AAMCO Transmissions

AAMCO offers a free quote if you bring your car in — so I did on Monday.
Tuesday — nothing.
Wednesday — nothing so I call — get back to you this evening.
Thursday AM — call again. Rick says this afternoon for sure.
Thursday PM — call again.
Rick: Your main seal blew out.
Me: How much to repair?
Rick: I want $ 900 to look at it.
Me: How much will it be to fix?
Rick: Depends what I find out. I could be a HERO and do it for under $ 1000.
Me (creepy auto mechanic warning bell): Well how much if you are not a HERO?
Rick: Could be $ 2000 — $ 5000.
Me (creepy auto mechanic alarm full blare): No thanks. I will have tow company pick up car later today.
Rick: Uh — not today. It is up on the lift and I cannot get it down.
Me: Take the car down now — I am heading over there right now.
Rick: What are you going to do with the car — I could help you sell it…
Me: I will see you in 20 minutes — get the car off the lift.
My car was still in the exact same spot it was for the last few days (I drove by once or twice). I doubt it was ever up on a lift. I took a chance on this place to try to save money with the free 17 point check and quote — but the whole ‘get your approval to spend money investigating’ scam jumped out at me. I towed the car to another place (that I trusted) and the guy told me directly — your transmission is shot — you need a new one. I asked how much — he called me back in an hour and gave a quote — $ 2500. That guy was a HERO.

Rick and his team is FANTASTIC! I cannot say enough about how honest and upfront Rick was about our options, the cost and time. When it was all said and done they saved 20% of an independent dealer AND it included follow up check ups. I HAD a great Mechanic! Rick and his team blew him away! Thanks Rick, you made an irritable situation painless. One more thing, Rick is the guy to get a rental for a great price (especially being in LG).

Full transmission repair a few months ago and all is still well. They gave me a free follow-​up checkup after the initial repair, which was unexpected and appreciated. I was treated respectfully and not pressured into anything, and was kept informed every step of the way. My vehicle is getting up there in years, but they are keeping it like new at a fair price, and I will be going back to them for upkeep maintenance.

The owner was very helpful & informative. They checked my transmission free of charge. They were very quick and pleasant! I will be back for any car problems I may have in the future.

Very helpful and honest.
Realistic turnaround. Convenient location.
I never felt intimidated, lost or confused. They talked me through it all and I left there knowing that I had not been taking advantage of.

Honest mechanics you can count on. I took my 95 Chevy in for replacement of waterpump and power steering pump plus tune up. Truck has 214,000 miles on it.
Still running very well. I just took my 280z over to them for electrical gremlins.
they found and fixed the problem. I have to say my experience with Rick and Sean have been nothing but excellent. Good work guys. I will be back to you again.

We are a transfer family to this AAMCO from one that has closed. We first brought one of our cars to Rick and I was nervous, we had been with another facility for 10 years. But all fears melted away… Rick is fabulous! Honest and factual with us, cars ready when promised, call backs are timely. I wouldn’t want to take our cars anywhere else! Thanks Rick!

Rick is with out a doubt the best and most honest mechanic I have ever met. When the boys at jiffy lube messed up a simply oil change, Rick was honest with me and not only fixed the loose oil cap, but instructed me on how to confront the boys at jiffy lube and get my money back.
I only trust my car to AAMCO, I wouldn’t take it somewhere else if you paid me.

DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR HERE!
Don’t be like myself and fall for their «free check engine light inspection». That’s a scam to get your vehicle inside the shop. All that does is open up the door for them to rip you off. Basically, these guys change parts in the related system of where your check engine light codes originate from. Since their labor rate is over $ 100 dollars an hour; an unnecessary fluid change here, and a few hours of worthless labor there, you’re already in the hole $ 500-​$ 1000 dollars. Oh, it’s true, check this…
Brought my car into Aamco on Winchester for them to find out why my check engine light came on. They call me a few hours later and tell me these were caused by the electrical system which manages the transmission. They will need an approval of $ 500-​$ 800 dollars to investigate. I Wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend that much because the car is 10 years old and the Blue Book value is only around $ 3000. So I picked up the car.
After thinking about it for a day or so brought it back for them to repair, on a MONDAY night after they closed. TUESDAY they call me and tell me exactly what they told me before. They needed the ok to spend up to $ 500 to check it out, I say ok. WEDNESDAY, no call… not a word. I call them THURSDAY to find out why in the heck I haven’t heard from them. RICK, he knew I was renting a car and wanted a prognosis ASAP. He gave me a very breathy response, because he claimed it was so busy there. He was also trying to pretend he was exhausted by sitting in his chair doing nothing. He thought by breathing heavy on the phone I would think he had been working really hard. Anyways, he said would get back to me before 10am on FRIDAY (car has been there since Tuesday morning and they haven’t done a damn thing).
Get the call FRIDAY morning, Rick now proclaims he is a hero. He saved my transmission and it’s only going to cost $ 800 dollars instead of $ 2,500 to 3,000. They did all the work on my car around and after the hours of lunch Friday. He changes a few sensors and does a fluid/​filter change. Parts run about $ 300, about $ 500 labor. We pick up at 5p.m. because that’s when they close and the car should be done. Rick says drive it for a few weeks and let me know how it goes. We go to take the rental car back. The minute we drop off the rental and get in our car, «BING!!» the check engine light goes back on and the transmission will not shift. Conveniently for Rick and the boys at Aamco, they’re closed for the weekend. Run it for a few weeks? It didn’t even last a few minutes!
So now, we have to rent another car. Drop it back off. They check it Monday and of course, NOW the car needs a new transmission, $ 2500-​$ 2800 dollars. If he had told me that a week earlier, I could have weighed my options and avoided this. The car simply isn’t worth that so I declined repair. I wasn’t very happy about these chain of events so I expressed that to Rick. He denied any wrongdoing or incompetence on their part.
I had to spend over $ 800 dollars on the «repair» and $ 200 on rentals. I have absolutely nothing to show for it. They don’t know how to accurately troubleshoot and repair a transmission the first time and I’m paying them $ 800 for nothing? And this guy Rick wants me to hand him more money so he can right his wrongs? Sure, no problem buddy, I can trust you. Oooh yeah, I almost forgot. I have a transmission that doesn’t work with new fluid, and a few shiny black sensors that didn’t need to be replaced in the first place.
Anyways, take a lesson from me. Take your car anywhere but here. I opened a Unilocal account specifically to post this hoping to spare someone the same frustration and grief I had to experience.

