AAMCO Walnut Creek

I came in with what I thought was a catastrophic transmission failure; my Mercedes would not get out of second gear. A man who identified himself as the «owner» spoke with me and had an Aamco mechanic look at my car. After the mechanic had a look at the car, he told me that my transmission «immediately» had to be replaced, which could be done for a mere $ 4,500 (his best deal, for a used transmission, in light of the fact that I was a «student at Berkeley» where his son also allegedly graduated from). When I said I would need to look into whether the deal was fair and began to walk away, the owner tried to sell me a 20 year old green-​purple Ford that looked like it was about to fall apart. No thanks.
I decided to take the car to a local Mercedes specialist. It turned out that it was an electronic glitch that he was able to fix in 15 minutes, for free. 40,000 mi later my transmission has been running great; no problems whatsoever.
Long story short, the owner and the mechanic I dealt with here are either inept or dishonest. Get a second opinion and don’t bother coming in if you have a nice car because they will try to take advantage of you.

It’s so hard to find good car repair places, but this is a place I’ve been able to trust. I have been a regular here for years as I’m still driving my 1996 Toyota 4Runner. They’ve been reasonable, fair, and dependable. Whenever I need car repairs or an opinion, I check with them first.

I brought my ’94 Chevy blazer to AAMCO Walnut Creek a hand full of times for general car repair and one time for a rebuilt transmission. I am glad I did. I have brought back my other cars because of my continued positive experience here. The work was excellent so I have recommended this shop to multiple friends who had work done, one friend got a rebuilt transmission for his an Audi s4 and was extremely satisfied. Derek and Whitety have provide a world class customer experience for me from the start, and I would recommend taking your car to them for any car problems.

hmm. We will see if Derek makes good. We brought in our BMW, had $ 900 worth of transmission repairs. Driving off, our car made horrible, scary noises. Called when we got home and they said, oh ya, we should have repaired or told you about that, sorry bring it back. (ugh) It was dangerous to drive! Brackets in the undercarriage were cracked (maybe while it was hoisted ?) It has never made those noises before. At this time, they are refusing to fix! It was fine before we took it in! Told us to take to our insurance and have it fixed… not! Fighting this one out of principle, and repair. So sad, I like to write positive reviews. :(

Very friendly. Brought my Jeep in for the pesky check engine light. Had thermostat replaced same day, even replaced a fog light which was out. Very happy with everyone down at AAMCO WC and would go back again when needed.

My car had been sounding like I had raccoon digging through a box of empty cans under my hood for a few months and I had been dreading taking it anywhere. I finally decided to take it in and I found AAMCO on Unilocal.
I drove up from San Ramon because the reviews were so great. I’m SO GLAD I did. Steve and Whitey were so nice and helpful. I was a little early and they took my car in right away and got to solving the issue. About 45 minutes later Whitey came in to tell me the damage and how long it would take. They offered to give me ride back to San Ramon since my car wouldn’t be done until 5-​ish, however, I decided to just rent a car from Hertz for the day.
Everyone was incredibly friendly and polite. While I was there waiting a deaf customer came in and was writing on a note pad to communicate with Whitey, he was very patient and helpful. A few minutes later, Steve came in and started to use sign language to communicate with the customer. The customer looked so surprised and grateful. I’m a giant cry baby with touching moments and teared up a bit because it was so sweet.
My car is also running great! Sounds brand new! I also feel that the price was fair.

The absolute best service around!!! I brought my car in because it was making a few bizarre noises. Ray immediately took my car for a test drive, and brought it back to make a few adjustments. While I waited Whitey and Derek kept me company while they worked. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. If you haven’t taken your car here you should!!! Thanks guys!

AAAMCO is wonderful! Derek knows my name personally, even after having not seen him since my last repair a year ago! My whole family comes here to get our cars fixed… won’t take our cars anywhere else. The whole crew is so friendly, and they will not take advantage of you like other shops. They will refer you to a specialist if they are not certain they can fix the problem (as they are not a specialty car repair shop). They referred me (and my VW Jetta) to a specialty German shop, and Derek even stayed in contact with them to make sure I received fair pricing, and to learn for future VWs that are brought in. They are honest, hardworking and trustworthy! Thank you, AAAMCO WC.

I chose AAMCO of Walnut Creek because because of their AAA recommendation and was not disappointed.
Sevice was great and staff, courteous and friendly.

Once I posted my last review, Derek called me, he thanked me for my review and apologized. On top of that he offered to replace the drive belt and air filter on my fiancé’s car as well as rotate the tires. To me, he and his crew have gone above and beyond what was expected to earn and keep my business. I understand sometimes things happen unintentionally; and I truly believe everybody deserves a second chance. I am truly impressed with their professionalism, candor, and integrity. I absolutely have seen first hand how they earned the 5-​star ratings that they have received here on Unilocal; and I am very happy to update my review and increase the rating to 5 stars. Thank you Derek and your crew. I will definitely let people know about you and send them your way.

