Winchester Transmissions & Service

Steer clear from this place. In laws took their 2004 CTS in for a transmission rebuild cost them $ 3600 and six months later we have it and there are still problems. Took it in for a diagnostic test and turns out the transmission needs to be replaced. So these guys did NOTHING but piss around under the guise of rebuilding the transmission. Fortunately we did not pay to rebuild the transmission but now we are stuck with a faulty car. Stay away from this place.

I too will never use this business again. Purchased the 3 oil changes in a year deal. Had one done with no problems. Few months later called for another appointment for the wife’s car. Was asked if he could call me back. Never called. If this is the way they conduct business then I don’t trust them with my car. Will not attempt to redeem the remainder services.

Winchester transmission has done an outstanding job. Their service and communication is top notch. The team was very good at communicating and getting approvals from my 3^rd party warranty company. Not an easy task. Outstanding service
Thank you

Took my two cars for an oil change here because of a Groupon deal I got. There’s a reason why it’s cheap. Horrible customer service and not worth the discount. Only upside is that they were slow and was in and out in about 35 minutes.

I live in Colorado, however, I spend a lot of time helping my elderly parents in Campbell, CA with various needs. Over the last year and a half, I’ve had to take both their Ford Taurus and their Buick Regal in for repairs. In each case, Bobby, at Winchester Transmissions & Service, has been extremely helpful, always has given me the options of what had to be repaired and what could be deferred and gave me details on the costs and time the repairs would take. I have now used Winchester Transmissions on three different occasions for numerous car problems, some serious some not so serious and in each case the work was done in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. I highly recommend Winchester Transmissions and working with Bobby, the manager, for any of your car problems.

If there were zero or minus stars, that is what I would rate this business for their very poor customer service. I purchased an Amazon Local coupon for some oil changes; I live in the Santa Cruz mountains and am in San Jose often (I am from there and my family still lives there), so I often get my vehicle serviced there. When I called to schedule my appointment, the man who answered the phone refused to provide me service because I did not live in San Jose. Since I already will never step foot in the place, I did tell him he would be getting a negative review. BTW, Amazon Local was very good about refunding me the price for the deal I purchased, and promised to send on my feed back to their deal/​marketing people. Save yourself some pain and do not frequent this establishment!

As an update, I won my court case, and their stupid appeal, now they are refusing to pay the judgement. They will be brought to court again, and will lose again. They perjured themselves in both trials, another indicator of the character of Patrick Gardener, and Bobbi the manager. Check with the Bureau of Automotive repair, or call the court system to see how many times they have been sued, and lost, before you let these losers touch your vehicle. Again save yourself ALOT of time, and money, go anywhere but Winchester Transmission.

Very happy with the transmission repairs on my 2000 C230. Would go back there for any type of repairs or service.

The employee could not shift it into reverse so he drives the car straight into a curb, all while I’m sitting 5ft away in our other car with our daughter sleeping in the back seat.
They tell you it’s «free» to inspect the car for problems, however, they throw this internal/​external crap and sooner or later your in $ 390 (just to look at your car). So they say, if you get all the necessary work done, that $ 390 is forgotten.

** Beware of Eddie ** Eddie had committed to what the Bureau of Automotive Repair calls fraud and providing false and misleading statements. The shop will promise you low service price then later increase it by adding problems. When you are not prepare to pay their new demand, they threaten to charge storage fee for your car to be at their shop. The owner, Patrick, is just as bad as Eddie. Since when is it acceptable to mislead and harass people? After reporting to the owner about Eddie, Eddie got mad and tried to start a physical fight; with a customer? I sincerely hope NO ONE will have to go through the torment of an experience such as mine. Stay away from Almaden Valley Transmission. They own another shop called **Winchester Transmission**. Let’s see how long these two will be around. I am seeking legal action against this place. Please let me know if you want to join lawsuit

I had my transmission rebuilt by them less than three years ago and thought everything was good. The tranny is in a Jeep so I paid extra for a heavy duty tork converted and heavier components inside. On my birthday a week ago my Jeep decided to not shift higher than first gear? I had it towed from the shoulder of Highway 85 to a new shop «they were closer» and they proceeded to tear down the transmission to do an inspection. When the new shop finished their inspection they said my tork converter was coming apart and that the brand they used was from a company in Sacramento that went out of business due to their garbage merchandise. They then proceeded to tell me that the parts looked like they had been replaced but they were not the correct parts for that year transmission. They told me that in some places were there should have only been a few thousandths space were actually 1 cm and they were not sure how it held together this long! To ad insult to injury, my house mate had his transmission done there a few months before mine and is now noticing some slipping in his gears as well. To make long angry story short, the new shop gave me a three year warranty and free service during the warranty. They even set me up with an external cooler to help the new transmission last a little longer and I will never go back to Winchester again.

