On a recent trip to Florida, my transmission went out on my vehicle. I was able to have it towed to the local AAMCO in St. Petersburg, FL. I was ensured the problem would be taken care of and to enjoy my vacation. I was contacted by AAMCO a few days later, and was notified that my transmission could be rebuilt, but a price would not be available until AFTER the work was done. I asked the, SALESMAN, what the worst case scenario price would be to his estimate. He gave me a figure that I was confortable with, so I authorized the work. A few days later, I recieved a call and was told the job was going to be much bigger than they had anticipated, but he had no estimate of what the extra cost might be. ( I was on vacation, mind you, and visiting my family.) Finally, after a few more days, the job was done and I was contacted by AAMCO. I was notified that he had "great news" the job was going to be about $1000 more than we had initially discussed (by by his "worse case" estimate) but as an act of "good will" he was going to take $100 off of the work. (Nice guy....) I went to pick up my car, on the way back to my home state, and brought in a coupon, (That was printed off of their website for $100 off any transmission repair.) The secretary and the SALESMAN acted dumbfounded about this coupon and said that it was not useable and they have never seen it before in their lives.
$3900 later, in my 7 year old vehicle, I get back to my home state. Just a couple months later, I find my transmission popping out of gear. I take my vehicle to my nearest AAMCO, because the work I had done (just 5 months earlier) entitles me to a 12 month warranty "HASSLE FREE!" I recieve a call that the St. Petersburg, FL shop will not authorize my local AAMCO to fix my car. They want the transmission sent 1800 miles to them in Florida, so they can do the work. At this point, I am powerless! I give the ok to send the transmission and hear nothing for about a week. The kind folks in St. Petersburg finally give me a call, and say they have unfortunate news, the problem with my transmission now is irrelevant to the work that was done, and would not be covered under my warranty. They said it was clear to them that I had abused the car and it is going to cost me another $800for parts, labor, and SHIPPPING! At this point, I am livid. I do some research and call AAMCO Corporate. I filed a complaint, and two days later I recieve a phone call from St. Petersurg stating they have "GREAT NEWS" the fix is now going to be covered. (As if they were doing me some favor) The St. Petersburg shop kept my transmission for over 3 weeks with not a phone call or anything. I finally called to get an update, and was told the unit was going to be shipped back to my home state that day. I waited until Wednesday the following week, with no phone calls. I called them back, and the transmission STILL had not been shipped. I just took posession of my vehicle two days ago from writing this. I emplore anyone considering working with this organization, to NOT. If you do, 1800-523-0401, this their corporate hotline, you WILL be needing this.
Once they get your car in, the STRONG ARMING begins. The diagnosis costs $1300 and if you decide to take your car elsewhere, he (Chris, owner) begins his tactic. Your car is taking up space in his shop and its $50 a day plus to put every thing he opened in order to diagnose, back will cost an additional $1000. And if you want it fixed, now it has to be paid in cash before he can begin work.
It cost me $5000 to fix the trans axle there and also had to tow the car back to TOYOTA to get the computer changed which cost an additional $1000. Even the dealer didn't understand why it cost that much to correct the trans axle.
In summary, don't make the mistake I've made. Don't take your car to AAMCO in Pearl River; you're sure to get strong armed. He was unprofessional, condescending and demeaning to woman about their knowledge of a motor vehicle.
Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't like getting strong armed and does not want to see this happen to a neighbour.
I actually had my horrible experience here three years ago. Unfortunately they'll probably never be put out of business as they are a large corporation. I took my 2003 Honda Accord to get my transmission replaced. Two to three weeks later, I got my car back. Richard was the Manager's name at that time, not sure he's still there, but if he is, I'd be surprised. Aamco and Richard are crooks. At the time I finally got my car back, I was asked if I wanted to buy an extended warranty for the life of the car, I believe the cost was an additional $500.00, on top of the already ridiculous price they charged. In Aamco's ads they lead you to believe this warranty is part of the deal at no extra cost, not so. I turned it down as Aamco is supposedly America's leading transmission specialist, so the commercials say. Only 30,000 miles later, the transmission went out, completely. They wanted me to pay for a entire transmission all over again. I could not afford it, as I had just got laid off from my job due to the bad economy. After contacting Aamco corporate, they offered a discount, gee how sweet of them. I tried to make payment arrangements as I needed to get to job interviews to get a new job. They would not do it. My car was subsequently repossessed by the finance company from the Aamco Anaheim location as I could not get to interviews to get a new job, due to this whole thing. The only reason I am writing this 3 years later, is I never thought to do this and what topped it off is a friend is currently seeking a new transmission and was thinking of taking his car to Aamco. I told him of my experience and he thanked me, and advised that I write this review. I saved him the grief of dealing with Aamco, and he wanted me to try to save all the other people that may be considering taking their vehicle to these CROOKS!!! WHAT THEY DESERVE IS TO BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
Aamco Transmissions Reviews
On a recent trip to Florida, my transmission went out on my vehicle. I was able to have it towed to the local AAMCO in St. Petersburg, FL. I was ensured the problem would be taken care of and to enjoy my vacation. I was contacted by AAMCO a few days later, and was notified that my transmission could be rebuilt, but a price would not be available until AFTER the work was done. I asked the, SALESMAN, what the worst case scenario price would be to his estimate. He gave me a figure that I was confortable with, so I authorized the work. A few days later, I recieved a call and was told the job was going to be much bigger than they had anticipated, but he had no estimate of what the extra cost might be. ( I was on vacation, mind you, and visiting my family.) Finally, after a few more days, the job was done and I was contacted by AAMCO. I was notified that he had "great news" the job was going to be about $1000 more than we had initially discussed (by by his "worse case" estimate) but as an act of "good will" he was going to take $100 off of the work. (Nice guy....) I went to pick up my car, on the way back to my home state, and brought in a coupon, (That was printed off of their website for $100 off any transmission repair.) The secretary and the SALESMAN acted dumbfounded about this coupon and said that it was not useable and they have never seen it before in their lives.
