Aarrow Transmissions, Inc

Review: My Husband and I took our car into this business expecting a fair and reasonable transaction to repair the transmission. First we were told it would be a $99.00 fee for testing the car and that was agreed upon, we were told the car was starting off from stops in third gear. Next we were told they would have to remove and inspect the transmission and that was $437.00 to remove the transmission. At that time they could have overhauled the transmission but we were then informed it would be $3,085.00 with a $100.00 credit. Now the transmission has been disassembled and their price is outrageous. They are charging another $437.00 to reinstall the transmission after repair. When I called for a breakdown I found they were also charging $1,947.00 for parts that the part store [redacted] charges $389.00 for. This is not only a price complaint it is sneaky and underhanded to do business like this. I also saw another complaint on the internet stating the same unprofessional manner in which this has been handled. They are at least double the price of other entities and knowing their pricing methods we would have never used this business to do any work for us. Please help.Desired Settlement: We would like a billing adjustment and would like to see them change their policy of not disclosing full details of price until it is at a point where the customer is forced to agree with them finishing the overpriced services.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:

First of all I would like it to be noted that throughout this whole transaction Aarrow Transmissions never had any contact with [redacted] until she came to pick the vehicle up after all repairs were completed. Prior to that all contact was with [redacted].

On 01/07/14 [redacted] brought his car in to have it checked out for a transmission problem.He authorized us to diagnose the problem at a cost of $99.43 to determine if the problem was internal or computer related. Upon diagnosis we determined the problem was internal within the transmission and would require removal, disassembly and inspection (RDI) to see what internal repairs were needed, the charge for this service was $669.76 and this charge would be applied to whatever repairs were needed. He was explained that once this service was completed we would prepare an estimate and would know the best way to proceed with the necessary repairs. He authorized this inspection on 01/07/2014 as noted on repair order #[redacted]. On 01/08/2014 we contacted [redacted] with an estimate to rebuild his transmission of $3195.20 with a 3 year / 50,000 mile warranty. This price included all parts and labor to complete a rebuild and was derived from [redacted] ([redacted]) flat rate manual. On 01/08/2014 at 10:30 am [redacted] authorized us to move forward with repairs.

Upon completion [redacted] (along with a man who claimed to be an inspector) arrived to pick the car up on 01/13/2014, this was the first contact with [redacted]. She seemed upset and told us she could have had the repairs done cheaper. I explained to her that we were charging a fair price for the work and if she could have had it done cheaper perhaps that what she should have done before [redacted] authorized us to proceed, however I made an adjustment to the cost. I deducted the diagnostic fee of $99.43 and applied a $100.00 discount coupon that we have on our website bringing the total invoice to $2,995.77.

I'm certain if researched you'll find [redacted] and [redacted] were charged a fair and customary price for the needed repairs. We never claim to be the "cheapest shop in town", we do try to provide quality repairs and exceptional customer service at a fair price. Please don't hesitate to contact me if have any questions.

Thank you,

[redacted], Pres

Review: Took vehicle in for repairs. Vehicle needed inspection in a month. Asked if they could tell me what needed to be fixed to pass inspection and give me estimate to bring the vehicle back. Brought it back a week later after getting the money from estimate of $390.38. Was called later that day and notified the repairs would be $689.98. They did not include the price of headlight in estimate, labor was going to be more, the sway bar parts quoted went from $47.73 and $46.66 to $95.46 and $75.12. Difference from quote and actual was $299.60. Prices of parts were changed or left off estimate and labor tripled. I feel I should not have had to pay for inaccuracies of parts quoted to me. MISREPRESENTATION.Desired Settlement: I would consider bringing my families vehicles back to do business with this company if I am satisfied with resolution.

If not I will not continue to do business with this company.

