AAA Freehold Car Care Insurance Travel Center

Negative experience: A few years back, I needed a car towed by AAA at night. The rep said that if I had it towed to a AAA garage, it would be seen first, and take priority. The next day, I call them in the late morning, asking for an update on my car. I was told that people came that early morning, and their cars had to worked on first. (Again, my car was supposed to have taken priority, since it was dropped off that night by a AAA contracted tow truck). The Freehold AAA service manager (a woman) apologizes and later gives me an estimate on the repairs needed. It was MUCH more than a nearby garage charges. I then tell them it would be towed there. They say okay. I call the other garage and ask if it was towed. He said it was not. I call AAA Freehold and ask what was going on. The rep there said my car was not released because they had to confirm that I had paid for any work done. They didn't do any work! Eventually I did get it towed. So that was a while back. A few years pass, and I figure by now they have their act together. I respond to a Facebook ad that offers a free oil change; entering the code for it while making my appointment. Appointment gets confirmed. When I get there, I'm told the oil change wasn't actually free, and the ad was was actually a coupon. This was definitely false advertising- the Facebook ad said it would be a free oil change: not a discount or coupon. Even with the coupon, the price of a fully synthetic oil change at AAA Freehold was still $20-$30 more than what nearby auto shops charge. Do not bother lying in your response, Freehold AAA. To summarize, the female service manager at Freehold AAA is incompetent and they engaged in false advertising.

Fantastic experience: Friendly staff, clean facility and fast service.

Fantastic experience: Very professional and clean.

Fantastic experience: As much as I am saddened by having to get rid of my car, these guys broke the news to me gently. They are absolutely car scientists there! So professional and honest, they wouldn't take my money to fix the unfixable and I am proud to deal with honest mechanics. They felt so bad. The diagnostic price is worth it because they go through the problem areas meticulously! They are in no way a fraudulent franchise location like Midas in Freehold!

Negative experience: Stay far far away… that Michael S. Will find away to charge you at least $2,000 even if it under warranty. I paid $5,000 for a full break job 2 years and 11 days I need to do again all over!! They won’t replace the battery even though it still under warranty! Not worth the AAA sign they will be out of business soon!

Negative experience: My wife & I Contracted w/ AAA Travel for 10day trip to Italy in March 2024. Agent not only "flubbed" (her words) passport info but the Agency also lied & failed to provide refunds for hotel, travel & tours. Agency refused to provide follow in recovery of paid trip monies. A TOTAL SCAM!

Fantastic experience: Nice repair shop. Good service done in a timely fashion. Nice waiting area also.

Fantastic experience: In and out quickly with an extremely fair price. Exceptionally friendly people. Great job at a very reasonable price

Fantastic experience: Went here for service. Extremely attentive staff (Ryan McKeon!) and respectful of cost - not just recommending things to jack up the price but finding reasonable solutions to save you money. I got a deal on tires and a better warranty on the work than Pep Boys. Also expeditious and respectful of your time. Instead of waiting in the shop for long repairs, AAA Members will get a Lyft/Uber to/from home (within a certain mile radius of the shop.) BONUS: called AAA For insurance on a third car the next week and wound up paying $1,000 less (per year) then we were paying Plymouth Rock for 2 cars!

Positive experience: My vehicle was worked on in June 2020. Expensive radiator rebuild. I think a repair shop should sometimes make an exception and honor work they did past the 3 year timeframe out of warranty policy, especially if it is maybe a month or 2 past the timeframe of fixing the original work performed. Customer care is profoundly important in today's world. AAA has a reputation to uphold. (When, not if, I win lots of money in the lottery I'll have more than one brand new vehicle I won't have to take to any repair shop.) Lol...

Fantastic experience: Excellent service and are very cooperative.

Negative experience: Very friendly place and speedy repair.. although once I got on the Parkway, the car started acting up again and the Engine light came on. They did not check the plugs or wires after the radiator broke had to borrow $ to have it fixed yet it wasn’t and more $$ to have the plugs done in Toms River!

Fantastic experience: I went to AAA in Freehold to get my passport photos taken. They were very nice and knew what they were doing it was very quick and I got my photos right away and a good discount because I'm a member.

Fantastic experience: Ryan M and Michael S was absolutely amazing!! Very knowledgeable and extremely helpful! Will be back thank you AAA.

