So many customers will ask for “Worse Case Senario” or “Ball Park Figures”. It’s easy to understand that they are looking for some kind of price. Naturally we want the best deal, especially when times are tough. Unfortunatly, most shop owners have a tendency to answer that question all too quickly, hoping that their instant price quote gets them the job.

But what if you found out that the instant price quote could cost you a lot more $$$. Let me explain.  First, there is no single sympton when it comes to automatic transmission problems. Many customers will use the word “slipping “to describe late shifts or delays. Some will say it makes a noise. Todays modern transmissions rely on a ton of computer sensors that tell it what to do. A bad sensor such as an input sensor, Throttle Position Sensor or Output sensor can cause a transmission to go nuts. It’s a lot cheaper to install a sensor.

But lets say your transmission is bad, and you chose that shop that had the best price. You may feel good unless you know what goes on behind the sceens. If the service advisor has  given you a price already, sight unseen, without knowing what is wrong, what happens when he takes it apart. First, let’s say it just needs a repair instead of a rebuild. What’s the chances of him telling you that? Not much. He has to make up for the losses on all the other bad quotes he gave. What if the trans needs more that what he quoted. Well he can call and do an upsale, so that price quote was worthless then. Right? Or he can just put some of those bad parts back in and hope the transmission will last out the warranty. Or like some shops, when the transmission goes bad, those parts suddenly are not covered under their warranty.

It’s easy to make up prices over the phone, but a professional shop will always ask you to bring the vehicle in. They will always do an evaluation first, and then discuss with you the problem and what needs to be done next. Honest shops wish to make sure they only sell what is needed, and do a good job for you. Honest shops educate the customer, rather than playing them for a sucker. If you want to get the best price, search out a professional shop that has a good reputation. You’ll find out that in the end, they will give you the best value for your money, and you may save more money with them than the so called cheapest price place.

Q   What’s the difference between having a flush done and a transmission service?

A   Most transmissions come with a removable pan and only by removing the pan can you first, get to the filter to change or clean it and second, to see if there is any abnormal metal or friction material in the pan.  When you have a flush done, it means that the pan will not be removed, therefore the filter can not be changed or clean and if there is abnormal wear, you won’t know it. Also, since ATF is very high in detergents, changing all the fluid may cause drivability problems if your transmission has an internal problem already. 

Q    I just want to go to the shop with the best price to fix my transmission. Why do some shops give prices over the phone and some don’t? 

A    Sometimes that price you got over the phone can cost you a whole lot more. I can give you hundreds of true stories to illistrate my point, but here is just one. Customer called from Riverside (150 miles away) to get a price for his Jetta which had 1st and Reverse only. He called and was quoted prices of $4000, $3800 and a used transmission for $2800. When he called, I insisted that we check the car out first. He knew we had a great repurtation and decided to tow it to our shop. His cost was only $85.00 to fix his car. If I would have given him a price, he most likely would have settled for the $2800 job and been happy not knowing any better.

Many times, components can cause a transmission to not shift properly or slip. You need to trust a professional shop to first diagnois the problem, before blurting out some numbers. Also, since most customers don’t know what parts are in a transmission, you also won’t be able to tell if the shop did a good quality job or not. That’s why you need to seek a quality shop with an outstanding reputation rather than the cheapest place you can find.

Most of us will show up at a shop with our vehicle, fill out some paperwork, tell the person at the counter the basic symptoms, and then leave, waiting for the dreaded phone. What we don’t understand is what happens after we leave and why sometimes it cost so much to fix our cars and trucks. Part of the cost is diagnosis time. The technician must first analyze what was written down on the work order, which in most cases is just a few words. Most of the time, he needs to do a road test, then put the car on the lift, and maybe scan for any codes. He then has to use his knowledge to try and match the symptoms with a possible cure. The more time he needs to take to find the symptoms, the more it will cost you.

You can help save yourself money by writing down all the information you can as to what the symptoms are and when they occur. Does the problem happen when the vehicle is cold, or hot? After a long trip or going around the corner or up a hill. What exactly is the vehicle doing. You don’t need to worry about the technical language, just how you can get the symptom to occur and re-occur.  The faster the technician can experience the problem, the faster he can come up a solution.