Chicago Transcraft

I was desperately searching for a good transmission specialist for the past couple days… I own a German car and they are different in too many ways compared to your average Japanese and American cars: they are notoriously harder to work on which also makes labor/​parts expensive. I needed to find someone who was familiar with German transmissions and transmissions in general to fix the problem that I had. I live in the suburbs and I couldn’t find anyone that I trusted out here in the burbs and I began to panic.
The next day, I was extremely stressed out and wanted to get my trans fixed… I began searching again for transmission specialists… By the grace of God I stumbled upon Chicago Transcraft. I called him up (I forgot his name, sorry… I think it was Mike based off the other reviews) and Mike really calmed me down and instilled some confidence in me regarding the transmission. He told me to bring it in and he will take a look. I informed him that I live an hour away and I didn’t want to mess with his schedules but he invited me over anyway.
I went over with my transmission and he was very inviting and hospitable. He was able to check what was wrong with my transmission and he fixed the problem in no time! Thanks Mike!!! Not only that but he went over the transmission with me ensuring that it was working properly. He was genuinely curious as to what was wrong with it and was very driven to solve the problem. Mike is very courteous, knowledgable, hardworking, intelligent, and extremely professional. He is very honest with his work and his pricing is very fair. I saw him work personally and he is very responsible. There aren’t a lot of people with his honesty, generosity, courtesy, and knowledge this left in the world and more so mechanics nor transmission specialists (which are even more rare) just read the other reviews from other shops. Really cool guy.
I would go to him again in a heartbeat without thinking twice if I had transmission troubles, but I hope that do not! However, I would highly recommend you going to Transcraft in Chicago for your transmission needs — even if it is an hour drive. The service and results are worth the travel.

These guys rebuilt the transmission on my 2003 ford explorer in early August of 2015. It’s been three weeks so far and it runs better than ever. Unbelievably attentive, and these guys really seem to know what they are doing. Mike explained the particulars with no BS. Very fair price and a one year warrantee. Done in three days. I highly recommend this shop. Its good to know there are really great honest mechanics out there. Highly recommended.

I give Mike 5 stars for his attentiveness, honest and putting me TOTALLY AT ESE just from my phone call 10 mins ago. I will update my review in a few hours as soon as he checks out my 2005 ford explorer transmission!!! Ive never felt so at ease just from a phone call to a mechanic. I was referred to Mike at Transcraft from the Runge Brothers on Howard street in Rogers Park because they dont rebuild transmissions anymore and Runge told me to call Mike tht he was a straight shooter… I am so excited to meet my new mechanic as Chicago is a very hard place to find an honest mechanic and my mechanic no longer has a garage so i have been a baby pup out in a lions world in search of a man like my trusted mechanic! Thank you all for your reviews… Its just happenstance that I ran into a Runge mechanic outside the currency exchange a few days ago AFTER I was at Aamco on Western and they told me I needed a new trans after 2 hours, no huge symptoms, no warning lights, no codes and a mechanic that got nervous i was in the garage looking at my own truck cuz I like to see things for myself… he could NOT tell me to my face what was actually up with my truck… he had to tell the «office mananger» and then he told me… I even asked the mechanic to tell me first so it doesnt go from one mouth to the next and shit get lost in translation OR for the office manager to have time to work on and make his speech to me… Oh well. I am very happy I didnt jump the gun and lose out on upwards of $ 5k (with tuneup and brakes) or even worse have traded it in and lost big time. I will soon find out if that other place was getting ready to take me for a money drive… brb. have a grateful day!

Rebuilt the trans on my company Silverado 2500. Quote was just a hair (couple hundred) more than two others, but I decided with them due their great google and Unilocal reviews. Let’s say I was not disappointed. Turn around was quick and work was well done. Truck drives like all the other trucks with new transmissions. Take a step into their shop and see, it’s the real deal. I will be dropping off another vehicle with them very soon.

