I hate to say this, but transmission repair shops employ some of the most dishonest practices in the automotive industry. They are able to get away with it for two reasons.

The first reason is that for every 50 general auto repair shops there may be five transmission shops. So supply and demand naturally contract the prices these companies can charge. This is nothing new, but some of these streaming companies get rowdy.

Second, unless you are a specialist in this field, you most likely know nothing about transmissions. Any tech can tell you anything and you don’t have a verifiable way to double check.

Here are some common scams in the transmission repair industry and some common mistakes customers make:

We need a new transmission a store will usually give you two options. They can install a new transmission, which will cost a lot, or they can install a rebuilt transmission, which will still cost a lot but is possibly half the cost.

You need to understand the dangers of getting a rebuilt transmission. There’s a good chance these won’t be as good as a new transmission or won’t last as long. If you’re dealing with a reputable shop that has trained employees, you can rebuild a durable transmission.

They should also consider working with some kind of guarantee. Don’t get a rebuilt transmission without a decent warranty of some kind. Make sure you get it in writing. There have been many shops that have sold customers rebuilt transmissions and they failed in a matter of days or weeks.

Those same customers, angry of course, returned to the store only to find that that particular store would not honor their “verbal” or “implied” guarantee. However, if you accept a rebuilt transmission, don’t go crying to the transmission repair shop when you have problems again after warranty. He took the cheapest route and you must understand that it comes with inherent risks.

Beware of transmission shops that have all kinds of low-cost transmission maintenance services and special offers to enter. Lots of auto companies or what I like to call “commission based stores”. The stores pay their employees a small hourly wage, but make them receive a percentage of their total gross sales.

Avoid these companies at all costs! These transmission repair shops have a system where they trick large numbers of people every day into their place of business with lower and cheaper rates and then convince them to buy services and parts they don’t need.

This practice has become standard among many of the large national chains and has recently been adopted by many of the smaller local chains. If you feel like you’re being pressured into buying something you don’t think you need, get a second opinion.

I’ve already touched on the subject a bit but I need to return to the subject of guarantees. Every warranty and guarantee must be in writing. No transmission repair facility just tells you that they stand behind all of their work.

Don’t let them tell you that you can return your car and they’ll fix it for free, if within a couple of weeks or months you experience the same problems they were supposed to fix. Each agreement must be in writing including all terms and conditions.

And speaking of terms and conditions, this brings us to the most common scam most transmission repair facilities do. It’s sad that so many of these companies resort to what I’m about to say but all you have to do is search online and you’ll hear hundreds of horror stories.

You are having transmission problems. You go to a local transmission repair shop and get an estimate. Parts and labor are $1200. It seems only fair that you arrange to leave your vehicle with them for several days.

Within a day he gets a call from the streaming store. They proceed to tell him that the price is going to be more than what was in the estimate. The excuses are more numerous than the sands found on the beach. It could be any excuse for parts costing more than expected because they didn’t realize the specific problem when they first quoted you.

So the result is that the price that was “$1200” is now “$3500”.

Now your typical person in this position has two options at this point. You can bite the bullet and pay the $3,500, in effect paying $1,800 more than agreed, or you can pick up your car.

Keep in mind that the cars are most likely already wrecked at this point. This is where the stores get even worse. In order for you to pick up your car, the transmission shop will still charge you a fee for putting your car back together, storing it, towing it, and believe me, you will find other miscellaneous charges to add to that.

So you end up doing the job, but get ripped off in the process, or get the same broken car but paid $500 just to be able to pick it up again at a store and then tried to screw you over (and they did). It’s a no-win.

This is why you should only do business with reputable transmission repair shops. How to know if the store is trustworthy? In this day and age where honesty and honor are as common as black and white televisions, you need to do your homework.

Ask family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances for recommendations. Good transmission repair shops are out there. You just have to find them among the many bad guys.

Once you get a recommendation from someone you know, search for the store on the Better Business Bureau, local websites where people post reviews, and forums. Ask for customer references at a transmission shop.

If they do indeed have a good reputation, they should be able to produce one or two satisfied customers that you can talk to. A little due diligence goes a long way because once they have you, you are at their mercy.

Hopefully, this article will give you an insight into the tricks transmission repair shops employ to make a quick buck, and hopefully you’ll be able to take this information and benefit from it.