|
September 18, 2008
Scam and cheating
AAMCO has just plain LIED and CHEATED us twice. We were foolish enough to give them the benefit of the doubt the second time. We took our car in the first time to get a tune up they sent us to another AAMCO claiming they couldn't do the tune up at that time but had a specialist at another address. The next place they sent us to after we said again, we need a TUNEUP... they looked at the car and said because their diagnostic machine was not working that had to take the car apart to check it and then when they took all morning to do that..they told my husband HE needed a tune-up... what? A TUNEUP?... HELLO we told them that before they took it apart so they charged for the taking it apart and we never got a tuneup. I guess we are foolish for forgiving them and we took our car later to get the AC looked at and freon added. It was kinda working but off and on they said there was no leaks but that they added Freon and did a A/C Dye and said it should be working now... AFTER spending $309.39 we took it home and nothing appeared much different, it had the same problems... so we asked them to check it again after a few days... they said bring it in now. We waited another long day for them to tell us our A/C had to be rebuilt it wouldn't last long and had major problems but that the filled it back up with freon. We took it home and immediately noticed the A/C only blew warm air. I called TONY back up and asked what exactly did you do for me? If my A/C was in bad condition why didn't you tell me that the first time we brought it in instead of charging us for a... non-fix. He said that he did put freon in. We took it to another PHX local mexican guy who had a reputation for doing good work on A/c... he checked the car said yeah nothing is wrong with your a/c fan, no leaks but just no freon... WELL... AAMCO WHERE IS THE BLASTED FREON YOU MADE US PAY 350.00 for.?..We took it home from the nice honest mexican mechanic and it worked... All we wanted was a TUNE-up and Freon and AAMCO SCREWED US OVER... We will no longer affiliate with anybody of your AAMCO Company... Tony seemed nice... but obviously lied through the skin of his scaly teeth.
|
|
|
September 17, 2008
Aamco rip off over $1200 spend for "new clutch" that does not even work.
Friday August 8th 2008
Called Aamco on Valencia because they offered free towing and they specialized in clutch and transmission repairs. They quoted me around $800 total for parts and labor.
Later that evening I had the Jeep towed to Aamco and they said they would begin working on it on Saturday August 9th.
Saturday August 9th 2008
I called Aamco and asked what they had found out. They informed me that the slave cylinder was out, they needed to replace the clutch, the pressure plate, and the bearings. They informed me the labor would be $490 and the total cost would be $1200. This was a lot of money and more than I had originally been quoted but I agreed as they were the experts and I wanted my jeep to run smoothly as it had done in the past. They said it would be complete by the end of Monday August 11th.
Monday August 11th
I called Aamco towards the end of the day to ask when it would be ready and I was informed it would take longer than expected and would be ready on Tuesday August 12th.
Tuesday August 12th 2008
I received a call from Aamco around 10:00am and they informed me that the Jeep was complete and was running smoothly and driving great. I was pleased although it had taken slightly longer than I was told I was excited to get it back and have it functioning properly. I informed them I would be coming in around 12:00pm to pick it up on my lunch hour. Julio informed me that the line from the Master Cylinder to the Slave cylinder was not a jeep part and was a temporary part but it still worked fine. He suggested that in the future I get it replaced in the future but for now it would be working fine. He said the part was on back order to 6-8 weeks from Chrysler/Jeep.
I picked the jeep up was handed the keys, I paid checked the receipt and everything I had been quoted was on the receipt and correct. I went to the jeep started it and drove away. I was pleased with the results. From Aamco to my work was about a ten-mile drive. Once I got on the highway I started to feel difficulty shifting gears, and I heard a grinding noise. I didn�t think much of it as I thought the parts were probably settling.
Driving home from work which is a 25 mile drive was when I really started to question whether the jeep had been repaired properly as it was almost impossible to change the gears. At the traffic lights I could not get the jeep into 1st gear and when I arrived home my hand was red and painful from trying to shift gears.
Wednesday August 13th 2008
I drove to work in the morning and experienced the same issues I had before so when I arrived at work I called Aamco and explained what was going on and they informed me that the clutch line probably had air bubbles in it and I would need to be bled. They asked me to bring it in and I said I could not take any time off work and it was not drivable. After many times trying to convince Aamco they decided to tow it free of charge to Valencia from my work.
Later in the day I received a call from Aamco saying that after it had been bled, it shifted great, and was driving fine. I was a little bit weary of this considering the problems I had experienced but when I went to pick it up it shifted perfectly and drove nicely.
