I originally had a phone conversation with Aamco and explained to them that I have a 1998 Buick Lesabre (automatic) with 70,000 miles on it that drove perfect until out of nowhere when I was driving home the transmission stopped working.By stopped working I mean every gear did the same thing as nuetral. My car never had any symptoms before. I explained to them what happened and they said it doesn't sound major, sounds like a fauiled pump. So they arranged for my car to be towed by a tow company.
Next day I received a call and they said the the battery was no good and I told them it was good because I never had a problem starting it. They offered to sell me one for $120 plus tax. I asked them can I just bring another in and they said sure. I paid $85 and brought a new one in. Next day they called and said it wasn't the battery I needed but the starter and they said $385. I said no way because the car started fine when I had it. They said they already have the old starter off even though I didn't authorize it. I had a feeling I was being ripped off because I never had such a problem.
Again I told them I don't have that kind of money and asked them If I can bring my own starter in and they said yes but installation is 1.20 hours at $85 an hour. I picked up a rebuilt starter from an autopart store for $90 and took the starter in and they gave me the old one because I asked for it. Before returning it for the core I took it into autozone and had it checked. They said the starter works perfectly fine and I had them print me a report for evidence. I called Aamco back and told them that the starter was good because I had it tested and they said when tested on the bench the starter usually works fine but when it's in the car it acts up. So I asked them well if you guys put the starter in and it doesn't fix your problem like the battery what next, because i don't want to pay for stuff I don't need. They said let us just put it in and we'll go from there. They called back and said the car started and next we'll do our free inspection for you. They called back and said the free inspection passed and next we'll nedd to drop the pan and that would be $55. Well thinking they may find something minor like they first said I authorized for them to do it. They call back shortly and said nothing was wrong. Next we'll pull off the tranny and tear it apart, that will be $600. I told them let me think about it for a day or two and when I called back the next day they said they already had it torn apart and named a big list of things wrong. I knew I was being ripped off because I didn't authorize the repair. They said the cost to fix this was $2,350. Since they were alraedy charging me for the pan, and the starter and battery labor I told them to go ahead and fix it but I also told them I can't afford it and i don't have the money. They gave me a few options getting financed or getting a title loan and I said no. They said they can hold the car for me a few months so I agreed. I felt i had no other choice. Just to get the car out I' would be paying now for the starter, batter labor, pan parts = labor, and the $600 to take the transmission off. Basically I would of had to pay for another tow and would of had to put the transmission in the trunk until I get more money to get it towed elswhere to another shop and risk being ripped off for more. So when I went too make my first payment of $1000 I tried to talk the guy down his name and the whole time I thought I was talking to the mechanic of the car in the phone calls and this turned out to be a salesman and the mechanic barely spoke english so i couldn't understand a thing he said. I tried talking the price down because I don't have the money and he said I already gave you a $600 discount because the car is an older model. So I asked can I get a goverment discount since I work for the state he said i discounted $600 and that beats the the goverment discount would give you. I also had a coupon for $50 off at his shop but he said no I already took off enough. So I asked him why is it so expensive and he pointed to a picture on the wall that showed a alot of tansmission parts and he said all those were replaced. I said how can a car with low mileage have all them things wrong and he said with it being a 98 with 70,000 miles means it sat a lot and when cars sit a long time they almost automatically need a rebuilt transmission. Also I asked if the car was running perfect how can all them parts fail at once he said when the cars sit the seals crack. From the beginning there is nothing I can say to this guy because he is too outspoken and has an answer for aqny question. With my car being in his hands I really didn't know what to say but i know this guys a liar. When I drove off I was thinking even if my car doesn't need all those parts and he put them in would be a rip off but worse what if my car had a minor problem and he never put all those parts but charged me for everything so by him making it sound better he pretends to be giving me a discount and he also said he extened the warranty from 12,000 to 18,000. Maybe when he saw the tranny he knew this wouldn't break down anytime soon so he was confident to add extra warranty. If you see this car from exterior, interior, and under the engine everything looks brand new. It was elderly owned and I bought it for $3700 2-1-08 because it was so nice. I took it in about 7-1-08. This happens to alot of people when going to Aamco but I found this out since I been doing my resarch. You can google it, it sounds like its all Aamco's, they are trained into talking you into getting your transmission rebuilt by some rookies and you have a professional salesperson to deal with who never tells you hes a salesperson so in your mind you think your dealing with the mechanic.
Al
laveen, Arizona
U.S.A.
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