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Company lied about engine block being non rebuildable (among other things) and this was the last straw. Our son was charged $500 for a core charge that company said was for another engine block which they claimed they had to furnish, in leiu of our non rebuildable block. When the car was finished and our son got it home, I personally checked the car over, only to find the original engine block was in the car and not replaced. We crossed referenced the engine numbers and discovered that they were the original factory stamped numbers. We were lied to and cheated by this company throughout this 6 plus week ordeal. To me this is consumer theft and fraud.
I spoke to the manager of American Engine several times and was told the block was shot, engine messed up with parts falling out of it, upon his inspection and a new block would have to be found because they didn't have one and this supposedly delayed the process of completion of the rebuild. The manager also stated that someone had already put another engine in this car and probably what happened was the engine was over reved that destroyed this engine. He told me he had seen this before because he drag races and knows what happens. I told him I know how my son drives and this was not the case. The car had 160,000 miles on the all original engine, clutch and transmission. If the car had been driven like the manager described, this engine, clutch and transmission wouldn't have lasted 160,000 miles as it did.
I work for the company that built this vehicle and know the engine that was installed. I have the factory engine numbers that were stamped in this block when installed and they match. To me, we have been lied to, cheated out of our money and this constitutes theft and fraud. If you need further information, please contact me.
I had my daughters engine replaced at American Engine Installations in Tucson, AZ. I must say that not only my husband and myself are very pleased but so is our daughter who starts her fall semester at ASU in the fall. I heard about AEI through a friend and that they did a really good job when they replaced the engine in his truck a few years back.He said he not had one problem with his engine in 3 years. Great! I called and got a quote of $2154.00+tax to replace her engine with labor and that the company would even pay $50.00 towards the tow so that she would not have to risk it breaking down on the way to the shop. I went and and made a deposit of $800.00 and was told I could come back with my daughter in 10 days to test drive the vehicle with her before I paid the remainder of the balance.No problem, I was notified 3 days later by Jay King the shop manager that I would need to replace the water pump because of wear and tear and other than that everything else was reusable. I agreed and approx. 6 days later I was notified that my daughter would be on her way to ASU with no worries. We went down and test drove her vehicle and could not have been more pleased. It ran perfect! I paid the balance plus tax and state fees and drove away and to this day my daughter has not had one problem with her engine.
Thank You American Engine Installations!
Benny G.
Tucson, AZ
You got to be kidding me. They are the biggest fraud of a shop. Incompetent, sloppy, etc... In fact I'm suing there butts right now.
I had my engine replaced at AEI in Maywood, IL. When I called, I got a quote of about $2200 Then surprise surprise,more charges.
Everything should have been cheap considering the parts are for a Chevy SB. But that @#$%ing manager FERNANDO just couldn't wait to pad the bill. $170 starter, $143 water pump, the engine didn't need either part replaced. Anyways everything ended up costing me $3,391.78. When I picked my car up the horn button was broken, I walked back in to the office and complained to the manager, he tried to blaim the tow truck driver.
When I looked under the hood I saw that the block and heads were bare steel, the manager said its not bare steel its silver paint. I'd like to see that son of a !@#$% explain why silver paint decided to rust.
Less than 500 miles after I pick up my car I find out that the OIL sending unit is LEAKING as well as one FREEZEPLUG. Soon after those idiots "fixed" the problem it wasn't long until I started LOSING OIL PRESSURE. It still makes 45 psi when the engine is cold, but once it's warmed up its down to 15 psi at idle and it won't go any higher than 30 psi when driving. The manager says my oil pressure gauge is inaccurate and oil pressuse is actually 17 psi. The idiot also says 17 psi @ idle is still ok. Yeah, it's ok, when the engine has 150,000 miles on it.
Aside from the low oil pressure, it lacks power. it feels like I'm hauling a loaded trailer. A compression check showed readings as low as 125 psi. Others as high as 165psi. They are liars con artists, and I'm amazed at how the mechanics happen to be ASE certified and yet still do such a pityful job of installing an engine.
I agree that AEI are liars, cheats & idiots!
I was told it would take 10 to 15 days to install a rebuilt engine, then I was told 15 to 20 days! They actually had our 1985 Chevrolet truck for 34 days! AEI never called us first about anything! We would wait a couple of days & call them, due to us not knowing what was taking place & how the installation was going! Every time we called them, it was always something new going wrong with the installation! We didn't trust AEI after it was taking so long to install the engine, that we paid a wrecker to pick up the truck & deliver it to our house! We received a call from the towing service, when he went to pick it up & he told us that it wouldn't go into gear!
