ComplaintsforAAMCO Transmission & Total Car Care of Overland Park

• Initial Complaint

  03/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Problem with business. Took advantage of my elderly father. Over charged on repairs done & repairs that weren’t needed to be done at all! Have tried contacting and going to the business in question. Only to have concerns downplayed and made to me the fool. Let a review only to be belittled and made a fool of

  Business response

  04/05/2024

  I would first like to point out that the customer, *** *****, was billed for $3431.47, which includes tax. I have included a copy of the invoice so you can see the amount that was paid, and how much work was done. The customer, *** *****, came into my store originally back in November and dealt with my General Manager ****. We checked out his car and my general manager **** wrote up his estimate, just like every customer who comes in. A few days after that, my GM, **** was hospitalized for several week. I personally took over the day to day operations of the shop in ****'s absence. I called Mr. Woods and went over the original estimate with him. At the time I remembered talking with him from previous visits. He sounded very lucid, and highly cognitive, as in the other times I had spoken with him. At first he didn't want to do all of the work. He said that he might just do the brakes himself, but if I could help him out, he might consider getting the rest done. He asked me to send him the estimate by email so he could look it over & call me back.

  Before I sent the estimate over to him I reviewed it myself. I found a couple of jobs that had overlapping labor, so I made adjustment, gave him a previous customer discount and emailed it to him the way it is written today. I waited a few days and called him back the following Monday. There was no answer, so I left a voice message and asked him to call me back about his car. I probably called him 3 or 4 more times, leaving messages each time and no return call. About 2 to 3 weeks later, well into December now I received a call from a woman claiming to be ***** daughter. She informed us that her dad had been hospitalized, and she told me after she talks to him that she would get back with me. We went over the invoice, and she said she would let me know.

  Several weeks went by, but on Jan 10th of this year, *** called and spoke to my GM **** and told us to do the all of the work as the estimate was written, and that his daughter would call us about payment arrangements. The following day she called us to tells us to do the work also, but that it would take her 6 to 8 weeks to pay it off. We completed all of the repairs and called her back and told her it was ready. She made her first payment on Jan. 31st, 2024. She made the final payment on March 1st, 2024 and asked us to leave the keys in the car so that her younger bother could pick it up after hours. 

  Two weeks after delivery, a younger man came in with ***** car claiming to be his son ******. It was raining that day, but he came in complaining that the car was driving terribly and that we didn't fix it right. My technician went for a ride in the car and after inspecting the car he informed my manager and ****** that all of the repairs were good, but with 4 badly worn, almost bald tires that the car had no grip on the road in the rain. We don't sell or mount tire at my repair shop. We just don't do tires. My technician showed ****** the tires and told him that if he gets those replaced that the car would drive much better. My technician remembers ****** wasn't too happy about it, but he then asked my tech about a rear tail light not working. It was raining pretty good, and we didn't have an open bay at the time, so my manager asked if he could set an appointment the following week to return for us to look at his rear tail light. We never saw or heard from him again until he wrote a bad review on our Google review page. I responded to his review in a much shorter version of what I've written here. 

  In direct response to his complaints. 

  1) We took advantage of his elderly father. I don't know *** personally, but I have met and talked to him before. I don't know what his current condition is, but like I said above, his dad always seemed  Alert, smart, and completely cognitive to me and my GM ****. Remember, he bargained for the discount. His daughter seemed involved, and she confirmed his confirmation to do the repair. I resent the idea that we took advantage of his father. *** is nobody's fool. 

  2) His father was overcharged. He was not overcharged for any repair, and I can assure you that our prices for any repair are in line with any other shop in the area. Remember, we never spoke to ****** until he returned weeks after the repairs were done. 

  3) We did work that didn't need to be done. Again, we never spoke to ****** until he returned weeks after the repairs were done, so how would know whether the work needed to be done. *** knew that there were issues with the car, that's why he brought it in. He knew the brakes were bad, he knew that something was w***g with the f***t end, and he knew the engine light was on, and that the car was running rough, but he didn't know why. We're a good reputable shop, and everything on the invoice is related to ***** complaints and the conditions anyone could have felt before the repairs were done. If *** had taken his car to any other reputable shop, they would have made the same recommendations.  

  4) Have tried contacting and going to the business in question. Only to have concerns downplayed and made to me the fool. To my knowledge, ****** has returned only once. He might not have liked our response, but I have listened to the recordings and no one was disrespectful of ******. He was asked to make an appointment the following week to address any concerns. He is welcome to make an appointment so that we can address his concerns any time to recheck any of our work. We stand behind our warranty. 

