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About A1 Transmission and Auto Air
A1 Transmission and Auto Air located at 1900 N East Avenue in Panama City, FL services vehicles for AC and Heating Repair, Transmission Repair, Transmission Coolers. Call (850) 769-5468 to book an appointment or to hear more about the services of A1 Transmission and Auto Air.
Crooked, overpriced service. The bottom line - Slow service: took A-1 Transmission 7 days before they even took my transmission apart - Expensive: charged $810 for a job that takes approximately 5-6 hours. Other shops quoted $350-$550 for an 8 hour job of similar scope (old transmission out, new transmission in). - Evident lack of expertise: A-1 Transmission’s solution to any problem is to buy a rebuild kit and swap parts, even if the rebuild kit is not required. The experience I rebuilt the transmission on my truck myself but was having an issue with one of the clutch packs. I called their shop, per a friend’s recommendation, and asked if they would mind taking a look at my issue. The shop happily sent over their "free" towing service, for which I was later charged $50. Jeff, the owner of A-1 Transmission, said that he would have one of his mechanics take the transmission apart to see if they could find the issue. For the next 7 days, I never received an update call. I called the shop every day, and every day, Jeff told me that they had not yet disassembled the transmission. On the 7th day, the owner told me that they had finally taken the transmission apart and it needed a full rebuild. He said that they would need to purchase a full rebuild kit and that the repairs would cost $2800. I knew this was unnecessary since I had just rebuilt the transmission and the clutches and steels had 0 miles on them (I later found that my problems were because I had put a reaction plate in the place of a pressure plate. The fix was very easy, took 5 minutes, and required no additional parts.). By this point, I was not comfortable with the shop's competence. I told the owner to stop all work, pack up the parts, and that I would pick the truck up and do the repairs myself. I asked Jeff to figure out how much I owed him for their work so that I could pay him before I picked up the truck. He told me that I owed $810 for the work and the "free" tow. Knowing that the amount of work his shop performed could not be more than 5-6 hours, I asked the owner how much time they had spent on my truck. He said that they did not keep track but that he estimated 10 hours: 6 hours to pull the transmission, 2 hours to take the transmission apart, and 2 hours to box up my parts. I know from experience (backed up by many internet sites) that it takes approximately 4 hours to pull a transmission, 30 minutes to an hour to disassemble a transmission, and less than 10 minutes to place a few items in a box. To confirm my suspicions that I was being grossly overcharged, I called a few shops in the area and asked how much they charge to remove a transmission and then install a new transmission. This is approximately an 8 hour job - 4 hours to take out the transmission, 4 hours to put in the new transmission. Panhandle Transmission quoted me $350 and Bill's Transmission quoted my $550. This means that A-1 was charging me 370% of the local rate. I brought this information to Jeff’s attention but he refused to drop the price. Since the truck is my daily driver, I had no choice but to pay the excessive $810. On the day that I scheduled to pick up my truck, I contacted the shop to make sure my vehicle would be ready when I arrived. Jeff assured me many times that the truck would be ready. Of course, when I showed up, my truck was still in the back and my parts had not been boxed up. I was made to wait an hour before one of the shop's employees was free and could retrieve my vehicle. In all, I was extremely dissatisfied with the quality of the service provided and the outrageously high prices. I will never take any of my vehicles back to A-1 Transmission and I strongly discourage others from making the same mistake.Crooked, overpriced service. The bottom line - Slow service: took A-1 Transmission 7 days before they even took my transmission apart - Expensive: charged $810 for a job that takes approximately 5-6 hours. Other shops quoted $350-$550 for an 8 hour job of similar scope (old transmission out, new transmission in). - Evident lack of expertise: A-1 Transmission’s solution to any problem is to buy a rebuild kit and swap parts, even if the rebuild kit is not required. The experience I rebuilt the transmission on my truck myself but was having an issue with one of the clutch packs. I called their shop, per a friend’s recommendation, and asked if they would mind taking a look at my issue. The shop happily sent over their "free" towing service, for which I was later charged $50. Jeff, the owner of A-1 Transmission, said that he would have one of his mechanics take the transmission apart to see if they could find the issue. For the next 7 days, I never received an update call. I called the shop every day, and every day, Jeff told me that they had not yet disassembled the transmission. On the 7th day, the owner told me that they had finally taken the transmission apart and it needed a full rebuild. He said that they would need to purchase a full rebuild kit and that the repairs would cost $2800. I knew this was unnecessary since I had just rebuilt the transmission and the clutches and steels had 0 miles on them (I later found that my problems were because I had put a reaction plate in the place of a pressure plate. The fix was very easy, took 5 minutes, and required no additional parts.). By this point, I was not comfortable with the shop's competence. I told the owner to stop all work, pack up the parts, and that I would pick the truck up and do the repairs myself. I asked Jeff to figure out how much I owed him for their work so that I could pay him before I picked up