We couldn't believe this was happening due to AEI having the truck for such a long time! Well, needless to say he was correct! When he delivered the truck to us, NO IT WOULDN'T GO INTO GEAR! We had to call our son to come & help us PUSH the TRUCK into the garage! They first quoted us a price of $1764.00 & we actually had to pay $3378.00 so that we could have a vehicle to PUSH into the garage! We contacted the Corporate Office several times & no-one wanted to listen! After all it's Good Friday & Easter Holiday week-end! They told us someone would get back with us on Monday! Their Mondays never come! We were even told by the manager " HIS JOB WAS DONE" because he installed the engine! I wouldn't refer them to replace a battery on a electric skooter! Their motto is " We will call you next week, (which they never did) or they need to order another part! We will NEVER use them AGAIN!
Tim P
Everman TX
they did the same thing to me i am contacting the bbb and the attorney general to file a complaint contact me we can do it together for ther improper service at email above
I agree...a e i are liars. they first charged me $1449 to replace a motor in my 96 firebird...hmmm i wonder how the price is now up to over $3200. Please let me know what happens when you guys report them because i will too -Thanx
Here is my experience with my mothers car:
The Sales information went something like this: 7 – 10 day turn around, $50 tow in credit, warranty, etc. The 7 – 10 day turned into 20 – 30 days, the nickel and diming started somewhere around the 18th day. Water pump, radiator, harmonic balance, etc. In any case, we headed to Tucson to pick this up. My brother was going to drive it back to moms.
Now picture this. First, we find ourselves in the barrio of South Tucson. I began to have a few qualms before we ever got there. We pulled up and soon saw the car parked out in the weeds. My brother went in, certified check in hand and soon came back out, certified check in hand. The man inside had jacked up the price. We were led to understand this had to do with “storage”. Given the fact that the car had been held up three times longer than planned by their own scheduling issues, I believed that a misunderstanding had occurred so I went in. As I approach, there appears to be one person in charge (Mr. Saturday Night Fever), big hair, bad tattoos and a definite indent around the waist where his usual “going to town” polyester pants normally sit. Mr. Saturday Night is flanked by the Marx Brothers. Only this crew of Marx’s have all assumed the persona of the silent one. I identified Mr. Saturday Night as “in charge” since he was the only one that seemed capable of stringing together the semblance of a sentence. The other three were apparently for “protection”. Their job was to stand shoulder to shoulder, dull eyed, slack jawed with little droplets of drool at the corner of the mouths. They each did a fine job. Mr. Saturday Night than took me to his “office”. This would be the little room where the “girl” sits approximately 3’ to the right of the grease pit. In his office he proudly proclaims that he is only going to accept cash as payment.
Now, being the sensitive individual that I am, I didn’t want to point out to this South Tucson High Grad the significance of certified funds. He was clearly flexing for the Marx Brothers and who was I to challenge his minimalized definition of “importance? It was about the time that he informed me that this was “his shop” and he could do whatever he wanted” that I considered the possibility of a serious problem. You see, I didn’t really believe it was his shop. If it were his shop he wouldn’t have a Corporate Office to report to. Nor would he have withheld the phone number to that office four times before releasing it. AND, were it his shop he wouldn’t be blaming the requirement for Certified funds on the “girl” that wasn’t there and for whom he apparently has no authority over. BUT, most importantly, he would not have told the Police Officer (explanation to come) that he would be fired if he did accept certified funds. So, I have now identified Mr. Saturday Night as not only a crook (jacking up the charges) but a liar and an arrogant one at that.
It became apparent that we were not going to get the car though Mr. Saturday Night did offer to buy the title for $50. I said call the police. So we did. While we were waiting for the Police to show, we saw a little wagon train of moral support arrive, presumably to back up Mr. Saturday Night. Keeping in mind that we are in fact, in South Tucson, the arrival of the baggy panted “butt crack” boys was probably inevitable. Though I have to admit, the fact Mr. Saturday Night needed backup from a female Auditor with a car full of dogs is still somewhat comical to me. That his backup left with the arrival of the Police is something of an indicator that while showing your “butt crack” may not be an indicator of intelligence, it’s not necessarily an indicator of a total absence of it either. All moral support left Mr. Saturday Night to his own devices.
Keeping in mind that the jack in price had to do with “storage” in the weeds, the final bit of comedy came when Mr. Saturday Night decided to protect his investment from the city girl auditor and move the vehicle from the prime weed location to a more secure one in front of the grease pit. Now, my pants weren’t baggy and I probably could have climbed that chain link fence … had I felt compelled to do so. However, not being a South Tucson native or in any way enamored with the culture, it actually did not occur to me. I do not climb fences to get into places that would only inspire my climbing out of.
In any case, the Police arrived, spoke with someone in their legal department and Mr. Saturday Night took the certified check and we took the vehicle ….. straight to another mechanic. We did this because Mr. Saturday Night, in a last ditch effort to flex in front of the Marx Brothers, took the money and voided the warranty. The vehicle continued to overheat, not because of a water pump and not because of a radiator but because they did not get all air out of the lines during the install.
Would I do business with American Engine again? I think not!
P.S. I believe that the post from Benny G, Tucson AZ, is actually one of their employees.
