AAMCO Transmissions Total Car Care

Be careful with this shop! I just moved from Texas and woke up to a puddle of fluid underneath my truck. I assumed it was transmission fluid so I brought it to AAMCO for a diagnosis. After a few hours they called to tell me it wasn’t transmission fluid but coolant and if I could come down because they had some things to show me. Well I was walked around underneath my truck on the lift and shown several areas of potential leak. I was told that it was FOR SURE the timing cover and most likely also the head gaskets. I asked if there was a way they could give me an exact diagnosis and they said that if I get a compression test for $ 220 they will have an exact diagnosis. I agreed to that test and asked how long it would take?, «a couple of hours». By 4:30 that afternoon I still had not heard anything so knowing they close soon I went down to the shop. That’s where I met Oscar who told me that after the compression test they «think» the head gaskets are bad. This test was supposed to be the definitive diagnosis! He said that he wants to remove the heads to see if that is the problem. I’m no mechanic, but removing the heads to see if the heads are the problem didn’t make sense. So for the low cost of $ 1,100, I can get a diagnosis, but he couldn’t give me an exact cost because «it depends on what I find». I paid the $ 220 and asked for a written quote and the results of the compression test. He got that all printed and I was on my way to leave. Well apparently this diagnostic test was complicated because «your truck isn’t back together yet». So I went home and returned the next day and got my truck. I went to another shop on Convoy called FTS and showed them my paperwork from AAMCO and asked for a second opinion. After an hour with FTS, and for FREE, I was told that my head gaskets were fine, timing cover was fine, the problem was a bad water pump. So for thousands of dollars less, the problem was fixed and no more leak! The guys at FTS were fast, professional, and we’re able to tell me exactly what was wrong, and give me an exact final cost.

Oscar was great! The staff is excellent took the time to show me whats wrong. I appreciate your help.

I called this shop because I had my transmission rebuilt a couple years ago and my clutch was starting to slip after 33 000 miles.
Nick picked up, I explained the above situation and he suggested I bring it in for a free inspection. I responded that that I didn’t need to be told that my clutch is slipping. To which he responded «either you don’t know how to drive a 5 speed or some thing else is going on», then hung up.
Also, Nick is the manager.
I have driven manuals for over 10 years and replaced a few along the way. The unprofessional attitude was uncalled for.
I have contacted AAMCo headquarters to file a complaint against their manager and depending on how that goes I may file a complaint with BBB.

This is my first review on anything on Unilocal and I had to do it for these awesome mechanics. My transmission basically broke a block away from there location. I was a little nerves at first knowing it was going to cost a lot of money. Nick talked to me about all my options up front and put me at ease. I was even able to talk with there transmission specialist Kevin. That guy knows his stuff. Turned out a bearing broke and caused a lot of damage. They allowed me to see the inside of my transmission and all the broken parts. They needed to rebuild my transmission and a few other parts. Needless to say it ended up costing me some bills. But well worth it for a professional job and a piece of mind warranty. It took them three days total and the whole experience was very smooth with great communication and a great team of guys to get my truck back In action. I just had my check-​up done and everything is running in top shape. I was not nickel and dime, they did not try to scam me I only got good people doing an honest job. I highly recommend you talk to nick you won’t regret it.

I went in here to get to the bottom of what was making my check engine light go on. Nick took a look right away and even inspected it for free! Turned out that a new catalytic converter was needed which they were willing to repair it right then and there. The wait time was so minimal and the customer service was excellent! I highly recommend!

