Ken Yi
I want to share the honesty and professionalism I experienced at this place. My car is a 2016 Toyota Camry with about 120,000 miles on it. A few months ago, I started hearing a knocking sound coming from under the engine, and it gradually got louder. Someone I know, who knows a bit about cars, told me it was coming from the transmission. After hearing that, I avoided long-distance driving and only drove locally, planning to fix it when the time came. Unfortunately, things got worse when I was laid off from work, and money became very tight. Each day, the sound seemed louder, and I worried the car might stop while driving. I was desperately thinking of the cheapest way to fix the transmission, and eventually decided to take it to a local transmission shop. Among the options, AMCO in Oakland had good reviews, and I was able to easily book an appointment online on the Monday Nov 24. I explained the noise, and they told me it would cost $200 to diagnose the issue. I was mentally prepared to fix it if the estimate came out to under $2,000, and they also said the $200 would be applied to the repair cost if I chose to proceed. Since I couldn’t see the problem myself, the whole situation felt overwhelming and I had no choice but to trust the shop. If they had quoted a repair cost, I would have had to pay it or put it on a credit card, even if it meant going into debt. About an hour and a half later, I went back to talk to them. When they told me that fixing the transmission would normally cost four to five thousand dollars, I thought, “This is it… the moment I was afraid of.” But then the manager smiled and said, “You are a lucky guy.” He explained that the knocking sound wasn’t coming from the transmission at all—it was simply the tire cover making noise. They removed all the loose covers from my car and recommended to replace all four covers. I was relieved beyond words. I regretted trusting someone who only “knew a bit” about cars, but I was extremely grateful that I went for a second opinion. I thanked God for leading me to honest people and for allowing everything to work out safely. Looking back, I realized how easy it could have been for someone to scam me and make quick money. But these people were completely honest, handled everything professionally, and treated me with integrity. I want to leave this review, even though it’s only a short one, to express my appreciation for their work. I hope I won’t have to go back for transmission issues, but if I ever do, this is the place I’ll return to—and I truly recommend them to others.
