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  • Report:  #1486251

Complaint Review: AAA Engine - Chatsworth California

Reported By:
Sandor - Valley Center, CA, United States
Submitted:
Updated:

AAA Engine
21744 Marilla St Chatsworth, 91311 California, United States
Phone:
(818) 900-8601
Web:
www.aaaengine.com
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Key issues first with complete story below

1.  They will lie about what they have 'ready to ship' since often they need to check specifics of engine to see if it matches your year and model.  Don't believe them if they say "It's ready to ship"  It will likely take at least 1-2 weeks for them to ship the correct engine for your model.   Don't make your purchase based upon quick delivery.

2.  Their warranty ONLY COVERS PARTS!   You will have to pay your mechanic out of your own pocket to do service on the engine from AAA engine if there is anything wrong with the parts AAA Engine installed.  If you ship it back to them for warranty repair, you will need to pay to have it pulled out, or pull it out and ship it yourself.   (They will do a warranty inspection for free if you ship it back to them)

3.  Unlike returning batteries, or brake pads or other parts with a 'Core Refund', AAA engine will actually deduct from the core refund for anything short of a brand new engine (and why would you be sending them a working engine for core refund....).    Out of their claimed core refund of $495, I only received back slightly more than $200.   Expect the same or worse refund from them for your returned engine.



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4.  The service people were actually fairly helpful and did communicate much better than sales.   However, they don't seem to have much say in the company and how issues are handled.  Their first response seems to be "Blame the installer for any issues".    

My Story with AAA Engine

I purchased an engine for my 2011 Chevrolet Traverse.  My high quality Mechanic was reluctant, but his regular engine supplier was going to take over two weeks to get engine, and AAA Engine sales said they had my engine in stock and it would ship within 24hrs (first lie).  

They seem to have a solid warranty (2nd Lie) so I ordered engine and gave them all the shipping details.  AAA Engine promises a Core refund if you send your engine back (3rd partial lie).   I called the following day, and sales all of a sudden became difficult to contact, but because of my persistence, told me that it would likely ship the following day, but it was now out of their hands and for me to contact shipping.  

Well mutliple calls and emails, and the engine finally ships 2 weeks later (I'm upset now because the main reason for me ordering from them is that it would be quicker than my mechanics usual trusted engine shop.  

Engine finally arrives, my mechanic pulls all the needed parts off of old engine and assembles those parts onto 'Remanufactured' engine from AAA engines and installs in car.   Mechanic hand cranks engine for lube, and then turns over engine with starter motor with no ignition to ensure proper oil circulation.  

All of this is correct motor installation procedure which my mechanic has done 100's of times.    When he starts engine, right away he notices it seems louder than it should with significant clatter.   He says sometimes that goes away as lifters can be a little sticky initially, but eventually fill with Oil.  

After 500 mile oil change, not only has clattering not gone away, but has become significantly worse.   I contact AAA engine about problem and they state that it was probably installation error, and their warranty only requires them to send replacement part!  

They recommend my mechanic do a $1500 service to engine to diagnose problem and find out which part is bad and they will send replacement $13 part. After much back and forth over the span of 3 months, and lots of free diagnosing and help from my Mechanic, I finally decide to have my mechanic remove the engine, ship back to AAA Engine so they can remanufacture/fix it again.  

In their defense, they do in fact pay for the shipping to and from their facility, and the second time around, the engine actually does run good and I am now using it. But I had to pay my mechanic another $1500 to remove engine and reinstall when it arrived again.    

Once AAA Engine received the engine back, they did do a thorough job of checking everything in the engine.   They replaced all the hyraulic lifters and replaced the connecting rod bearings (because there were metal dust particles in my oil).   Once the second engine was installed, it has worked well and now sounds great again.   

In Short, you may get a decent engine from AAA Engine the first time, but if you don't, it will be a major pain, and more money on your end to fix their problems.   I would NOT purchase from them unless I lived next door to them (They are in Chatsworth California) and was doing my own install with lot's of time to spare.

If that's you, then feel free to take a risk, otherwise, it probably isn't worth it.  I ended up spending the same amount of money as I would have if I bought the engine directly from General Motors.  

Lesson Learned the hard way.

 

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