1994 Pontiac Bonneville Am I being scammed?

Tiny
GKDOWLER
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 180,000 MILES
In May 2010 I took my car into National Transmissions shop in Euless, TX and they rebuilt my transmission. They tore it completely apart and showed me the parts that were worn and needing to be replaced. They told me the price to rebuild it was $2700. They also determined I needed brakes including rotors at $501.00. I agreed to the repairs and they did the work. When I picked up my car, 2 days later, the transmission started slipping. I called National and they told me to bring the car back in, and I did. They kept it for almost 2 weeks and told me they tore it all back apart and it was ready to go, so I picked it up. I drove less than 2 miles and the tranny slipped and by the time I got to work 10 miles later, it had slipped 3 more times. I called National and they told me they drove it "all over everywhere" and it never slipped on them (it had the same gas in it as when I took it to them and they said they put no gas in it to drive it.). They told me to bring it in again, and the service writer John, drove it hard trying to get it to slip and it didn't but he wanted me to leave it over the weekend so they could drive it some more. The car was there 3 weeks and finally they called me and told me that my car was overheating and the heat from the radiator was causing the tranny fluid to break down and not allow the transmission to shift properly and I need to spend another $350+ to replace the radiator for the transmission to function properly. Is this true or are they just trying to get another repair out of me instead of dealing with the slipping transmission?
Thanks for your answer.
Thursday, August 5th, 2010 AT 4:17 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

The transmission oil will take a while to reach any dangerous temp, but a blocked cooler should have been part of the inspection if this is the case, then they should make it right, I do think that they may be pushing the transmission slipping issue to one sine, I would contact there head office and make a formal complaint.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Thursday, August 5th, 2010 AT 6:52 AM
Tiny
HEB123
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I could go on and on about that shop, but chances are they tried to fix it and did not know what was wrong so they just kept trying things on your dime. I hate to admit it, but I used to run that shop. Originally I thought the owner had good intentions, but he would not allow me to hire qualified people, to try and update the tools and diagnostic equipment was a joke. Most of the time he wouldn't pay parts bills and told me I was buying too many parts. Even though he never came to shop.
Short and sweet, the people in the shop are not trained. The owner doesn't care as long as he gets his money.
The game in the transmission world is to remove a pan (which almost any car will have some type of deposit) Then they tell you it's wearing out inside (technically true, every time you drive, it "wears") Then they talk you into pulling it apart and then they show you parts and tell you they are worn out. They are not, they charge you for those parts and make up some price. Then your lucky if the transmission works when you leave.

Good luck!
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Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 AT 12:04 PM

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