I had been driving the jeep to and from work for around a week and then everything started acting up again. It started by grinding slightly when I changed gears, then it became stiff to change gears and eventually it became grinded loudly and was almost impossible to get into gear at traffic lights. The main issue I had was when driving on the freeway when I would try to change gears it would be a very loud grinding noise and impossible to get into gear so I would just have to coast along until it finally popped into gear. Along with the danger of traveling at a fast speed and then coasting and having traffic zoom around you at high speed. It also caused my hand and arm a great deal of pain trying to shift gears.
Friday August 29th 2008
I was planning to take the Jeep on my lunch hour to get it sorted today; however, on the way to work the clutch went out completely. The pedal had no pressure and was just floppy and it was 100% impossible to get the jeep into gear. I had to start the jeep in first gear and drive home in first gear; thankfully I was only around 3 miles from my home. I called Aamco to explain what had happened and they blamed me. They said they told me from the start that the line from the master cylinder was bad and the jeep should not be driven. I argued back saying that the line was mentioned to me but why did they call me and tell me it was ready and working perfectly. I told them they needed to fix the problem and basically they refused, they blamed me, and said there was nothing they could do because the part was on back order for 6-8 weeks. I decided to then call around to try and find this part myself even though I am no car expert and didn�t even have a clue what I was asking for. Several places I called were confused with what I was asking for because I had no means of explaining it. I called Chrysler/Jeep and asked if they had any of the lines and if I could possible get one sooner that 6-8 weeks and they informed me that they did not even manufacture this part any longer. This angered me so much that Aamco would lie just so they could install a new clutch system for $1200 knowing it would not even work.
For the next week I had to get rides to and from work; which was extremely difficult, wasted so much gas, caused me to be late to work, and upset me in general. I kept calling around and I found a company called Hose Power who could make a new line for me this was great news; however, I did not know the location for this line on my jeep so I needed Aamco to remove it for me. The only problem being I had no means of getting the jeep to them
Aamco refused to have my Jeep towed to their location so it sat on my driveway immobilized for this whole week. Eventually I had to get my insurance company to arrange to have it towed to Aamco and lose out on my one free towing they offer per year. What if something serious happens now when I am driving somewhere? Well I had to get it towed to Aamco so I did and they agreed to remove the part. By this time I had missed so much time of work I could not miss any more days so I had to have my mother drive to Aamco to pick up the part. They towed my car to Aamco at 9:00am on Tuesday Sept 9th and said the part only took 15 minutes to remove. My mother called them and they said she can follow the tow truck and wait 15 minutes and they would have it ready. She was unable to do this so she asked them to remove it and she would be there at 11:00am to pick the part up. My mother arrived late at 12:00pm and asked for the part and they said they did not have it out. She asked them to remove it so she could take it to Hose Power. They said they could not because there were other people ahead of her. That was completely crazy considering all we had been trough and the jeep had been sitting at their lot all day. My mother informed them that they had to get it done ASAP as she had to be at Hose Power and they agreed, took out the part and gave it to her.
She took the part to Hose Power to show them what was wrong with it and they agreed they could make it. It only took them around an hour and then she picked it up and took it back to Aamco. Once she arrived at Aamco they said it would take 2 hours to install it and to bleed the clutch so she left.
After around two hours they installed the part and called to say it was leaking still and the part was not correct. This was not Aamco�s fault but Hose Power�s fault so I do not blame Aamco for this.
On Wednesday September 10th I took the hose back to Hose Power and they said they knew it wouldn�t work cause this piece inside one of the ends of the hose was missing (why they even replaced the hose or charged me $50 I will never know). They told me of some places who might carry the end that was missing a piece. I called around and one Jeep specialty store had a brand new factory jeep hose. I was so excited, my Jeep finally would be fixed and work because I had had a whole new clutch system put in and now I would have a new line.
On Thursday September 11th I purchased the brand new line and took it to Aamco at 12:00pm. They said that the piece was correct and it would work perfectly. I asked when it would be complete and they said it should take two hours to install it and bleed the clutch line, but give them till 4:00pm. At 4:00pm I called to check if it was done and they said they had not even started on it. I questioned this and they informed me that there were other people ahead of us. How they could have put other customers ahead baffles me considering everything we went through, all the waiting around, all the lies. I just thought they would at least make an effort to try and make the customer happy at the end.