Chicago Transcraft rules. Mike is a great guy, super honest and knowledgeable. They rebuilt my trans at a significantly lower price than other shops had quoted me, and also included a really solid warranty.
On top of that their customer service is superb. My car has 160k miles so they made sure to give it a once over to make sure I wouldn’t shell out the cash for a transmission repair only to have something else major fail. Mike was great to work with and you can tell he really cares about his customers.

When my 2005 Cadillac SRX started having acceleration problems I was referred to Chicago Transcraft. Needing to do a lot of driving in the coming week I was in a bit of a panic and I would’ve gladly paid whatever they asked to get it fixed. Mike at Transcraft quickly determined it was simply a blown fuse which he tracked back to two wires that were rubbing against my drive shaft and causing the short. He taped the wires up, changed the fuse and I’m as good as new! Rest assured, the guys here will treat you fairly, and are a welcome and refreshing change in an industry that all-​too-​often will take advantage of a desperate motorist!

I have been working with Mike for years and I would not take transmissions anywhere else. He is incredibly knowledgeble and honest. He stands behind his work and have very competitve prices. Don’t bother going anywhere else!

Don’t look any further than than Transcraft. Nothing short of remarkable. They know their craft, they are CRAFTSMEN and they stand by their work. They rebuilt the tranny on our 2001 Yukon XL at a reasonable price with warranty. We did have a subsequent glitch with the electronics and they backed it unequivocally, quickly and decisively. I would go back anytime with nay kind of vehicle. Simply the best. Five stars is not enough.

Excellent. Not only do they do a fine job and a reasonable price, but (in my opinion) the real distinguishing characteristic of a great mechanic is how they react when things don’t go exactly as expected.
This is definitely the case with Mike and crew. I had a quirky situation that resulted in coming back to get things right. Mike was not only understanding but down-​right eager to solve he problem completely.
this is really in sharp contrast to the attitude I’ve grown to expect from other mechanics.

Mike saved my car. Brought in my 10 year old GTI that was having odd shifting issues, after my previously trusted mechanic said that I needed a transmission rebuild.
We took a drive around the neighborhood, and I could tell Mike was really interested in the problem. That’s really the sign of a good engineer or craftsman in general — are they interested in the work you’re bringing them?
I left the car with him in the afternoon, he called me at 10am the next day and things were all fixed. Very reasonable pricing — $ 300 — far better than the $ 2000+ that a transmission rebuild would have cost me.
A transmission specialist like this will try and actually understand and fix your problem, rather than to just drop in a completely new part and call it a day. VERY highly recommended. Hopefully I’ll never have transmission issues again — but I know where I’m going if I do.

Mike was recommended to me by another mechanic, and now I know why: he’s not only a great mechanic to a «lay» audience, but he’s greatly appreciated by his professional peers!
Our 2002 Camry started developing transmission glitches years ago, and our regular Toyota Dealer gave us a lame excuse (in hindsight, VERY lame…) about why it was happening, and that only a complete replacement (with a new or rebuilt transmission…) would solve the problem. As such, they suggested that we keep driving it around as long as it worked (in hindsight, another bit of bad advice…). Because the quotes for this work we received from our regular Toyota Dealer were exorbitant, we felt compelled to ask and shop around. (Note: in fairness, our Toyota Dealer has taken care of our Toyotas — this is our third Camry — very well for the last two decades… although this was by far the most complicated problem we’ve run into…)
By the time I found Chicago Transcraft, Mike and his crew agreed that the transmission needed complete re-​building. They did so quickly and well (at substantially less expense than we’d been quoted by Toyota…). Unfortunately, there was still a very minor slippage during the shift from 2^nd to 3^rd. Initially, they thought the on-​board computer had to un-​learn the compensation mechanisms we «trained» it with by continuing to drive the car as the old transmission slowly disintegrated.
They then thought that one of the new seals may have failed, and (at NO expense to us…) took the car back, and re-​built that part of the transmission. They discovered that no seal had failed, and began investigating other possible causes (again, at NO expense to us…). Mike deduced that, if the problem wasn’t mechanical, it had to be electronic… and tried driving the car with the on board computer’s transmission sensors disconnected. While the computer is necessary for most of the car’s emission function to work properly, the problem slippage in the shift from 2^nd to 3^rd instantly disappeared!
Upon his discovery that this on-​board computer (referred to as the PCM… Power Control Module…) needed to be replaced, he ordered it (about $ 250 from a supplier in Florida…) and replaced it the following week… charging us ONLY for the cost of the part!
Mike was a joy to deal with (always willing to answer questions, demonstrate the mechanics involved, adjusting his schedule for our constraints, etc…) and the car has been driving perfectly ever since.
He will be my transmission «go-​to» guy forever!

