Need to hear from some PRO Tranny people...HELP!!!

[Grim-Reaper]

Ok I think I just got Bait and switched at a Tranny shop. Before I go after them I need to know what it takes to determine what has failed in a Auto tranny for a quote from a reputable shop.
I had to make a cross country trip for a family emergency and we took my mom's 87 Jetta for millage and 4 doors. Blew the tranny in Knoxville. Rented a car and kept rolling after dropping the car a a nationaly known Transmission left shop expecting to pay about $1k but what could I do I was 150 miles from home.
They call me later that day with a $1600+ quote. Told them not to repair I would tow home. That's more than the car was worth. I knew I had been baited and switched.
Well I knew I owed money for the tranny removal no big deal that's pretty normal. Paper work I signed before leaving said $395 and was under the impression that included the 3 mile tow. Jerk gets me for $480 I was too tired and not up for much of a fight and paid it. Dude tells me "they assemebled the tranny so it wouldn't leak". I threw it in the trunk of the car put the car on the Dolly and towed it home behind my Jimmy (madatory K5 content fullfilled). To make matters worse the car had to be partly assembled so I could tow it. I also found that $50 bucks my mother had HIDDEN in the car had been stolen. Walked in the shop and said "I hope you thieves can live with yourself for stealing the $50 out of the car from a 65 year old woman watching her mom die of cancer...See you in hell!" Made sure I was good and loud so theseveral customers there knew to check their cars. 2 followed me out of tha parking lot.
Now what I need to know is when inspecting a tranny what is normally needed to get a good solid quote? I was told that the pump was bad and the converter was bad. The converter was not cut open and after loooking at the tranny it has not been opened either. Not a single bolt that bolts the pump or any other cover has been removed. no dirt is disturbed. This tranny has not been opened in years. I find it hard to believe I could get a fair quote without opening the case.
Once I hear from a few tranny guy's and can besure I was done wrong I'll let you know what shop it was so you folks in Knoxville don't get screwed. Just want to be sure before I go defaming this shop.

Thanks


Diging it in the dirt with my K5's
Grim-Reaper
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://grimsk5s.coloradok5.com/>http://grimsk5s.coloradok5.com/</A>

 

[bandit]

well from my past i have blown probly 20 tranny in last 5 years (Please dont ask about it the truck had something wrong) but in less it some really really good tranny shop theres no way they can tell wahts wrong with it for sure with out opening it up they can guess and say it acts like the pump is out and so on but in less its opend theres no way to tell

Bandit
(Your right i dont understand the jeep thing)

 

[ChevyCaGal]

I'm no pro Grim (but I got screwed on a tranny deal so I know how it feels)....but might I suggest this much. Call the Better Business Bureau or some kind of consumer fraud protection agency and see if other customers have filed complaints against this shop (If there is enough they will take an action against them). Call the shop and let them know your plans to contact someone about them. Most will say go ahead (even though they freak out because it screws them). The smarter shops might ask you to reconsider it and try to make you a deal to make you happy. If they don't then nail their butts to the wall and write out a huge complaint and submit it. I have before done this and let me tell you it works very well. Better yet...(if you find many other complaints about the shop from the BBB or elsewhere) call a local news station up in the town where the shop is at. Tell them they are ripping people off and about the BBB records or whoevers records....They eat stuff like that up. If they can make a shop look like jerks on tv they'll jump on it. We have a local station here in Sacramento that does this all the time and it's neat to watch them get dishonest shops and nail them. I know it's a long shot...but might be worth a look out of I'd be dang mad if I were you to be treated that way. I think you are like me and mad! I get even let me tell you when a shop tries to one over on me! Go get em and make them sorry for trying to screw the wrong person. You might be helping tons of others who will be screwed by them in the future to avoid it if you speak up.

"Suck Fumes Ford Boy"
"I love my country, I fear my government"
"What if the hokey pokey is what it's all about?"

 

[Bigd]

I would go get a very good book on this tranny and read up on it first.Get one of the big ones from a library that goes trough a rebuild and all of the diagnostic checks that can be done to it while still in the car.Then call these assholes and ask them if they did and can prove that they did this checks.I think that some times you can pull plugs out and check pressures from this port in certian gears and there are specs for pressures and things like that.Hope this helps.

 

[Wheels]

Keep receipts, take pictures of the tranny in it's current state as you picked it up. Have a local tranny specialist look at it and make an assessment of the tranny as to whether or not any one actually opened it up to look inside. Then talk with an attorney and see if it's worth going after them. Sometimes, statelines create a hassle and the lawyers get richer and we get poorer. In order to get an idea of what went wrong, they would have had to open the tranny. Or, more than likely, they were out to prey on you. You fit the bill. Out of town, broken down and desperate they'll pay anything to get back on the road. If the pump was shot, they could have done pressure checks with the tranny installed. If that was the case then they could have told you that with out removing the tranny. More and more of these national chains are becoming rip offs and the sad thing is, there is no regulatory agency that governs them. What ever happened to a good days work for a good days pay? And how in the he!! does anyone like this sleep at night????? By the way, what is the shops name so we can avoid their shops in our area?

 

[Grim-Reaper]

Other than mounting bolts the normal dirt that acumulates on a tranny has not been disturbed. I looked at it again with plenty of light and pulled the conveter back off and I'm willing to prove in court that THIS TRANNY HAS NOT BEEN OPENED, PERIOD. Not a reputable ASE mechanic would say otherwise. Exibit A is the tranny. I'm picking up a complete tranny with converter tomorrow so this one will sit for inspection if this gets nasty. This includes anything that looks like a pressure port and this tranny does not have a tranny cooler or as far as I can see any provision for one. No Pressure test was performed and the person claims they assembled it so it wouldn't leak all over the place when they gave it back to me to account for it being in one peice.I guess he forgot to tell me he filled it up with ATF to keep the inside lubricated also...yeah it's still full. The only test was to put it in gear and try to move the car. It did have a buzz to it when the car was running. Now I have rebuilt a TH350 and this is basicly the most simple VW tranny there is. No OD, No eletronic control, no lockup converter. It's a german TH350.
For those of you in Knoxville it is Mr. Transmission franchise owned by D&S Automotive LLC on Kingston Pike. PLEASE be sure to note this is a franchise name like McDonalds. I am in no way saying all Mr Transmissions are running a scam...just this one on this road. I do plan on contacting the BBB and the Corprate offices that franchise the name. Maybe I'll get my money back but atleast I will have made an attempt to warn others that this company is a rip off and save them some of what I went through. I'm just thankfull I was able to cut my loss before it got any worse. Plans are to get it running and sell it. this car has been anything but reliable the last couple years. Pretty sad for a car that always got it's oil changes and only has 80k on it.

Diging it in the dirt with my K5's
Grim-Reaper
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://grimsk5s.coloradok5.com/>http://grimsk5s.coloradok5.com/</A>