AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Talking to the man at the counter made me feel stupid. I got preventative maintenance done on my VW Transmission. Approximately two and a half hours later (I stayed in the waiting room the whole time) another employee brings my keys in and puts them on the managers desk. He doesn’t tell me anything so I assume they aren’t done on my vehicle. I sat there for another 15 minutes before I got up and asked if it was about ready. THEN is when he actually treated me like a person and was polite to me, he was just kissing my ass so I wouldn’t write a bad review I bet… Anyways he told me «sorry I thought you’d gone walking» oh okay you thought I left and you didn’t call me to tell me my car was ready!!! It’s not like he didn’t ask my phone number. Grrrrrr. I will still take my vehicles to AAMCO in the future but hopefully I won’t have to deal with that butthole.

An update for those that were unfortunate enough to read through the whole review. I took the vehicle to another mechanic and they found that transmission problem was indeed caused by a failure to reassemble the transmission correctly. To quote my other mechanic «transfer case cable was misrouted because of this cable would move in direction it shouldn’t. Also missing grommet at transfer case ends and causing a thumping noise. Cable was removed re-​routed the correct way and the noise is gone». This cost me $ 170 to have fixed. Again, steer clear of AAMCO on Burnet.

I have taken two different cars for three different problems to Aamco on Burnet road. The first was a Hyundai Santa Fe that needed an alternator and oil leak fixed. First we took it to the dealership to get a quote for the repair work. Jose quoted me several hundred dollars less than what the dealer was asking and fixed the car. No problems after the repair. The next vehicle was my Tacoma truck with 100K on it. The A/​C was not blowing well. He diagnosed the problem as a leaking hose. Understandable, since I use my truck for work and probably have the equivalent of 150K just from sitting at site with the engine running. He showed me the hose and where the leak was when I picked it up. Still cheaper than the dealer quote. Blows cold now. The last time it was in the shop, my truck had a bad vibration in the front end. Being a man that has worked on trucks before, I just didn’t want to mess with it so I took it over to Aamco. They diagnosed it as a bad wheel bearing. (I was in the shop watching so I saw first hand) Got a quote of around 400. Got a call a day later saying that the repair was going to be more expensive because they could not get the bearing off of the spindle. (It was seized) The job was now 800 because of the added parts. After picking up my truck, I could not help but think the repair was inflated. So, I went to Charles Maund Toyota to check on the parts and ask my normal service adviser about the repair. He quoted me about 1200 for the repair and I got a quote for parts cost at the parts counter. (feeling better now about the price) When I got home, I did some online research about the issue and found out that most of the time when it comes to bearings, you need to replace all the parts. Jose did give me a low ball price in the beginning but that was if he could save the spindle.(no fault to him) The final price was well below what the dealer was going to charge me. By the way, I asked for my parts back and they came in a box from Charles Maund with the part number on the box! Dealer only parts. My truck now runs quiet and smooth. I have to say, I tried to bust them but got busted trying. (I tried hard because I didn’t want to believe it) They are cheaper than the dealer. You may find a cheaper shop in town, but are they going to do a good job on your vehicle and warranty it?!? Having friends do the work at a discounted price should not reflect the work that repair shops provide. These people go to school and are certified in the car repair business. Your cousin «Jimmy» is not. Boo for the bad reviews. I have not had a problem with both of my vehicles since taking them to Aamco. Word to the wise. Do some research and understand the problem at hand before ripping someone in the repair business. Even I understand that time is money and NOTHING is for free. The added cost for my repair was the use of machinery and time I do not have and could not afford. (A big ass press and a missed day at work) All of the repairs that I have had have been priced out and have been well within reason. I will continue to use Aamco and Jose for all my auto repairs. P. S. For the person complaining about him sitting at his desk, He is the manager! That is is his job. Would you like to wait for ten minutes while he climbs out from under a car and washes up just to see what you want?!
Hope this review has helped in some way.

I just went in to check what was wrong with my EGR Valve and they said the test would cost $ 89.99 just to check. I came to a different shop to see the difference and guess what the other mechanics said they wouldn’t charge me a dollar to check what was wrong with it. I do not recommend this place at all.

