AAA Edison Car Care Insurance Travel Center — Attraction in Edison

This place has gone downhill. I recently brought in my 2022 GTI for an oil change. Upon inspection, I was informed that NINE THINGS needed to be serviced. Over $2,000 worth of work. I noticed two of the mechanics looking under my car with flashlights while they were doing my inspection, and was nervous they lost something of mine. I had trusted this place in the past, so foolishly I wrote it off as them looking for a tool or something. A few days later when I went to check the tire pressure, I noticed one of the caps to my wheel lug nuts was missing. I called and spoke to the manager who spewed some nonsense about them “looking for another woman’s key”, and “it was already missing when I dropped my car off” but said he would reimburse me for a new cap anyway. This man thought that losing another person’s CAR KEY would make them look better than losing a piece of my property?? I care about my car very much and check the tire pressure regularly, and I knew the cap was not missing before I brought it in. When they called to tell me they ordered the cap for me, it was the mechanic who had the decency to confirm that I did have all the caps when I brought the car in and one had gotten lost. He told his managers who were supposed to tell me, but they failed to do so. My report stated 8 service recommendations: Throttle body carbon buildup cleaning, coolant fluid flush & replacement, brake fluid flush & replacement, rear tires replacement, air filter replacement, cabin air filter replacement, tie rod ends leaking, rear brake pads replacement, and rear brake rotors replacement. My main concern at this point was getting the tie rod ends looked at by the manufacturer while it is still under warranty, considering my car has under 40,000 miles and that is an unusual issue with a car this young. The Volkswagen mechanic inspected everything that AAA did, and informed me that everything was mechanically in good condition. They sent a video walkthrough visibly showing me there was no damage. The tie rod ends were not leaking, the dust boot was not torn. They told me the only thing that needed to be serviced to fix my issue is replacing the 2 tires, which makes sense considering those (high performance low profile tires) have been on the car for 38,000 miles. Overall this experience has ruined my faith and trust in this AAA location. It is so sad that some establishments like this still try and take advantage of young women like myself, assuming that we don’t know better and will just gladly throw thousands of dollars at them. I would strongly advise against getting any service done at this location, they are dishonest money hungry mosquitoes. Volkswagen will be receiving my money for the new tires instead, because they are honest and not trying to bleed my wallet dry especially in this very unfavorable economy. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place...

Dan strano at AAA called me and said my ford transit needed repairs from faulty sensors that show up on the computer..he said his diagnosis concluded i needed repairs that are gonna cost me $1,200 or so, including the diagnostics test..I declined and went to pick up my van...opened up my hood, and inspected it myself..I noticed cut wires, that didn't look from a wire cutter..but from a rodent who had chewed them up..I went back to AAA and told them about it...in such a high extensive diagnostics test performed, they never saw the broken wires?..of course the guy behind The counter had no answers..I went back home and fixed the wires myself, took me about 30 minutes to fix and no check engine lights till now have popped up...and to think these guys were gonna charge me over $1200 plus in parts and labor that wasn't necessary to begin with.

I paid this location $104.48, to run diagnostics...and this price is with my AAA member discount...I was so curious how far Dan went to really diagnos my vehicle, cuz over the phone, he sounded so professional, and went through all the details of issues he came across throughout the diagnosis...such a great salesman..cuz that's what they are first, before you call them auto technicians. Dan didn't know i had a dashcam recording his every move, his every thorough analysis..His extensive knowledge leading his diagnosis, to get to the heart of the problem.....I played back the video..he moved my van from where I parked it, to a parking spot closer to the garage..(he didn't even move my van in the garage)....then he goes inside to get a lint free cloth, opens my hood, and checks, and rechecks, and checks all over again for a whopping minute and 30 seconds, my oil dipstick.....closes my hood, and concludes to walk back in..he never came out ever again...I paid $104.48 to have some guy look at my oil dipstick.

I would love a refund, and I would love to never come here ever again..it's offensive to have salesman pitch their routine, and false charisma...knowing how hard it is for regular folk such as myself to make their money.. if you do decide to bring your car here, make sure you see through them, always assume they are lying before you agree to anything..cuz remember, these guys are...

TERRIBLE. On 7/23, my car battery came on. I thought it was an easy fix and AAA was closer than the Ford dealership. I mentioned to the rep ( AD ) that my car was a lease ( my first and I was unaware that it would have been covered under the warranty ). AD probably knew it would be covered by Ford, but said nothing. Took a couple of hours. The charge was $414.18 ( a bit steep ).

Two weeks later, the malfunction/engine light went on. Again, I was close to the AAA shopping center, so I took it there, afraid the car would die. After a diagnostic test that took all day, a rep ( AT ) told me the problem was a crank shaft sensor and I needed a wheel alignment, with new tires. Before anything was done, I told him, AT, that my lease was almost done, and I couldn't leave the car at night because I live in my car. He said I could take my car at the end of the day and come back. They would order the sensor. He said nothing about my Ford warranty covering this.

I returned twice more, each time both AT and AD gave me different stories about when the crankshaft sensor would arrive.

I came back again, and it took all day for the crankshaft sensor to be replaced. The total bill was over $1600!!! A week later, the engine light came on again! This time, I took it to Ford. I told them what happened. The staff and mechanics said that AAA reps conned me out of $2000, and that they know that leased cars are covered by warranties. They also said that AAA misdiagnosed the problem. It wasn't a crankshaft sensor issue. It was an oxygen sensor. Ford handled it free of charge, and reminded me to never go to this AAA in Edison again, because they're THIEVES. My fault too, because I didn't know better. Live and learn.

Really, AAA?! Taking advantage of a middle aged, homeless women?! That's how you make your money?! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. I'LL BE SHARING THIS STORY ON ALL OF MY SOCIAL MEDIA APPS AND THE REVIEW SITES.

UPDATE - AAA posted this BS response ( see below ). I responded to their email address. They never responded. It was all for show and they have no intention of righting this...