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Report: #66611

Complaint Review: Cottman's Transmission - Tempe Arizona

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  • Reported By: gilbert Arizona
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  • Cottman's Transmission Tempe, Arizona U.S.A.

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If you are a single woman...DO NOT use Cottmans Transmissions in Tempe Arizona... Until this corporation changes their practice of tearing down a tranny just to inspect it, when they have all the best diagnostic equipment ever made, NO ONE should use this company!

I drove in with a tranny flush coupon, because a mechanic friend told me that's all I really needed, and Cottmann's coupon price was affordable, plus one of their shops was right around the corner from work. So, I left my car with them for the morning to do their 'free diagnostic' prior to the tranny flush.

I was called 2 hours later at work and told that my car's computer was not interfacing with their diagnostic equipment, that they couldn't get any codes out...(later this story was denied, and I was told the codes were fine, which begs the question why then did they have to tear down my tranny?).

I was told they needed to tear my tranny down to tell me what I really needed done, that it looked more 'serious' than just a tranny flush. There was a $325 charge to tear it down and inspect, but that money would be applied to any repair I needed. Their quote I was given at that time, if I needed it, for a soft rebuild was $995, which was matched to the quote I had been given earlier that week from Thrifty Trans in Chandler, which I had told them about the day I brought the car in.

I authorized the inspection, not realizing I just gave this man all the power he needed to rape me!

When he called back it was Monday. He said my tranny was shot, and so was my torque converter, and two tranny mounts...for a grand total of $2200!!! I about died...I argued and cried. He remained firm.

I asked him to give me a couple of hours to think it over, and when I called back, I wanted him to put my car back together, but he told me he wouldn't be able to do that until Tuesday or Wednesday! I couldn't be without my car that long! They had no loaner vehicles, and so I asked for some time to think again.

When I called back, still uncertain, David was rude and short with me...telling me he had to make room for other customers' cars! Under this pressure and needing my car back, I agreed to let them do the repair.

I went through a living hell that week trying to come up with the funds to get my car back, and David did discounted their price to $1845 for me. On Friday I payed the man in cash. I asked to see my parts, but he said he disposed of them already.

As I started my car, which I found in their lot unlocked, it made all sorts of unusual noises and rumbling movements. I pulled out to leave the lot, and as I tried to apply the brakes...they weren't there! My car nearly hit an oncoming car, but they stopped for me to go, so I went ahead into the street. A loud grinding noise under the right front of the car developed, as I continued to drive.

Instead of turning around and taking my car back immediately, I drove to the nearest gas station as my car was completely out of gas, and filled up, then I called David and spent 15 minutes arguing with him about whether my brakes were out or not. He said I needed brakes when I came in, but I absolutely did not, and I had a reciept from Gruelichs to prove it in my purse!

I finally shouted at him to not close the shop, that I was on my way back, and he was going to check my car out! They were waiting for me, and right away took my car back to the rack. David again treated me horribly. He actually said to me, "If your brakes are out, we have a brake shop right next door - they handle brakes, we don't!" So, I accused him of setting me up for a brake job too!

About that time his mechanic came out and asked him to come back, and they were gone for about 10 minutes. I went outside to make a phone call, and they closed the shop on me, then drove my car out, and all of them left.

I was in tears and still on the phone when I restarted my car. My brakes were majically fixed! Two weeks later, it still starts rough and shifts rough, but the brakes work fine! I still have concerns about the workmanship on the repair...if it is good or shoddy, like their customer service!

I am now convinced this company ripped me off from the get-go! I took the car back to my mechanic friend and he said they did a tranny rebuild I never needed, and that is why they wouldn't show me any of the parts.

Not only this, but I just learned that David, the manager there, he and his father have a reputation in the tranny business for this sort of rip-off -and that comes directly from one of their former boss's!

Dawn
gilbert, Arizona
U.S.A.

