I went to American Engines (who advertise 3 yr., 30,000 mi. Warranty) in July to have a remanufactured engine put into my 1995 Dodge Caravan. I was quoted $1600 and put $800 down.
A couple of weeks later, they call saying that they have to replace more parts bringing my total to $3200. The mechanic said that if I did not let them do the work, I'd lose my down payment, so I agreed. I had to get a loan for this.
Another 2 weeks went by and I picked my van up. I was given a copy of the warranty only after I paid them.
In December my van would not pass inspections. After all repairs suggested and it still would not pass, the inspector told me to take it back to American Engine Installations because it had to be the motor.
In January I took it to American Engines and had to pay to use another car. After 2 weeks, they called and said they had installed a defective remanufactured engine and I needed to pay them $600 more in labor to replace it. They said the labor warranty ran out in November. The mechanic said they could only give me another engine if they did the labor.
They referred me to their supervisor, Pat Johnson. I called her and explained that I am a full-time mother, have a daughter who is disabled that I took to school and medical appts., as well as caring for my 3 yr. Old son. I also explained that I was still paying on the loan for the original repairs.
Pat Johnson was very rude and repeatedly stated that the labor warranty was only good for 90 days. She did not care how much money I had already spent, that it was their fault, or my need to have my van to care for my children.
I had an attorney write her a letter quoting deceptive trade practices and I reported them to the Better Business Bureau, but they continued to refused to absorb the full cost of their mistake. Why would I pay them again when they didn't do it correctly the first time?
My van had been there over a month and I went and picked it up. A mechanic came from Dallas and took the head of the engine off and then took it to a machine shop. The machine shop said that the engine had the original valve guides and they were bad. The compassionate mechanic only charged me $330.
I sent all this into the Better Business Bureau and then Pat Johnson said that since someone else repaired my vehicle, it was not covered under the warranty. She said they had no way of knowing if my mechanic was truthful since they didn't inspect it!
I hope this is helpful so that others might not get entrapped by American Engines Installations. As Jesus said, "What you do to the least of them, you do to Me."
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