  5) Let a review only to be belittled and made a fool of. I only responded to him as an owner of a shop that I have great pride in. ****** may drive the car everyday now, I don't know, but I know he wasn't our customer, his father was. His father was never taken advantage of, his sister wasn't either, and I resent the implication. That's all I said. I didn't accuse him of anything, or tell him I wouldn't look at the car again. I actually think I told him that he was welcome back. If ****** wants to bring it back, the car still has just over 10 months warranty on the repairs we performed. Tell him to call and ask to speak to ****. My GM will make sure we check it out and show him what we did. If we did something w***g, we'll stand behind our work. 

  Customer response

  04/07/2024

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

• Initial Complaint

  01/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My car was at AAMCO for transmission.After there no one ever called me.It was towed on 12/7/21 was told it would be done 12/23 called to check was told parts were not available no one called to update.Called 12/21 and told they did not have the part.I would have to rent a car.I called on 12/28 no one has called me, the parts came in yesterday, would have it done.12/31 I receive a call that car is complete, more issues need to fix tie rod and alignment it's $250 not drivable,they ask if I hit a curb my driver side tire was leaking. I explain to fix the issue I hadn't hit anything.Wouldn't they have seen it in 24 days?Complete financing on AAMCO for remaining after I paid $1500.Guy asked for PIN said everything ready for me because boss said they could leave early.I got there and didn't review anything handed me paperwork from AAMCO and was done.I look through paperwork and cost is higher.he says oh I wrote it wrong but it's correct.I ask about financing says you'll get an email.He signed all documents in my name without me looking at information He agreed to payments without even discussing anything.Contact ******** ***** ******* and they state agreement was signed.They charge 144%int over 52 months with $6k in interest for a $2906.56 job remaining.The employee shouldn't have signed the agreement in my name.It was a bait and switch got me there and I had no choice if I wanted my car.Took car to ******** for tire fixed.They give me the print out that the car needs alignment.Call AAMCO they state the alignment isn't under warranty they don't do alignment it's taken to another shop. He stated no warranty paperwork says 90 day warranty. He says oh well bring it in on Monday,a week later.I dont want to deal with AAMCO any longer. I can't trust that they are telling me the truth or anything. The car is shifting hard again.I would like a refund to take my car elsewhere.I spent a lot of money, including missed time from work, rental car, and now interest.

  Customer response

  02/15/2022

  I wanted to provide you a follow up.  I did hear from AAMCO and they wanted me to bring the car back into the shop.  I really didn't feel comfortable since they had already had it for a month. Fast forward to this past weekend and now it's dead with issues again and it's in Columbia MO, so I was stranded out there after paying $4400 to AAMCO to fix my car.  I have no idea what it's going to cost now.  I don't have a corporate number to speak with someone at AAMCO and the manager is short and rude and basically called me a liar.  He told me that they don't sign loans for people and I explained to him to check the video.  I was in and out in two min and had no idea of anything.  The front desk asked me for all the information and signed my loan on my behalf. At this point I would like for them to refund the so that I can get it fixed properly. Do you happened to have a contact number to the main office? Or can you offer any advice?
  
  Thanks so much and I appreciate all your help. 

  Business response

  02/23/2022

  In Response to complaint, ID# ******** my company will not refund ******** *****’s money at this
  time for the following reasons. I’ll respond in the order of her complaints.
  