Negative experience: Michael S the assistant manager was not willing to help a customer in need. As a AAA customer of over 20 years I thought going to AAA auto care would be a smart decision. I was mistaken. 1800$ was quoted for a fuel pump which was astronomical. I was told by a mechanic friend the part is 798$. So I was very offset by the huge price discrepancy. Upon going to pickup my vehicle I was bombarded with 1800$ or I can not have my vehicle released. They over charge. BEWARE.

Positive experience: Made appointment, and wait was still long

Fantastic experience: I have been using AAA for over a year and can’t be happier. They picked up my car and because I was a AAA member, the diagnostics was free and they fix the issue which I thought it was a lot cheaper that somewhere else.

Fantastic experience: Great service. Fit me in immediately for a quick tire repair. Friendly and helpful staff.

Fantastic experience: Shoutout to RYAN for giving me great service had me in pretty quickly after a TERRIBLE experience at Fire stone . HE was able to fix my tire in a good amount of time as promised and started right away THANKS RYAN

Fantastic experience: Very pleasant manager! Great service l! Super fast and efficient!

Negative experience: Told me I’d have to leave my car there for the day to patch a flat tire

Fantastic experience: Very patient caring understanding will help you very well

Negative experience: incompetent techs. don’t know how to use wheel alignment machine. had reschedule to go to AAA in East Brunswick to get alignment done. waste of time here

Fantastic experience: Came in to replace 4 new tires for my Tesla MYLR. Appointment setup ahead of time. Good, courtesy, friendly team. With Tesla, don't forget to bring your pot for lifting. This will be my mechanic place now.

Fantastic experience: Very cheerful and helpful

Positive experience: Verrygoodthankyouall

Fantastic experience: Great and fast service. The location is very clean. The staff is helpful and kind.

Positive experience: A great place to get travel information and auto service

Negative experience: Never can get an appointment. Always, "short of staff." Jiffy Lube down the highway is packed & the vehicles are moving. Wonder why? They blew up the engine on my girlfriends car. The whole engine had to be replaced. They do not even know how to install the oil pan plug.

Fantastic experience: Very good experience, friendly prompt service and very reasonable

Fantastic experience: Always helpful. Just ask and they will try their best to assist

Fantastic experience: Professional and they do the right thing. Can’t ask for much more. They didn’t fix it right the first time, which did aggravate me, but they did the right thing by me and I have to give them five stars for that and recommend them.

Fantastic experience: All three of my family vehicles services are done here. Great service with knowledgeable,honest and experienced people. Thank you Scott for your attention to my vehicles. Kudos !!!

Negative experience: I've been a Triple A member for many years and am very happy with their service, but today was the first time I used their car care center. Had an appointment for an oil change and general checkup at 9AM. They said to come back 10:45. I did. The car hadn't been attended to at all! The service manager said that another car had somehow been taken before mine, they were backed up, yada yada but no valid excuse. They then took all of 20 minutes to change the oil and rotate the tires. I complained and received about $25 off my bill, which I appreciated, but this treatment was INEXCUSABLE! I won't be coming here for car service again.

Negative experience: Terrible.

Fantastic experience: Thorough shop and fair price

Fantastic experience: I did not come here for repairs, so this review does not cover that. I came in for an international driving permit. The associate was extremely helpful and got my permit and photo done quickly and efficiently. It was my first "in person" interaction with AAA, and it was a pleasant experience.

Fantastic experience: Jesse is the consummate professional. Great shop.

Fantastic experience: May 2023 This is my car service stop, and my travel stop.

Fantastic experience: Everyone was friendly and helpful!

Negative experience: Bad experience all around. Poor communication (I had to keep calling them back, despite being told they would call me “in 20 minutes”). Was told my AAA membership would cover battery replacement. I asked very specifically, will I be charged. Was told very clearly, “only if we find something else causing the problem, like a bad alternator or an electrical short. If it’s just a dead battery, it’s covered.” Very clear. Day and a half later, they finally get my car in the shop, then call me and tell me it will cost $213 for the new battery. Denied ever saying it would be covered by my membership. Said “I don’t know how your membership works,” despite my having handed them my card the day before when I checked in. Took my car and left. Never again.

Fantastic experience: They took longer then expected but were good

Fantastic experience: Great customer service. Start to finish.

