First off i am not a customer but i am aware of this guys business practices.
How is this person not in jail and his business shut down? The reputation this guy has is the single most horrible transmission repairUse the term loosely) shop in a 50 mile radius of katy. I personally know a few of my customers that got ripped off so bad by this shop. I'm surprised by the endless list of complaints on on and the bbb f rating he has that there isn't an angry mob at his door.
Is there not anything anyone can do? What he is doing has got to be illegal. He is stealing from people and ruining business for honest repair shops that do good work.
My husband Purchased a mechanical lien vehicle from this shop. They did a classic bait and switch! Per the ad the vehicle had a rebuilt transmission. Obviously, this is an older vehicle so upon purchasing we knew there would be some mechanical issues. However, the BIG selling point was that the transmission was rebuilt by the TRANSMISSION SHOP!!!
I was told by the seller Lisa and the owner Sal that the transmission was working and rebuilt as the ad stated.
I even paid more than the advertised price once I went to check out the vehicle because they confirmed the transmission was rebuilt. Only to find out after taking the car to have the transmission installed by another transmission company that the transmission is no good and it had not been rebuilt...I would need to come out of more money to have the transmission working.
When we tried to contact the seller and the owner of this repair shop they were less than helpful and my husband was even told by Sal "not to call him anymore."
They fail to realize the difference between a bait and switch ad verses an as is ad. This company was completely deceptive during this entire selling process starting with the advertisement that was posted. Do not trust this transmission shop.
Check out their BBB reviews before doing business with them. They have many similar complaints all of which have gone unanswered by the company. Proceed with caution. It is very unfortunate they handle business like this but it is clear they are not use to dealing with customers who will not allow them to rip them off and take further action against them.
First off everyone please be aware that Americas Transmission Experts is the same company that is listed in the BBB with an F rating. The owner of this company is Sal Ruiz and is who is listed many times as the person dealt with. This is the same person I dealt with.
When we first took our car in to be looked at by them we were very well aware that the transmission would likely need to be replaced. Sal told us that they ran the diagnostic and tried some different things and that the transmission would in fact need to be taken apart to be diagnosed. I went ahead and approved the work as we had already anticipated this happening. Soon after the transmission was diagnosed he told us that the transmission either needed to be replaced or rebuilt. He gave us options for both, but said that the rebuild would be the cheaper option. This was on a Wednesday, and he told us that the transmission could be rebuilt and he could possibly have the car back to us by the weekend. We agreed to the repairs and paid half the money upfront as there policy states.
This is the point where things started to take a turn for the worse. On Friday we were promised that they were in the process of rebuilding the transmission and they would have it in by Saturday morning. Then on Saturday his technician supposedly did not show up so we would not get the car back until Monday. Then Monday came around and Sal claimed that the transmission had caused debris to get into the radiator and that would need to be flushed. He stated they would leave the radiator connected to the machine used to flush it all night. As far as I know that's not even possible. From this point on excuses poured out of Sal left and right. The car was in the shop for a total of 3 and a half weeks when it was said and done. Sal claimed he replaced numerous things "free of cost". I have sent numerous requests for a list of parts replaced and received nothing. The one part I do know was replaced was a computer that Sal also had programmed by Ford. Sure enough the computer did not fix the issue. During the time we knew it was at Ford we also called directly to Ford to try to get their take on the vehicle. I understand Ford not wanting to get in the middle of things, but even though I have no proof from what I could tell it seemed the Ford had had issues with Sal in the past.
We had a rental car for the entire time. The advertised "free loaner vehicle" was only for $100 off. My wife also works as a nurse, which is stated to get a 10% discount. When I asked him about this he said that you could not combine offers. I asked him to change it to the 10% discount. He said he would look at the invoice and see what he could do. By the end of the 3 weeks we were so tired of dealing with him that we just let it go.
I hope that this review has helped someone choose a different company. I truly cannot believe that anyone can operate a business with this kind of service. To have 35 complaints filed against the BBB in 3 years is ridiculous. If you do take the time to read them all you will also notice that the vast majority of them are complaining about the exact same thing that we experienced. Please do not be fooled by his website that even went so far as the claim "Americas Transmission Repair treats it's customers with courtesy and respect. The Golden Rule, of treating others as we would like to be treated, guides us as we strive endlessly to achieve a goal of 100% customer satisfaction." This is simply not their philosophy what so ever.
My college-age daughter was having some problems with her transmission. I researched and found America's Transmission on the web. They offered free pick-up, a loaner car and looked like it might be ideal for her needs. She contacted the company and explained the issue. Sal indicated that he would have the car picked up at her college and get her a loaner car. What he did not tell her was that the loaner car would be from a car rental company and the car rental companies, with rare exception, do not rent to drivers under 25 years old. He knew she was a college student and knew she was under 25. He was unable to deliver on the loaner car. She was left stranded at her college for four hours while she waited for him to deliver on the loaner car promise. He said, not to worry, take a cab and we will get the car in the morning. In the morning, he told her he could not get her a car under any circumstances. My daughter was now without a car and her car was about 45 minutes to an hour away from her apartment. I called Sal and asked (demanded) that he return my daughter's car to her. He said he would not do that, he was not in the car delivery business.
If Sal had been honest up front and said that he could not get her a loaner car, we would not have had him pick up the car in the first place - we would have made arrangements more convenient for a working student. He compounded his customer service faux pas by telling me that he would not return the car to my daughter, forcing her to take a cab to retrieve her car 30 miles away. I can't tell you whether Sal is any good at transmission repair but, in my experience, the quality of (or lack of) customer service is generally on par with the quality of (or lack of) actual service. Unless you are a family member of Sal's or live real close to his shop, I would steer clear of him. He is probably in over his head.