  Initially, we weren’t as good as I would have liked to have been in updating ******** while her car was in
  our shop.
  I had a new manager at the time and between training and miscommunication on our part we didn’t
  update ******** as well I as I would prefer. At the time we were also experiencing supply chain issues for
  new parts to remanufacture her transmission. In the end completing the repairs delayed delivering her
  car by one week.
  When ******** originally contacted us, she had already been told the car’s transmission was bad. She
  told us that the car would need to be towed in because the car wouldn’t move. After getting the car
  towed in, we performed our Free Vehicle Courtesy Check (VCC) and immediate realized the car couldn’t
  be driven, and the problem was a transmission failure that she was told about and that she approved
  repairs for. After the remanufactured transmission was reinstalled, we took it on a mandatory road test.
  Considering this was the first time we were actually able to drive the car we were surprised that it was
  pulling so badly. We did a further inspection of the car and found a bent inner tie rod end. We cannot
  know how it was bent for certain, but we know it was not from direct contact such as hitting an object in
  the road because there were no marks anywhere on any of the car’s undercarriage or steering
  components. The passenger side tire did have a pretty sizable gouge in the outer wall of the tire, even
  though the tire was holding air. The only thing I can be certain of is that what ever happened to the tire
  and tie rod, it didn’t happen here. The car was dropped off by the tow truck and wouldn’t move. We
  pushed it into the shop and it was on a lift the entire time it was here until the repairs were completed.
  It was only on the road test that the technician noticed how bad the car was pulling that we brought it
  back in to inspect to find the damage to the passenger side inner tie rod. Once we found the damage,
  we created an estimate for the parts and labor to replace the inner tie rod and align the car. After
  explaining the issue and the cost of repairs to ********, she approved the service. Once the tie rod was
  repaired the car was test driven, it operated properly. We then contacted ******** and told her that her
  car was ready for pick up.
  As far as the financing goes, I don’t really know what to say about this. ******** got the financing
  approved herself through one of 2 company’s we make available for our customers as suggestions on
  our web site. They are only suggestions. AAMCO has no say in the terms or rates of any company we
  suggest for customers. Any customer is free to use any finance company of their choosing. We cannot
  be held responsible for whether or not a customer reads or doesn’t read the terms of financing prior to
  use.
  
  As for the financing company’s on our site, one is a lower rate, but requires a higher credit score. The
  other is a higher rate, but has a lower credit score requirement. We do not have any say in which
  finance company a customer chooses, or if they qualify for one card or another. I would also state that
  we would take payment from any finance company a customer wants to use as long as it is cleared by us
  prior to delivery for us to screen for operator fees. The bottom line is, we don’t Bait & Switching anyone.
  Frankly I don’t care how a customer pays when their car is ready for delivery, Cash, Credit Cards of their
  choosing or any finance company of their choosing as long as we are paid for services rendered and due
  at the time of delivery. The ironic thing is that the finance company she used still has time left on the
  “same as cash” no finance charges. ******** has been free to secure financing from any company she
  chooses to pay off the company she used without any interest ever being paid.
  The signature at delivery is for our records only. Once a customer comes to take delivery, we tell the
  finance company that the customer is requesting use of the credit. The finance company then sends an
  electronic pin number to the customer’s phone. They don’t send the pin to my company; they send it to
  the customer and the customer gives the pin to us to act as an electronic signature. We can only enter
  that number into a web portal if the customer provides it. Only Once the Customer Provided Pin
  Number is entered can the financing be initiated. The pin number is the signature.
  The alignment was going to be recommended no matter where ******** got the new tire from. Tire
  shops will always recommend an alignment any time they sell you a new tire. It doesn’t mean it needed
  it, but if she wanted to be certain about the alignment, we could have gotten that checked at no charge.
  My manager told her she could bring it back at her convenience, but it was ******** who requested the
  following Monday. My manager was only trying to accommodate her. However, she did not come in and
  we didn’t hear about it until later that week from AAMCO Corporate. I told them everything I just shared
  here and told them she is welcome back for us to check her car over for any complaint. However,
  AAMCO told us she didn’t want to come back to this AAMCO location and that she wanted another
  AAMCO to look at it. I made arrangement with AAMCO Corporate and the shop in Lee’s Summit, MO to
  call her so they could check it out.
  The manager **** called ******** and he said the conversation was pleasant and she made an
  appointment for the following Monday. Unfortunately, she didn’t show up for that appoint either.
  I asked **** to try calling her back to see if another time was better. ******** didn’t answer, **** left a
  voice mail, and ******** never called back. I asked **** to try again on 2 days later on that Wednesday,
  and same result. ******** didn’t answer, **** left a voice mail, and ******** never called back.
  Look, I believe we run a good honest shop here, and I believe we do good honest reliable work. On
  occasion a customer disagrees, but I can’t remember a time that a customer didn’t give us the
  opportunity to make it right. If a customer won’t bring their car back in, how are we supposed to
  address a complaint. The repairs made to ********’s car are still under warranty and if she has a
  problem, she is still welcome to bring the car back in. However, if she refuses to bring her car back to
  the Original Center, or the AAMCO in Lee’s Summit, MO, then I won’t be giving any refunds.
  
  Sincerely, *** ******
  Owner, AAMCO of Overland Park, KS

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