AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Reviews 6

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Wade Curtis

Edit: Doug, the owner of Aamco reached out after receiving my negative review. He offered to decrease the labour cost and gave me a partial refund. It was great to have someone stand behind their business and the services they offer. I went to AAMCO after buying a used vehicle for a rough idle/intermittent stalling issue that was throwing a code to do with the Powertrain Control Module. Vic made it sound like it would be an easy fix, is very friendly and helpful so I left my truck with them to do their job. I received a few calls from Vic letting me know they werent sure what the problem was and I said I trusted them to figure it out and get it fixed. We agreed to let them put an engine flush agent in, run it at high idle for 30-40min and hopefully that would clear up an issue of what he considered to be an engine that wasnt maintained properly. I went to pick up the truck, still undiagnosed to what exactly the problem actually was, and in the same condition throwing the same code as when I brought it to them. Vic gave me the print out of the information they had found on the internet to do with the truck, and a bill for $307. I told Vic that seemed like quite a lot of money to pay for a fancy oil change and his mechanic shooting in the dark with no idea what was wrong. As a contractor I know how important it is to realize when Im in over my head and when to call in a specialized trade that has experience with whatever it is I cant figure out. Instead of accepting that they could not diagnose or fix the issue they put in over an hour and a half of labour and turned a profit. There is a point when, as a professional, you need to admit youre in over your head and not keep billing your excessive hourly wage at the cost of your customer. AAMCO seems to have been too proud to admit defeat and instead made a profit from their inexperience and/or lack of knowledge of my vehicle.

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Chi-On Leung

Had my car in there a few times. First time I wanted transmission fluid changed, they checked it out and told me a bunch of stuff needed to be done on the car...I cant remember what exactly had to be done but I ended up paying >$700 for the service. I thought they had done a good job being that they found all these problems I had no idea about. After I had paid, one of the guys told me that my brakes were at about 60-80% and would likely have to be changed in a year. A few months later I went in because my front tires were squealing. The guy now tells me that the car is unsafe to drive because my front and rear brakes were so low that they had to be changed right away. They quoted me a ridiculous price (I called several other shops that quoted me a couple hundred dollars less). I was desperate as I was about to go on a road trip, so got the front brakes done and left the back ones (front brakes are more important anyways). 6 months later, I got a new job so decided to get a new vehicle and sell my old one. The people who bought it took it to a different mechanic for an inspection. I had told them that the back brakes would like need to be replaced. They came back and made me an offer on my car because their mechanic said everything was fine on the car INCLUDING the back brakes!!! AAMCO lied straight to my face...end of story

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Raj Saha

I took in my car to have the brakes looked at. I was told that the drum wouldnt come off and that it was messed up. The front desk person refused to give me a quote for the possible repairs and kept repeating the same phrases. I decided to not let them do any of the repairs because I had just gotten new brakes a year back. After I got back the car, the brake pedal went straight to the floor! At the time of dropping the car off the brakes were working okay. Now they were not. When I called back to ask what they had done that could possibly have made the brakes stop working altogether, the front desk man again avoided answering my question. Basically he admitted that the process of diagnosing the brakes screwed it up further. He even went on to say "we forgot to tell you something..." and then never said what it actually was. I ended the conversation when he started saying "What did you want us to do?" and "It is irrational to drive in a vehicle like that". Thanks! That was helpful! Rudest service, possibly dishonest, huge mistake.

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Andrea Pungoti

Well, speaking for myself and my family, we have been going to AAMCO for about 11 years now, with about 6 different cars over the years, and we have never had a bad experience. We have found Doug and his staff to be very friendly, approachable (in that they always seem to go to lengths in explaining what has to be done, why, and what are the possible option alternatives). Although we are cost conscious, we are more value conscious, and have always found that their services have always seemed reasonable and fair. One possible complaint would be that we cannot always get one of our cars in there for service on a whim, because they seem to be always so busy. I suppose that is mute testimony that our views of them as a service company are also held by a lot of others. As busy as they are, they seem to manage to wedge our auto needs to the best of their abilities. I must admit that one of my sons had gone to another auto shop for a hurried service, and came away most unimpressed. I told him that he should have waited to go to Aamco.

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Joseph B

They seemed to do decent work, replacing my water pump and timing belt. Now, just over a year later, it appears I have a leak in my front crankshaft gasket that could have been easily replaced while they were doing those services. Instead of them asking me to shell out $20 to replace a gasket, I need to pay for at least 5 hours of mechanic labour to replace the gasket, plus replace the timing belt if there is any oil on it (likely). They did the work as was required, but if I had known more about the repairs, or if they had cared at all to tell me what other work could have been helpful, my vehicle wouldnt be gushing oil. My own ignorance is a definite factor, but if you want mechanics that not only fix your vehicle, but advise you on how to keep it operating in the future, I suggest you go somewhere else.

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Bob Stranks

For over 10 years I have been getting my Jeep repaired at my regular mechanic. I decided to try Aamco to have a complete brake job, exhaust change, and other maintenance done. Aamco Kitsilano was great. They completed my brakes on the same day and did a fantastic job. I cant believe how smooth my jeep works now. My 17 year old jeep feels like it is new again. They were diligent and quick at troubleshooting the items I needed to repair. It was a pleasure to work with Doug, Vic, and the mechanics at Aamco. Their service was fantastic and prices were very reasonable. They are conscientious about your needs, but not because they need to try, just simply because they truly care. A visit to Aamco just to see how it should be done is worth the time, even if you are just checking things out.

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