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This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/05/2003 06:23 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/cottmans-transmission/tempe-arizona/cottmans-transmission-ripoff-of-single-women-david-the-manager-is-a-con-artist-ive-been-66611. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
16Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#16 UPDATE Employee

transmission work is very technical

AUTHOR: Jason - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, June 17, 2004

we at cottman strive to do out best we never sell a repair that is not needed, every repair we do comes with a warranty, we also never do any repair that has not been autherized by the customer so nothing is a surprise to the customer when they pick up thier car.

transmission work is very technical, it is long time consuming work, further more transmissions have many parts and newer ones are full of electronics, the combonation of all these things can get costly.I can see how somone might think they got riped off when in fact they were paying for a service that is very competitive with this market.

regarding dawns vehicle it is a 1997 hyundai sonata with a elecronicly controled transmission
and the price she paid was for a trans overhual, a torq converter, mounts, fluid, and labor.
regarding brakes we don't work on brake nor do we touch them.

general manager

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#15 UPDATE Employee

transmission work is very technical

AUTHOR: Jason - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, June 17, 2004

we at cottman strive to do out best we never sell a repair that is not needed, every repair we do comes with a warranty, we also never do any repair that has not been autherized by the customer so nothing is a surprise to the customer when they pick up thier car.

transmission work is very technical, it is long time consuming work, further more transmissions have many parts and newer ones are full of electronics, the combonation of all these things can get costly.I can see how somone might think they got riped off when in fact they were paying for a service that is very competitive with this market.

regarding dawns vehicle it is a 1997 hyundai sonata with a elecronicly controled transmission
and the price she paid was for a trans overhual, a torq converter, mounts, fluid, and labor.
regarding brakes we don't work on brake nor do we touch them.

general manager

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#14 UPDATE Employee

transmission work is very technical

AUTHOR: Jason - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, June 17, 2004

we at cottman strive to do out best we never sell a repair that is not needed, every repair we do comes with a warranty, we also never do any repair that has not been autherized by the customer so nothing is a surprise to the customer when they pick up thier car.

transmission work is very technical, it is long time consuming work, further more transmissions have many parts and newer ones are full of electronics, the combonation of all these things can get costly.I can see how somone might think they got riped off when in fact they were paying for a service that is very competitive with this market.

regarding dawns vehicle it is a 1997 hyundai sonata with a elecronicly controled transmission
and the price she paid was for a trans overhual, a torq converter, mounts, fluid, and labor.
regarding brakes we don't work on brake nor do we touch them.

general manager

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#13 UPDATE Employee

transmission work is very technical

AUTHOR: Jason - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, June 17, 2004

we at cottman strive to do out best we never sell a repair that is not needed, every repair we do comes with a warranty, we also never do any repair that has not been autherized by the customer so nothing is a surprise to the customer when they pick up thier car.

transmission work is very technical, it is long time consuming work, further more transmissions have many parts and newer ones are full of electronics, the combonation of all these things can get costly.I can see how somone might think they got riped off when in fact they were paying for a service that is very competitive with this market.

regarding dawns vehicle it is a 1997 hyundai sonata with a elecronicly controled transmission
and the price she paid was for a trans overhual, a torq converter, mounts, fluid, and labor.
regarding brakes we don't work on brake nor do we touch them.

general manager

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#12 Consumer Comment

What year ferrari are you talkin about

AUTHOR: TRANZMN - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Scott~~~~~What year ferrari are you talkin about and what size engine is it and what model is it?~~~~~all this is usefull information~~~~~The tranzmn

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#11 Consumer Comment

What year ferrari are you talkin about

AUTHOR: TRANZMN - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Scott~~~~~What year ferrari are you talkin about and what size engine is it and what model is it?~~~~~all this is usefull information~~~~~The tranzmn

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#10 Consumer Comment

I had a problem with the same shop.

AUTHOR: Scott - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, December 01, 2003

I took my car to the same Cottman's in September. My manual shifter had to be forced into any gear therefore I had them tow it to their shop. They said they would hook up to their diagnostic computer for a free estimate. They called back and said they would have to take it apart to find the problem. They finally called back to tell me I needed a new clutch set and clutch master and slave cylinder. The origanal estimate was 1093.98. I told them to go ahead and do it. They later called and said I would need a carrier bearing also, it was just something they had missed is what they claimed. They price had now jumped to 1202.08.

They finished my car and I picked it up the next day. While driving it I noticed that when I would shift gears the RPM would rev high and then the gear would finally kick in. It got so bad that on the way back to Cottman's I could no longer accelerate. I stopped at a Circle K called them and told them to come to me. Two guys that worked there finally showed up and noticed that the clutch was rigged loose. They fixed it on the spot (at Circle K) and it seemed fine but I noticed since the fix it has been accelerating a little sluggishly. And as of the first of this week, the original problem of stuck shifter is resurfacing. I have a different truck to drive in the mean time but before I call them I wanted to do a little research on them and tranmissions. Better late then never haha.

Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem may be and does anyone think I was jipped by the way they handled the problem the first time? Please help with any ideas of my next course of action. It would greatly be appreciated.

Respectfully,

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#9 Consumer Comment

I had a problem with the same shop.

AUTHOR: Scott - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, December 01, 2003

I took my car to the same Cottman's in September. My manual shifter had to be forced into any gear therefore I had them tow it to their shop. They said they would hook up to their diagnostic computer for a free estimate. They called back and said they would have to take it apart to find the problem. They finally called back to tell me I needed a new clutch set and clutch master and slave cylinder. The origanal estimate was 1093.98. I told them to go ahead and do it. They later called and said I would need a carrier bearing also, it was just something they had missed is what they claimed. They price had now jumped to 1202.08.

They finished my car and I picked it up the next day. While driving it I noticed that when I would shift gears the RPM would rev high and then the gear would finally kick in. It got so bad that on the way back to Cottman's I could no longer accelerate. I stopped at a Circle K called them and told them to come to me. Two guys that worked there finally showed up and noticed that the clutch was rigged loose. They fixed it on the spot (at Circle K) and it seemed fine but I noticed since the fix it has been accelerating a little sluggishly. And as of the first of this week, the original problem of stuck shifter is resurfacing. I have a different truck to drive in the mean time but before I call them I wanted to do a little research on them and tranmissions. Better late then never haha.

Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem may be and does anyone think I was jipped by the way they handled the problem the first time? Please help with any ideas of my next course of action. It would greatly be appreciated.

Respectfully,

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#8 Consumer Comment

I had a problem with the same shop.

AUTHOR: Scott - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, December 01, 2003

I took my car to the same Cottman's in September. My manual shifter had to be forced into any gear therefore I had them tow it to their shop. They said they would hook up to their diagnostic computer for a free estimate. They called back and said they would have to take it apart to find the problem. They finally called back to tell me I needed a new clutch set and clutch master and slave cylinder. The origanal estimate was 1093.98. I told them to go ahead and do it. They later called and said I would need a carrier bearing also, it was just something they had missed is what they claimed. They price had now jumped to 1202.08.

They finished my car and I picked it up the next day. While driving it I noticed that when I would shift gears the RPM would rev high and then the gear would finally kick in. It got so bad that on the way back to Cottman's I could no longer accelerate. I stopped at a Circle K called them and told them to come to me. Two guys that worked there finally showed up and noticed that the clutch was rigged loose. They fixed it on the spot (at Circle K) and it seemed fine but I noticed since the fix it has been accelerating a little sluggishly. And as of the first of this week, the original problem of stuck shifter is resurfacing. I have a different truck to drive in the mean time but before I call them I wanted to do a little research on them and tranmissions. Better late then never haha.

Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem may be and does anyone think I was jipped by the way they handled the problem the first time? Please help with any ideas of my next course of action. It would greatly be appreciated.

Respectfully,

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#7 Consumer Comment

I had a problem with the same shop.

AUTHOR: Scott - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, December 01, 2003

I took my car to the same Cottman's in September. My manual shifter had to be forced into any gear therefore I had them tow it to their shop. They said they would hook up to their diagnostic computer for a free estimate. They called back and said they would have to take it apart to find the problem. They finally called back to tell me I needed a new clutch set and clutch master and slave cylinder. The origanal estimate was 1093.98. I told them to go ahead and do it. They later called and said I would need a carrier bearing also, it was just something they had missed is what they claimed. They price had now jumped to 1202.08.

They finished my car and I picked it up the next day. While driving it I noticed that when I would shift gears the RPM would rev high and then the gear would finally kick in. It got so bad that on the way back to Cottman's I could no longer accelerate. I stopped at a Circle K called them and told them to come to me. Two guys that worked there finally showed up and noticed that the clutch was rigged loose. They fixed it on the spot (at Circle K) and it seemed fine but I noticed since the fix it has been accelerating a little sluggishly. And as of the first of this week, the original problem of stuck shifter is resurfacing. I have a different truck to drive in the mean time but before I call them I wanted to do a little research on them and tranmissions. Better late then never haha.

Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem may be and does anyone think I was jipped by the way they handled the problem the first time? Please help with any ideas of my next course of action. It would greatly be appreciated.

Respectfully,

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#6 Consumer Comment

SHARE THE INFO

AUTHOR: TRANZMN - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, October 17, 2003

Dawn~~~~share what you have/happens maybe info wll come your way to help and you can help others~~~~~THE TRANZMN

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#5 Author of original report

Cottman's Home Office Has NO COMMENT!! BBB won't get involved because I've said I am suing...

