AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

"As a fleet maintenance professional, I work with many local shops. My experience with Mark and Aamco West Des Moines was by far the worst I've had in 20 years. I took the transmission from my wife's vehicle to this shop to have it rebuilt, and was given a 12-month, 12,000 mile warranty. The transmission failed within 90 days. As soon as I politely stated that the transmission was having issues, I was treaded like a criminal and an inconvenience. The owner said he wouldn't look at it unless I took the transmission out of the vehicle and brought it in. After discussion on how it can be diagnosed outside of the vehicle, the owner finally agreed to let me bring it in and have it diagnosed - a 2 week process. It needed a solenoid pack - an in-vehicle operation per the OEM service manual. He said he wouldn't touch it unless I take it out of the vehicle. Eventually, he said he would do the job for $500.00 extra even though it was still under warranty. I agreed, then the part showed up and he said he decided he wouldn't do it after all. After a few calls to Aamco corporate and my lawyer he said he refused to work on my vehicle under any circumstance because he "felt threatened because I talked to an attorney." In the end I have a $2500 junk transmission and a wife who has been in tears over the ordeal and an open small claims case that will cost more to pursue than it is worth. I would advise not to give this criminal the time of day, there are several other reputable transmission shops in town that actually stand behind their work. Also please note, this shop does not actually rebuild transmissions but ships them at a markup to a 3rd party who does extremely poor quality work."

"Was scheduled for a 9 a.m. in person the afternoon prior. When I get there for said appointment I was told, "well odk if we can service that". They didn't have the transmission fluid for my truck. So a waist of time, and a trip.... Why wasn't this observation made prior to scheduling? I was there in person with my truck the day prior when scheduling...... I could have e found a place I could have taken it instead of someone making the statements that they A.) Can Service said vehicle, and B.) Set any appointment with just one place as you OBVIOUSLY WILL need a backup plan..... especially if you come here..... This was my experience.... Funny that I went to a dealership and the price did not vary depending on... It was a set price, and i did get it done... OH and the price was right on. Not gouged, OR a range...."

"Aamco and all their employees were absolutely amazing and so kind. We were traveling through Iowa when we started to have car troubles. Everywhere else in the area wouldn’t even look at our car until the week prior but Aamco took us in right away and provided amazing service. They went out of their way to make sure we got to where we needed to go and even explained to us step by step what they were doing so we would know what to look for in the future. They turned what could have been a horrible experience into one that I will never forget and we can never thank them enough for everything the did for us."

"Took my Dodge avenger a few months back due to random shut offs and horn honking randomly. The owner was able to diagnose the problem within 24 hours and was very honest in how much more work it may need due to his findings. I now have an Impala and called and received the same professionalism and honesty. It's hard to find great customer service without intent of hurting the customer's pocket."

"Based on another auto shop, I was recommended to go to a transmission shop to check on a possible transmission leak. When I called AAMCO, I was told to bring it end by end of that day and it would be looked at the next day. I also asked to check on brake fluid to see if it needs flushed again after a year. I dropped it off but didn't hear back the next day. When I called I was assured I would hear back by end of the day. I didn't. Middle of the day after, I was called to be told no transmission leak, rather an engine oil leak and brake fluid is dirty and needs to be flushed as well as the reservoir and cap that is allowing moisture to come in. What really turn some red flags for me is the statement that the engine oil is leaking on the hot exhaust and could start a fire. And that's about a $900 job. When I asked to just fix the brake part, I was told that it doesn't make sense to fix that if not the engine leak. And if not fixing that, to park the car because it would be too dangerous to drive. Seemed like a scare tactic to me. So, I paid the $82 diagnostics fee and took the car to two different other shops who confirmed that the brake fluid is fine, no repair needed there. And that there is, indeed an engine oil leak, however, it's not anywhere near the exhaust. In fact, since it's so minimal, it may be easier to just live with it instead of the potentially labor intensive job to repair. The jury is still out on the transmission leak as I will have another transmission shop take a look at it. In short, the whole experience was lackluster at best. Let alone being pushed to do a repair that is not absolutely needed"