action truck parts complaint

February 27, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

On Sat., Feb. 24th, I contacted Action Truck Parts, located at 1021 South 17th Street in Council Bluffs, IA, Phone #712-322-4029, to inquire if they had any low mileage transmission or rebuilt transmission. They informed me that they had one that was pulled from a salvaged truck. The employee told me that the truck was from a guy that bought the truck and put a new rebuilt transmission but he could not get a title for it so he salvaged the truck. I asked how much the transmission cost and I was told it would be $500.00 and he guaranteed me that the transmission was a rebuilt, new transmission with zero miles. I purchased the transmission and picked it up. Upon inspection I saw it was dirty on the outside but as I was told it was newly rebuilt I took it home. I have worked as a transmission mechanic so I have rebuilt transmissions and know how one should appear: new, rebuilt or used. Outside appearance doesn't mean much. At home, I removed the transmission oil pan and too my dismay it had silicone inside the transmission, which is something that should never be used as it clogs the valve body. I also noticed that it had 3 different size screws that hold the oil pan, which they should be all the same size and they had been stripped out and bigger ones put in. The transmission was dirty on the inside and showed wear to the excess of 100,000 miles. I put the pan back on and returned it to Action Truck Parts, I had the transmission for about 30 minutes before I returned it. They informed me that I had to pay a $125 restocking fee and told me that I should have figured it was an old truck part since the business was a salvage lot, even though the employee guaranteed me it was a rebuilt transmission. After talking with Todd, the owner, they change their stories of whether it is new or used. I made note of the fact that there were no signs posted stating the restock fees and I was not told of the restock fees upon purchasing the item and it was not on the receipt. Todd told me that his wife was recently remodeling so it was taken down. I argued with him about having to pay any of this but only got the amount down to a $100 restock fee. I personally do not think that I should have had to pay anything as I was not previously informed of the fee and felt that I was frauded on the item that they had "guaranteed". Please contact me if the Better Business Bureau is able to assist with getting the fee reimbursed to me from Action Truck Parts. Interestingly enough, I noticed that Action Truck had a BBB plaque on their wall. (they managed to keep this up while remodeling). I would like my complaint listed against the Action Truck Parts. Please contact me either way regarding my situation, my number is listed below. Thank you for your assistance.

Best Regards,

Mike

712-310-9sss