AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care

Brought my ancient but beloved van here for service of recommendation of a friend. Larry was helpful and cordial while setting up a diagnostic. I asked him about earlier reviews some of which were negative, and he said those former employees are gone.

I have had my car serviced by AAMCO once and it seemed okay. My main complaint is the screaming commercials done by Tim Conway Jr. He used to do commercials in a regular sane voice, but it became obvious he was talked to about his perceived lack of enthusiasm. I don’t mind «enthusiastic»…I DO mind the yelling and screaming, raising and lowering the volume in his voice very unnaturally, especially late at night. That is NOT enthusiasm… it’s a pain in the ass. Add to that, the speeding up of the «disclaimers» and the voice that says, «I can’t understand a word he’s saying», which I guess is supposed to be funny… it isn’t! Please allow him to go back to his regular «human» voice… he knows what he is doing, without the «coaching» by those who know much less,

Everyone warned me not to go here, and I should have listened.
Timing belt work only lasted a few months before it went out. My warranty had literally just expired by a few miles.
When I called the shop I was also lucky enough to meet the mechanic who likes to cuss at customers.
Absolutely horrid service. I will never spend another dollar at aamco ever again.

I had an excellent experience at Hemet AAMCO. My service light turned on so I decided to bring my car in for a free service light check.
In the past few month, I have noticed my car was shaking and it didn’t seem to respond right. It appeared that I needed a transmission repair. Although they told me the problem, I could have shopped around for a cheaper place to get it done. I decided to get it done here because they specialize in transmission.
I was very grateful they offered coffee in the morning and they were able to give me a lift home. Little amenities make me feel appreciative of their services.
After the transmission repair, I haven’t had a problem since. The car stopped shaking and it seems to be responding right. The staff there is friendly and know what they’re doing. I definitely will bring in my car again for future services.

The ownership changed recently. I did not experience any of the negative experiences others have posted about some incompetent and rude manager. I feel the service at AAMCO is great here. My 2012 Toyota Corolla was serviced here and I got my battery replaced because apparently when I got it serviced at Toyota, they didn’t cap one side of it and AAMCO let me know there was acid on the battery and that it should be replaced. They also changed my oil, which I was overdue for. Overall, it was a really good experience for myself and my car is operating well :) I’m glad they changed ownership otherwise I wouldn’t have come! The new owner seems to be nice and friendly! I will definitely come back in the future!

Thomas is an absolute scam artist. If you call and he doesn’t hang up on you in the first 3 minutes, hang up on him because anything he says is a lie. He says one thing on the phone and another thing in person. When I called him a liar to his face he lost his temper and yelled at me saying I was wrong and not to call him a liar because he is an honest man… BS. He is probably the most unhonest person I have EVER met in my life. He couldn’t tell me or my friends enough how much he «liked» me, would touch me inappropriately, even grabbed me after I told him off pulled me towards him and said he still «liked» me. He then belittled my husband by saying that maybe I could afford paying for my transmission if my husband had a job, when paying for my transmission was not an issue, I paid for my transmission in full $ 2,100 in cash. My issue was him saying one price and asking for another. I will never go back to aamco, none of them. If by chance your last option is aamco, do your business with mike. He was the most honest person I found at this establishment. I really cannot believe aamco has that as the face of their company.

AAMCO changed ownership 3 months ago. Thomas lasted only 1 week. New management with new attitude and new approach.

Thomas is rude and he will hang up on you if he doesn’t like your question. He tried to sell me way more than I needed and when confronted he shouted and hung up on me. Needless to say I got the proper repair from another shop. I have dealt with other Aamco locations in the past and been happy. I would never return to this shop as long as Thomas is the manager. Read other reviews and stay away from this place at all costs!