After hearing from three different places that I need to buy a brand new transmission for $ 3,000. I took my car here because when I talked to the man over the phone I knew I was finally talking to someone that knew what the hell their doing! They ended up finding a broken transmission fluid pipe that broke clean off at one of its welded points. I know this because they don’t just tell you the problem, they SHOW YOU! They kept me updated by calling me step by step and letting me know what’s happening to my baby. So after they replaced her transmission pipe my car was back in action. Very fast, very reliable, and extremely top notch service! They saved me about $ 2,700.00!!!
Save yourself a lot of grief and bring your vehicle here before any other place!

This is the second time my daughter has had to take her vehicle in for service to Aamco for separate issues. Both times they have done a superb job. Rick is very patient, explained all the details, options for repair and reduced our anxiety over an aging 97 Ford Explorer.
Rick is the best. Only way to put it.

I brought my SUV here for a free check engine light special. I could not have been more disappointed.
Initially, the sales associate seemed very friendly and knowledgeable. I made an appointment to come in «first thing in the morning» the following week. When I got there, the «lead diagnostician» was running late, so it would be an hour or two before they could analyze the check engine code.
By noon I had not heard from anyone so I called. Still not done, told — «call back in two hours». Called back and told I had a misfire and was given several different repair options upwards of $ 600. Decided to hold off but asked for a written quote. Felt bad about taking up there time and not buying anything so asked them to do an oil change. They said they would call when it was ready.
By 5:00pm I had not heard back (shocker) so I called. I was rudely told that they had closed and I wold have to pay right now by credit card if I wanted my car back. ??? So I payed and went to collect my vehicle. When I got there I found that my vehicle had been backed into a bush and my hitch mount bike rack was buried in the mud.
Not sure if it was ignorance or just total disrespect for the customer, but I won’t get my vehicles anywhere near that place ever again.

So my check engine light came on in my car and with all the commercials this place runs I figured, hey lets take it here and try them out. My boyfriend dropped the car off at 8am on the dot. When he pulled up they did not ask him anything everyone was just kind of standing around. So then my boyfriend finally goes up to someone and asks «so do you guys check the engine light for free?» they say yes and take our info and say they’ll give us a call around noon. Mind you that we told them we are really trying to figure out what’s wrong with it as soon as possible so that we can get it worked on as soon as possible.
They did NOT call us at noon, 12:30pm rolls around so I call to check on the car. The guy who answered the phone said he’s guys were on lunch and when they got back they would get to our car. 4 hours had passed and they did not look at our car. So then i say OKAY ill check back later, and then remind him we are in a hurry to get this checked out and fixed asap. So i call again about 1:30pm they STILL had not worked on our car yet. Finally i call back at 2:15 and they had found out the problem and said that it was gonna be around $ 700+, and said at this point that had not done anything that cost money so we were free to pick up the car (because he knew we needed it back.) I had explained that we would bring it back in the morning to get fixed but if we did that i would need it all done on that day i couldn’t leave my car with them over night and that I wanted to go over the pricing of the job, he proceeded to tell me (as I was still talking) «Stop right there». that «we are not a in and out shop we take time on our cars» and that «if I wanted to go somewhere else cheaper then i could».
I will NEVER go to Aamco again just completely off this guys attitude alone, no customer service what so ever. And you know what I did go somewhere else, took their diagnostic to another shop and they fixed everything for way less the $ 700+ originally quoted by this Aamco. DO NOT GO HERE… THIS PLACE AND THE GUY THAT WORKS IN THE OFFICE SUCK!!!

excellent service. They take care of their customers and they dont sell you BS like other places. This place goes the extra mile to make sure that the job is done right. I feel safe bringing my car here for all my automotive needs. Thumbs up!