I had my car towed here to have it checked out because it overheated and died. I only wanted to know what the issues were and I figured unless it was a cheap fix i would rather have a mechanic I know fix it.
The basic principal of this shop is eyeball it, poke around with my fingers, maybe do a compression test, but refuse to thoroughly investigate everything that could be wrong because you don’t want to take anything apart. So basically I paid $ 90 to them to eyeball something the other mechanic could have done. I also could have taken it to another shop who would have taken the parts off and sent them to be tested all for free. (aka Drake transmission on manor road.)
Jose was at first polite and courteous when I had the car towed in. I get his estimates and checked parts prices, (which he upped by a little over a $ 1000.) I apparently look as dumb as a rock, because when I asked if he checked this part or that part on the car he was condescending in his answers, basically saying that they wouldn’t know till they started the work.
I fail to see why I should pay $ 90 for a service I could have gotten free (if only I hadn’t followed a friends suggestion without researching first) and when the issue was not thoroughly looked into. I.e. they told me my timing chain had to be replaced… did they actually verify that by looking at it? No. And I’m supposed to trust your word. What would have happened if I said to go ahead with the work and I didn’t need it? They would have changed it anyway.
Long grumble short: If you are a woman expect to be treated as if you know nothing and can be easily duped, if you are a man I’m sure they treat you with more respect. This is the type of shop that will most likely always find new problems that have to be fixed after giving you an estimate and told you what they «thought» your only problem was.
Buy your own parts and bring a man. Also you may want a second opinion. I’ve heard this shop does good work, but if I’m paying you an exorbitant fee you had better be more thorough. And don’t get it twisted Jose, if I don’t like your prices and your gods gift to earth attitude this girl is gonna take the show on the road. I’m just sorry I came to you first. What a waste of money and time.
You get one star for telling me the issue, but not being thorough. And one more star because my friends have nice things today about your work, and your labor price was in line with others. But I don’t trust your opinion that it all actually needs to be done.
End grumblings.
*update– I took it to another shop that I’ve had dealings with before, and for $ 0 to me they pulled off my heads tested them, compression tested the engine, checked it out thoroughly and discovered that I would have to install a new engine vecause of the severe damage. Not what i wanted to hear, but at least they were honest and thorough. Thanks to Drake’s transmissions on manor and airport!*

That dreaded «check engine» dummy light came on right before the inspection expiration date. A friend did a diagnostic with the hope of a quick simple cheap fix (like the gas cap) but no such luck. We checked out the BBB and here on Unilocal.My husband and I decided lets go with double AA M C O for several reasons and just not because of the catchy commercial phrase. We dropped off our Mercury vehicle on a Saturday at 9 AM. and we picked it up around 12 noon the same day. We did not disclose to them what we already knew. SURPRISE they fixed what needed to be fixed and charged us fairly for parts and labor. We have had no issues since the repair with the dummy light. We will be returning customers… let’s hope no time soon though. We did let my husband handle it all after reading reviews of females so thanks other Unilocalers!

I was learning how to change the spark plugs in my car when disaster struck and I cracked a spark plug off in the engine block. I called Aamco and they told me they could drill it out for $ 94, just one hour’s worth of labor. I was surprised at how cheap that was. I took it over to them, showed them the broken spark plug missing its metal sleeve and they said, «Don’t worry, we can drill it out.» Yeah right. The next morning they called me and said, «We didn’t realize it was the metal sleeve in your engine block. We’re going to have to remove the cylinder head in order to tap it out. It’s going to cost you $ 1600 and take about 5 days.» $ 1600!!! I almost had a heart attack. I told them to hold off, that I was going to call around because I simply could not afford to pay that much. I found a good place (check my 5 star review on it) and towed it over there. The guy at Aamco asked me where I was taking it, and then proceeded to talk trash about them. He told me, «Just so you know, that place is infamous for under quoting just to get you in the door. There’s no way this job can be done for less than $ 1600. But will you please call me and let me know what price they give you?» I was a little upset about him telling me this because I felt like Aamco was the one that under quoted me simply to get me in there. I mean, from $ 94 to $ 1600??! And I had told him EXACTLY what the problem was. So the other place was able to drill out the spark plug in one hour, without removing the cylinder head, and they charged me just over $ 200. I called Aamco, like he’d asked me to, and said, «One hour, they didn’t remove the cylinder head, and it was $ 228.» The guy said, «Oh, I’m happy for you. Thanks for calling.» Yeah right. Sorry buddy, you just lost me business and my friends’ and family’s business forever. Don’t ever go to Aamco, they are hardcore scammers.

