Choice Transmissions and Complete Auto Repair

Dear sir or madam and Revdex.com, [redacted] is correct in part of the events, In fact choice did replace both her left and right lower control arm in April 2012 and she came in July 2013 complaining of a pull. As a courtesy to [redacted], I replaced her right lower control arm at no charge.Now fast...

forward 12month I get a call from [redacted] accusing me of just replacing the right lower ball joint and said that the right lower control arm is the original one, I told [redacted] that I do not charge for parts I did not install on vehicles I asked to see the part she refused to bring it in, I told [redacted] I would further look into it and call her back in which I did a few days later but got no answer. when [redacted] called me back I told her that I have the proof of purchase of her control arm that is dated on the same day that I did the work from my parts supplier, she still insisted that the part was never changed. I was genuinely concerned about the accusation and asked if she could bring the part in and I would order I identical part from me supplier and we can compare the two. she refused and said she will file a complaint with the Revdex.com and that is when I told her "do what you need to do"In closing I do not manufacture the parts I just install them, I will always do my best the help my customers, even when [redacted]'s warranty had expired I still fixed it at no charge. It is sad that it had to come to this just because her new mechanic told her that her control arm was never change.[redacted]

Dear sir or madam and Revdex.com, [redacted] is correct in part of the events, In fact choice did replace both her left and right lower control arm in April 2012 and she came in July 2013 complaining of a pull. As a courtesy to [redacted], I replaced her right lower control arm at no charge.Now fast...

forward 12month I get a call from [redacted] accusing me of just replacing the right lower ball joint and said that the right lower control arm is the original one, I told [redacted] that I do not charge for parts I did not install on vehicles I asked to see the part she refused to bring it in, I told [redacted] I would further look into it and call her back in which I did a few days later but got no answer. when [redacted] called me back I told her that I have the proof of purchase of her control arm that is dated on the same day that I did the work from my parts supplier, she still insisted that the part was never changed. I was genuinely concerned about the accusation and asked if she could bring the part in and I would order I identical part from me supplier and we can compare the two. she refused and said she will file a complaint with the Revdex.com and that is when I told her "do what you need to do"In closing I do not manufacture the parts I just install them, I will always do my best the help my customers, even when [redacted]'s warranty had expired I still fixed it at no charge. It is sad that it had to come to this just because her new mechanic told her that her control arm was never change.[redacted]

I am aware of the 2003 Acura MDX in question its true that the vehicle did have a check engine light come on 6 months after the original repair and we struggled with diagnostic for a couple of weeks, 

But we diagnosed it as an electrical problem that was not covered under our...

transmission warranty, 

But as a courtesy to the customer we went ahead and repaired the vehicle at no charge. 

I admit it took longer than the average repair due to part availability. 

As of now the customer has possession of the vehicle and is currently driving with out transmission problems. 

To address the paint chips and missing bolt this is the first I have heard of such a claim a vehicle with a 144,000 mile on it is going to have paint chip and I certainly don't know anything about missing bolts.

In my opinion the is a non issue the car has been fixed for several days.  

Thank you

Choice Transmission. [redacted]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[redacted] is lying. This business still has my car as of today. Once he received this complaint from Revdex.com he quickly called us and told us the car was ready. We picked it up on Monday June 30th. We really thought he fixed it because he was afraid of the Revdex.com. He told us to test drive it for awhile and see if the check engine light went on. He even called my wife the next day while she was at work and said "I just really want to make sure it is fixed". This was the first time he had ever followed up with us like that. She told him to speak to me directly because the vehicle was at home with me. I took it on errands and then on July 1st around 9:30 pm the check engine light went back on. My wife had called our insurance company on June 30th to get an appointment to have the windshield fixed because there was a long crack in the windshield. They were coming on Wed. They fixed the windshield and I drove the vehicle back to Choice Transmission that day, on July 2nd. My wife and I feel that all he did was reset the sensor so the check engine light did not come on, and then called us to tell us he fixed it. He has been stringing us along for over a year and a half. Now he is lying to the Revdex.com too. I have wittnesses and records that I can provde that will show how long he has had our car. We never drove it for six months, we wish we had. He and his staff know that is not true. He would tell us to give him time, he had to find another transmission and he would let us know. Then when time went by we would call again or stop by and he would say "I have to order a special part... a valve body". Then as the months came and went we called, stopped by etc. he would say "Oh its the computer in the car" Then he proceeded to change it and when that didn't work, and the check engine light came back on, I said I want my computer put back and obviously there was no problem with the computer because the same check engine light came back on.  As we continue to move throughout the year of 2013 we then find out that he  took it without our permission to his electrician because he thought it had to be an electrical problem. He said he had the guy do some kind of work to it and called in a favor. He again told us to pick it up and test it. Guess what? The check engine light came back on. Not sure why he would lie about this to you. I just don't understand why he doesn't give us our money back and let us take our car to another mechanic who can fix it. He did not fix our car. We took it to Choice Transmission with the the check engine light on in Dec 2012 had them work on it in Jan 2013 when we got it back it was not shifting right and the check engine came on. He has had our car ever since in between the times he tells us to pick it up and test it. We have paid insurance and registration on a car we could not drive for over a year and a half to date. Being out in the Arizona sun has done damage to our car and just because it had over 100k mile s on it doesn't matter. It was garaged and he knows that. He has our money and our car still... and it is July 7, 2014. He is lying to the Revdex.com period. He is a bad mechanic and a thief. This is not a resolution to our problem because [redacted] the owner of Choice Transmissions is lying and still has our car as of today July 7, 2014.

