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In March 2011, I had the clutch replaced in my 2004 Scion xA at a cost of $819. Two weeks later, I needed two hands to disengage the tranny out of first gear. I went back to the mechanic who did the clutch job. He kept the car over night. The next day he informed me that I needed a new transmission and gave me two options:
Option A:
- a 40K mile used tranny for $1200
Option B:
- a 30K mile used tranny for $1300
I told the mechanic we would discuss it further when I picked up my car. Upon arriving at his shop, I asked what damages had he witnessed INSIDE the tranny to conclude that I needed a new one. He informed me that he had not dropped the tranny, but that, in his experience, the symptoms were indicative of a transmission replacement. I seriously doubted his conclusions and informed him that I'd drive my car in it's current condition until I was no longer able to shift gears. No charges were incurred for his experienced observations.
I was able to shift gears with slight resistance for another 2 weeks. When the problem worsened, I took it to a local AAMCO Transmission Specialist. The problem? Damaged shifter cables. Cost? $600. The AAMCO guys told me that the cables had "somehow" been recently damaged. They gave me the cable set and showed me where the damage was located. That particular portion of the cable appeared pinched and kinked.
I went back to the shop who replaced the clutch. I spoke to the owner in the most civil way assuming he would understand and be willing to partially compensate me for the losses. The shop owner was rude, loud, and condescending. He said this was the result of wear and tear. I reminded him of his suggestions to replace the tranny. He completely ignored what I said and went on to say that the AAMCO guys were "idiots" for having the nerve to suggest the cables had been damaged. He told me that if I felt "sue happy" I could file a complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). And with that he turned his back and walked away.
Questions:
- Has anyone here ever resorted to the BAR and gotten successful results after filing a complaint?
- If I chose to go to small claims court, do I have enough proof to justify my claim? (I feel that I don't.)
- Do I have any other recourse in this matter?
NOTE: I never told this mechanic that my employer owns a fleet of vehicles. My company is always looking for reputable mechanics to service the fleet. I will ensure my employer knows of this experience. So far this seems like my only recourse.
Standard transmision problems are often the operaters fault and hard to prove otherwise.
$600 for shifter cables?
Your stick shift is connected to the tranny and I don't think Toymotor uses shifter cables to shift the car.
Usually called linkage.
I would be pissed at AAMCO myself.
Good luck.
Last edited by bobrainman; 05-13-2011 at 05:13 PM..
I can not come to much of a conclusion based on what you said. Personally I think your first mechanic did something wrong when he changed the clutch. I am not a fan of AAMCO, not sure changing a cable would cost $600, I used to do it on Golf in 10 minutes. Based on the info you have provided you don't seem to have enough evidence for court. Your 1st mechanic never gave you anything in writing about his diagnosis. I think you have to patch it up to lesson learned, write some poor reviews on the internet for that shop and move on.
On a different note, I had a well documented case of poor workmanship and complained to the BBB and it didn't get anywhere.
On a different note, I had a well documented case of poor workmanship and complained to the BBB and it didn't get anywhere.
The BBB seems to exist to do two things:
1. Defend the members who pay them dues, and
2. Promote themselves falsely as being on the side of the consumers.
They've done an amazing PR job over the years to make consumers think they can get results from complaints with them, when all it really is is a protection racket, in which they collect membership dues from merchants in exchange for ignoring consumer complaints.
AAMCO provided me with a $419 price quote for the cable set. Before allowing them to proceed with the job, I called a local Toyota dealer. The dealer wanted $425 for the cable set. AAMCO's labor was under $200, which seemed fair to me.
Aside from doing a fairly good job, the AAMCO manager informed me that it looked like the cable set had been externally damaged recently. However, he did not want to place his comments in writing so as to avoid involvement.
For now, I intend to submit a complaint form to the BAR. Today I explained my experience with this shop on a website which bore the names of this and several other shops in the area. Mine happened to be the first review this shop has ever recieved.
I would contact BAR, set up an appointment and go talk with them. Take all receipts and parts with you. If they determine, by looking at the parts and listening to your explaination, that it was wear and tear, they'll tell you that. If the determine that the mechanic that worked on it was at fault, they will take care of the situation.
