Vollans Automotive

I chose Vollans Automotive because their online reviews were very good. I no longer have any faith in online reviews. I took my truck in on a Monday and they diagnosed two issues with my transmission but did not fix it. On the second day they called me in and removed the transmission pan. Yep, small shavings must mean something more is wrong. I had a warranty on the transmission and Vollans agreed to coordinate with me and the warranty company. The warranty company terms required permission to proceed with repairs. The service manager described the process to complete the job which included my permission and the warranty company’s permission to proceed. I asked him how much it would cost. He said worst case scenario - $5500 to $6000. I spoke with him the next day and he told me my transmission had been taken to their transmission shop (ding ding – they owned both shops). I said “gee you didn’t get my permission to do that”. He said he spoke with the warranty company and got their permission. I called the warranty company – they said “no we did not give permission to move the transmission”. Then they said they would not honor the warranty if work was done by Vollans. The service manager had at a minimum been very manipulative if not outright dishonest. I called Vollans and asked them to discontinue work and I would pick up the truck. The owner of the business called me and asked what happened. I told him – he didn’t seem that concerned about the service managers dishonesty (my bad, BIG CLUE I let pass) The owner discussed with me with great sincerity what happened and “oh, by the way, the problem with the transmission was not as bad as they thought and it would cost a lot less” - (another missed clue – they DID NOT have permission to evaluate the transmission). I took the bait and arranged for them to complete the work and warranty company allowed us to proceed. So late Friday the owner called and gave me two options 1) fix the transmission for $3800 and get a 90 day warranty or 2) rebuild the transmission for $5500 and get a brand new rebuilt transmission with a 100% nationwide 3 year warranty. I told him I would let him know Monday. Over the weekend I looked at other options and found a remanufactured transmission online for $2610 including shipping. They would help me arrange installation with a local automotive shop – cost about $700 to install.
Well, the Vollans owner said it would cost a lot less and now they are pushing me to spend the $5500. Call it salesmanship or dishonesty or whatever – I was not happy and just wanted out of this situation. On Monday I called and asked how much it would cost to just pick up my truck. $1091! They agreed to place the transmission in lots of pieces in the back of my truck. When I entered their place of business I found the service manager and another employee with snickering smiles on their faces. I had the truck towed 37 miles away for a cost of $350 – ouch, but it was competitive. And I was done with Vollans Automotive!
The above is factual. The following is not because I’m telling what I learned from someone else. Vollans has other customers who have had very bad experiences. Rumor is they have a pending lawsuit as a result of how they do business.
So I spent $1091 with Vollans (for what?), $350 to have the truck towed and less than $3400 to buy and have the remanufactured transmission installed. Total cost $4841. I still saved $700. And I would have saved $2141 had I never taken my truck to Vollans. And I wasted a week trying to deal with Vollans. And the Vollans transmission could possibly have given me lot’s of trouble. I totally made the right decision. (After making several bad errors of judgement) But it was worth it!
By the way, after almost two months the transmission is working awesome! I highly recommend for you to explore options online – it’s easy and they have a great reputation.
Also, in my opinion, the service manager and owner work as a tag team at Vollans. I got passed to the owner so they could back up each other’s stories in case. Also there is more to this story, I just told the high points. You can read their rebuttal and choose who to believe. By the way, I owned a business and if I had an employee like the Vollan’s service manager, he would have been fired on the spot! You can’t just “say” you’re doing what’s right for the customer. You have to actually do what’s right .

They went out of their way to get my car back on the road at a fair price. Very good service, and very knowledgeable.

These guys are great. Friendly too. Always been a big help when needed. Than you

Always get great service

Dennis said the service was great and Tim was nice.

Avery said the service was great and completed quickly, and the staff was honest and up front.

I was really pleased with the service that I received with my car. Thank you!

Technical knowledge enhanced by great customer service and reasonable shop rate makes them great.

It is what you expect. They found the problem and repaired it.

Marlis said the staff is friendly, and provides rides. They are super people.

They keep me informed about what my car needs.

Did a great job explaining problems and solutions. We trust this business and it’s employees.

Great service, funny staff; Tim should be a professional comedian

Karl said this business didn't get everything done that he wanted.

The people treat you right! Speedy service and quality work .