Business

Response:

Case# [redacted] First I would like to say that as a business we encourage feedback

as it helps us with development of our every day functions, from our

technicians to our front office. We are committed to providing quality service

to our customers, and we make every effort to give customers thorough

information and cost estimates regarding their vehicles. That being said, in

this business you do not always know exact figures, and so we make customers

aware in those situations that we have to assess the car and repairs required,

which is why it is called an “estimate”. Our intention would never be to

misrepresent ourselves or this business, as we take a great deal of pride in

what we do. In this case, we did everything we could to give this customer

thorough information and I would like to give further details of the

interaction. There is gaps in information that should be clarified. On the first visit with the

obvious exhaust leak, in which we fixed, we had pointed out that the state

inspection was due soon. I stated that the 99 [redacted] CR-V would possibly need a

headlight because of the damage to the driver front corner from the accident.

Also to pass inspection the vehicle would need at the very least the right

front sway bar link and the left rear sway bar link because they both had too

much play in the joint to pass. When the customer spoke to Palmer the service

writer about the repairs he stated to the customer that he priced up the repair

to only “pass inspection” and did not price the headlight because we were not

quite sure we would need the whole assembly or not. Upon dropping the vehicle

off on the 2nd visit to have the repairs done we discussed that we did not know

exactly how much the headlight would cost because of the damage to the bumper

and fender. I stated that it could take up to 2 hours longer depending

on what was needed to be done. We only charged an additional 1 hour labor to

bend the support for the headlight so it could fit correctly and charged for

the headlight assembly itself which was $106.30. We could not accurately assess

the damage the first time because once we removed the headlight to see the

damage the headlight would not be able to be put back in, thus leaving you

without a vehicle for a few days. Also when we spoke about the sway bar links

both front and rear we agreed that is was best to replace both front and both

rear sway bar links on this vehicle. IE $47.23 x2= $95.46 and both rears

$75.12(discounted). Everything was presented to you promptly and up front which

would explain the cost difference. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have

caused but in total this repair was still less than the $1,000 that the body

shop quoted just to fix the CR-V headlight.We have copies of the estimate

and the final repair order if necessary for any further questions that may need

to be answered.Regards,

Review: I contacted Aarrow transmission because I thought something was wrong with my transmission and I wanted to be sure. I asked how much it was to diagnose and they said that it would be $106. I dropped the car off and they called and told me that the problem was indeed the transmission and they could put it on the bench for $695. As a person who knows nothing about cars, I assumed that he meant fix it. He sounded as if this was a solution to my problem. Although it was an old car, I agreed to have it fixed for $695 only to receive another call that it will cost $3100 to fix and my bill was almost $1000 in order to get my car back. I asked how that was possible and he said that they put it on the bench to diagnose the problem which is what I thought the $106 was for, and because the piece that holds the transmission was broken, it almost fell on someone so they charged an extra $200. I told him that I didn't need a further diagnosis on such an old vehicle and I didn't agree to that. His only resolution was to offer me a loan to pay off the $1000 for a 2003 vehicle that does not run properly. We had no choice but to sign the title over and I feel that I was completely taken advantage of. He had already told me that the transmission was bad. Why would I pay him more money to tell me specifically why it was bad?Desired Settlement: I want my car back. It's not fair that I had a car one minute and then nothing the next. I could have paid the $106 for diagnosis and continued driving my car as it was still able to be driven. It just hesitated every now and then when it switched gears which I could have lived with until the car died.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:On or about July 27, 2016 Mr. [redacted] brought in a [redacted] to have his transmission diagnosed. He was explained the initial test would be to determine if the problem was electrical, external or internal in the transmission and he authorized us to do a diagnostic test for $106.00. The problem was found to be an internal issue and the next step would be to remove and disassemble the the transmission to to see exactly what damage it had and the the final cost for repairs. The charge for this would be $695.00 and applies towards the total cost of repairs. Mr. [redacted] authorized this inspection and we proceeded. Upon the internal inspection we found extensive damage and wear to the internal parts of his transmission that made it not cost effective to repair. At that point we priced a remanufactured transmission at well over $4000.00 and realizing it was an older vehicle we recommended to install a used transmission with 76,000 and a 12 month warranty for $3,100.00. We made Mr. [redacted] aware of some other brake, motor mount and steering issues that his car had as well. I understand that this was an expensive repair but unfortunately we have no control over what is needed for repairs. Mr. [redacted] decided not to proceed with needed repairs and in lieu of the amount owed offered to turn over ownership of the vehicle. We have since disposed of the vehicle. This is the first we have heard of this situation, Mr. [redacted] never mentioned or expressed his dissatisfaction about this situation to us and we believed this to be an amicable resolution for all parties.