Fantastic experience: Great service guys

Fantastic experience: My car had to be towed in due to a failed alternator. The repair was made in good time. I was very satisfied. Thank You, AAA

Negative experience: I was there in June of 2022 had all around brakes and rotors done. $1100 and 4- 5 months later my steeling wheel shakes violently when the brakes are applied. One of the reasons the car was brought in to be serviced in the first place. Went there and was giving a appointment for 1 month later... Couldn't make the appointment but honestly I have to wait to get my breaks checked when you installed them and should be under warranty... called to make another appointment and can't get anyone on the phone ... what a joke

Fantastic experience: No one likes going to the mechanic but I finally got tired of going to my dealership and being lied to all the time by people just trying to make easy money off of me. I’m not very good when it comes to cars but when I came to this AAA location a while back because of some problems with my air conditioning and heating the manager at the store named Jesse personally helped me out and walked me through the process they were going to do and what they found. For the first time ever it didn’t feel like I was just a number to her at the end of the day. It actually felt like she genuinely wanted to help me and not just sell to me. Told my girlfriend about this place and she’s coming here for some new tires later this month because she also hasn’t had any good mechanic experiences and I also told her to ask to talk to Jesse. It’s so nice finally having someone I can trust and take my car to and know she’s not going to try cheating me. Anybody that wants a good job done without all the lies every other mechanic and dealership gives you then come here!!

Negative experience: Came in to purchase luggage tags and was told that no one there can process a transaction therefore I cannot purchase anything until Monday.... today is Saturday. That makes zero sense.

Negative experience: Do not use this shop they have no regard for customer quality or care . I had my engine replaced two years ago had nothing but issues since they replaced it. Had a pool of engine oil in my driveway. After the fifth time of bringing it back to the shop and explaining the same issues. They currently hav my vehicle for four weeks nobody will return my phone calls when I finally spoke to the manager Patrick Cunningham after three weeks of him not returning my phone calls and asking him why. He proceeded to call me a jerk and hung up on me. Made multiple complaints to customer service and they all explained to me that there was nothing they could do. The general manager Rich Santiago also will not return my phone calls. I’m currently working with the Better Business Bureau to try and get my vehicle back from the shop. Do not use the shop

Negative experience: Made an appointment a week ago today (9/22) for an oil change only to find out that the appointment was never put into their queue. I inquired using my AAA membership # as a second way and again being told they have no record. Quite sad seeing that no attempt on AAA’s part to accommodate my vehicle. I have used AAA several years for all my family vehicles. Not impressed with the services they provide. It is about time to move on to another reliable service Since this location really does not care providing customer service

Fantastic experience: Convenient and helpful staff.

Fantastic experience: Good work. Slow and steady

Positive experience: I have to say I agree with several of the reviews on this thread. My spouse took is car in for an oil Change and a new battery. They called back and said it needed 1300 dollars worth of work. He decided to do some of it and was told it would be 1035. When we got there it was back to 1300. I just brought my car in for an ac check and it went from 210 to 900 dollers. I didn't do it. When I picked up my car someone had gone through my glove box. It may all be legit, but we both felt like we were being taken advantage of. We will be using someplace else in the future.

Fantastic experience: Friendly and helpful staff. Had what I needed to purchase.

Fantastic experience: They did a good job on my Honda and BMW. Reasonable and backed by warranty on work.

Fantastic experience: Excellent office, personable and very informative with travel questions! A+

Positive experience: Sept 2021: This shop is excellent. Brought my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. Excellent work, honest evaluation, professional in every way, all at a great price. Set my appt, got there at that time, and out on time. No gimmicks. 3 in our family now go. ***** June 2022 update: Counter mats with oil change/tire rotation options/prices are gone. Sep '21 oil change/ rotation was $52.99+tx, now $71.99+tx. April '22 work estimate for brakes, rotors, etc. given ($700). I had that work performed in Jun '22, and now a mysterious $30 Shop Fee appears on final bill, which was never on estimate, all other quotes matched. And yes, slightly better pricing than dealer. Am I still happy with the work performed? Yes. But, what happened??? ***

Fantastic experience: Attendant was very helpful in helping find a park guide that wasn't on the shelf display.

Fantastic experience: Went here for an IDP. Left in 15 minutes. Very efficient!

Positive experience: Great job on oil change!