Americas Transmission Experts Reviews
First off i am not a customer but i am aware of this guys business practices.
How is this person not in jail and his business shut down? The reputation this guy has is the single most horrible transmission repairUse the term loosely) shop in a 50 mile radius of katy. I personally know a few of my customers that got ripped off so bad by this shop. I'm surprised by the endless list of complaints on on and the bbb f rating he has that there isn't an angry mob at his door.
Is there not anything anyone can do? What he is doing has got to be illegal. He is stealing from people and ruining business for honest repair shops that do good work.
My husband Purchased a mechanical lien vehicle from this shop. They did a classic bait and switch! Per the ad the vehicle had a rebuilt transmission. Obviously, this is an older vehicle so upon purchasing we knew there would be some mechanical issues. However, the BIG selling point was that the transmission was rebuilt by the TRANSMISSION SHOP!!!
I was told by the seller Lisa and the owner Sal that the transmission was working and rebuilt as the ad stated.
I even paid more than the advertised price once I went to check out the vehicle because they confirmed the transmission was rebuilt. Only to find out after taking the car to have the transmission installed by another transmission company that the transmission is no good and it had not been rebuilt...I would need to come out of more money to have the transmission working.
When we tried to contact the seller and the owner of this repair shop they were less than helpful and my husband was even told by Sal "not to call him anymore."
They fail to realize the difference between a bait and switch ad verses an as is ad. This company was completely deceptive during this entire selling process starting with the advertisement that was posted. Do not trust this transmission shop.
Check out their BBB reviews before doing business with them. They have many similar complaints all of which have gone unanswered by the company. Proceed with caution. It is very unfortunate they handle business like this but it is clear they are not use to dealing with customers who will not allow them to rip them off and take further action against them.
First off everyone please be aware that Americas Transmission Experts is the same company that is listed in the BBB with an F rating. The owner of this company is Sal Ruiz and is who is listed many times as the person dealt with. This is the same person I dealt with.
When we first took our car in to be looked at by them we were very well aware that the transmission would likely need to be replaced. Sal told us that they ran the diagnostic and tried some different things and that the transmission would in fact need to be taken apart to be diagnosed. I went ahead and approved the work as we had already anticipated this happening. Soon after the transmission was diagnosed he told us that the transmission either needed to be replaced or rebuilt. He gave us options for both, but said that the rebuild would be the cheaper option. This was on a Wednesday, and he told us that the transmission could be rebuilt and he could possibly have the car back to us by the weekend. We agreed to the repairs and paid half the money upfront as there policy states.
This is the point where things started to take a turn for the worse. On Friday we were promised that they were in the process of rebuilding the transmission and they would have it in by Saturday morning. Then on Saturday his technician supposedly did not show up so we would not get the car back until Monday. Then Monday came around and Sal claimed that the transmission had caused debris to get into the radiator and that would need to be flushed. He stated they would leave the radiator connected to the machine used to flush it all night. As far as I know that's not even possible. From this point on excuses poured out of Sal left and right. The car was in the shop for a total of 3 and a half weeks when it was said and done. Sal claimed he replaced numerous things "free of cost". I have sent numerous requests for a list of parts replaced and received nothing. The one part I do know was replaced was a computer that Sal also had programmed by Ford. Sure enough the computer did not fix the issue. During the time we knew it was at Ford we also called directly to Ford to try to get their take on the vehicle. I understand Ford not wanting to get in the middle of things, but even though I have no proof from what I could tell it seemed the Ford had had issues with Sal in the past.
We had a rental car for the entire time. The advertised "free loaner vehicle" was only for $100 off. My wife also works as a nurse, which is stated to get a 10% discount. When I asked him about this he said that you could not combine offers. I asked him to change it to the 10% discount. He said he would look at the invoice and see what he could do. By the end of the 3 weeks we were so tired of dealing with him that we just let it go.
I hope that this review has helped someone choose a different company. I truly cannot believe that anyone can operate a business with this kind of service. To have 35 complaints filed against the BBB in 3 years is ridiculous. If you do take the time to read them all you will also notice that the vast majority of them are complaining about the exact same thing that we experienced. Please do not be fooled by his website that even went so far as the claim "Americas Transmission Repair treats it's customers with courtesy and respect. The Golden Rule, of treating others as we would like to be treated, guides us as we strive endlessly to achieve a goal of 100% customer satisfaction." This is simply not their philosophy what so ever.
My college-age daughter was having some problems with her transmission. I researched and found America's Transmission on the web. They offered free pick-up, a loaner car and looked like it might be ideal for her needs. She contacted the company and explained the issue. Sal indicated that he would have the car picked up at her college and get her a loaner car. What he did not tell her was that the loaner car would be from a car rental company and the car rental companies, with rare exception, do not rent to drivers under 25 years old. He knew she was a college student and knew she was under 25. He was unable to deliver on the loaner car. She was left stranded at her college for four hours while she waited for him to deliver on the loaner car promise. He said, not to worry, take a cab and we will get the car in the morning. In the morning, he told her he could not get her a car under any circumstances. My daughter was now without a car and her car was about 45 minutes to an hour away from her apartment. I called Sal and asked (demanded) that he return my daughter's car to her. He said he would not do that, he was not in the car delivery business.
If Sal had been honest up front and said that he could not get her a loaner car, we would not have had him pick up the car in the first place - we would have made arrangements more convenient for a working student. He compounded his customer service faux pas by telling me that he would not return the car to my daughter, forcing her to take a cab to retrieve her car 30 miles away. I can't tell you whether Sal is any good at transmission repair but, in my experience, the quality of (or lack of) customer service is generally on par with the quality of (or lack of) actual service. Unless you are a family member of Sal's or live real close to his shop, I would steer clear of him. He is probably in over his head.