Regards,

First I would like to say I am not lying nor did I ever lie to the [redacted] family, I received the letter one day after the car was picked up. I have been working diligently on this vehicle for a few weeks now, trying to get the transmission in working order. As of today the vehicle ( Acura MDX) is done and I have been driving for 2 days it seems to be working correctly. I called [redacted] to come pick up the car. I have not charge the [redacted] family a penny since there original repair furthermore I have never sent them away and not fixed there car. I will continue to stand behind my repair till it is done right.

 

Thank you choice for not only fixing my transmission but doing it under the estimate you gave me and in such a timely manner.

my car has never shifted better.

Harold

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

When I returned to Choice in July of 2013, my car was pulling hard to the right.  At that time, the mechanic that works for [redacted] determined the Right Lower Control Arm was bad again.  How can a new control arm be bad after one year?  Was it new?  Was it a second hand part?  Was it ever changed to begin with in 2012?  If so, I simply don't understand how a control arm could go bad after a little over a year.  Yes, [redacted] did repair the car a second time, or at least that's what I was told.  The car continued to make a noise and I took it back several times for a hard pull to the right and the steering wheel could not be centered.  At that time, [redacted] told me to fix the hard pull he could make an adjustment to the car, but all cars are suppose to pull slightly to the right.  This was a hard pull to the right.  It was worse then the original problem in 2012. 

I called Choice a few weeks ago, asking for a reason why I had to go to another location to have my car looked at, only for them to tell me the couldn't align the car since the Right Control Arm was bad.  Really, this is going to be the third time a control arm is replaced, Choice did it twice.  How could that be when Choice supposedly replaced it twice?  When I saw the part, I understood why at that point.  The bushings were so old, they could possibly be the original bushings, which means the control arm wasn't changed at all, or another possibility is the part was an old part from a second hand part replacement establishment or salvage yard.  I had to go to another repair facility to have my car repaired, since I wasn't getting any where with Choice after their second attempt to fix the car, charging me over $700 the first time, and having gone there twice for a repair, which was never done correctly.  Please tell me how Control Arms go bad in one year?  The establishment which repaired my car this time, correctly, gave me the old part.  They told me it was either the original or a part from a salvage yard.  The dealer also restated the same statement.  Mentioning if it wasn't the original part, it was definitely an old part that was placed in my car.  The bushings where so old or original and the ball joint was almost gone. That's why I had to take the car back to Choice twice in a little over a year, and the problem still wasn't fixed. Pulling so hard to the right, taking it back several times after that with no solution.  Several times after the car had what [redacted] claims to be a second control arm replaced. Why was the car pulling so badly? Why couldn't Choice fix the car?  Why after myself and my husband taking the car back for a hard pull to the right, was the car not repaired, still pulling to the right?

I have a phone log, I called [redacted] at Choice, he said he would call back and never called.  I had to call [redacted] back to ask him how he was going to rectify my problem.  When he mentioned bringing the car back, after it was repaired properly by another establishement, and the dealer agreed it was repaired properly this time, I didn't want Choice to touch the car, fearing what would happen.

I have the part, which is very old.  I have a phone log, [redacted] never called my number, I had to contact him after a day went by.

