I took my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan to 202 Transmissions on Monday, April 11. The van had an electrical problem, and would make noise in reverse. The electrical problem caused the vehicle to shift into a lower gear, only allowing about 40 mph, after about 30 minutes of driving and then about 10 minutes later, the engine shut off, requiring charging of the battery in order to re-start it and drive the 5 miles or so farther to the 202 Transmission shop.
I filled out a form detailing the issues and asked the mechanic to diagnose the problems. On Thursday, April 14, I was able to reach the shop by phone, and I was told that the transmission would have to be replaced. I was told that they were trying to find a used transmission, and that they would call me the next day to give me a quote for the transmission and replacement costs.
After not receiving any contact, I called on April 20, but could not get an answer. I was able to leave a message, but didn't receive a return call. I called again on April 22, after no answer, I left another message to call me back, but didn't receive a return call again. I called again on April 25, and 3 more times on April 26. I finally received a return call on April 26, and was told that the van had been repaired and was ready to be picked up. I thought that was odd, because I was never given a quote to repair it, and never authorized any repairs to be made. When I asked about the cost, the caller told me that he didn't have the total on the paperwork in front of him.
I was in St. Louis, so my wife arranged to pick up the van. When she called, on April 27, she asked about the repairs to the electrical problems, and stated that she would be upset if the electrical issues were still present, and the van would not be able to be driven back home. She was told that the battery had been replaced, even though it was only 2 years old, and that the problems had been fixed.
When she went to pick it up, on May 2, she was shocked to be billed $1800 for the repairs, and pretty upset that the expensive repairs had been made without authorization. 202 Transmissions should have told me that they could not find a used transmission, and I would have found one. They should also have never done any repairs without authorization.
She felt extorted, but paid the bill and got in the van to drive it home. When she started the van, the battery light came on, showing that the problem with the electrical system still existed. She just paid $1800 for repairs to the van and it still wasn't fixed.
She went back into the shop and told them about the problem and they told her to go across the street to Pep Boys to diagnose the issue, and then bring the van back to them for any needed repairs, claiming they could do it cheaper. They sent her to Pep Boys even though they advertise being able to diagnose electrical systems.
She took the van to Pep Boys, and they told her the van needed a new alternator. There was no way she was going to use 202 Transmissions for any more repairs, so she had Pep Boys replace the alternator for another $500.
Had we been told that it would cost $2300 to repair the van, we never would have had it fixed. read more