Review: I had gotten Aarow's recommended factory maintenance done on my 2006 [redacted] Commander, that included: coolant flush, synthetic oil change, tire rotation, and rear differential service. Aarow had possession of my [redacted] over a full weekend because of a holiday. They had finished up repairs that following Monday and called me to pick up my Jeep. When I picked up my Jeep, I noticed that the AC was not working on the passenger side and in the rear, and was barely pushing cold air through the drivers side. My AC was working PERFECTLY FINE before I dropped it off for factory maintenance. I had called either the same day or the day after telling them about the AC. I brought my [redacted] in for them to look at. After checking it, they proceeded to tell me that the freon level was FULL and that the Air Box housing was bad (which required to remove the dash) and that I needed to replace it, being a total cost of about $1200. I of course reviewed their recommendation and did more research. I went back to Aarow to ask again how the AC could be broken when it was working before it was in their care. They gave me the same explanation that was listed on the estimate. I have email threads with Todd from Aarow asking for more information on this issue. The fact that Todd kept repeating that the freon level was full had me question it. I then took the initiative to put freon in my [redacted] and the AC is working just fine. I cannot believe that a company that I trusted and that was recommended by coworkers wouldn't even tell me the truth about the freon level? I followed up with Todd from Aarow via email, explaning the freon level and how the AC is now working and I have yet to receive a response from him or anyone from Aarow. Overall, this is bad customer service and a horrible diagnosis of a vehicle. I also didn't want to add that I am female and asian because I wanted this to be about my vehicle and not about discrimination. That can be up for debate.Desired Settlement: To be told a full explanation of the situation and a "truthful" vehicle diagnosis.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:I am in receipt of this complaint and would like to start

off by saying that we have been serving the RVA area since 1985, work hard to

maintain a very good reputation and take this situation very seriously. After

speaking with my technician and Service Manager (Todd R[redacted]) I would like to

offer the following response.First off the work that we did should have no effect of the

air conditioning system however when [redacted] returned we were glad to look over

what we had done and check to see why the a/c was not working. At that time as

[redacted] states the air was not blowing out of the passenger side or rear ducts

and barely blowing out the driver’s side. The air flow out of the ducts is

determined by a series of doors on the air box, not by the amount of Freon in

the system. Freon will only effect the temperature of the air coming out of the

ducts. We hooked up on a/c machine and at that time the Freon levels were

within specs.The only explanation that we have is that at the time when

[redacted] a/s system was not working properly is that it was caused by one of

the air door’s being stuck and it eventually freed itself up. If that is the

case it may or may not occur again in the future. I also hope that [redacted] has

not overfilled the system with Freon as that may cause future damage to her a/c

system.I would also like to state that we treat all our customers

with the utmost respect and the thought that we may have discriminated because

[redacted] is female and Asian is completely wrong. FYI, my finance is Cambodian and came

here as a refugee almost 30 years ago and all our employees love her.If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact

me.Sincerely,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the explanation provided does not satisfy any of the concerns that were mentioned. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

There was no response to my statement about my [redacted] being under Aarow's care for 3-4 days for 'factory maintenance' and the fact that I called the same day I had picked my vehicle up to let them know about my AC not working. My [redacted] was overall in their possession when the AC was not working. The statement of the air box door freeing itself is not a great 'solution'. Why is it that 3-4 weeks later, after putting the freon in, my [redacted] is still blowing out cool air and working just fine, working normally like it did BEFORE the factory maintenance? I also do no appreciate the fact that the company thought that I had put too much freon in my Jeep. I wouldn't do this without the proper knowledge and of course I wouldn't have gotten the knowledge or help from Aarow, as the only solution from them was to get a $1200 repair to fix my AC.