[redacted] did not mention why new Control Arms would go bad in one year?  Which happened twice!  He did not mention where he purchases he parts, are they new or used parts?  The control arm that was taking out of my car (which is supposedly the second one that [redacted] ordered and installed at no charge), looks so old, and the bushings are original or old.  [redacted] did not address why the bushings looked the way they do, if the entire control arm was replaced twice. Wouldn't the bushings look new if the entire control was replaced?

The control arm was reviewed by two different establishments, and both statements where almost identical.  Either it was never changed to begin with, or it was replaced with old parts, possibly from a salvage yard.  I'm extremely distraught to think that I trusted Choice and still have no concrete answers and also an old part that was taken out of my car not one that was a little over a  year old, and this was the second one Choice said they replaced.  I'm looking for compensation for having to go to another establishment and to have my car repaired properly, and all the time spent taking my car there for a problem that was never corrected.

Regards,

I have read the complaint and again I will say, while the repair to [redacted] car was out of warranty both times as a courtesy, we replaced the lower control arm twice. I do not manufacture the parts I install so I can not answer the question [redacted] had about why the parts went bad. I don't even know if the lower arm was bad I never saw it, we are just going on someone else's word. in regards to the phone calls I did return [redacted]s call and as a matter of fact I left a message. I also want to address [redacted], using the term"HARD PULL" the  vehicle in question never have a hard pull after we fixed it, it was a slight pull in which I told [redacted] it was a tire pull NOT the front end.[redacted]

This shop is a scam. They told me that they would only charge me $450 to remove and reinstall my transmission that I had rebuilt. It needed a new pump and that was it ($150 part) they said that all they would charge to replace the pump was the cost of the pump as I knew that was the problem when I took it in. They even said the pump was around $150, but possibly it would not need a whole pump, just a new rotor. A few days later they call and say that the transmission needs to be completely rebuilt at a cost of over $1600. Quite the difference from the phone conversation. They said a pump would be $350+, a new torque converter would be $400+ and a new seal kit would be $100. They also said this would include their 24 month warranty. Well, fortunately for me, I had just built the transmission, so I asked them how it would be possible that the whole transmission needed a complete rebuild as it was just done and all the parts were not just new, they were top of the line. I also new that I could buy a new pump on ebay for $150 or less and that a new torque converter on ebay is only $120 and that the only seals needing replaced would only cost about $20 from the local transmission supply shop. I told them to box up the transmission and I will fix it and they can just put it back in as that is all I wanted to pay them for. After much negotiating on there part, they brought their price down to $900 and gave me a 6 month warranty. I didnt like the deal, but figured the warranty was worth it as they said they would warranty the whole transmission. FF 1 month, I noticed right away that the transmission was acting funny and I suspected the valve body being bad as it is a common problem with this transmission. I go back and explain the problem and symptoms and they sniff the fluid and check for codes and say everything is fine. I dont believe them, so I take some videos of the symptoms and send it to them and to my transmission adviser in Alabama. My adviser tells me that it is definatly the valve body. Finally, choice transmission looks at the video and agrees with me that there is a problem and it is probably the valve body. So I take it back, under warranty, and they keep it for 3 days and finally say that it needs a valve body and that would cost me $400. I said its under warranty, they replied that the warranty is only on the torque converter and not on the transmission. I said they were full of bs and they had told me the warranty is on the whole transmission as I was told this by them when I paid before. They denied it and will not fix the warrantied item. I will be persuing them in court and with the media teams to see if they will actually honor their warranty. If you are thinking of using this shop, do not do it. THEY ARE A SCAM AND ONLY AFTER YOUR MONEY. They do not honor their warranty unless they are able to way overcharge you for the work that they do, You will save money and get better quality work at another shop that actually honors their warranties. Lets face it, transmission problems suck, there are many scam shops and since most people have no clue about transmissions, they get screwed. That is why I rebuilt it myself and have now rebuilt 2 transmission, both of which work great with the exception of this valve body problem. Go somewhere else and save yourself the headache.

I just talked to them, and now they say that they are only going to replace the valve body with a used one, not even a remanufactured one that would have fixed the flaw by GM. So, it is not even a proper fix. At the end of the conversation, they told me that I was no longer considered a customer of theirs and were going to void any warranty that I had already paid for. They know that the transmission will fail prior to the end of the warranty as this problem will cause premature failure.