A South Florida woman says she borrowed thousands of dollars to repair her SUV after being told it needed major transmission work, only to receive a phone call months later from the mechanic who worked on the vehicle claiming the transmission had never needed to be touched.
WPLG Local 10 investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier reported that Jade Hill paid $3,850 to AAction Better Built Transmissions in Pembroke Pines after her 2008 Ford Edge stopped moving last November. Hill said a service adviser told her there was no doubt she needed transmission work, and because she did not have the money available, she took out a loan to cover the bill.
Months later, according to Weinsier, Hill was contacted by the mechanic who said he had recorded the repair as he performed it and believed she had been charged for transmission work that was never actually done.
Hill Says She Was Told the Transmission Had Failed
Hill told Local 10 that her Ford Edge was towed to the shop after it suddenly became inoperable.
According to her account, a service adviser gave her a firm diagnosis that the transmission needed major work.
“No doubt about it,” Hill recalled being told.
The price came to $3,850, an amount she said she could not afford without borrowing.
“I was bawling,” Hill told Weinsier. “I cried.”
When she later picked up the SUV, Hill said she believed the transmission had been repaired and was told the work carried a one-year warranty.
She also said nobody had told her the primary issue was with the vehicle’s axles.
That distinction became central months later, because the mechanic’s recordings allegedly show something very different from what Hill believed she had paid for.
The Mechanic Says He Recorded What He Actually Repaired
Weinsier reported that the mechanic eventually called Hill and said he had recorded himself working on the Ford Edge so there would be documentation if his work was ever questioned.
Local 10 obtained the recordings.
In one clip, the mechanic can be heard identifying Hill’s vehicle and saying that he had installed new axles.
“Jade Hill, one new axle here, one new axle there,” he says in the footage.
He then takes the SUV for a test drive and repeatedly comments on how the transmission is shifting.
“Transmission shifts beautifully,” the mechanic says. “Does not have to be touched whatsoever.”
The recordings appear to show him wanting to see how the shop would respond after he reported that the transmission seemed to be functioning properly.
That is where the video becomes particularly troubling from Hill’s perspective, because the mechanic’s account suggests the work she believed she had financed may not have matched what was actually done.
A Recorded Conversation Raises More Questions
The mechanic’s recording also captures a conversation with a service adviser Hill identified as AJ.
When the mechanic says both axles were replaced, the adviser asks if that was all.
The mechanic says yes.
According to the recording aired by Local 10, AJ then says, “I basically sold the unit,” before returning to the fact that the axles were bad.
A later exchange captured near the vehicle is even more uncomfortable.
The service adviser refers to Hill calling while crying over the $3,850 charge, followed by laughter in the recording.
Hill said she was furious when she finally saw the footage.
“I’m livid,” she told Weinsier.
It is easy to understand why. Even before any legal conclusion is reached, hearing employees apparently joke about a bill large enough to force a customer into debt would be deeply upsetting.
The Invoice Shows Extensive Transmission Work
Weinsier reported that Hill’s invoice did not simply list axle replacement.
It included extensive transmission-related parts and labor, including a general overhaul and reconditioning of the transmission assembly, an overhaul kit, torque converter, valve assembly, piston kit, transmission fluid, and labor.
The invoice also included axle assemblies.
Local 10 said industry repair estimates generally show that replacing both front CV axles on a 2008 Ford Edge costs substantially less than the nearly $4,000 Hill paid, although the exact amount can vary depending on parts, labor rates, and any other repairs.
Hill eventually hired Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Salazar.
Salazar sent a demand letter to the transmission shop alleging that Hill had paid thousands of dollars for work that was never performed.
“The videotape speaks for itself,” Salazar told Local 10.
He characterized the matter as potential theft and fraud, though those remain allegations rather than proven findings.
The Shop Strongly Disputes the Mechanic’s Account
The shop has pushed back against the accusations.
Owner Luis Merchan declined an on-camera interview with Local 10 and referred questions to attorney Alejandro Velez.
In a written response described by Weinsier, Velez said company records show Hill’s Ford Edge arrived inoperable and that a documented transmission repair was completed and properly billed.
The company also pointed to the one-year warranty as evidence that it stood behind the work.
Velez further attacked the credibility of the mechanic who made the recordings, describing him as a former employee who had been terminated for cause and had allegedly threatened to damage the business.
According to the company’s attorney, the mechanic had a history of tardiness and abusive language, later refused to leave the property, and was eventually trespassed by law enforcement.
The shop’s position is essentially that the recordings should not be accepted at face value because they came from a disgruntled former employee with a motive to retaliate.
That is an important part of the story, because the mechanic’s video is powerful evidence from Hill’s perspective, but the company disputes both his reliability and his interpretation of what happened.
The Shop Says It Opened an Internal Investigation
Weinsier reported that the company said it launched an internal investigation into Hill’s repair order.
According to its attorney, the review includes diagnostic information, technician logs, and parts records.
The company also said that if it finds improper conduct, it will work directly with Hill to make things right.
Local 10 requested the records that the shop says prove the transmission repair was performed, but Weinsier reported that those documents had not been provided by the time the story was published.
The attorney also argued that the recordings themselves were improperly made inside an employee-only area and asked Local 10 not to broadcast them.
That legal dispute over the recordings is separate from the more basic question Hill wants answered: what exactly was done to her vehicle for the $3,850 she borrowed?
The Parties Reached a Verbal Resolution
As Local 10 was preparing its report, Hill’s attorney said the two sides had reached a verbal resolution.
Salazar declined to disclose the terms.
That development may bring the immediate dispute closer to an end, but Hill said she still wanted the experience made public.
“This needs to be brought out,” she told Weinsier.
She argued that the shop should know what parts are ordered and what work is actually being performed on customer vehicles.
The case remains a dispute between Hill and the business, with sharply conflicting accounts from the mechanic and the shop’s attorney.
Still, the central issue is difficult to ignore.
Hill says she trusted a professional diagnosis, borrowed nearly $4,000, and believed she was paying for major transmission work. Months later, she was confronted with video from the mechanic suggesting the transmission may have been functioning properly all along.
For any customer already struggling with repair costs, that possibility is about more than a bad bill. It is about whether the expertise they are paying for can be trusted in the first place.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
