General Transmissions

Brought my Expedition in for a full rebuild a few weeks ago. Once again, I received great customer service and a fair price with a good warranty. When I initially picked up my vehicle, the Overdrive light started flashing. I called up GT and told them what was going on. They took it right away, apologized for the inconvenience and made everything right. I realize transmissions are complex, and nobody is perfect. They do solid work, stand behind it, and make sure the customer is satisfied. I’d recommend these guys in a heartbeat.

Steve saved me $ 3500!!!
I have a 2007 VW Jetta that was experiencing odd behavior when shifting gears, particularly on startup. The VW dealership in Oakland said the transmission was shot and that they’d need to replace it (they originally quoted me $ 5500, and then, after a day, said they’d give me a ‘deal’ at $ 4500). I called around to a few other transmission shops and they all gave similar quotes, except for Steve, who posed a very intriguing possibility: he said that my model of Volkswagens often went bad in the valve body, and that he could probably fix it just by replacing that. In that case, it’d only cost $ 2000.
So I took it out of Oakland VW and over to Steve. After a few days, though, he said that it didn’t seem like the problem was the valve body. Instead, it was probably the transmission temperature sensor. If that was it, then he could replace it and maybe fix everything for jut $ 750! So he went ahead and did that, but it was still broken =[
At this point I was sure he was going to ask for a full transmission rebuild (at a cost of $ 4500), and even if that’d happened, I think I still would’ve given Steve a good Unilocal review, because he was straight with me. At every stage he was above-​board, he did his best to describe the problem, and tell me exactly what he was doing to fix it and how much it’d cost. Contrast this to Oakland VW, which was high-​handed and peremptory and wouldn’t tell me anything except that I needed to replace the transmission (even though their own mechanic’s report clearly noted the problem with the temperature sensor).
It’s really hard to find skilled service workers – whether they’re doctors, dentists, mechanics, lawyers or plumbers – who don’t use the knowledge asymmetry (I have no idea how a car works) as an excuse to look upon their customers with contempt. In professions like this, it’s almost the _​rule_​that you’ll do your best to rook the customer. I don’t know how people justify this sort of behavior to themselves. I don’t know whether it’s just laziness (instead of figuring out the real problem, I’ll just go ahead and replace everything) or whether they actually feel like the customer deserves what they get (it’s his fault for not knowing how his car works).
But Steve isn’t like that. He’s one of the good ones. When Oakland VW told me that I needed a $ 4500 transmission job, I didn’t believe them and I pulled my car. But if Steve had said that, I would’ve been like… okay, sure I guess that’s what I need.
Anyway, that didn’t happen! A few days after he told me that the temperature sensor fix had failed, he said that one of his mechanics had painstakingly gone in, found the break in the wirin (the one that was causing a faulty temp sensor reading) and fixed it! I came in, picked up my car. Total cost $ 850!!!
And it drives like a dream. I hadn’t realized how used I’d gotten to the kicking and stuttering and pausing until I started her up and experienced none of that! I am so, so, so happy!
Now, of course, it’s totally possible that the fix was temporary and that the car will develop trouble again, but if that happens, I’ll come back and alter this review. So if this is still standing, then assume that me and my car lived happily ever after.

Not recommended. Installed three axles in approximately three years, costing me repeatedly for the replacements, then blamed the manufacturer, then refused to take responsibility for installing substandard parts. They want it both ways, to blame the manufacturer, based upon their claim that the parts were made in China by incompetent labor, then declined to take responsibility for selling me shoddy car parts. Dishonest.

I have a 1985 Volvo DL. I would hate to part with this car. It developed this problem that when I went into reverse, sometimes, it would make a hideus grinding sound. Another transmission shop said I would need a new clutch and possibly a new transmission. Mt regular mechanic thought just a new transmission. I began looking for a new car. Then I saw Gt transmission and came in and Steve helped me. After a test drive and a phone call Steve said it was just an electrical problem and explained the situation to me in great detail. The price was $ 150.00. My Volvo was saved. Then I asked Steve about my overdrive which I had not used in years. I was told by many mechanics that it would be very costly to fix, and possibly could not be fixed. Steve
said he thought he could fixed it with a new part, but it was a gamble it might not work.
The part was about $ 100. Steve said if it did not work he would not charge for labor. I gambled; it worked, and I now had my car back with a working overdrive all for about $ 300. I was so relieved I did not want a new car.
Richard R.

Very pleased with General Transmission: Steve was willing to take me in at 4pm on a Friday, a day before I had to drive down to Los Angeles. AAA towed me in and within minutes he and Ernesto had diagnosed (what turned out to be) a minor transmission problem. Up front, he said there was no charge for inspection, but he did want to charge $ 45 for 30 minutes of labor. This combined with the cost of the necessary liquids and the full inspection they did of my car to make sure I was in good shape for the road seemed fine to me. Steve and Ernesto were great at explaining everything and showing me what was going on in various parts of the car. Overall, I appreciated all I learned, being able to walk away with a safe, functioning car, and not breaking the bank ($ 75.00 total). I called three other mechanics that afternoon, and all turned me away due to the volume of customers they already had. (Steve was willing to let me keep my car on his property for a few days if necessary until I figured out how to fix it, sell it, or bring it back to LA. Luckily this was totally unnecessary in the end.) I wish he had been up front about the $ 45 — $ 90/​hour is on the more expensive side in LA— but overall the cost was worth it. Steve and Ernesto were easy to talk to about all things car-​related.

Steve was the best mechanic I ever met! I took my truck there to fix the transmission and he was able to give me the diagnosis whitin less than 40 minutes.
Very honest and reliable!
I really recommend him!