Aamco runs a commercial that states that they will check your engine light for free. Mine came on the other week so I called and made an appointment to drop the truck off in the morning.
I have done quite a bit of care work in the past and have ‘tinkered’ around a bit with engines. The truck has all of the fluids topped off and it running very well with the engine check light on, so my initial thoughts were either the EGR or O2 sensor that is typically located on the exhaust manifold B pipe.
I received a call in the afternoon stating that the codes were for the air/​fuel system. They mentioned that a sensor can cost +$ 300 and that they can clean the sensor in a first attempt. I said that I do not want to purchase a new sensor at this time and had them go ahead and clean it first.
It was 4:20pm and they close at 5pm, I made the call to them and said that I will be by to pick up the truck. (I thought they would be calling me) They eventually cleaned a sensor that was ‘suggested’ by the auto industry ‘forum’. 2 hours of labor with a 10% off first time customer = just under $ 200.
Better ask what the price will be before allowing them to do any work on your car. Their labor rate is $ 110 an hour, not much different than taking it into a dealership.
Update: I called in a few days later and had asked about the pricing to clean the sensor. They did not attempt to lower the price and justified the time it took to clean the sensor. Since I have worked on cars a bit, this is just too much to pay to remove a sensor and clean it. It did not cost them anything but labor.
Aamco runs their commercial only to get people to come in. Then they will rip you off like a typical crook. This shop is no different. I can’t recommend them to anyone or family members. Good luck to anyone that patronizes this shop.

Rick is a cut above.
Once again, my dad has given me a referral to a top quality mechanic. I’m sure you’ve all had the experience of going to a mechanic and having that gut reaction of no trust whatsoever?
Rick is the exact opposite.
He’s by far the most honest, reliable, dependable mechanic I’ve ever worked with– which is why I continually go back. My entire family now goes to Rick and his staff over at AAMCO solely for that reason. I have him on speed dial, for crying out loud. :)

First of all, the employees are really friendly. Rick was great at communicating back and forth over the phone. He seemed concerned about giving me the best deal possible. He called the Toyota dealership to see if there was a specific problem with my 2005 Toyota Corolla. Rick was able to talk to someone in the service department about the current transmission problems and recalls. This is something that I tried doing for a week but was never able to talk to someone or get any useful information.
The people at Toyota told him that there was a current recall on my car for the same problem that I was having. Rick called me to let me know that Toyota was going to do all the work for FREE. Rick didn’t make a dime off of me but he was gracious enough to send me to the dealer. It’s great to see that there are some honest people in the world.
If you want a place that is quick and honest make sure you go to the Aamco on Winchester in Campbell. This is an independently owned Aamco so make sure you go to this one.

dont take your car here!
my bf took his car here with a «free diagnostic coupon» they advertised for a check engine warning light that was showing on his dash. they told my bf that he needed a tune-​up and an oil change to get the light to shut off! Even I know that is not the case! scammers!
They actually charged him $ 163 and did nothing aside from mis-​diagnosing his car!
After hundreds of dollars and finding an honest mechanic that assisted my bf in repairing his car the corrrect way this mechanic went the extra mile to help get the $ 163 back by threating Aamco with filing a case against them. They did return the money my bf paid. Beware!!!

i had a very disappointing 3-​part experience with this place.
my check engine light was on and i needed to get it fixed before i could have the car smogged. today was the 3^rd time i’ve taken it in and when they finally called me 6+ hours later to tell me the problem, they asked to keep the car overnight to figure out the problem «tomorrow». no thanks. if you don’t have time to look at the car, don’t tell me it’s ok to bring it in. the lack of communication with these guys is astounding. when you say you’re going to call a customer, CALL THEM. it’s that easy. i realize you get busy and backed up with work, but don’t schedule people to come in if you can’t do the work when you say you can.
my husband had to pick me up and drop me off each time i took the car in, so his time was also wasted. i feel like i’ve been given the runaround. i brought it here instead of the dealer hoping to save some money. i got a cheaper-​than-​dealer tune up, but now i have to go elsewhere to actually get the original problem fixed. thanks a bunch, aamco.
update: i ended up taking the car to the dealer, where they fixed the issue the same day, had to-​and-​from shuttle service and explained that the car didn’t need a tune up to begin with. boo for aamco.

THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!
They quoted me $ 3901 for a new/​rebuilt transmission for my van. A van with a blue book of $ 6500. They are shady and scandalous.
I ended up taking my van somewhere else for $ 1895! When I told them the price of the other place, their price magically lowered to $ 2400. They lost my trust and you can’t put a price on that.
I still had to pay Aamco $ 595 for taking my tranny apart and looking it over.
Oh and they kept my torque converter. I had to drive back, pick it up and deliver it to the new shop.\