Fantastic experience: Competent Travel Agents especially attentive focused efficient effective competent Patti Noble

Positive experience: Helpful and pleasant staff

Fantastic experience: Great staff, the auto mechanics are very friendly and helpful.

Fantastic experience: Rainy day and one of my windshield wipers broke...AAA fixed it quickly so I could be on my way to take my father in law to his doctor's appointment. Didn't get her name but the young lady at the counter couldn't have been nicer and more helpful.

Positive experience: Pleasant. Work done timely.

Fantastic experience: I came in to let them know about the hotel they booked for my family. We had a bad experience and they were very happy that I let them know about it

Fantastic experience: Had the vehicle towed to their facility. Staff was courteous & helpful.

Fantastic experience: Went their for a trip ticket. Great service.

Negative experience: $100 oil change for a sedan is absurd. Plus $1600 extra stuff they wanted to do. So I brought it to dealer and they said half the work work wasn't necessary. When the dealer is the one giving you a deal, that's when you know a shop is ripping you

Negative experience: I called and the staff was so unprofessional never seen anything like it. I was stuck on route 33 hwy was not safe at all and all they can say was someone is coming. In about an hour from when I placed the call. Really I’m stuck in the middle of the street no lights very dark area it seem like every other cat was going to hit me. They where no help at all. I will canceling my membership with them!!

Positive experience: Good service reasonable price

Fantastic experience: Made arrangements to drop the car off and things went smooth..no upsells like the car dealerships..and the job was done right,as I enjoyed a discount for being a member..(I just don't understand what 14.06 for shop fees are about)...

Fantastic experience: AAA always does a great job for us. Diagnosed my vehicle (blown head gasket, unfortunately) and gave me honest information about my car. They kept it for an extra two days no charge which was a huge help as I was in a bit of a tight spot at the time. Been a member for many years.

Positive experience: They towed and fixed my 2015 civic and gave great service however...i notice under my dash my wires were all out and exposed and my remote starter is no longer working and just makes my lights flash like 5 plus times.

Fantastic experience: Fast freindly

Fantastic experience: We set up an appointment to get a trip-tic done from Colts Neck, NJ to MN with the RV. Tiffany was the person that put that together for us and she was probably the nicest AAA employee I have ever met. Did a great job on our trip-tic!

Positive experience: UPDATE - Feeling disappointed right now The battery light came on again within 5 days of having the alternator replaced & battery recharged. The battery is less than 8 months old, so I'm pretty sure that is not the issue. Contacted the AAA Car Center (on Wednesday) and they told me that I have to drop it off Friday or Saturday. They cannot look at it any sooner because they are busy. Previous Review (probably done prematurely) I'm happy with the service. Our Honda Pilot broke down and we had it picked up by AAA roadside assistance and dropped off to this service center in the evening. They performed the diagnostic and repaired the vehicle the next day. Excellent communication as well. I would use them again.

Fantastic experience: I went in for passport photos. Tiffani was the most professional .knowledgable and friendly person. It was a pleasure dealing with her . She explained the process thoroughly.

Fantastic experience: Very good mechanics, good prices overall great experience. Thank you AAA

Fantastic experience: Excellent service!

Fantastic experience: Excellent and fast service

Negative experience: Dropped car off for service, waited 5 days to find out they hadn't even ordered the parts. Never take your car here; they don't seem too concerned about even trying to fix anything.

Positive experience: Fast and friendly.

Fantastic experience: They were very understanding and let me hold my car there for a little while. I needed some time to put the funds together to repair it. They are good people

Positive experience: This is now the second time that I've made an appointment but been told no appointment was placed in the computer. I've been told I may have spoken with a different location (I know how to google the number for the Freehold AAA). I've never had this type of experience at any other car maintenance location, from dealerships to Sears to Meineke. I've amended my review to a 3 star (previously 5) because this is incredibly disappointing. The fault of a staff (on 2 occasions) should not fall on a customer as them being careless). I'll still leave 3 stars (down from 5) because the quality of work thus far has been good. And on both instances they have brought my car back (after a longer wait than if I had an appointment, but not more than a half hour). But when my 3 year alignment plan ends, I don't believe I'll be staying with AAA. I'm a busy healthcare worker who works 12 hour shifts on variable days, so if I schedule an appointment, that could easily be my only free day of the week. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Great service. Very quick but attentive work. Probably one of the best alignments I've ever had. Not only does my car feel excellent after the alignment, but I during the work I sat by the window and watched the technician and there was so little downtime. Most of it was spent making minute adjustments to my suspension. With the 3 year pack it costs just around 30 bucks per alignment (2x yearly) which is excellent for a legit alignment service!