I have use BAR before. I bought a new truck in California. It come up for smog check 1 year later. It failed. Still under warrante, I took it back to the dealer. They tweaked and peaked and said it was good to go. I took it back to the first place and told them to recheck it (after paying, they agree to smog check it a number of times for free.) It failed again. We're not talking that it failed by a slight margin, it had readings that were way out in left field.
So I took it back to the dealer again. They took it in back, and tested it. Passed with flying colors. They called me back and checked it in front of me. Pass again. So I paid for the smog check at the dealer so I had something to get plates with. I called up BAR and asked them why two machines (calibrated by the same guy, same company, 1 day apart) could be so completely different in readings. BAR asked if they could take my truck down and have it checked. One of their secretary's would take it down. I agreed. They watched my truck get tested and it failed miserably again.
About 3 days later, the first mechanic showed up at my door with cash money in his had to reimburse me for the testing I paid for and money for fuel running back and forth to have all those tests done.
I checked back in with BAR and come to find out, the first shop was testing vehicles incorrectly. They were cutting corners.
If I would have argued with the first guy, he would have said I was wrong and he was right. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere.
BAR is there for a purpose and we pay for them. Mechanics and shop owners out there need to have some kind of monitor. Most people don't know enough to tell if a shop owner or mechanic is doing things right, or doing things the way his pa taught him.
Any chance you could post a pic of the damaged cable. I found a cable for roughly $352, book says 1.1 hours, so that was a decent price, depending on where you are located.
*** Opinion only*** I think the dude who did your clutch damaged your cable, but you continuing to drive it certainly didn't help. Realistically, he should reimburse you the cost of the cable. If he wants to be a prick, I'd take him to court and let that 600 dollar repair cost him double. I hate people like that and will not stop until I have soured their reputation thoroughly.
Standard transmision problems are often the operaters fault and hard to prove otherwise.
$600 for shifter cables?
Your stick shift is connected to the tranny and I don't think Toymotor uses shifter cables to shift the car.
Usually called linkage.
I would be pissed at AAMCO myself.
Good luck.
Just an FYI, pretty much all FWD manual transmission cars use cables. Only a RWD/AWD car where the trans is located in the tunnel can use a direct linkage....think Mustang or Camaro.
As for the price, it actually wasn't too bad. The labor is a little high, but nothing to complain about. If they also replaced the bushings then it was pretty much spot on.
FWIW, it's going to be hard to prove negligence on the other shops part. You can try and use BAR or sue him in small claims court, but that can be an uphill battle. Good luck with it, it definitely sounds to me like someone messed up. Though as a PP stated, the fact you kept driving on it, likely made the situation worse, which is what the original shop will hang their defense on.
Just an FYI, pretty much all FWD manual transmission cars use cables. Only a RWD/AWD car where the trans is located in the tunnel can use a direct linkage....think Mustang or Camaro.
As for the price, it actually wasn't too bad. The labor is a little high, but nothing to complain about. If they also replaced the bushings then it was pretty much spot on.
FWIW, it's going to be hard to prove negligence on the other shops part. You can try and use BAR or sue him in small claims court, but that can be an uphill battle. Good luck with it, it definitely sounds to me like someone messed up. Though as a PP stated, the fact you kept driving on it, likely made the situation worse, which is what the original shop will hang their defense on.
I agree with the above underlined statement, thus my apprehension on pursuing this ad nauseum. I will nonetheless go after it with caution. For example, I went to a local Toyota/Scion dealership yesterday with the intention of asking one of their mechanics if the cable set appeared to be externally damaged or if it looked like normal wear and tear. The service manager informed me that he'd have to charge me $110 just for driving the car into the service area. No thanks! That's Southern California for ya!
Today I spoke with a co-worker whose friend owns a tranny shop. He said he'd have his friend look at the cables. The saga continues!
Should have had the dealer repair it first;especially with that kind of repair. Obviously the first mechanic wasn't familiar with the repair process and thus caused the extra damage and cost. Think about it-dealer just works on designated cars I.E. Scion/Toyotas. Independent shop works on various different models and manufactures = less experience with your particular model. Plus the dealer has designated mechanics for this type of repair and the newest updates and resources for the repair.Obviously the first mechanic doesn't care about your satisfaction for the repair; I seriously doubt a dealership would have handled it the same way. I will admit that some independents are very good at what they do,but attempting repairs beyond your expertese is not a good idea.
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