Jimmy knows transmissions. If you have any shifting related issues with your car take it to Batco right away. Ended up needing the transmission replaced, decided on a new versus rebuilt transmission. It took weeks to get the car back. He's just that busy! He warranties all his work, and you get a free 3k checkup. read more

I saw the 5 star reviews and had a referral to this business. I thought that this would be a great place to get my transmission issue looked at, but I was wrong. I had a terrible encounter with the business owner Jim. He was extremely rude, curt and not customer friendly at all. After an unpleasant dialog over the phone , he told me that if I didn't get my car off his lot immediately that he would charge me storage fees. I walked to the business and waited around for him to return and collected my keys. He didn't even have the courtesy to apologize nor care. If I could rate my encounter a zero I would have. I would strongly encourage others to think twice before considering using this business purely from the customer service aspect alone. read more

I took my car for some preventative maintenance to Jim's Automotive, and they called in Jim at Batco to look into the automatic transmission. Jim was very transparent about the condition of the transmission, that trying to inspect the sealed transmission would cost a lot, and this is assuming there's nothing wrong with the transmission. If there was, my options were to rebuild, purchase used, or purchase new for a transmission, all of which are pricey options after sinking in money for the looking into it alone. His recommendation was to sell the car, which I did, and fortunately came out with a bit of cash in hand. I really appreciated Jim's honesty, thoroughness, transparency, and attention to detail with assessing my car's condition and laying out exactly how much each option would cost me, and what his recommendation was, even if that option was to not do a repair. The next car I get, I'm definitely bringing my car to get it checked for maintenance and repairs here at Batco. Local mechanics ftw! read more

Jimmy is the man! I was going to junk my daughters car because her transmission was "blown" i called many places and they wanted astronomical amounts to change tranny to a used one with more miles than what on her car! He was highly recommended and when I called him he knew exactly what the problem was with this particular car and year. 1 day later, diagnosed and fixed! Tranny was fine it was a feed pipe! Happy parents even happier teen! We can't thank Jimmy enough! HIGHLY recommend read more

DISCLAIMER: I had no transmission work performed on the car other than an initial assessment and quoted price. This review is about the initial assessment and time the car remained there afterward. NOTE: It was my understanding until a few minutes ago that Batco was part of a chain of transmission shops, i.e. like your typical Giffy Tube, Mineicky, or PepLads. The truth of the matter is that Batco isn't anything like these cookie-cutter factories of mediocrity. I had a remarkably positive experience with Jimmy at Batco, even though I had no repair work done. During one of the torrents of snowstorms we had in the early months of 2015, my 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada's transmission called it quits - at least that was my conclusion - trying to rock out of a snowbank. Unfortunately due to the amount of snow, and several other storms, I wasn't able to get the car flatbreaded to Norwood until the 17th of April. Batco came as a reference from a friend with past experience. Rather than taking it to a local mechanic, I took my friend's word and had it hauled down to Norwood - a fair distance considering there are a myriad of repair shops between Melrose and Norwood. I went in there with hopes that perhaps a solenoid had given out, or it could be a relatively easy fix. My expectations were that a transmission repair would cost me close to $2,000, something I couldn't do considering I bought the car for $2,750. After getting there on Friday, I didn't hear back until the middle of next week. The conclusion is that I did ruin my car's transmission - a lesson I soon won't forget. Jimmy was very candid and explained my options clearly and laid out the costs involved. Most mechanics might recommend a transmission rebuild, I mean, this is a transmission shop - right? That was one possibility, but Jimmy suggested something that would be a little more cost effective considering the purchase price of the car and the shape it was in otherwise: putting in a used transmission. Certainly, this was a bit cheaper than a transmission rebuild, but considering my current circumstances - and that luckily I was able to obtain a temporary loaner car - I knew that wasn't feasible. I felt obligated to get the car out of there as soon as possible; storage fees would accumulate and it might detract him from other business. The load of my coursework made it difficult for me to figure out how to proceed: do I try to sell it? do I junk it? Both options would require me to haul the car back, and find a space for it (one only has so many AAA towing requests each year without it becoming an expensive endeavor). Facing this analysis paralysis, it took me a week to decide the course of action. My decision was to donate my close friend to a local radio station, hoping it can live on in some way to fulfill a new purpose. Making the call nearly two weeks after the car first got there, the towing company wasn't supposed to pick up the car until the following Monday. I knew this was too long to be on Batco's lot, so I called and told Jimmy that I was willing to compensate him for storing the car. I also wanted to compensate him for his time spent assessing the car and looking into solutions. Finding out late on Friday the towing company would come on Monday to haul away the Bravada, I decided to wait until tomorrow and call then. Getting the answering machine on Saturday, I explained I wanted to compensate him, and for him to get back to me with an amount. In the world of social media, reviews can have a lot of value. I, myself, usually check Yelp, Google, Angie's List, or other reviewing websites before deciding to use nearly any service. I like to know what I'm getting into, and have an idea of the lay of the market. Jimmy didn't charge me anything, and he only wished I would consider writing an online-review of his service. He didn't say a "positive review", so I have equally little incentive to go in either direction. I have no personal connection other than the fact that I felt I was done right by him, and people deserve to know so. I hope it's clear by now that the customer service I received from Batco is grade A+, and something I value tremendously having, myself, worked in the service industry. If you think you might have a transmission issue, you live within a reasonable distance and can get your car there without much effort - hell, even if you're further than me and it takes a lot of effort - I highly recommend getting your car here ASAP as possible. The level of respect, understanding of my situation, and sincerity delivered makes me conclude this transmission shop is a formidable and worthwhile choice. It stands to reason this level of service also extends to the quality repairs or replacements Batco performs, as is, I'm sure, how you're treated as a customer throughout and after your experience. Cactus Approved. read more

