Aamco Transmissions & Auto Repair

DO NOT GO HERE! I feel Dave is a liar, WORST communicator. He would say one thing then another and say he’d call and would never. This place is the worst in my opinion. This place costs us $ 750 in renting a car because they had our car for 3 weeks. Ended up being the clutch that should only have been a few days to repair MAX. They should hire more people because they clearly take in more than they can handle. I WOULD NOT TAKE MY CAR HERE! Don’t waste you time and energy dealing with this place.

Take what you can from this review.
After some transmission trouble, I checked my own transmission fluid; it was very low and decent quality. I took it to this AAMCO to find a laundry list of things to be done to fix it for $ 2700 including a rebuild. I was told that my transmission fluid is badly burnt (because of blah blah things to be fixed) but no mention of the low fluid (which CAN cause all of my problems). I left with my quote to a local Jiffy Lube. They filled up 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid with no mention of it being burnt. Driving away, my car is happy and the issues appear to be resolved.
Take away: It appears that they’re trying to get a tranny rebuild out of a sucker who doesn’t need it. However, it’s possible that there is actually more wrong with it or it’s just an honest mistake. I’ll update the review if things change.
Other thoughts: The main guy who I talked to seemed really nice and patient. Also, my car wasn’t sabotaged when I left it there overnight for the diagnosis: D

Complaint removed at the request of aamco owner

It started out great. They saw us right awayand told us we could get the repairs done no sweat. Needed breaks, radiator leak, and check engine light fixed. Called several times for updates (Dave will tell you he will call back but never does). Found ABS part had to be special ordered. Ok no problem. Dropped it off Tuesday and part arrived and was installed by Friday. Could we pick it up now? No. The 3 – 4 he diagnostic wasn’t performed until Wednesday the next week. What the hell were they doing while waiting for the part!!! Ok so Thursday morning pickup? Yes. The one time Dave found the phone, he told us it would be ready by noon. Other car breaks down. Get an emergency tow for belt replacement. Now neither car will be ready until after 1:30??? Have to call in sick, they don’t care. 3:45 belt finally replaced. Paid for both took one home and Dave said he’d have the other ready before he closed at 5:30. Get there at 5:15 and he says sorry you can’t have it we need to do the test drive. You mean the one you’ve been doing since yesterday??? Finally recieved our original car back and now the gas pedal sticks, the rearview mirror was torn off and the rear defrost was disconnected. Ummm. why would you need to touch the rearview mirror or the defrost for a ABS replacement? Took my second car in to another shop, found loads of dye in my AC system, apparently that was necessary to replace a belt. Hucksters, and they will never see me again!

Take your vehicle ANYWHERE else! My transmission rebuild was a week longer than quoted and $ 800 more than the original quote. The manager, Dave, was either straight up dishonest or really has no idea what his «builders» are doing. As I approached the first deadline, I was told «a couple more hours.» This went on for three days! In working terms, that would be 24 hours, Dave! Apparently my Car must be super custom and old… oh wait, nope, it’s a Honda Civic. Yep, one of the most popular cars on the road!
Yet, it’s not completely Dave’s fault. I believe AAMCO is out to screw you from the get-​go and it’s just part of the training. No need for repeat customers when you can screw people for $ 3400 the first time. So, I guess you could take your car to AAMCO or you could come over and burn your money in my fire pit. Your choice.

I had my car towed to AAMCO because Dave said he would take on the project of replacing my transmission. He’s very bad at communicating and when he finally called me back it was to tell me he couldn’t work on my car. He did waive the $ 97 check fee which I do appreciate since he was unable to work on my car but I still had to pay money to get it towed to go to a different shop. In the process of towing, the wrong tow truck was brought out and I had to wait for another tow truck and the whole time they were rushing me out of their lot. All in all, Dave seemed like a nice guy but totally wasted my money and time.

Although Dave, the service writer, was very pleasant to work with, I have to say, the overall communication was lacking (I had to call numerous times when they said they were going to call me in such-​and-​such time frame), only to be told that lo and behold! My transmission needed to be rebuilt. For a mere $ 2800, not including any «hard parts» they may need to replace along the way, which of course they couldn’t give me a ball park figure up front for the extras.
My car has relatively low miles, and I’ve maintained it really well, so this diagnosis didn’t sit well with me. I took it for a second opinion and as it turns out, what I needed was a gear selector switch. A FRACTION of the price. These people will be pleasant with you, and make you want to work with them, but in the end, they’re in the business to rebuild your transmission. I’m curious to see how many people actually get out of this place with something less than a complete rebuild. Sure… they could have rebuilt it, and my car would have driven perfectly, but what they wouldn’t have told me is that the actual part that was causing the issue, was electrical, and within the gear console, and would have been something I could have actually afforded on my own. My car wasn’t throwing ANY tranny codes, so rebuilding such an expensive and intricate part just made no sense to me. I am SO glad that I went with my gut. I was in panic mode, because I need my car for work, and just day to day (as with most of us) so I originally considered financing the repair, and the interest rate I was offered had to be illegal. 189%?! (insert crickets here) I just hope that by writing this, I can stop at least one person from going to AAMCO. They are a rip-​off shop, and take advantage of you when you’re already down and desperate. If after reading this, and all of the other negative reviews, you still decide to go there, expect up-​charges and overall dishonesty. I called around to a few different places, two of which told me to beware of AAMCO, as they will always add extra charges. Your quoted price will almost never be your actual price when all is said and done.
Unless money is no object, please do your research and find a reputable shop.