When my 2002 Camry
With just 80,000 miles transmission went I was faced with decision
To fix or buy new car. spoke with Steve who didn’t pressure or do hard sell. I loved my car so had them fix/​replace tranny. Couple months latter funny noise, Steve test drove for long time till it made noise, they took it all apart good as new. Now a year ½ latter still like new. my experience
They do good work at fair price and stand by it. Its nice not having car payments, :)

These guys are good. Without going in to the details of my car problem all I can say is Steve is an honest, knowledgeable mechanic.

Update. The plastic piece they put in my mustang that connects the acceleration and transmission broke. It was a cheap piece. It turns out that I ended up blowing out my 2^nd gear. We went to Ford and got the piece ($ 5 vs. $ 2 part perhaps made in China according to Steve). Made a difference but didn’t help my already blown out 2^nd gear in my automatic. Will go back and then update… not thrilled about the cheap piece. Most people might give lower than 3 stars on that… though, we’ll see if Steve will work with me after acknowledging the cheap part he put in. Will update.
Update: Didn’t get a deal because of the cheap piece; but these guys did a good job.

Steve and his crew are the best! We had the dread «check engine» light come on with a diagnosis of transmission woes — went to Steve fearing we’d need major repair/​overhaul/​replacement, only to find out from him that the problem was a pressure switch that had failed. Quick and inexpensive fix — nice!
This is the second car I’ve taken to this shop, and I cam away impressed all over again with their professionalism and their commitment to resolving the issue quickly and economically. You can’t ask for more from a repair shop — these guys are great!

I would highly recommend General Transmissions for your transmission needs. I brought in my Ford Taurus (2005), which they hooked up to the computer, road tested, and determined the problems, gratis. Ford would have charged me $ 136 just to check the transmission.
General Transmissions overhauled the transmission, which included a 2 year warranty.
I can say I’m very happy with the results. I also discovered that transmission issues can create any number of symptoms to occur. I thought I had a fuel line problem before the transmission was repaired. Once the transmission was repaired, the imagined fuel line problem disappeared.
Bypass the dealerships, head to General Transmissions.

I thought my automatic transmission car was having issues, and expected to need a complete rebuild. They contacted me when they said they would, and instead of a major repair, said that it didn’t need any transmission work at all — the manager pointed me in the direction of the real problem (engine sensors causing other issues that seemed like poor shifting), and sent me on my way. No charge! After spending the time to road-​test the car and describe where the actual problem was, I was amazed. I wish more places had their integrity.

Great Shop. Steve knows his transmissions, been in the business over 30 years. Honest, knowledgeable, and patient in explaining everything, even to anal-​retentive customers like me. Mike and Ernesto will take care of you and your car also. Bottom line come here for a quality rebuild at a quality price. Even if you have an extended warranty, I’d come here just to be satisfied it was done right.

They rebuilt my Eurovan transmission for $ 1000 less than the closest quote, and with a 2 year 24k mile warranty !! Steve explained the repair options clearly, and was very helpful. This is a difficult (and expensive) car to work on and General Transmission was just excellent !!

Great service, repaired the LEGOJeep transmission for a very fair price, with a quick turnaround. Clean and comfortable waiting room and bathroom.

These guys are A#1 TOPS, the best there is, and good too!
After my transmission problem was incorrectly diagnosed by Albany-​Ford I called General Transmissions. They stayed open late while I retrieved the car from Albany-​Ford and offered a free diagnosis with an estimate to follow. (Albany-​Ford charged $ 136 for the wrong diagnosis). They called promptly the following morning and told me the transmission needed a rebuild (a service Albany-​Ford does not offer) and would be ready in 2 days. In fact, it took less than the two full days (one day less!). They carefully explained the problem, even showing me the defective parts and explaining how it broke (rocking the car back-​and-​forth to get out of the snow) and how to avoid the problem again in the future (switch between Reverse and 2 instead of between reverse and Drive or 1^st).
After figuratively getting my pockets picked at Albany-​Ford it was a real pleasure to find a competent, fair and fast service just a few blocks away.

An excellent shop! They did a fairly major repair on a late model Rav 4 with all-​wheel drive and a manual transmission. What first impressed me was that in addition to the ‘book’ price for the repair I also was given information about a possible range of cost based on what might be found once the transmission was opened up. Steve was reasonable and straightforward.
Another huge plus was that I heard of a workaround on-​line and Steve was willing to check the website. He read the information and said it sounded good — eventually that short cut saved us over $ 1000!
I shopped this repair around and the dealer was only open to replacing the whole transmission (35% higher price than if Steve did it with a new transmission ordered from Toyota!) Several other shops gave better prices than the dealer but they did not seem to know as much about the repair as I did and they certainly weren’t open to learning a better way to do it like Steve was. And Steve already probably knew more than anyone else I called.
The car came back clean and was sitting out front waiting for us when we arrived to pick it up. One of the best experiences I’ve had getting a major transmission repair!

Good, decent peeps who will not rape you. Steve is good guy. Had transmission service there in April, then after I parked on a hill, developed a weird, temporary leak which some thought was transmission fluid. They keep it there for two and a half days, checking it out thoroughly (turned out to be a an oil leak) and didn’t charge me a penny.
No burritos — transmission service and repair!

I didn’t have a substantial amount of tranny work done here and the only reason I chose here was because it was close to work and I needed to get my transmission fixed. Nonetheless, I had a good experience at General Transmission, which is a small shop and all they do are transmissions so hopefully they know there stuff. I’ve always been a little cautious of mechanics and was clenching my teeth, preparing for the worst. That said, I was extremely relieved that the guy I talked to seemed honest in telling me that I only needed a plate to fix what was wrong and how much it was. The service was prompt and at a good price from what I could tell!