$3900 later, in my 7 year old vehicle, I get back to my home state. Just a couple months later, I find my transmission popping out of gear. I take my vehicle to my nearest AAMCO, because the work I had done (just 5 months earlier) entitles me to a 12 month warranty "HASSLE FREE!" I recieve a call that the St. Petersburg, FL shop will not authorize my local AAMCO to fix my car. They want the transmission sent 1800 miles to them in Florida, so they can do the work. At this point, I am powerless! I give the ok to send the transmission and hear nothing for about a week. The kind folks in St. Petersburg finally give me a call, and say they have unfortunate news, the problem with my transmission now is irrelevant to the work that was done, and would not be covered under my warranty. They said it was clear to them that I had abused the car and it is going to cost me another $800for parts, labor, and SHIPPPING! At this point, I am livid. I do some research and call AAMCO Corporate. I filed a complaint, and two days later I recieve a phone call from St. Petersurg stating they have "GREAT NEWS" the fix is now going to be covered. (As if they were doing me some favor) The St. Petersburg shop kept my transmission for over 3 weeks with not a phone call or anything. I finally called to get an update, and was told the unit was going to be shipped back to my home state that day. I waited until Wednesday the following week, with no phone calls. I called them back, and the transmission STILL had not been shipped. I just took posession of my vehicle two days ago from writing this. I emplore anyone considering working with this organization, to NOT. If you do, 1800-523-0401, this their corporate hotline, you WILL be needing this.
Once they get your car in, the STRONG ARMING begins. The diagnosis costs $1300 and if you decide to take your car elsewhere, he (Chris, owner) begins his tactic. Your car is taking up space in his shop and its $50 a day plus to put every thing he opened in order to diagnose, back will cost an additional $1000. And if you want it fixed, now it has to be paid in cash before he can begin work.
It cost me $5000 to fix the trans axle there and also had to tow the car back to TOYOTA to get the computer changed which cost an additional $1000. Even the dealer didn't understand why it cost that much to correct the trans axle.
In summary, don't make the mistake I've made. Don't take your car to AAMCO in Pearl River; you're sure to get strong armed. He was unprofessional, condescending and demeaning to woman about their knowledge of a motor vehicle.
Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't like getting strong armed and does not want to see this happen to a neighbour.
I actually had my horrible experience here three years ago. Unfortunately they'll probably never be put out of business as they are a large corporation. I took my 2003 Honda Accord to get my transmission replaced. Two to three weeks later, I got my car back. Richard was the Manager's name at that time, not sure he's still there, but if he is, I'd be surprised. Aamco and Richard are crooks. At the time I finally got my car back, I was asked if I wanted to buy an extended warranty for the life of the car, I believe the cost was an additional $500.00, on top of the already ridiculous price they charged. In Aamco's ads they lead you to believe this warranty is part of the deal at no extra cost, not so. I turned it down as Aamco is supposedly America's leading transmission specialist, so the commercials say. Only 30,000 miles later, the transmission went out, completely. They wanted me to pay for a entire transmission all over again. I could not afford it, as I had just got laid off from my job due to the bad economy. After contacting Aamco corporate, they offered a discount, gee how sweet of them. I tried to make payment arrangements as I needed to get to job interviews to get a new job. They would not do it. My car was subsequently repossessed by the finance company from the Aamco Anaheim location as I could not get to interviews to get a new job, due to this whole thing. The only reason I am writing this 3 years later, is I never thought to do this and what topped it off is a friend is currently seeking a new transmission and was thinking of taking his car to Aamco. I told him of my experience and he thanked me, and advised that I write this review. I saved him the grief of dealing with Aamco, and he wanted me to try to save all the other people that may be considering taking their vehicle to these CROOKS!!! WHAT THEY DESERVE IS TO BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS!!!