Do not get your engine installed by AEI! They do not cover parts under warranty!I had an engine installed by them three months ago. It came with a one year "warranty" .The water pump that they installed was bad. As a result it overheated and destroyed the timing chain tensioner. Tough luck is all they had to say and refused to fix it. Now I will have to spend a bunch of money taking them to court, or another $3000 in repairs after they charged $5000 to install it. DO NOT USE THEM!
The only good reports are by AEI themselves! Ben G. with the daughter who had no problems WORKS FOR THE COMPANY! He is a salesman!
He gave me a quote! So this is proof of the lies! I also got another quote from Everett who lied! He said everything was included in the price! He said it was the whole kit and kaboodle! Complete package price.
What a fiasco. I was suing them for over two years and they keep pushing their case date back. In fact they pushed it back so they could file bankruptcy and weaseal out of their obligation and previous offers to settle. Now I'm out the repairs and attorney fee's. I hope someone reads this and decidedes that they are worthless.
They are worthless. I had an '86 Olds Cutlass there since 4-9-2007. Here it is October 2008 & my car is still sitting with no motor. I have contacted them countless amount of times to resolve the issue & still no results. I've even contacted the main office to get blown off like a fool. If your planning on shopping with AEI, forget it & stick with the pros who know. When you go cheap, you get what you pay for.
American Engine Installations are lying crooks! I had an engine installed, was assured that it was fine, and could not even get home with it! The car died, and they have lied through their teeth about everything. I would encourage anyone who has a bum car, go and buy a new or used one, but do not go to these guys, they will rip you off big time!
I was just notified today by the BBB that my arbritration hearing was closed because AEI had filed bankruptcy. I have been going through so much with them for the past 2 1/2 years with my car. They never fixed it, I'm out of $3500 with them, not counting me having to buy another car. I just hope that they will not be allowed to open up another buisness with a different name as they have done 3 times in the past.
Stay away from American Engines. They are engaged in fradulent activities and do nothing but harm you existing working car. In my case they provided a faulty engine with multiple leaks, buring smell/smoke and on top ruined my perfectly working air conditioner. They denied work done which is on their own repair order. To my surprise the credit card company had no leverage on denying payment to these cheaters. Absolutely stay away.
i had the same problem they told me that my block could not be salvaged they told me i needed another block 3 months later my car started overheating i changed the water pump radiator heater core hoses thermostat still overheated i looked at the block and the numbers match the vin number they never replaced the block and thy said warranty would be voided if gasket was blowed my opinion is that i was screwed 2500 i had to eat a lot noodles lol to get my engine repaired i should have never took it to american engine installations
You ‘all some of the many victims of this company all over the united states. I have no idea how is it that they are still in business cheating people the same way over and over and they just seems like un stoppable.
These %&#(%@ jacked the price up 2200 of what they said it would cost. Within the first 6 months it was leaking oil, in the meantime I noticed they had broken a piece of my car where the tow hook is, fried one on my amps, and probably something else just can't remember and actually want to forget about dealing with these CROOKS! Anyways, when I threatened court they immediately fixed the oil leak, but I forgot to mention the other things as I was just happy to have this fixed, Now the freeze plugs are leaking something fierce, replaced the front 2 for $300, no good, still leaks. So to have the others repaired they would have to pull the engine to get to them. About $800 - $1000 repair. Motor runs extremely slow when 1st started, in fact I have to pull over to get out of other cars way. Lesson learned, but a very expensive lesson indeed.
Before I start into my blog, I do work for American Engine Installations!
When I read about the problems these folks have I do agree, there are some unreputable companies with our name. For the people making the blogs and complaints, can you please tell people as to the state and location of the offending company. There were over 55 American Installations in The United States. I work now for the one Salt Lake City, and I am not ashamed, as I have been trying to make sure customers come first, unfortunately some jobs have taken me some time to straighten up the problems but I do try my best to satisfy customers..there are the lively hood of our company. If they are not satisfied, then I will do my best to do whatever it takes to make is so. I will answer most if not all questions honestly, and for this I will prove, any one in the United States may contact me since Corporate Office is officially closed, and is now out of business I have included my email here for your convenience---
hlmpassion1@hotmail.com and I do not make assumptions for the other companies that have no guidelines to follow, I am just making sure that the jobs we have are being done with the proper parts and least amount of time. Another remark some people have is when you deal with American Engine Installation, they give you a price when you first call in, then later they give you another price... this is done only because most engines are changed with no problems, but a lot of engines do need other parts, ( and yes some can be faulty new parts) these are called up-sales, and some companies will only "RECOMMEND" that does not mean they have to be changed, customers still have to authorize this or it doesn't get done with our company, I cannot speak for other companies with our name.
Personally I have been doing mechanics since I was 13 and I am now 52, and I do hate being screwed by companies, but don't condemn them all, there are some(few maybe) still out there.