AUTHOR: Dawn - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, October 17, 2003

Last month I wrote a complaint email directly to Cottman's Home offices, and I've gotten NO RESPONSE! I also put a complaint in to the local BBB and just this week received an email that they would not even file my complaint against Cottmans, Tempe simply because I threatened lawsuit. How's that for protecting their client???

WHAT HELP DO WE CONSUMER'S REALLY HAVE THESE DAYS?????

I've taken my car back to my mechanic friend and the rough starting and running has been cured. I'm working on putting my case together with the input of this shop mechanic. I appreciate all the comments and interest everyone has had in this, and I wish all of you the very best in your mechanic dealings!!! Dawn Haynes

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#4 Consumer Comment

rough treatment/running

AUTHOR: TRANZMN - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, October 17, 2003

Dawn~~~~did you ever find out what was causing it to run rough??? (maybe) a vaccuum line????? and did you deal with it with the shop???? THE TRANZMN

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#3 Consumer Comment

business practices condoned

AUTHOR: Chris - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, September 09, 2003

My experience and lessons learned have convinced me that this is acceptable from a legal perspective. This is why there are so many scam artists who continue to live large at the expense of ordinary people. Simply don't do business anymore than you have to. It's all a fraud. All you need is food, water and air. Don't buy anything else if you can possibly do without.

My experience with Cottmann is documented at
http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=49761.
It's all rigged. There is nothing you can do except spread the word on web sites such as this. I teach 200 students per year and they will all see the link to my web site with the story. I spidered it all over the internet so many more will see it too. It may take ten years, but eventually this type of business may fade away.

The lies alone are incredible. The corporate "customer service representative" serves no real function. Carol Iacullo states that they received no money from me for the repair of my car but their literature describes a royalty of 7.5% on every transaction charged to the dealer.

Put a trailer on your email like mine:

-------------
See how COTTMAN TRANSMISSIONS, NPR serviced my car at: http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=49761
I support our troops.

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#2 Author of original report

What good is a warranty from a company like theirs?

AUTHOR: Dawn - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, September 08, 2003

My car is a 1997 Hyundai Sonata GL. I've owned it since new, so I know its sounds and movements, and it just is NOT running right since Cottmann's 'repair'! Now I'm afraid to drive it out of town or even across town. What good is a warranty from a company like theirs? I am so outraged! I am preparing to sue them and the shop manager, David. The shop is located at:
445 W. Broadway in Tempe, AZ 85282, phone 480-967-8800

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#1 Consumer Comment

THE COTTMAN SHUFFLE GOT SOMEONE ELSE !!!

AUTHOR: TRANZMN - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Saturday, September 06, 2003

Dawn : what happened here is famous if you put wat kind of car/year~~i could give you more info ~~~~kuzz right now i can only guess~~~~~but here is how it works~~~ they bring you in for something (coupon) itz cheep~~~~by the way dawn if you car is pre 1980 there are no electronics to be checked~~~~~~even to 1990 the were very limited~~~But we don't know what your car izz~~~~#1COTTMAN has a piece of equiptment called the TRAN X 2000 this tester verifys a malfunction engine/tranz without a doubt~~(if they know how to use it?) #2 A pressure test to determie pump/leakage internally should be done. With these 2 tests and the results should have been documented in your paperwork per cottman procedure (cottmanz shop manual) given to new shop owners after they sign up for the cottman success story. ~~Dawn you went there for a reason since the "mechanic" friend was sure this is what you needed. But`~~~~he couldn't fix it i'm sure~~~~~~~from the day you took it in (fri) they were going to do what they did anyway since they had a go ahead from you. ~~~but~~~~~they were not going to give a price on fri eve so you could think about or shop during saturday and have time for another solution monday~~~~~~you don't have time to shop while your at work right?~~~~~This is all standard procedure~~~~~~this is taught in the cottman suckcess skool~~~~~~ when you told them about thrify tranzez qoute the best thing they could do was match it till it was out of the car~~~~~then to get the car back in pieces an tow it away would cost more than any where else (the lock) the brake problem sounds like a brake caliper was left loose~~~~"i'm guessin this izz a front wheel drive vehicle~~~~this shop has been on here before with someone with volkswagon~~~~too badd you missed the story ~~~~~~~~~~THE TRANZMN

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