the truck. He told me that I owed $810 for the work and the "free" tow. Knowing that the amount of work his shop performed could not be more than 5-6 hours, I asked the owner how much time they had spent on my truck. He said that they did not keep track but that he estimated 10 hours: 6 hours to pull the transmission, 2 hours to take the transmission apart, and 2 hours to box up my parts. I know from experience (backed up by many internet sites) that it takes approximately 4 hours to pull a transmission, 30 minutes to an hour to disassemble a transmission, and less than 10 minutes to place a few items in a box. To confirm my suspicions that I was being grossly overcharged, I called a few shops in the area and asked how much they charge to remove a transmission and then install a new transmission. This is approximately an 8 hour job - 4 hours to take out the transmission, 4 hours to put in the new transmission. Panhandle Transmission quoted me $350 and Bill's Transmission quoted my $550. This means that A-1 was charging me 370% of the local rate. I brought this information to Jeff’s attention but he refused to drop the price. Since the truck is my daily driver, I had no choice but to pay the excessive $810. On the day that I scheduled to pick up my truck, I contacted the shop to make sure my vehicle would be ready when I arrived. Jeff assured me many times that the truck would be ready. Of course, when I showed up, my truck was still in the back and my parts had not been boxed up. I was made to wait an hour before one of the shop's employees was free and could retrieve my vehicle. In all, I was extremely dissatisfied with the quality of the service provided and the outrageously high prices. I will never take any of my vehicles back to A-1 Transmission and I strongly discourage others from making the same mistake.
I had him do a diagnostic test on my truck to check why it was not running after it ran out of diesel. He told me on the phone that it would be free and I had a coupon for it to be free. He called me the next day to let me know that the sending unit was not working. I called the dealer and they told me that the sending unit has not thing to do with the truck turning on or off. So, he was lied and tried to sell me something that was needed (dishonest). We did more research on the internet and told him to put in more diesel and it worked. The truck turn on. When I went to pick up the truck he told me that I have to pay for the diagnostic test (when he didn’t even fix the problem). I showed him the coupon for the free diagnostic test and he did not honor it and he also lied when I called him if there would be a charge. I ended up paying because I wanted my keys back… Don't use them!!!I had him do a diagnostic test on my truck to check why it was not running after it ran out of diesel. He told me on the phone that it would be free and I had a coupon for it to be free. He called me the next day to let me know that the sending unit was not working. I called the dealer and they told me that the sending unit has not thing to do with the truck turning on or off. So, he was lied and tried to sell me something that was needed (dishonest). We did more research on the internet and told him to put in more diesel and it worked. The truck turn on. When I went to pick up the truck he told me that I have to pay for the diagnostic test (when he didn’t even fix the problem). I showed him the coupon for the free diagnostic test and he did not honor it and he also lied when I called him if there would be a charge. I ended up paying because I wanted my keys back… Don't use them!!!
The guy is a fraud. First he said he charged $55 an hour and it would only take him two hours at most to change the hubs on my car so I left the car there and he said that it would be ready by mid-day tomorrow. He calls me back the next day and says that it's going to take him 4 days to get it ready! I went there immediately without telling him and guess what? the car was parked exactly where I left it and he hasn't even taken a look at it. I was about to take the car back and go to another shop but he promised me to finish it the next day. Again he lied and the car took one more day to be ready and when I went to pay the bill he was charging me $75 an hour and three hours of labor for each hub! I told him that I made a deal with him at $55 per hour and only two hours of labor "at most" but he said that he wasn't sure when he said that and he only charges $55 if the total bill was above $15,000! Even more, he didn't do a good job at chaning the hub because I still had the same problem I brought the car to him because of in the first place. Basically, a thieves shop.The guy is a fraud. First he said he charged $55 an hour and it would only take him two hours at most to change the hubs on my car so I left the car there and he said that it would be ready by mid-day tomorrow. He calls me back the next day and says that it's going to take him 4 days to get it ready! I went there immediately without telling him and guess what? the car was parked exactly where I left it and he hasn't even taken a look at it. I was about to take the car back and go to another shop but he promised me to finish it the next day. Again he lied and the car took one more day to be ready and when I went to pay the bill he was charging me $75 an hour and three hours of labor for each hub! I told him that I made a deal with him at $55 per hour and only two hours of labor "at most" but he said that he wasn't sure when he said that and he only charges $55 if the total bill was above $15,000! Even more, he didn't do a good job at chaning the hub because I still had the same problem I brought the car to him because of in the first place. Basically, a thieves shop.
Business Information
Business Name: A1 Transmission and Auto Air
Address: 1900 N East Avenue
Phone Number: (850) 769-5468
Email: not listed
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