I would recommend AAMCO in Walnut Creek because of their integrity and honest service. I requested a brake inspection on my 1998 Camry in order to confirm that the brakes were OK, and also to look at the check engine light that was on. They did a multi-​point inspection of the brakes, diagnosed the check engine light and also did a vehicle check of the other components. They did all those inspections free of charge. The vehicle check revealed a list of areas in need of repair, such as leaks in the oil pan gasket and the transmission pan gasket.
Since I’m only driving the car about 100 miles a week, and plan to keep it perhaps a couple of years more (it has 231,000 miles), I will prioritize the worn out things found in the vehicle check and will decide which ones to fix.
I certainly will be taking my old but reliable Camry to AAMCO for the next oil change and also to schedule some repairs. The staff who work there are friendly, and they even have a transmission sitting on the floor of the office that you can inspect.
(By the way, I wanted to get the brakes inspected by AAMCO because the other car repair place where I had been taking my car did not do a good job on the brakes and I had to take my car back to get the brakes redone. That’s why I wanted to get an opinion from AAMCO and have them confirm that the brakes were OK.)

Derek & his team are honest and work to provide the best value for your car. We had a car that had reached the end of its useful life. Instead of trying to sell us on repairs that would have briefly extended the life of the car, Derek recommended that we invest in a newer vehicle.
Great customer service!

A breath of fresh air when it comes to auto service and repair. Much appreciated.

Aamco walnut creek is by far the best total car service shop I’ve ever been too. Whitey is my personal favorite. I’ve been going to him religiously for my full car services since he owned his own shop in 2005. When he joined Aamco, I happily followed. And everyone at Aamco has kept me satisfied with the same high quality of service, expertise and affordability. They’ve always performed top quality service with great accuracy and timing. I love this place and I refer everyone I know to them.

Derek and Whitey are the best there is, especially if you have older cars. They’ve successfully diagnosed and repaired any issues we’ve had with our Jeep Cherokee. After you’ve been there a couple of times Derek will know who you are. They are honest and always try to figure out how to get you the best bang for your buck.
However, they are a small and very popular shop so repairs may take 2 – 3 days depending on how busy they are. But they don’t mind me calling and checking on the status of a repair. To make your service/​repair go as quickly as possible, leave the car with them early in the morning and call a day in advance.
I cannot recommend Aamco Walnut Creek enough!!! I now have them do all my oil changes and routine maintenance, as opposed to the Jeep dealership in Walnut Creek which never fails to disappoint.

I can not recommend this place enough.
Derek and Whitey are some of the nicest people to work with — difficult to find in the car mechanic industry.
From the moment I arrived to have my truck looked at I felt like I was a member of their family. They were both extremely helpful explaining what was wrong with my truck and why certain repairs were recommended. I never had to call to check on my truck either, they were in continuous communication with me, which is always appreciated when your car is in the shop.
They really went above and beyond for me, letting me borrow a loaner car that would work for my unique business needs — I mean wow!
I couldn’t ask for a better team of mechanics.

Spoke with Derek on the phone… my Malfunction Indicator Light was on… he let me come by, checked the codes for free, let me know it looked like minor stuff, cleared the codes, and then told me I was still under a bumper to bumper warranty, so if the light comes back on, take it in before 36K miles… I was in and out in 10 minutes with awesome service!
I wish everyone worked like these guys!

I stopped here today because my check engine light came on. I don’t live in walnut creek so this was the first place that came up on Unilocal.And let me tell you it was a blessing it did! They checked the problem code on my car then gave me some great advice and didn’t charge me a dime! I’m so thankful! Everyone in the office was very helpful and so kind!

Where do I begin? I would give these guys 6 stars if I could.
They’ve been taking my car for over 5 years, and I’ve never encountered a better set of mechanics. Not only are they incredibly sharp and know cars like the back of their hand — they are friendly and honest! The following is just a few ways they’ve helped me out over the years.
— My airbag light popped on, so when I took it in for an oil change, I asked them to check it out. They correctly diagnosed it as a problem with the seatbelt sensor and recommended I take it to the dealership, since they figured it would be covered by a lifetime safety warranty. They were right! The dealership did the repair for free. If they’d been less than honest, AAMCO could have charged me hundreds for the repair, but they were looking out for my best interests.
— I messed up my car pretty badly when I hurt a curb. They took a careful look at it and recommended that I talk to an underbelly specialist to make sure I got the right diagnosis and repair. When I asked them how much I owed them for their time, they told me not to worry about it… that I’d been a loyal customer for many years and they just wanted to see me get back on my feet.
— When I had some body damage to my car, they recommended an excellent body shop that performed some repairs for significantly less than I would have paid elsewhere.
Honestly, that just scratches the surface. They’ve also offered great advice on car maintenance, my best strategy for buying a used car, and how to stretch my dollar when performing repairs. I had a shop closer to work do my oil changes before and that other shop recommended a number of flushes, some of which were not necessary. AAMCO Walnut Creek made sure I only spent the money I needed to spend, and they offered a better rate than the other place. I drive all the way from Oakland because I trust them to take care of my car.

No exaggeration. These folks are the friendliest, most helpful and competent of all the auto service shops I have EVER encountered in my entire life. Other auto service shops need to some see Whitey and his crew to observe what outstanding customer service looks and feels like.
Oil change was the order of the day, that and a new air filter later, I was happily on my way.