Mr. Transmission rip-offs

Well, sue their asses off. Had you been reading the threads here, or had you asked, you might have saved the money.

Suing them is coming next!

:-)

Andrew

failed. He got sniped with no chance to research anyting. Boy, transmission shops are notorious for every conceivable method of fleecing the public. A chain or franchise means nothing. Fortunately, there's an independent shop in my area that is affiliated with a Christian radio station. By affiliated, I only mean they ad there constantly. They could all be heathens as far as I know. But the word of mouth advertising and the radio ads bring them so much business that they make sure they treat people fairly. If an adjustment or valve body will fix the problem, they do not over repair. They are not cheap. But they are fair and reliable. They stand up to any comebacks. That's all a customer can ask for.

Fair and reliable IS cheap, in my opinion. These transmission chains have a reputation for grease and fleece. Surely, some are reputable, but we never seem to hear about them.

Having a major transmission overhaul is so expensive anyway, people probably feel they're getting ripped off when they're writing the check no matter if it's legit or not. My local (reputable) transmission shop, which a guy started from the ground up and built it into a large, state-of-the-art facility employing probably 20-30 people, charged about $1800 for R & R of a Chrysler 604. That's a pretty fair amount of cash. But I WOULD be interested to see a breakdown of that bill--i.e. how much the actual hard parts cost (which they buy in quantity), and then labor, (which they're likely very proficient at). So it could very well be that there's $300-400 in parts and just a few hours labor and people willingly pay upwards of $1800 for the service, all day every day. There is, however, a lot of overhead and expensive (specialized) equipment, i.e. two dynos, torque converter reconditioning machine(s), huge inventory of parts, training, office & bookkeeping, paying & retaining QUALITY people to oversee the operation, not to mention dealing with all the used fluid and parts, etc.

James Goforth,

When I had my Bonneville trans rebuilt in 2001 it was $1650. $300 was shaved off the bill because the family has done buisness with them for

25 + years.

When I picked up the car they had a 96 Cadillac ELdorado on the rack. I asked what it was going to cost on the Eldo and was told $3600.

Its 8 hours labor to remove the trans and another 8 to install it. Virtually everything in the front of the vehicle has to come off to R&R the trans.

In 1986, I paid $400 to have aturbo 350 trans rebuilt in a 78 Olds 88.

Harryface

05 Park Avenue, 32,062 91 Bonneville LE 304,388

Well, I'll tell you this much. In my days, a 604 overhaul entailed less than $100 in rebuild parts. A remanufactured or new torque convertor would have added to the bill, but still not too much.

The rest is labor and profit.

$1600 is a lot for an overhaul, IMHO.

Andrew You might want to post your complain on the net. I often read

when in doubt about certain companies or practices.

Sorry, Andrew... When I went to ripoffreports, I found your story and a bunch of others.

I would have grumbled a tiny bit at the expense of the transmission and moved on but I decided to declare war after it cost me close to $2000 after Mr. Transmission got through with it. You are very right as I broke down on the road away from my house and I decided to take it to the closest place. I'm starting to go with the theory that the dealership may be the best place for major repairs. It may cost a little bit more intially but at least the work will be done right.

Andrew

I'm on the top of the complaint list at

for Mr. Transmission. I contacted the BBB and the main Mr. Transmission office without any satisfaction so now it is time to sue! However, I decided to make it a point to put up a site and tell the public what they can expect from Mr. Transmission. In fact the chain's lawyer wrote me a threatening letter about it but I have some legal help from the attorneys at Public Citizen if they choose to pursue it. Sucks.com sites are protected by freedom of speech. :-)

Andrew

Actually, wrong again, Andrew. Dealerships vary enormously in quality of repair. Unless you know one that you are sure of, you are just buying into a false feeling of security. And you will pay heavily.

You need to research the local options and see if you can find a garage that has a good reputation for ability and honesty. The AAA website gives some 'approved' mechanics or shops over the USA. In fact, if you are worried about having trouble on the road, AAA membership might not be a bad option.

Check your local Better Business Bureau for complaints against mechanics and garages. Go to

and check.

When you have narrowed your list, and have finally found a good shop, support them.

Yes, a turbo 350 is a piece of cake compared to some of the front drive transaxles having to come out & be rebuilt. One local mechanic commented that if he "ever goes blind he can still do this" (as he's overhauling a 350 turbo). I remember taking one to him about 20 years ago and paying him $150 to put the overhaul kit in it. Things change, I guess.

I guess if you have a '96 Eldorado, KEEP FRESH TRANNY FLUID IN IT! LOL :-) $3600 bucks--ouch!

My semi-retired father rebuilds trannies. He doesn't take 'em out or put 'em in. Customers bring just the trannies to him. He just rebuilds them on his workbench. It's usually $300 or so for a relatively simple transmission -- turbo 350 GM for example. Plus, taking these rear wheel drive trannies out is a lot simpler for the customer than a FWD one. That reminds me, I REALLY need to get a simple car! Something with a straight 6 and RWD and no computers! But modern cars run so much better and get way better gas mileage, so it all works out.

The dealership has a lot of advantages besides the appointments/coffee and donuts in the clean waiting room. They see the same cars/engines over and over and thus learn what to look for when repairing it. How many times does a Mr. Goodwrench mechanic see a 3400 V6? Lots. And they have all the recall notices/TSB bulletins right there. Plus they have the proper tools and diagnostic software and have ready access to the proper parts. Not to say that there aren't crooked dealership service dept's, but with thousands of GM dealerships nationwide, you could easily find a reputable one. Also buying an extended warranty to cover your vehicle to 100,000 miles might be wise. My extended warranty has already paid for itself 2 times over and there's still 15,000 miles left on the warranty, and it's not even a GM warranty (it's an aftermarket warranty). What I do is: I buy low mileage used cars with proven maintenance histories (oil changes, etc.) and buy the extended warranty (which is like $1000 and can be added to the car's price and financed -- still saving thousands over not buying brand new). I haven't had to pay a repair bill in years.

Sounds good, Justin, but your dealership concept is a bit naive. Some are fine...others are bullshit. Just like some doctors know their stuff, and others will bury their mistakes.