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January 2024 by jpaul1124
As a fleet maintenance professional, I work with many local shops. My experience with Mark and Aamco West Des Moines was by far the worst I've had in 20 years. I took the transmission from my wife's vehicle to this shop to have it rebuilt, and was given a 12-month, 12,000 mile warranty. The transmission failed within 90 days. As soon as I politely stated that the transmission was having issues, I was treaded like a criminal and an inconvenience. The owner said he wouldn't look at it unless I took the transmission out of the vehicle and brought it in. After discussion on how it can be diagnosed outside of the vehicle, the owner finally agreed to let me bring it in and have it diagnosed - a 2 week process. It needed a solenoid pack - an in-vehicle operation per the OEM service manual. He said he wouldn't touch it unless I take it out of the vehicle. Eventually, he said he would do the job for $500.00 extra even though it was still under warranty. I agreed, then the part showed up and he said he decided he wouldn't do it after all. After a few calls to Aamco corporate and my lawyer he said he refused to work on my vehicle under any circumstance because he "felt threatened because I talked to an attorney."In the end I have a $2500 junk transmission and a wife who has been in tears over the ordeal and an open small claims case that will cost more to pursue than it is worth. I would advise not to give this criminal the time of day, there are several other reputable transmission shops in town that actually stand behind their work.Also please note, this shop does not actually rebuild transmissions but ships them at a markup to a 3rd party who does extremely poor quality work.
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January 2024 by Brett byrum
Was scheduled for a 9 a.m. in person the afternoon prior.When I get there for said appointment I was told, "well odk if we can service that". They didn't have the transmission fluid for my truck. So a waist of time, and a trip....Why wasn't this observation made prior to scheduling?I was there in person with my truck the day prior when scheduling......I could have e found a place I could have taken it instead of someone making the statements that they A.) Can Service said vehicle, and B.) Set any appointment with just one place as you OBVIOUSLY WILL need a backup plan..... especially if you come here.....This was my experience....Funny that I went to a dealership and the price did not vary depending on...It was a set price, and i did get it done...OH and the price was right on.Not gouged, OR a range....
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September 2023 by Bill Hendricks
My daughter took her car there for brake work. Estimate was $1300. Took it to Terry’s across the street and he charged me half. This place will rip you off. They wanted to charged me $660 for front brakes on my other car. Steer clear of this place.
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August 2023 by Caera R
Very nice people here. Was on a road trip and put my car before anyone else’s. They were so helpful to me and got me back on the road in no time.Service: Brakes
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July 2023 by Kaylin Clarey
Aamco and all their employees were absolutely amazing and so kind. We were traveling through Iowa when we started to have car troubles. Everywhere else in the area wouldn’t even look at our car until the week prior but Aamco took us in right away and provided amazing service. They went out of their way to make sure we got to where we needed to go and even explained to us step by step what they were doing so we would know what to look for in the future. They turned what could have been a horrible experience into one that I will never forget and we can never thank them enough for everything the did for us.
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July 2023 by lennie porter
Took my Dodge avenger a few months back due to random shut offs and horn honking randomly. The owner was able to diagnose the problem within 24 hours and was very honest in how much more work it may need due to his findings. I now have an Impala and called and received the same professionalism and honesty. It's hard to find great customer service without intent of hurting the customer's pocket.
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June 2023 by Mohamed Abusharkh
Based on another auto shop, I was recommended to go to a transmission shop to check on a possible transmission leak. When I called AAMCO, I was told to bring it end by end of that day and it would be looked at the next day. I also asked to check on brake fluid to see if it needs flushed again after a year.I dropped it off but didn't hear back the next day. When I called I was assured I would hear back by end of the day. I didn't. Middle of the day after, I was called to be told no transmission leak, rather an engine oil leak and brake fluid is dirty and needs to be flushed as well as the reservoir and cap that is allowing moisture to come in. What really turn some red flags for me is the statement that the engine oil is leaking on the hot exhaust and could start a fire. And that's about a $900 job.When I asked to just fix the brake part, I was told that it doesn't make sense to fix that if not the engine leak. And if not fixing that, to park the car because it would be too dangerous to drive. Seemed like a scare tactic to me. So, I paid the $82 diagnostics fee and took the car to two different other shops who confirmed that the brake fluid is fine, no repair needed there. And that there is, indeed an engine oil leak, however, it's not anywhere near the exhaust. In fact, since it's so minimal, it may be easier to just live with it instead of the potentially labor intensive job to repair.The jury is still out on the transmission leak as I will have another transmission shop take a look at it. In short, the whole experience was lackluster at best. Let alone being pushed to do a repair that is not absolutely neededServices: Transmission
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April 2023 by Tonia Heineman
I absolutely appreciate the folks at aamco! Very nice, efficient, courteous and so helpful. I will continue to use them for all my automotive needs in the future!!!! Thank you all so very much for all you did!Service: Transmission
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December 2022 by Kevin Grimes
Had my engine replaced here on my Chevy Equinox. Top notch employees and top notch service. Mark the owner is the best! Thanks again guys!