Fantastic experience: We received good service and very informative advice

Fantastic experience: I called to get assistance with billing and contract renewal. I spoke with Danielle, who was pleasant, professional, and very knowledgeable about AAA services. Danielle was able to answer my questions, and resolved the matter for which I called in a very short amount of time. This experience is indicative of the type of service I've come to know and appreciate from AAA over the years!

Fantastic experience: Excellent service. Management is really wonderful and I trust their judgement on my vehicle.

Fantastic experience: Calling in for our trip ticket was so efficient and easy. Tried doing it on the computer but never arrived in time. The personnel was so willing and kind. The delivery to the car when we showed up was perfect. All their services are so satisfactory.

Fantastic experience: Great service!

Fantastic experience: They did a great job working on my vehicle..very nice and knowledgeable people..won't take my vehicle anywhere else.

Positive experience: Very nice place and everyone is very friendly and professional. I'm giving three star because everytime there is somethings going to happen if I don't fix it right away. Oh, and you're gonna need break pads, no matter how long you've had them. You would think that it AAA, not your local garage.

Positive experience: I would like to provide an update. Jillian from AAA reached out to me and was very apologetic for the challenges. She told me that since they were fairly new they chose a brake pad manufacturer that they have since stop using. She sent me a payment to cover my additional brake charges which made me feel much better about the whole situation. A very good gesture on AAA's part to make this right. I will try them again in the future and follow up with the next experience. Thank you Jillian!. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I took my Daughters 2012 Chevy Cruze to the Freehold, NJ AAA on July 5th, 2019 as the brakes needed replacement. Of course they upsold and overcharged for the rotors and say they used ceramic brake pads and upsold to replace the brake fluid which I agreed to do. After $567 of charges to replace the front brakes only, the car was throwing black brake dust for months covering the rims. I brought the car back about two months later saying the brakes were making a crunching noise and throwing dust and squeaking like crazy. They looked at the brakes and said everything was fine. Less than a year later, the brakes sounded worse than ever. The car had an issue with it's EVAP line and I took to another Service Center having no faith in AAA based on a recommendation from a friend. I asked them to check the brakes and and they showed me one brake pad was worn to the metal and the rotor was destroyed! The other three pads were worn down as well so I had them replace and paid an additional $360.00 (See pictures). Less than a year and 17,000 miles for new rotors and pads is unimaginable. I was appalled at the fact that AAA put my daughter's life at risk. I'm not even sure the pads were replaced! I went back to AAA and the Service Person said because I had the rotors and brakes replaced at the other service center they had to submit a request to corporate which I understood but would be crazy to drive the car from Keyport, NJ to Freehold and put myself at risk with these brakes in order for them to fix. The Service Manager also tried to convince me a caliper might have been frozen and that could have caused the problem. My response was, when you replaced the brakes and the brake fluid wouldn't you check for a stuck caliper Also the pads were worn on both sides including the one that was down to metal (see pictures attached). It's almost as if they felt I was trying to scam them. This was on 6/12/20. She told me the Manager Jill would contact me and they took the rotors and pads to submit to corporate.

Fantastic experience: Came here for a second opinion and thank god I did. First place I went to tried to take me for $700+ for repairs that I found out from AAA were excessive & unnecessary. Mechanic & Sales Person were honest and told me what needed to be done for MUCH less, under $150. Ended up getting the work done here. Drove my car off and my problem appeared to be fixed. Thanks! I'll be coming back for future maintenance.

Fantastic experience: Very helpful

Negative experience: I wish I could give this place a zero. Amanda and Donna both had horrible attitudes and were VERY VERY rude and disrespectful.

Positive experience: Representative was very helpful in preparing our trip Tick!

Fantastic experience: Colleen is the best! She has been helping us with all of our travel needs for years now! Thank you!

Fantastic experience: I had a dead battery....of course at THE worst time possible...from roadside assistance to phone help to actually going to the shop,everyone was top notch!!! AAA should give everyone here a raise!! Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Appointments are easy to make and the service was great.