On Friday September 12th I called Aamco at 10:00am and they said it was done, working fine, shifting fine and was perfect. I was ecstatic and finally felt closure after all I had been through I was willing to put it all behind me and have me jeep working perfectly. I picked it up at 12:30pm on my lunch hour and drove it. It did work good��. For around five minutes. Then it started grinding lightly, sticking when shifting, the clutch pedal seemed loose and temperamental. On the freeway back to work it had stuck badly and did a very loud grinding noise and shook my hand badly causing sever pain. I also had several cars and trucks have to slam their brakes on and swerve to avoid colliding with me. Once of the freeway and shaken badly the jeep then proceeded to stall at every traffic light because it did not recognize the clutch was engaged when I came to stop. It was impossible to get into first gear and second, third and so forth. I am now typing this sitting at work because I am infuriated and wondering how I am going to get home from work and enjoy my weekend.
|
|
|
August 22, 2008
Scam and cheating
I bought a 1967 Ford Mustang that did not have the original engine or transmission. It was modified for racing then made street legal. I was having trouble with the dipstick tube leaking. I had to keep putting transmission fluid in the vehicle every third or fourth day. I noticed that the seal around the dipstick tube was not seating properly so I contacted Aamco to see about getting a new one. They happily agreed to help me out. What a nightmare that has been.
I dropped my car off with them to fix and since I was dropping it off i asked for an estimate on a shifter close to original as possible. I also asked them to check over the transmission. When they contacted me, I was told that I needed to have my transmission rebuild. I agreed to have them do it because they do advertise as being transmission specialists.
We talked about price, and I was given an estimate of around $800.00. I asked about getting another transmission put in. a used one. I was told that it would be less expensive and a better way to go with rebuilding because I wouldn't know what I was getting with a used one. I told them to rebuild it.
The car has a Hurst Promatic shifter in it but I did not have Aamco do any work replacing that. The estimate was too high. During the work on the transmission I was told by them that a few things were not hooked up and that they couldn't be. My reverse lights, detent cable and neutral safety switch were not connected because whoever put that transmission in butchered it. They said they may be able to hook those things up but I would need to get another shifter and it would have to be modified for them to do the work. I did not want another shifter.
When all was said and done I paid $1339.24 for a dipstick tube and rebuild transmission. I picked the car up and from the moment I drove it off the lot it didn't feel right to me. The shifter was not hooked up right and I had to go down twice to get it into reverse. When I'd be in low gear popping it up into drive it would go straight to neutral. When on the highway doing 55-60 the car would whine like it needed to go into a higher gear. I was afraid that I'd blow it up.
The car also had trouble starting. I'd have to play with the ignition turning the key on and off until the starter would engage and crank over. the car was not and did not perform like that before they worked on it. I noticed that my shifter cable was not hooked up right and two bolts where the transmission gets connected to the engine were just hanging in there. They weren't evened tightened at all.
I went back there a week later because they asked me to bring it in for a weekly check up. I informed them of all of the problems and concerns I had. They knew it was not the original transmission. The person whom i dealt with was Pam. She went out to start it but it would not start. I had to start it. I mentioned that it started fine until you touched it. I told her that my starter is misaligned. Well she did not take the blame for that and said that it was nothing they did. well yes it is because you have to remove the starter to get the transmission out.
She took it for a drive and said it ran fine. I totally disagree with her. I mentioned about the way it shifted and again it was 'nothing they did'. That was all blamed on the shifter itself. Well that shifter was working properly before they touched it. I was very dissatisfied with their work. I did not get adequate responses to my requests and no fault was taken by them. She said that I could leave the car with them and they'd look over it. I refused. I did not trust them because it was worse than before and because they refused responsibility for my problems.
I took it to another shop to have it checked out. What they told me surprised me. I was informed that Aamco should not have touched that transmission. It was not designed for that car or engine. The transmission is designed for fuel injected engines and mine is not fuel injected. They also stated that Aamco should have refused to work on it based on everything that was disconnected. The transmission was too big for that car. They are to be transmission specialists so they should have refused to work on it unless I was getting another transmission put in it.
I really do believe that they were just trying to take someone for money and that someone was me. I have been pursuing a refund of some type for the past few months but to no avail. They are cold, heartless people. I contacted their customer service hotline to file a complaint and demanded a refund. They are a franchise store and a refund is a long shot. To make a long story short and to the point no refund was given.
I next contacted the Better Business Bureau about this and in the letter I received. no refund yet again. I am not going away and I hope Aamco understands this. They ripped me off by performing work on a transmission that they should have refused to work on. I had a 12 month warranty on it which states that its covered the transmission and defective workmanship. The whole job was defective because of how it ran and shifted and started after it left there. Oh, but I forgot... it was nothing they did.
Since then I have had a used transmission put in it costing less than their nothing work. I am getting another shifter installed which was also three times cheaper than what they quoted. I just wish they would fess up to a bad job they did and return my money. I am looking for a full refund, but would be happy with a partial one. If this goes on longer I may file for suing over stress and hardship issues. The other garage who replaced my transmission also said that they'd help me in any way to get my money back. There is more that I'd like to say about them but I don't want to write those words so I'll end. Whoever reads this DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO ANY AAMCO. They suck!
|