Oh my, where do I start? The first time, I was called into the office and told that it would be an additional $ 190+groupon. Turns out when I got my vehicle back, it was an additional $ 350! Thanks for wasting my whole day when this was supposed to be a couple hours. The second time, I made an «appointment». It STILL took all day they «needed» $ 900+groupon worth of work. The second opinion I got was $ 300. Don’t fall into their trap. Rude, dishonest, hasty with diagnosis, and a rip off!

Dave is beyond terrible at his job.
I wrote down my name and phone number and never received calls back when I was told I would. After calling back a few times I asked why he hadn’t been calling he had a 13 digit phone number that didn’t go through… I know how to write my own phone number. So we clarify he had it down wrong and I tell him it again. A couple days go by and I haven’t heard anything else about my car and it’s Friday at 4:30pm so I call in to see what’s up Dave says they ordered the wrong part and the right part should be in Monday. (I guess I was supposed to know they aren’t open over the weekend) Monday comes no call from Dave so I call him apparently he had my phone number down wrong. Again. It took over a week to get my car back and Dave gave me 50.00 off my 500 repair hardly a favor when the labor is 300 and the part is 200. I will never return to Aamco

Friendly staff and helpful. However sometimes excessive wait time for diagnosis and work. For example dropped my vehicle off 1^st thing in the morning at 8am and took 6hrs for them to tell me what was wrong with my transmission. Despite the long wait I would go back.

I’m new to Portland, and when my car overheated downtown, I was in a near panic when I called AAMCO. Dave was reassuring and kept me calm, talked me through everything they were checking out — and they got me in that afternoon. After the free diagnostic check, they fixed my car and I was on my way. I definitely recommend AAMCO — Dave was great, repairs were relatively efficient, and they periodically checked in with me to make sure I knew what was going on.

First of all, if I could give them no stars I would. So let me tell you what happened. I am young female who took her car to AAMCO because I had extended warranty and that is who they recommended. I called them and they got me right in. Good for them. Then I asked them to do just a diagnostic check on my car and they say it will be a few hours and then they will call me. I dropped it off around 2pm. I checked their website and they say they are open till 6pm. So I leave, At around 5 I get worried and try to call them. No answer. I drive over there and they are CLOSED. I cannot get my car, there is no note on my car. Nothing. I was pretty mad. Then then next morning I get there and they tell me they had my number wrong. HELLO? what happened to costumer service and having brain cells and being able to write the number correctly.?They tried to wash it all away with giving me a free oil change and kissing up. Likes that ever works. On top of that they didnt even have an answer of what is wrong with my car. this made me late for work, and not have a car for a whole day again!!! so they call me a few hours later and they finally tell me this ridiculously high quote. I tell them okay, leave my keys under my front plate I am going to come get my car. So they guy says he did it… BUT HE LIED. I checked that car back and front with another person. No keys. That meant my car was stuck since Thursday and now I wouldn’t be able to get it till Monday. Monday comes, no call, and when I get there they claim the keys were there. bullcrap! Oh and they will do my FREE oil change now, and they are so pleased with themselves. It took them 40 min to change oil. Pretty sure any other place I have been to does it in like 20 min. So the lesson in this story is DON’T GO TO AAMCO if you don’t want to be ripped off. I went to a family mechanic and they fixed my car for HALF the quoted amount… let this be a warning to you. I would have not know if I didn’t have so many great people watching my back.

I have been having what I thought to be having problems with my tranny, so I brought my car to Aamco. I spoke with Dave who was very nice. They did a full look over of my car and found it was in good shape. What a relief. If I do have troubles in the future, I will bring my car here again.

This the only place i will bring my car to. I love their service. I try and refer as many people as i can to aamco. If they can not fix your car they will refer you to another company that will do just as good.

This review can’t be «as good as it gets» simply because my transmission cost me in the neighborhood of three grand, (that’s including a tuneup and some belts or something, or and brakes) but as far as painless dealings with a mechanic, Jim at Aamco is where it’s at.
He may have lied through his teeth (although I doubt it) about my car, but he was so nice and straightforward about, it hardly mattered. Got my car in when he said he would, and out the day he said it would be finished.
Plus, he was funny. What more can you ask for in a mechanic? Or for that matter, a man?