After dealing with an internal failure on my e46 AT for over a year and a half, I was excited to see a nice deal on a rebuilt tranny from a company called Pheonix Rebuilt transmissions. I was browsing the web looking for alternative to paying the outrageous 6k that BMW wanted to replace my internally defective automatic transmission. I came across a very professional looking website. Phoenix rebuilt Transmissions. I spotted what I needed and the cost was very reasonable. I spoke with Jackson and Alex who were very pleasant but not helpful people. I inquired about what goes into the rebuild, they assured me that the transmission is rebuilt with all the latest OEM upgrades. See I inquired about this because the GM trannys that were put in that year BMW have inherent issues with the reverse gear so I wanted to make sure that it would be replaced, even though I wasnt experiencing that issue. After conversing with them I ordered a tranny and expected to pick it up a week later. I live in SoCal which is 5 hours away from their shop. I thought it would be cost effective for me to drive there, pick up the tranny and avoid both the shipping cost of 300 and the core charge of 700.
So, I arrive there, excited to pick it up. I find out that they cant let the tranny go at the cost they quoted me. They made the mistake of quoting me for a 4 speed instead of a 5 speed. So, I had the choice of a refund or to pay the additional 400 to take it home. Well, I just drove 350 miles, what would you do? So, I grudgingly paid the money and went on my way.
The next day the mechanics get started AGAIN on the 7 hour removal and installation. Only to find out that the reverse gear is not working on the rebuild (this is the problem that is very characteristic of this type of tranny, as explained above). I felt angry and helpless. I then called them up the next day, talked to Gabriel, and told him the issue. Their first question was "What was wrong with the core you gave us?", I told them it was the locking out of the first and fifth gear when I reached a certain RPM (they should have already known this, it was only a couple days). I could hear the gears (pun) turning in his feeble mind to use the core I gave them as a replacement. Without a shred of empathy they told me in to bring it in and they will replace it. So, I spent my gas and time in driving 10 hours yet again to Phoenix to pick it up. It turns out that they gave me my original transmission with replacement only on the components that failed.
Needless to say Im bracing for a failure soon. I was not surprised to see this company on this website. Dont use this company to buy a rebuild. I would like to get in on a class action suit against this company for fraud in selling me a defective tranny and compensation for my travel expenses of 20 hours, thank goodness I didnt pay for the core and shipping, I would have never seen that money again.
Regards
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