***IF YOU LOVE YOUR CAR, DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR HERE! THEY BRIBE YOU FOR 5 STAR REVIEWS SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN READING SOME OF THESE 5 STAR REVIEWS!!!***
Horrible, Horrible service. I went by while my tire was bring changed at Discount Tire across the street and said that I think I was having transmission issues. Tom, I believe that’s his name, said I was in luck because they were doing transmission checks for free that week. I made an appointment to drop it off the following day. I drive over with everything working in normal condition and they said it’s going to be 2hrs. I took an Über to the library but the library didn’t open for two hours but I decided to wait. After the two hours, i was over waiting & decided to take an Über back to AAMCO. Tom called me on the way saying there was an issue. I showed up & he said my brake lights weren’t working & every fuse they put on was blowing. It was strange to me that ALL OF A SUDDEN my brake lights weren’t working but that’s not what I went for so I asked about the transmission. They said THEY NEVER GOT TO THE TRANSMISSION. So they had my car for TWO HOURS and didn’t nothing but replace some fuses? Why were they messing with the fuses? He said they wanted to do an electrical test which would be $ 180 on the low end!!! So I went in for a free transmission check & didn’t get that but I got lights that are no longer working after they touched my vehicle. I told them I don’t know what they did but I was taking it elsewhere. Tom got really confrontational. I called corporate & I guess they called Tom because he called me cursing me out saying that the car had problems & it wasn’t their fault, even though my brake lights worked before I got there. I thought i checked everything, trying to fix the problem & couldn’t locate the source. Today, i was getting ready to sell it on craigslist & decided to check ONE more time. & guess what? A cord was unplugged!!! Yup! The crooks at AAMCO lured me in with a «free transmission check», unplugged a major cord & then tried to rip me off and make me pay for an unnecessary electrical test! I plugged it back in by myself, FOR FREE! Horrible people, horrible customer service, horrible company! I’ll never, EVER go to an AAMCO again. I went to Midas right across the street, right after the situation & they helped me with the original issue I had when I took it to AAMCO. Jerry @ Midas is the best! Tom @AAMCO is the worst of the absolute worst!!!

Very Bad Customer Service and they just don’t get it. On Thursday, June 11 we dropped off our vehicle for repairs. Thomas said he would call within an hour, but we don’t hear from him at all and after several hours we make a call. After waiting for pricing, we ask very specifically about getting a AAA discount and Thomas said yes. They keep the vehicle until Sat but we are never given a time to pick it up. On Sat, we call and are told vehicle is ready to pick up and if we pay with cash we will get a 2% discount. When asked what the total amount owing is, the guy said $ 1825.27. When we get there, we are told by the owner Oscar that he doesn’t give AAA discounts and he proceeds to call Thomas who denies knowing anything about it. I told Oscar that Thomas was a liar but Oscar immediately becomes very defensive. I explain that it’s about Customer Service and that if one of his employees is making promises to us and then lying to him about it, who else is he doing this to. He again became defensive and after going back and forth a bit, I gave up because he just didn’t get it. He then says he will honor the discount and then has some other guy take care of it. Well, the new total is $ 1791 so it doesn’t even appear that we even received the 2% discount for bringing in cash. Oscar didn’t want to hear it and just kept getting defensive and left. Then the other guy comes out and becomes defensive as well. This isn’t about defending their position, it’s about Customer Service but they don’t seem to get it. Well, guess what? It’s not over… the vehicle’s AC now isn’t working and it was working perfectly before we even took it in. Unbelievable. We tried to call but they had already closed (it was just after 2pm on Sat) and they have no answering machine. Don’t really want to take it back to them, but we spent a lot of money and they need to make it right! They don’t deserve any stars but you have to select at least one star or review can’t be posted.

Heard an ad on the radio that if you have your check engine light on, they’ll give you a free diagnostic. I went in because I have my check engine light on, they ran a couple of tests and told me some mumbo jumbo I couldn’t understand.
So what was my diagnostic? They said that they didn’t know and would have to run some more test that would cost $ 200.
Really, $ 200 for a diagnostic. –No work done, diagnostic.
Bait & switch?