Dear Friends,
With pleasure, I write to recommend Chicago Transcraft in general and Mike in particular. I own a 1999 BMW 323i 5-​speed manual and the clutch was hard to work. I had taken it to other guys and some thought it was the clutch but for various reasons. For some reason I am experiencing much tumult in the auto care world. What a relief when I got to Mike. He was friendly and into transmissions. We sat in the car and he tried to work the trans and he asked me various questions through which he eliminated problems. Then he had insights: he said «look how you can work the clutch when the motor is off. Clearly you have some clutch release issue.» Well, he concluded it was the clutch after more investigation. He got the unit the next morning and I was on the road that afternoon. The car is a joy to drive. Thank you Mike!
Yours,
Jim Faier.
P. S. The price was 2/3’s what other independent shops wanted for the work. Also, I would say of Mike that he is the real thing in his field. I work writing patents as a patent attorney. I deal every day with inventors who are jazzed about their technology. That is one of the great pleasures of my work. Mike is such a person.

Mike was honest, professional, trustworthy. If you have transmission issues this is a place to go. Service was excellent, good quality work. It doesn’t get much better than this.

In a nutshell: honest, knowledgeable, professional, competent, timely, friendly. Prices are a steal compared to the quality of service.
I found CT via Unilocal while looking for someone to replace the clutch in my wife’s car — no «real» transmission work, which is what they actually specialize in. I had the pleasure of working with Mike who was more than happy to help us out.
Here’s how the story went:
1) A 7 minute phone call with Mike got me a confirmed appointment. He asked questions about our parts and made sure that they were legit (we had done extensive homework). I felt no need to ask him any questions bc it was obvious he knew what he was doing.
2) Wife dropped off car the morning of the appt.
3) She picked car up that evening. Good as new. Mike gave her the option to take home the replaced parts (which she did) and then took the time for an informative chat of what he did.
Easy peasy. I would go back to CT without hesitation.
I should note that I called on behalf of my wife since mechanics have the reputation of taking people who obviously have no car knowledge for a ride but I felt that I really didn’t need to with this shop. Friendly and professional. Wife had a great experience.
For those of you who are looking to replace your clutch, you should know that the clutch pedal will feel much different than when you dropped it off.

Chicago Transcraft was a word of mouth referral from a guy that does quick repairs on my family’s cars. We did A LOT of footwork to get a quote on getting my transmission fixed for a 2006 Scion TC. I too am a female and feel pushed to the side and taken advantage of when I walk into anything in the automotive industry. Mike made me feel comfortable and spoke to BOTH me and my husband. It’s the first day we got the car back but I feel good about his work. We paid $ 1700 for a rebuilt trans that includes a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty (and we have a week to decide if we want to extend it for another year for $ 170). This is amazing from the original quote from the Toyota dealership of $ 4500– I HATE HOW THEY CAN HIKE UP THE PRICE!!! But, I’m so happy that we were able to meet and work with Mike. I would recommend him again and again! (this too is my very 1^st Unilocal review)