Vegas in begging of June 2020. I then took my car to a Las Vegas Audi dealership and there report sad that I had a bad transmission from Aamco installed code was P1741 fault the same code that my original Audi transmission read as well as the 1st transmission that they installed and what a coincidence the 2nd transmission read the same code. 3 transmission s reads the same code. I think that Dan was fired because he cost Aamco a lot of money by taking short cuts, like trying to maybe repair my original broken transmission so that he could pocket the cash I was paying him with.

I NEED AAMCO TO APROVE MY WARRENTY SO I CAN FINALLY GET MY CAR UP AND RUNNING AGAIN. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY ON SUITING UP THIS CAR TO JUST LET IT SIT AND GO TO WAIST BECAUSE AAMCO WAS TRYING TO RIP ME OFF. AND WHO KNOPWS HOW MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS THAT AAMCO OF PUYALLUP THEY STOLE FROM. PLEASE APPROVE THIS REPAIR TO THE AAMCO SHOP ON RAINBOW DRIVE IN LAS VEGAS NEVADA OR EVEN APROVE THE REPAIR AT MY NEAREST AUDI DEALER SO THAT IT CAN BE DONE RIGHT.