Came in for my wife’s Ford Explorer transmission issues. Thomas diagnosed the issue right away and gave us a truthful no BS explanation on what was wrong. He went out of his way to get us the best prices on parts and repair. He honesty informed us of what repairs we needed and did not need. Thomas also got us a great deal on the final price and worked with us. I’d recommend this place and Thomas to anyone. Great guy to work with, thanks again:-) :-) !

they did end up financing us with a 3^rd party at 190% interest rates. Now we are stuck with refinancing that. ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE.
Oscar, I don’t think you get it. Thomas tried to charge me over $ 2400 for a brand new manufacturer part that costs $ 868…same part that every Nissan dealer uses (it’s a guaranteed part with warranty). Price gouging is my point…

I went to this AAMCO with some transmission problems that were difficult to identify. After speaking with Thomas, he assured me they would get to the bottom of it. They had to drive my car for a certain length of time to warm up the engine, and discovered that at a defined speed the transmission began to stutter.
Thomas’s (the manager) correspondence was more than adequate! He was extremely helpful and kept me informed throughout the entire process. I was lucky enough to purchase the extended warranty when I bought the vehicle, and Thomas fought for me in the negotiations. My contact with the insurance/​warranty broker was extremely limited. Thomas handled the entire matter. I am extremely happy with how this turned out.
My car was repaired within the time frame quoted.
Thanks again Thomas!!!
Awesome customer service!

Can’t review their service because after sitting in the waiting room for ten minutes while the clerk took 3 phone calls without even acknowledging me I left. Taking my business to one of the 50 other mechanics on convoy.

********** QUICK SUMMARY: ALL 5 STAR REVIEWS WERE BEFORE CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP WENT TO OSCAR O. **********
I was leaving O’Reilly’s (same parking lot) & my car started to idle erratic & the brakes were hard to push. I walked in & Oscar (owner/​manager) set me up with a ride back to work & said they will look at it & call me with a price. Oscar called & said I needed a vacuum hose & that the brake problem was related to the hose. I told him to go ahead with the work. After a few hours of not hearing from them, I placed a call & told him that I get off of work at 2:30pm. He said that I would have to wait around for a while until they were done «putting things back together», which was weird because it was just a hose and 2 clamps they replaced. Not wanting to wait around til they got around to it, I got a ride home & decided to wait until they called. The call never came. The next morning I called & Oscar said, «what ever happened to you» like called me. I explained to Oscar that I am going to be picking up on my lunch break & that I wanted to make sure the car was ready because I only have a ½ hr. He said that they need an additional ½ hr to «put it back together» again, which blows my mind! I waited the 30 min & then left up to pick up the car. When I arrived, the mechanic said that Oscar had left & that I would have to wait for him to come back to process the payment. I waited 5 min & he was still not back, so I pleaded with the mechanic to see if I could leave the CC numbers & they could run it when he got back. He called Oscar, but he said no & that he will be back shortly. 5 – 10 minutes later, Oscar comes back & processes the payment, but the printer would not work so he spent another 5 minutes trying to make that work. Having to get back in a hurry, I agree that I will get a receipt at a later time. I get into the car only to find the paper liner left in the car, which I appreciate that they use but, I expect them to clean up after themselves. I return to work, finish my day & run some errands around town. When I head home & get on the freeway, my car won’t engage 5^th gear, which is weird because I have 48k miles on my car and it should not have any transmission problems. That was after 5pm, so I wait until the following day (Saturday) to contact Oscar about the problem. He said to go ahead & bring it in so they can take a look. I tell him that I know they close early on the weekend and asked if he really has the time to look at because I could bring it on Monday. He said to go ahead and bring it in that day. I drive down & he unsuccessfully tries to put it in 5^th gear & tells me to bring it back on Monday because they are too busy to work on it today. Horrible service! This brings us to Monday (01÷26÷15) when I drop off the car. I dropped the car off at 8:30 am and he stated that they will call me with more info about the problem. 1:00 pm rolls around & still no call from them, so I call Oscar who said there is nothing wrong internally and that it is an external problem which would be $ 95 to start to diagnose it (which would be applied to the final bill). I told him that when I brought my car there, was no shifting problems and I believe they did something when they took apart my car (enough for them to have to «put it back together»). Oscar then gets very upset and says it was definitely not them and it is something that I did. I tell him that I am going to just pick up my car. I went in around 4:30 to pick up the car & requested that I get my receipts for visits. He tells me to sit down and that I am going to have to wait for them. After finally getting the copies and signing the invoice, I go to get in my car and find they left another paper liner! I open my door and slide it out onto the parking lot. That is when Oscar comes running out yelling profanities and telling me to never come back. Ironic that he leaves his trash in customers cars but gets irate when someone leaves his trash in his parking lot. I am then headed home and my phone rings with a blocked number that goes to my VM. When I listen to the voicemail, it is Oscar calling me an MFer, Ahole and other names. It cracked me up that he waited for me to drive off to then call & leave a vm. THE BEST PART OF THE STORY: After listening to Oscar’s voicemail, I got on the freeway to head home and guess what? MY CAR PERFECTLY ENGAGED 5TH GEAR! Whatever they did to check it, they must have «put it back together» right this time because it was like I never brought it in there. I like (not really) that he was going to charge me $ 95 to fix something that they had already fixed. What If I gave them the go ahead? They would have probably racked up a few hundred dollars to fix what wasn’t broken. MORAL OF THE STORY: Save your hard earned money and take it to someone who won’t break your car, blame it on you, then act like a manic.

