PLEASE REPAIR MY TRANSFER CASE ....EVENTUALLY?
Having a leaking transfer case, on Monday, April 19, I took my
vehicle to the Douglasville, GA AAMCO. It was diagnosed as only
needing to be re-sealed and I was told it would take until the next day to repair.
The next day, having not heard anything, I called at 4pm to make
certain it was finished. Darryl, the manager, told me that it was not finished, but would definitely be completed on the 21st. We made arrangements for me to pick up the vehicle after hours outside their gate.
Wednesday I arrived in the evening to pick up my car and it was not outside the gate as promised. The lock having been left unlatched, I drove into the parking lot and peered into the bay. It was not only NOT finished, but still on the lift and no one had bothered to tell me. I had to make last minute arrangements to get to work on Thursday. Finally, Darryl called and said it would be ready Thursday night.
Two and a half months later, within the 3 month warranty period, the transfer case began to leak worse than it had
previous to the repair. Knowing that it took almost an entire week to be repaired the first time, I couldn´t fit it into my work schedule for another 2 weeks. I called July 23, the day after the warranty was up. I was told to bring the vehicle in on Monday, July 26. At that time, I called Darryl (he never called me!) in the late afternoon. He said that it was very low in fluid, evidence that it had indeed been leaking prior to the warranty´s expiration and they would take care of the repairs the next day, Tuesday.
Tuesday, Darryl actually called me and said he was sorry that I
wouldn´t have the vehicle back until Wednesday. Wednesday, July 28, I called AAMCO and was told they MAY be able to finish it Thursday.
Finally, Thursday, it wouldn´t be finshed until next week. I told Darryl that I absolutely had to have the vehicle over the weekend, and he agreed to top off the fluid so that I could drive it. I specifically asked, ´´How long does sealing the transfer case take?
´´ He said, ´´less than one full day.´´ I asked, ´´What day next
week could he schedule my vehicle in to have it finished in one day because after almost 2 whole weeks worth of repair time, I couldn´t afford to not have it for any longer than a day.´´ He said, ´´We can definitely finish it on Tuesday.´´ I reiterated, ´´You are certain that if I have the vehicle there by opening time Tuesday morning, I can pick it up after close on Tuesday night.´´ He said, ´´yes.´´
To this point I had not said a single unpleasant word, expressed a single unpleasant tone, but instead been completely understanding of their troubles with consistent labor. I was satisfied that I would finally have my vehicle back Tuesday. On Monday, August 2, I called and spoke to Darryl. ´´Darryl, I just wanted to confirm that we are all set for my Blazer to be repaired tomorrow, Tuesday.
I absolutely can not afford to go without it for more than a day, so if there is a better day later in the week, I would be happy to bring it in then.´´ ´´No´´, he said, ´´We will definitely be able to have it back to you tomorrow evening.´´ I restated our understanding that I would bring it in before they opened and leave my keys in the mailbox.
On Tuesday at 10am, Darryl called to tell me that the vehicle would not be ready until Wednesday. How can I possible expect this to be taken care of by tomorrow when every time I´ve heard this it has taken yet another day or two. My girlfriend had to miss work today ($200) so that I could have her car. Tomorrow I will have to miss work.
Basically we have paid for the repair twice now and it is still not fixed. I contacted the customer service department for AAMCO at 800/523-0401. Ronnie at extension 313 took all of my information and called the Douglasville shop. She called me back to explain that according to Gary, the owner, the warranty was up by a day and I was lucky for them to repair it at all, even though it had obviously been leaking for some time. They did agree to give me another 30 day warranty on the repair, but still can´t garantee that it will be available today. What has happened to customer service?
April 19 inspected and ready tomorrow (called) April 20 not ready, but tomorrow instead (never bothered to call) April 21 go to pick it up and its not finished (never called) April 22 finally get it back ---- July 7 starts leaking again July 23 I finally have time to call and schedule its repair July 26 take it in to be repaired July 27 not finshed as promised (no call) July 28 still not finished as promised again July 29 get the vehicle back unfinished
---- August 2 confirm it to be done Aug 3 August 3 take vehicle
back-not done again August 4 may get my car back, may not. no way to know Do I have any recourse?