After having one transmission shop in Colorado Springs service my vehicle, a 95 Mitsubishi Gallant, I brought it to an AAMCO here in Denver. At first it looked as though i might be able to get my money back from the shop in the Springs, as they found that the torrington bearing had been installed incorrectly. This is where it started to slide downhill.
After authorizing the diagnostic I waited for a call back. Some three days later I called them to find out what the diagnostic had shown. At this point the service tech, Rob, informed me about the torrington bearing. After which he then said it will be ready in about 3 hours. I asked him who authorized the repairs, and he said my roomate, Jon, had. I called my roomate to confirm this, and he said that he hadnt. I called back and Rob blamed it on a "miscommunication". I shrugged it off and asked Rob what the total cost of repair was going to be. I was quoted $1500 and he was going to take $200 off for the delay.
I tell them to hold off on the repairs until I can get a hold of the original shop in the Springs to see if they will pay for their mistake (which they didnt). The process of getting in touch with and sending the required documents to the original shop took a few days, which I can only attribute to thier incompetence.
I authorized the repair some days later for what I thought was going to be in the ballpark of $1300 plus tax. My car was ready the next day. I went to pick it up with Jon and came to find out that the total was $1874. Needless to say both my roomate and I were puzzled as to why the increase in price. When Jon said that he wasnt going to pay the amount Rob stated matter-of-factly, "Then the car stays here." - nice - We both then explained to Marc, the salesman, that Rob had quoted BOTH of us $1500 and $200 off.in response Marc put on his best flabbergasted face and acted confused until we finally agreed on $1500 plus tax. Rob came back with the old parts and blamed the price difference on a "miscommunication".
I drove my car home still irritated about the $200 difference in price, but at least it was fixed. Seven days pass and I notice that it was leaking transmission fluid. Jon took it back to AAMCO and found out that the pan gasket was leaking. Three hours later they had it fixed, and Jon left with my car for Thanksgiving.
Two days later I get a call from Jon and he told me that he had just lost overdrive. The next day we headed back to the AAMCO. I noticed that not only did the transmission behave erraticly with overdrive on, but it was also much louder. When we arrived at the shop Jon explained what happened rather abraisivly. This was Friday.
Tuesday morning rolls around and I hadnt heard from AAMCO, so Jon called them. Evidently some harsh words were exchanged and they no longer wanted to deal with him. I called to find out what was going on. Rob explained that the overdrive clutch gear had snapped (or something like that). At this point I told him to repair it, but then Jon started screaming into the phone over my shoulder about how he wants his money back. Because of this they kept hanging up on me. I was finally able to talk to Marc, and he said they were going to have to run an external diagnostic next Monday and that would show the speed and RPMs when the transmission went out. This instantly sounded like they were going to deny warranty work based on 'abuse'.
Once again they failed to call. I called Rob on Tuesday to find out what the EDS had shown. Rob feigned ignorance and thought I was going to pick it up. After I explain that I talked to Marc the previous Tuesday about the EDS he blames it on a "miscommunication". He told me he would call me when he had something to report. The next day I had to call them, again. Marc informs me that my car had been 'abused', and wasnt safe to drive, and that they werent going to touch it.
Thats pretty much where it stands, my car at AAMCO with the transmission in the trunk.
Jarred
Denver, Colorado
U.S.A.
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