Cottman Transmissions ripoff left transmission in pieces Apache Junction Arizona

I had an appointment in march 06 for a standard transmission fluid change with this same shop. I had given my name, phone number and vehicle type to the guy who answered the phone.

A week later I went to Cottman's in AJ and for about 20 minutes these guys just ignored me. First I went to the office, there were another 2 customers in there, I waited and the guy just walked out without even looking at me or greeting me.

Eventually, after walking around in front of their shop, someone talked to me, asked me what I wanted. I told him that I had an appointment. He went into the office, checked his appointment book - "what is your name ?" -"No, there is nothing in here, who did you talk to ?"

At that point in time I felt that I'd better avoid this place and after reading John's report, I am really happy that they revealed themselves from the first moment I got there. (If I had read John's report earlier, I would never had made an appointment). A transmission shop should really be a trusted place since a transmission job offers so many opportunities to cheat.

Cottman's Transmission in Apache Junction is not a place you can trust.

As a transmission rebuilder I have to give ranges to all my customers before the job. If the price is higher than the ranges something is wrong. I also inspect the vehicles prior to work for any incidentals that would add to the price (mounts, leaks, axles) and make it known to the customer. Then they have all the knowledge they need to make an informed decision. I call it "Know before you owe." I have done plenty of "RDI"'s in my day (remove, disassemble, inspects). I always box up the trans as the customer has approved the repair then decided to decline it later and reassembly isn't included. I have found the the "RDI" seems to usually be about 1/3 of the total labor of the repair. Besides you destroy some gaskets and seals that you can't usually buy separately to reassemble to prior condition.

As a transmission rebuilder I have to give ranges to all my customers before the job. If the price is higher than the ranges something is wrong. I also inspect the vehicles prior to work for any incidentals that would add to the price (mounts, leaks, axles) and make it known to the customer. Then they have all the knowledge they need to make an informed decision. I call it "Know before you owe." I have done plenty of "RDI"'s in my day (remove, disassemble, inspects). I always box up the trans as the customer has approved the repair then decided to decline it later and reassembly isn't included. I have found the the "RDI" seems to usually be about 1/3 of the total labor of the repair. Besides you destroy some gaskets and seals that you can't usually buy separately to reassemble to prior condition.

As a transmission rebuilder I have to give ranges to all my customers before the job. If the price is higher than the ranges something is wrong. I also inspect the vehicles prior to work for any incidentals that would add to the price (mounts, leaks, axles) and make it known to the customer. Then they have all the knowledge they need to make an informed decision. I call it "Know before you owe." I have done plenty of "RDI"'s in my day (remove, disassemble, inspects). I always box up the trans as the customer has approved the repair then decided to decline it later and reassembly isn't included. I have found the the "RDI" seems to usually be about 1/3 of the total labor of the repair. Besides you destroy some gaskets and seals that you can't usually buy separately to reassemble to prior condition.

As a transmission rebuilder I have to give ranges to all my customers before the job. If the price is higher than the ranges something is wrong. I also inspect the vehicles prior to work for any incidentals that would add to the price (mounts, leaks, axles) and make it known to the customer. Then they have all the knowledge they need to make an informed decision. I call it "Know before you owe." I have done plenty of "RDI"'s in my day (remove, disassemble, inspects). I always box up the trans as the customer has approved the repair then decided to decline it later and reassembly isn't included. I have found the the "RDI" seems to usually be about 1/3 of the total labor of the repair. Besides you destroy some gaskets and seals that you can't usually buy separately to reassemble to prior condition.

SORRYJOHN~~~~~Norman is right ~~HI! Norman~~~~~~~Unfortunately the story you got was not complete for your benefit "prior" to the rip/tear job you got from the shop~~If the shop threw the price you got AFTER the rip job BEFORE the rip~~~~clear decisions could be made on your part~~I'm sure the same decision would NOT have happened. This is the COTTMAN SHUFFLE~~~Its happens daily everywhere across the country~~~But in your situation ~~It cost you to back out or You pay the cost of this tactic. Most people play along because they are in need of their transportation daily.If people are told of the options that most benefit them,a more resonable price is in most cases possible. But~~~that means the shop makes less and you get more for the money~~~~but the way it works if you go through with it is the oposite~and always in the shops favor. THE TRANZMN