Brought my car to the AAMCO in San Bernardino initially when I was out of town and my clutch blew. Figured «hey it’s AAMCO, this is what they do all day». With the mileage I had noticed some seepage last time I was under the car so I had the rear main changed also. I get the car back and drive it home to San Jacinto. Car is leaving oil puddles in the driveway overnight. I take a day off of work to bring the car to this AAMCO and explain what happened. Thomas proceeds to try to say it isn’t the rear main and that on this car the valve cover seal leaks down the back of the block and gives the illusion of a rear main leak. I say no it’s the rear main and it needs to be fixed. They put it on the rack and lo and behold the rear main is leaking… I’m told the car will be ready the next day. Come in the next day the car isn’t ready. Come in a few days later, Thomas says car should be ready, walks into the shop then comes back saying car isn’t ready. A week and a half later (to do a rear main seal…) my car is ready. I drive the car home, now my a/​c doesn’t work. Bring the car back and get this condescending group meeting with the techs… I mean mechanics where Thomas proceeds to ask them «do we touch the a/​c system when we pull a trans?» No sh! t Thomas. Fact is I brought my car in with a working maintained a/​c system and got my car back with it not working, which is explaining why a rear main seal repair took a week and a half when it should have taken a few days. After a new rear main seal my car shouldn’t leak oil from the rear main seal either. Word of advice buy a Haynes manual before you get desperate enough to bring your car to these people. Setting aside the fact my car has left with a different problem every time I have brought it in, the Hemet store is extremely unprofessional between Thomas engaging in religious debates to the point myself and other customers had to stand outside while they were going on and Thomas trying to sell customers on coffee brand pyramid schemes. I’m into a clutch and rear main seal almost $ 3000 between the initial cost, missing work to come pick up my car and it not being ready when I was told it would be, and having my a/​c fixed at a competent repair facility. Avoid AAMCO, ESPECIALLY this one at all cost.

I really wish Unilocal had a zero star rating because that is exactly what this shop deserves! My dad went there to have his car diagnosed, when he got there the manager Tom was throwing a tantrum, throwing papers and cursing all because his printer wasn’t working! That was a huge red flag but my dad decided to go ahead and have them do the diagnostic check anyway. Tom told him he would call in 2 hours. Waited 3 hours no call. My dad called them and Tom stated his mechanic had not come back with results yet. We waited a couple more hours, still no call. We went to pick it up, Tom stated we had already had rebuilt the transmission. My dad said no we didn’t. Then he said well you will need a new transmission. We left and my dad was just going to take it to a place that actually knows what they are doing. So my dad starts driving back to the house I am following him he turns on the air and the car starts overheating btw his car has never overheated the entire 12 years he has had it. He drives it back to the lot. Of course he is upset, walks into the shop tells the manager his car is overheating and Tom says well we didn’t touch it or do anything to it. The sorry excuse for a mechanic looks at it with a smirk on his face and says he didn’t do anything to it. He said he drove it and that’s it. The manager comes out and tells my dad to get the F— off of his property and gets in my dad’s face. By the way my dad is a 71 year old man. I got in between them and told him to get away from my dad. Police were called. It got really crazy and out of hand when all this guy had to do was look at my dads car and see why it was now overheating! Very shady! Nobody should ever have to deal with this it was absolutely ridiculous! I also forgot to mention the same «mechanic» who looked at my dad’s car was laughing and snickering while videotaping us on his phone! Very unprofessional and rude! This shop should be closed down in my opinion. If you want your car to remain working please DO NOT take it to AAMCO in Hemet! Find a reputable shop please, this shop is a joke!

Thomas HUNG UP on me when I asked him a question about the general cost of a transmission aside from the labor. What is that about!!!
How in the heck is that even acceptable? I’m going to report this JERK to Tim Conway Jr. about this unprofessionalism. I will not be going to this store! I will also be formally complaining to AAMCO.
You don’t hang up on CUSTOMERS!!!

*** STAY AWAY FROM THIS SHOP ***
I have been a local resident in Hemet for nearly 2 decades. I have in the past used this business before but a recent change in service writers has made me post this warning.
An elderly dear friend of mine has a 10 year old Volvo that she bought new. She is a widow on a fixed income that spends the winter months in Hemet & the summer months in Nor Cal. Early into last summer, just prior to her trip back up to Nor Cal, her transfer case needed replacing & I recommended Hemet AAMCO because of fair service, prices, and a national brand that she could draw upon if she was on the road. The cost was fair. The repair seemed complete.
Just out of warranty (3 months according to the service writer Tom), the transfer case failed while driving back to Hemet. When she contacted the AAMCO in Hemet, they told her that the repair was out of warranty. She had the transfer case replaced again, this time by an independent shop while she was on the road.
She returned to Hemet and the 2^nd transfer case failed again! She then took it to Hemet AAMCO, raised a fuss enough to make the service writer Tom take her complaints seriously. I also got involved.
After much back & forth discussions, Tom contacted the independent shop and made them cover the cost of the 2^nd transfer case. Apparently, the information he gave her was incorrect — the warranty on a transfer case is 12 months, not 3 months.
Currently, her car is still there. He continuously makes excuses about being shipped wrong parts, lies about when the vehicle will be ready, and is generally not a trustworthy man.
A warning to all — Caveat Emptor! Shop around. Talk to your neighbors. Look on Unilocal