The clutch on my ’94 Acura had gone soft, and it just wasn’t shifting. I got a suggestion that I should check the fluid level, and sure enough, the level was low, and refilling did not fix. I knew it needed to be bled, but this would not have fixed the problem that made it go low to begin with, so I started calling around. I told each shop that I was «having clutch problems.» After giving Year/​Make/​Model the first 3 shops all told me I needed a new clutch, without asking further questions. Even after prompting them with more details, none asked about the fluid level and were intent on rebuilding or repairing my clutch. Most wanted at least $ 150 to «assess» the problem 1^st, but they knew it was the clutch because the car was «old». They might look at it within the week, but they were all «very busy», and then they would need to order parts. You could tell I was about to give them all a very Merry Christmas with my clutch problems.
In contrast, the guys here at Winchester Transmission immediately started asking questions. They asked if I had checked fluid levels. After I told them what I had done, they suggested looking for a leak was a high priority, and, by the way, if the system hadn’t been flushed and filled for awhile, it «wouldn’t hurt». They mentioned they had a $ 79 special to do just that, they would check for leaks while they did it, and then would let me know what was needed next. No charge, they said, to assess the problem, they would figure that out during the flush and fill. Within 20 minutes, they had IDed the master cylinder as the leak problem; they promptly replaced it, refilled and bled the system and I had the car back on the road for about $ 240 within 24 hours.
I am always suspicious of anybody who is supposed to be in charge of fixing things that doesn’t immediately start off the process by asking questions; if they don’t, and immediately start jumping to conclusions, it means they are probably some combination of lazy, careless, inexperienced, crooked or just too jaded or rushed to do a professional job.
Ali and the folks here did all the right things throughout the process, and were cheerful and reasonable to boot; what a combination. 5 Stars for these guys, wish I could give them more stars.

Short version: $ 200 to tell me that I was a dumb-​ass; flush my differential, NOT fix the leak I specifically pointed at when I brought it in, and then leave my car unlocked in the public parking lot with all the windows rolled down. They just don’t seem to have their act together and nearly impossible to understand on the phone (if they feel like calling you).
The Story:
So, my fiancé noticed that it smelled as though the Subaru was burning some ATF fluid, and wanted it fixed before she needed to shuttle around clients to/​from San Fran and San Jose for a week. We’d noticed that it had been leaking something around one of the drive-​lines to the front wheel, but had been merrily adding ATF fluid whenever the car seemed to lose some, or be hesitating (and that was helping).
Dropping your car off to get worked on is always a pain in the ass, isn’t it? So I find some place near where I work and drop it off in the morning, about 9am. I am hoping that they can take a look at where I point out it’s leaking, fix the leak with a seal, and have it back to me that afternoon.
To make a long story short, I’d been mistakenly filling up the front differential of my car with ATF fluid (should be gear oil), because who’s ever heard of a differential oil dipstick? And it seemed to make it better when I did. (In the Subaru manual, the section for checking/​filling your MANUAL transmission give descriptions that lead exactly to where this little differential dipstick is, while the ATF fluid is very buried).
The guys at the shop, cleaned up the gunk off the engine and then later told me what they’d found w/​the differential. They weren’t sure what they were going to do about it, but they said the «leak» was actually me overfilling this and it all coming out the breather hose. This was about lunchtime of the first day.
The evening of the first day, I had to call them and ask for a status update, and they said that they cleaned up the engine and coated it with leak-​detecting powder (baby powder??), now they had to drive it, and see if it leaked any more. Oh, and the owner of the shop wanted to personally look in at this differential issue, but he wouldn’t be in until the next morning. Fine, sure.
The next morning, I get a call from them. They ask me, «where had I been putting this ATF fluid?» I reply that I’d been putting it in the filler hose, on the passenger’s side, and they tell me that the filler is on the driver’s side and I’ve been doing it all wrong. But no big deal, they’ll just flush it, and replace the oil.
By lunchtime, I haven’t heard anything, so I catch a ride with a friend over there, to see what’s really going on. They show me how they’ve cleaned it, and are looking for leaks, and exactly how I was accidentally over-​filling the differential with the wrong fluid. (Hey, it could happen to anybody.) They say, «should be done by tonight, it’s looking like $ 175.» Ok, sure, no problem.
It’s 5:15, and I haven’t heard from them, so I give them a call. Two calls actually, and both times, nobody answers. «The Sprint voice mail customer ’ ’ (yes, that’s dead silence you hear), is not available, please leave a message.»
I goad my buddy in giving me a ride over there, and he obliges. On the way, they call me, tell me my car is done, but they want to keep it overnight for «observation», to see if it leaks anymore. I can pick it up anytime after 8am the next morning. I suppose.
The next morning, I take the train out to their shop, showing up at about 8:45 to find my car in their shared parking lot, both front windows rolled completely down, and entirely unlocked. I finally find the guy to talk to, and my bill hasn’t been written up yet; he scribbles down an extra $ 19.95 for synthetic gear oil, adds on $ 175 for their trouble, and simply writes down, «diagnosis and differential flush» as the work done, not spectacularly helpful.
I pull out the Visa, sign my name, and high-​tail it out of there. I’m sorry Winchester Transmissions & Service, but I just can’t take it anymore.
Oh, and the place where I thought the leak was coming from when I brought it in… it’s still leaking, $ 200 later. (but at least it doesn’t smell)