just for the fun of it i deceided to flip open the 2004 chilton labor guide (page 4-96), to check out there 60.00 per hour prices, the f4a and cd4e have the same rates but you probably have the f4a they have 3rd gear problems more frequent.
the suggested hour time to remove and "reinstall" the transmission is 5.5 hours (this includes a front end alignment) 5.5 x 60.00 = 330.00
on page 4-99 it says a front toe adjust is 1 hour so let us deduct 60.00 from the 330.00 = 270.00. now a competant trans tech can dismantle your trans (on the bench) and inspect it within 1 hour that includes putting the unit back together in its original condition. so let us add 60.00 to the 270.00 = 330.00 bear in mind these hour guides are retail suggested, if my r&r technicians could not remove and install the transmission in a 99 escort within say 4 hours i would have to question if i would keep them employeed with me, so let us say 4 hours actual time spent r&r'ing the trans with 1 hour bench inspect time = 5 hours (300.00)
btw the total time to remove "rebuild and install" the transmission less a front end alignment is 16.6 for a 2.0 (dohc) motor, or 13.4 for a 2.0 (mfi) motor that again is suggested retail, in brackets is the actual time it should take for a competant tech on the dohc 11.0 hours, on the mfi 9.0 hours.
also if my crew did not remove, check and box your trans within a 2.5 hour time frame, i'd want to know why, (2.5 hours x 60.00 =150.00)
regards from

there should be a federal law passed to avoid this consumer rip off, this has been a problem within the industry for years, it should have been resolved years ago, granted each cottman shop is indepentily owned and operated but corprate should be held accountable to avoid this dishonest practice. contact your public officials congressman etc etc. in some states that would have been illeagal.

go to that cottman center tell him to flip open the yellow book from corprate (ie suggested price guide) there will be a suggested selling price for 3 diffrent service grades, (disregard sg3 a joke) notice in the column titled "RCI" the price, you might be shocked to see that the price is lower than what you paid. rci stands for remove, check, and install. {it does not mean remove check and box} now an educated consumer would walk into a cottman and when they are told they need internal work, request that the manager flip open the yellow book, add all the columns up rci + say sg11 + torque convertor = cost, now go to the wall charts see what is included in a sg11 rebuild, notice it does not include hard parts pump, drums etc etc

BE PREPARED TO PAY EXTRA FOR HARD PARTS, if you do not like the final price, be prepared to pay the rci price, which was the bait and hook, AGAIN I WILL REPEAT IN SOME STATES THAT WAS NOT ALLOWED, CONTACT YOUR ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE, that pratice needs to be stopped,
signed a 30 + year vetern of the industry

I was a trans rebuilder for 20 yrs at a very reputable trans shop if cottman could not give you a close estimate before tearing the trans apart they do not know what they are doing . We never told the customer that they had to pay a inspection fee if you have been doing this for a living you know how much it can cost. The inspection fee is a rip off and always has been.

I was a trans rebuilder for 20 yrs at a very reputable trans shop if cottman could not give you a close estimate before tearing the trans apart they do not know what they are doing . We never told the customer that they had to pay a inspection fee if you have been doing this for a living you know how much it can cost. The inspection fee is a rip off and always has been.

I am the owner of the 1999 ford escort from apache junction. I filed a complaint with the better business bureau on this matter. Cottman's
first response was that they would give me 10% off.

I responded to that and the second time they said that they would fix it at no additional cost. I had to have it towed to their shop. The complaint by the better business bureau said that it was resolved. The only reason that it was resolved was because I had to respond within ten days which I did not do.

The bottom line to this matter is that I drove my car there and I had to have it towed home. I spent a hundred dollars on a rent a car, $50 for a tow truck, and I had to have a car, so I had to get another car and had to put money down on it and I now have a car payment. And lets not forget the $325 I had to pay Cottman's to take apart my transmission.

Then they want me to pay to have it towed back to there shop. I do not trust Cottman's to fix my transmission. What if they do something else to my car when they are fixing it? It will probably cost more money to fix.

Wow.... you've basically YOURSELF indicated that exactly what the customer is complaining about is true! You charge him $325. to tear down and inspect the transmission. "And sir, unless you authorize our considerable estimate, you can find your car over there, and your dismantled transmission over here, and your motor mounts are on the bench right there", etc, etc.

I'm quite sure that customers aren't *really* informed of exactly what this "procedure" would mean in the event they turn down your estimate.

So there's my criticism to your side. In the same respect, if you indeed made the effort to satisfy this customer and the customer refused all/most attempts, then the customer is in the wrong, too.

The customer brought their car in with an internal transmission problem. We performed our free transmission check and determined that it was truly an internal problem. The customer authorized the $325.00 to remove, dismantel and inspect the transmission. That charge does go back as a credit when work is authorized. All customers are informed of this procedure. Any work we do the customer authorized. We understand the customer can be frustrated at the situation but we did not break the transmission we only fix them. We tried to resolve this through the Better Business Bureau by offering to install his transmission back (no charge)for 100% customer satisfaction but we had no response from the customer. We apoligize for any communication issues. We only did what the customer authorized. Here at Cottman we provide the hihest standards of customer service, and it is regretable we were not given the opportunity to satisfy this customer.