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December 2022 by Justin DeVore
The flywheel went out on my truck and broke down so I had aamco tow it in to replace it and the clutch. They took a long time to finally get it done, but that's not necessarily the problem I had. I went to pick it up on a Saturday and the truck was running worse than ever. I checked the oil which was extremely low and had metal shavings all over the dipstick. In the 2 years of owning the truck it's never leaked a drop. It was full the day before it left my house. But now suddenly it was leaking from the oil pan and apparently the valve cover gaskets were bad due to oil residue on a 26 year old engine. I left the truck and spoke with the owner the following Monday. He swears up and down no one touched the engine and chewed me out as if I didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Then he offered to replace the oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets and said if I put on a exhaust which it didn't have, then that would solve all of my problems. Somebody is responsible for my engine needing replaced. He said the truck was running fine too and theres nothing wrong with it which is hard to believe if he's a mechanic. I picked it up the next morning and drove about 2 miles the had it towed home. Avoid this place at all cost.Services: Auto engine diagnostic
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November 2022 by Todd Z
I had a very unpleasant exchange with the owner of this shop. I apologize, it's a bit of a long story. My car broke down on the highway enroute from Chicago to Omaha a couple of weeks ago and my roadside assistance towed it to this shop. Communication with the staff has been, at best, poor throughout my experience. I had to call several times over the course of the first week before they could even tell me what the problem was. Then I had to call them a couple of times the second week to get a status on the repair. I finally called on a Friday morning and was informed that my car was expected to be repaired by the end of that day. At nearly 5pm on that Friday (closing time) I received a call and was informed my car was done. I was driving at the time and was unable to settle the account over the phone. I informed the office manager that I would call on Saturday to settle things up and would travel from my home in Chicago to pick the car up first thing Monday morning. Early Saturday afternoon (prior to my having a chance to call the shop) I receive a voicemail threatening me with $60 in fees if I did not settle the account that day. This after a $6000 transmission repair job, that I had already paid half the balance on before they would even start the repair. I returned the call with the intention of settling the account but first I wanted an explanation for the tone of the message and the threat of the $60 fee. I was told there was a $15 per day charge for storage. I explained that I could not possibly have picked up the car Friday, as I was not even informed it was ready until closing time and I am several hundred miles away at my home in Chicago. I verified that the shop is closed on Sundays and informed the representative that I would be picking the car up first thing on Monday, so I could not understand the math to come up with the $60 fee. Frustrated the person I was speaking to handed me off to the shop owner. The owner had an incredibly inappropriate tone from the start. He either flat out lied to me regarding when the repairs had been completed and when I had said that I would be picking it up or suggested that his office manager had lied to him and had grossly misinformed me. I am not sure which of the two is more egregious. There was no apology for miscommunication just rude claims that he could guarantee I was not going to call and settle the account and throwing his own employees under the bus. This coming from the owner of the shop screams mismanagement to me. In any case, I refused to settle the account over the phone due to the disrespectful and rude treatment I received. I intend to update this review once I see how things go when I pick up my car on Monday.Service: Transmission
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November 2022 by Kheryssa Preville
My husband's brakes were beyond bad, to the point of needing emergency care. I called AAMCO (after being disappointed by the customer service at another nearby auto center), spoke with Marcy, and was able to bring our car in immediately. We were maybe expecting a quote the following day and definitely not expecting to pick up for a few days since it was the weekend, but Marcy called with a quote within a couple of hours, and everything was completed before noon the next day! AAMCO did amazing work for very reasonable costs and we will definitely be returning for our future car care needs!Service: Brakes
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October 2022 by mscout adventures
I was a bit nervous but honestly they were great. We had an issue with the transmission and they went through all the test and gave me their best information to make a decision. They weren’t trying to push me to spend money and didn’t try to scam me because of my age and gender. I really appreciated the work they did for me and I’ll definitely make this my regular place. Skip the dealerships these people are the real deal and they care.Services: Auto engine diagnostic
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October 2022 by Amy Leonard
They were great at diagnosing a strange noise I had when I drove my car. They were awesome in helping fight Car Shield when they tried to avoid paying my claim. Friendly, small town feeling shop that gives excellent service!Service: Transmission
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October 2022 by Linda Gustafson
Good options were provided. Our transmission was replaced promptly. Accurate updates were provided during the process. The cost of repair was reasonable. Definitely a five star experience, thank you.