Horrible horrible experience! The man we spoke with, I can’t remember his name, was extremely rude and confrontational. We had done a bit of research prior to bringing the car in, including hooking it up to a code-​reader. He looked at the car and said it needed a new transmission, which would cost $ 3300! We mentioned that the error codes read something about a solenoid and he retorted with, «How many years have you been running a car repair business?» We left here and took the car to our normal mechanic and were able to fix the car and remove the error messages for less than $ 200.

Great shop… got me in and out pretty quick. Trans service and safety check. Cheaper than dealer, parts shop right next store, decent place. I’ll be back.

These guys will do a complete Check Engine diagnostic test FOR FREE. I am giving them 5 stars so more people will not waste their money on those cash starved rip-​off joints that charge $ 100 to tell you what’s wrong with your car; I’m looking at you MIDAS. The people at this AAMCO are nice and seem like they have the best interest in you and your car. Sure they came up with a few issues my car has to make some money but it’s not like they were ridiculous claims. And the estimate on what they would have repaired if I wanted to fix it sounded pretty fair. Definitely worth your time to check this place out if you want to know exactly why your Check Engine light is on rather than an auto parts store just using their computer and giving you a code and walking away.

It is recently become under new ownership in the past couple weeks the just had their grand opening and they are determined to serve you and not make you feel like you got ripped off. Kate is very nice and down to earth and has great customer service skills. Oscar is nice and will be able to address any concerns you may have about your car and they get the work done in a timely manner. This shop is Veteran owned. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Alan at Convoy Aamco was very honest and fair.
Manual Trans was popping out of gear. Could be the linkage or something internal.
Fluid was very low and two grommets needed replacing. He said we’ll start there and see if that fixes the problem which it did! All for $ 216.

my husband (who is not a Unilocaler) asked me to write this review for him. he has a 1985 el camino. he had a new transmission installed at the aamco on miramar rd ¹¹⁄₂₀₁₂. about 3 weeks ago it started slipping, so he took it back to aamco, but the business had shut down. he thankfully had purchased a warranty (which he couldn’t find the paperwork for) so he took the car to the aamco on convoy. they told him to bring a copy of his bank statement that showed where he paid $ 2500 for the transmission, and they would repair the transmission at no charge, which they did.

My vehicle, a mid 80s Ford Tempo Automatic transmission, suddenly stopped shifting out of 1^st gear. I asked around and was told it would cost at least $ 1200 — $ 3000 for repair or replacement of tranny. I took it to the closest AAMCO which is about 2 – 3 miles. Arnold, the manager, first gave me a quote of $ 60 & part $ 15. $ 75 worst case scenario, it was a loose. The mechanic discovered he only had to replace small gaskets and since the parts actually cost less than $ 6.00, and he worked on it for about 15 – 20 minutes, the manager decided to charge me NOTHING. I went from worrying about where I’d find $ 1200-​$ 3000 and missing work, to driving away with it completely repaired for FREE!
Very honest and excellent work! I’m going back tomorrow with a cash tip!