So my boyfriend, who is the guy who does most of his own car maintanence goes with me to AAMCO because my car is a little newer than his and he doesn’t have all the tools to get into the stuff that my car has. So my car was making a thumping noise on the right hand drivers side and I did my own research on the net and from what he figured it was the bearing that was out of whack, we took the car to AAMCO and I watched through the window as the guys were checking it out. They put the car on the lift, they spun the tires and used a stethescope for some odd reason I don’t know, but they didn’t take the wheels off, and even though they drove the car around the block, they didn’t figure it out. As I had noticed as they looked at the other cars in the shop, they can usually pinpoint it and give people the information, but on my car they called in JOSE. Mr. Customer Service himself. No grease spots on his shirt. Just been sitting at his little desk all day. Its like they had to really find something to tell us to make them some money cuz they couldn’t figure out what the real issue was. They said that the noise was coming from the tire and that they threads on the tire were pulling apart.
My boyfriend didn’t believe him and thought he was full of crap, but we bought a tire anyway and still the same problem.
Well, we had to wait till the next good paycheck to get the car looked at again, but we took it to Speedy Align and told the guy there, my boyfriend said his name was Mark, what was going on with my car and he was like oh yeah its the bearing and you should by the part from the auto parts store a couple stores down the road so that we don’t over charge you and we will get to work on that. And what do you know.
We got the part from the auto parts store and the car runs as good as new. NO THANKS TO AAMCO!!!

I hate to be gender biased, but as a woman who has taken her old cars into various shops in town on a fairly regular basis (old cars take lots of care… especially my now passed but beloved 1993 Geo Prizm, but I digress), I’ve had my fair share of discomfort talking with male employees and managers. I just never was sure I was getting a fair shake and they’d ALWAYS try to upsell me. I’d call my father who is an auto tech (who sadly lives way too far away to work on my car), and we’d try to deduce together whether I was being swindled.
This shop’s assistant manager, Sarah, is fantastic, knows what she’s doing, and helped me figure out why my air conditioning was acting up. Ummm, hello cabin air filters, maybe you should be changed once in a while? Yes, yes you should. While I didn’t need a ride, I know that they give customers rides home or to work, which is a huge bonus for me.
Now they just need to work on getting some more magazines for the ladies in the waiting room.

These guys are sleezy… quoted me over $ 700 for what ended up being solved by a $ 240 tune up.

My car just stopped running one day on the road. Had to push it into a parking lot because it wouldn’t start up again. Had a friend look at it, and he couldn’t determine the problem, so I had it towed to Aamco. It took them a day and a half to call me with an estimate for $ 800. Jose said the spark plug wires were coming apart and that a gasket needed to be replaced because oil was leaking on the spark plugs. It also needed a tune up (which was accurate). He also recommended replacing the timing belt (it needs to be done soon) for another $ 800 and replacing the water pump for $ 400. What?! Water pump?!
I called my husband with the news. We decided that day to have it towed over to his friend’s house because my husband watched his friend pull out the spark plugs and test them, and there was no oil on the spark plugs or leaking from them anywhere!
So I called Jose back and asked how much I owed for the towing. Towing to Aamco and to the friend’s house came to $ 170. Jose said he could probably replace the ignition coil to get it running again for less than $ 170. He called me back and gave me a quote of $ 260 to replace the ignition coil and distributor. It would be extra for the rest of the tune up. I said, «no thanks,» and had it towed. Our friend ended up doing a complete tune up and replaced the ignition coil for $ 240 including labor. Car runs like a top now.
The whole oil leak issue was an outright fabrication, and that doesn’t sit well with me. I would not recommend taking your car here.

