Three A's Auto & Tire

On 11/04/2010 our manual transmission 1999 [redacted] car would not go into reverse. We brought it to Three A's Auto and Tire LLC to repair the problem. They replaced the broken "clip assembly" on transmission and adjusted the shifter cable. We were charged : $59.88 for cable clip, + 162.50 for labor ((invoice #[redacted].) On 11/11/2010, the car would not go into any gear. We returned the car to Three A's, they told us that a bolt had come loose, and they replaced a bolt, a washer and a nut, and "repaired the clutch shift assembly." On this occasion they charged me $31.86 for parts and $55.00 for towing service (Invoice #[redacted].) On 01/27/2011, the car stranded me again, when it would not go into any gear. [redacted] came and towed the car back to Three A's Auto. Three A's auto mechanics advised me that they did not know why the parts kept breaking. They informed me that they thought it "might be the transmission", and that I would need to have their "transmission technician" look at it which would cost around $1200 for the diagnosis only. On this occasion Three A's kept the car for one week, after I made several inquiries, they informed me to come and pick up the car on 02/03/2011. When I came to pick it up, they said they had been unable to order the replacement part because it was on back order and would take a month to get. Without my approval, and without the discussing the repair with me at all, Three A's fabricated a "shifter linkage at transmission" (invoice #[redacted].) On this day I had mechanic [redacted] explain which part they had fabricated. He circled part #49 on a diagram he gave to me. Since this fabricated part was installed, it is impossible to tell whether you are shifting into 1st, 3rd or reverse gear (which is very dangerous) and the transmission will not shift into 5th gear at all. This makes the car dangerous to drive, and impossible to drive on the highway/above 40 mph. On 02/10/2011 I returned to Three A's Auto and informed [redacted] about this problem. He refused to acknowledge my complaint, turning his back and walking away. Unable to resolve the problem with Three A's, and also unable to drive the car safely, I took it to the [redacted] Dealer (Warwick, RI) for diagnosis on 02/22/2011. [redacted] Service Adviser's report states that the "shifter assembly is broken, aka shift gate, also shifter gate linkage on trans was bent and broken." They advised me that I needed the following services/repairs: "Replace shifter assembly complete, also replace complete shift gate on trans side. Manual trans (shifter asmb control under car which comes uo into center console is broken and worn out, also complete trans shift gate is bent need all here.)" The technician stated verbally to me (also circling on the same diagram that Three A's had given me) that parts: #45, #48, #49 and #50 were all bent or broken and needed replacing. The [redacted] technician stated that simply replacing part #49, without repairing or replacing the surrounding parts HAD CAUSED THE PART TO KEEP BREAKING and HAD CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE SURROUNDING PARTS. Because of the negligent repairs (replacing and fabricating part #49) done by Three A's, the car now needs parts #45, #48, #49 and #50 replaced, which will cost $1, 059.40. Furthermore, the [redacted] technician informed me that the part (#49) that Three A's had told me they could not get because it was on back order, was actually NOT on back order and was available to order and could be acquired within one week!!! I would like to believe that Three A's did the repairs in good faith, however their negligence has and will now cost me significantly. Beyond the high cost to now repair the damage and restore the car to working order, I have also incurred significant expenses in car rentals and towing services through the negligent repairs done by Three A's Auto and Tire.