When you only need a repair like this once in a lifetime ( hopefully) , you rely on a referral, in my case, Jim had come highly recommended. Jim was as nice as can be. The work was done promptly and my car was ready when he said it would be. His pricing was a bit cheaper, and he stands behind his work. Phone calls are promptly returned. I don't know why anyone would go anywhere else. Thanks Jim! read more

My car threw a few transmission codes, so Danielle at Jim's Automotive referred me to Jim at Batco. Jim ran gauges on the transmission and reported that it was internal to the transmission and not worth fixing due to the age of the car. So I didn't have any repair work done here, but would not hesitate to do so if another situation arose where the repairs wouldn't exceed the value of the car. Jim refused to take any money for the time he put in evaluating the situation. A good honest businessman well worth consideration. read more

I would highly Recommend seeing Jim at BatCo! I brought my car in that was have transmission problems in the 5th gear. Jim was super accommodating with my schedule of dropping the car off late. He was very reasonable with when quoting me for the work that need to be done. An now i'm back on the road! read more

In short: low to average price on transmission rebuild + by far the best customer service out of 15 shops I spoke with = 5 stars When the transmission went on my car I called 15 of the best reviewed repair shops in and around Boston. Jim at Batco was by far the most helpful mechanic I spoke to and provided free, fair, and unbiased advise on my sell vs repair conundrum. He even offered to buy the car if I decided against repairing it. Jim spent over 20 minutes talking me through every option I had, what the problems could be, and explained why prices on transmission work varied so much. He was unexpectedly friendly, open, and honest about the options and the reputation of specific competitors I was considering. I got estimates for a rebuild from $1600 at Riverside Transmission of Watertown, to $3300 at AAMCO in Allston. Batco came in at $2300-2600 with a 2 year warranty. I don't plan to keep the car for more than another 6-12 months so I ended up doing the repairs at a cheaper shop, but if I was going to keep this car long term there is no question I would go with Jim at Batco. When I called back to tell him I was going with someone else, he was gracious and offered advice on questions to ask them before agreeing. Can't say enough good things about the interaction I had with this shop, especially compared to the vast majority of others I tried. read more

I spoke to Jim over the phone and explained to him the issues I was having with my 2007 Saturn Outlook Transmission. Jim recommended bringing the vehicle by so he could inspect it. He mentioned that after the inspection he would give me a call to go over the issue and a recommended solution. Turns out the the transmission had failed and Jim and I discussed doing nothing, rebuilding the existing and possible purchasing a new one. A decision was made to rebuild and Jim completed the work in 4 days. So far the transmission has been performing well. Jim asked that I return after 3k miles so he could do a quick inspection. I'll update again once I reach that milestone. However I would highly recommend Jim and his shop for transmission service. read more

In short I highly recommend Batco if you're having problems with your transmission. Jimmy was very accommodating, he was nice enough to provide transportation to/from the train station (which really is a life saver). In the end he was able to fix my transmission quickly without any trouble and best of all, he wouldn't accept payment because he felt the problem was too easy to fix! Truly amazing. I will certainly return if my vehicle has any problems in the future and I urge you to do the same. read more

We took our company's box truck to Batco because we were having trouble with it but when we arrived Jimmy started to do repairs right away so we wouldn't have to leave it. Well...he fixed the problem in less then 10 minutes and sent us on our way ...NO CHARGE!! Thank you Jimmy at Batco and please know that we really appreciate what you did for us read more

When you suspect your transmission is gone, it's painful. You have to think - "Is the car really worth what I'm about to spend." When my daughter's car went, our trusted mechanic recommended Batco in Norwood and I limped the car over (they offer free towing). What ensued wasn't cheap but the experience wasn't negative either. The owner, Jim, was very upfront about the options, going through a process of looking for used ones that could potentially save us a few dollars. After several conversations, I decided to have him rebuild the transmission as he would guarantee the results for a year and belongs to a network of transmission shops across the USA that would stand by his work if anything happened far from home. The actual shop-boss is a big grey male cat named Elvis who will give you $100 off the bill if you bring him something nice. Word to the wise - Batco's a good repair shop - but stop at Petco first! read more