It’s tough being a little woman with a big car problem. I’ll try to be objective before it descends into bitchy ranting.
So, my car broke down one morning while I was driving to work. I had my car towed to a dealership who told me that my specific car model had a notorious computer issue that ruined transmissions. I needed a new computer along with a new transmission. Next up, I had my car towed to AAMCO because they’d tow it for free and I knew that they could repair my car for cheaper than the dealership.
On to AAMCO: Jose was able to tell me the details of the computer issue, he also gave me a ride home. After looking at my car, told me that repairs would be about $ 5000. The dealership would have been about $ 6300. Cheaper? Yes, but seriously, I’d still have to sell a kidney.
I talked to my dad and we decided to tow the car to the dealership in San Antonio, because we know we’re in good hands there. Later that night, I talked to my voice of reason (otherwise known as my boyfriend) since he was originally against me going to AAMCO, I asked him why and he commented that they specialize in transmissions. How often is it that a person needs to get their transmission repaired? They may not necessarily seek to develop a relationship with a person since they’ll probably never see them again. That said, this may be the only chance they have to repair a transmission and siphon $ 5000 out of my pocket. This was a very good and logical point.
The morning my car was going to be towed to San Antonio, Jose tried to tell me of a way I could save more money by ordering a computer from elsewhere — that would’ve been nice to hear earlier — but didn’t matter. I tend to defer to my dad’s judgment when it comes to the car. $ 80 for towing to AAMCO without repairs. That would’ve been nice to know earlier.
So how does the story end? With a glowing review for Red McCombs Toyota service center and the badassness that is Winfred James — Best Service Manager EVER! (long story short, they did some extensive testing and were able to change out my computer. Currently, my car is under observation but the transmission is working FINE after they cleaned out some contaminated transmission oil.) He’ll get a fruit basket come Christmas.

Perhaps because I am female, I had a less than pleasant experience.
I cannot say that the work performed on my car was inferorior, however, the scare tactics used to try to get me to purchase additional services was uncalled for.
I called to check on the starter replacement for my vehicle, and was told that my timing belt was stretched and that it was making noise under my hood. I was also told that if the timing belt broke, I would essentially have to buy a new engine. This repair would be 1400.00. I was also informed I had an oil leak around the valves in my engine and needed to have the spark plugs replaced. This would be an additional 300.00.
Now, I could not afford any additional repairs at this time, so I told them just replace the starter and nothing else. I was also told they were running a special for no interest for 12 months on their credit plan. (hmmm, could it be that they were trying to sell me something??).
Now when my husband went in to pay for the vehicle, he informed the manager that he was going to have them look at his A/​c, but now we need to save up for additional repairs on my car. The person changed their tune and said «Oh, I didnt say the timing belt was about to go out, its just 15 000 miles past the maufacturers suggested replacement». That is NOT how it was presented to me on the phone. SHAME ON YOU for trying to sell a woman something she could not afford. It should have presented as a recommendation, not as eminent disaster!
I have my oil regularly changed and have had no one mention leaks. There is also no spot in my drive way. I also dont believe I would have to replace the entire engine if the timing belt goes out.
I will not be frequenting this shop EVER again.

I have to follow up behind Tiffany with the same good review. I bought a 2004 Buick Rainier from a small lot on Burnet road, and they had given me a short term warranty. I feared there were some things wrong with the transmission as the truck had a vibration. I took it to Aamco here on Burnet road as instructed by the warranty administrator, plus reading Tiffany’s review. Jose greeted me and we discussed my suspected issues and he said he would take care of it. Turned out the only thing that was wrong was a bad U joint and slightly out of balance drive shaft. They did some preventative maintenance as well and sent me merrily on my way, vibration is gone and they didn’t try to up-​sell stuff I didn’t need. Great service, friendly and honest.

These guys saved me from a lot of pain and certain financial ruin.
When I took my 99 Neon to Jiffy Lube to get a transmission fluid change, they told me the fluid had completely leaked out and I needed to have it looked at by a transmission professional.
Under their recommendation, I took it to B & M Transmissions on Justin Ln., and they told me I needed a complete transmission rebuild, which would cost around $ 1300. That’s about how much my car is currently worth. I trusted B & M because they were local and independently owned, not a chain, which I figured would be a big ripoff.
I had started figuring out how I could live without a car in Austin and begging my parents for a loan toward a new car when my mom suggested that I get a second opinion.
I took it to Aamco because of their free electronic diagnostic service, even though I had reservations about their being a large national chain. I figured that the worse that could happen would be that they would tell me the same thing as B & M.
About an hour later, the manager (I think his name was Jose) came out and told me my car was fine. He told me that a bolt on a pan had been loose, and needed tightening, which had caused the leak. He had taken the time to refill the fluid and tighten the bolt, for free. He was super nice, helpful, and friendly, and didn’t charge me a dime or tell me that I needed any extra work.
I’m so grateful to them for the peace of mind they gave me and for saving my car from being needlessly scrapped. Thanks, guys!