Complaint Review: Cottman Transmission / AAMCO - Toledo Ohio

I live by an Army base and the soldiers if they are found taking their cars their would get a fine from their unit. I went in for "maintinance" had a car a good while didn't know the background and so I thought gee, 30 bucks and i'll have a like-new trans, change the trans fluid, change the trans filter, whatever. Point is I walk down the street after dropping it off to get something-what do you care-came back, dude was standing their, clean white shirt, clipboard and smiling like a snakeoil salesman telling me my trans was shot. It worked just fine when I drove there. I was suckered into saying 'okay do what it needs." I bet the guy crapped himself that someone fell for the old coupon trick. Went to work, on a bike, that night and all my mechanic friends starting laughing and they told me about the soldiers not being allowed to go there and how if it was not broke don't fix it. No, it didn't skip or slip. They had, by the next morning, ripped my trans out, had it all over the work table, I mean I got first place treatment even after when i first showed up the guy asked if I had an appointment. No just a coupon. My car was old, paid for and I wasn't falling for it. Told them to keep it. My older sister, being a b***h, went down there and raised total hell, had them put my car back together and that was that. First they had to drive it back from where they hide their stolen cars, did you notice drive it back and not towed it back? I did. A few months later the trans burnt up and I sold it to a bud for the hell of it and after he looked at it he saw the Ace mechanics their unplugged the overdrive cable, it was drinking a whole lot of gas after I got it back. So, if you can't get someone you actually know to do the work, don't do it. Let it fall out. Let it slip till it breaks and burns. Then the day you get in your car and nothing clicks home, time for a new trans or a new car. I went with a new car. I also don't believe in oil changes either. "Ma'am, you need another air filter, and this and that and the other." Until 20 turns into 120 and the lead guy is smiling because he made a dollar for the air filter, 10 for the radiator flush, 10 for the emmision flush. Trust your gut and your wallet. We all need our cars, but ask yourself, was it running just fine before you pulled into the jip joint? If it was, why stop?

Cottman transmission bought AAMCO on a national level. They are requiring Cottmans to change over to AAMCO whereever possible. So, the shop in Toledo was a Cottman, is an AAMCO and is owned by Tom Gamble. They do actually store cars in a portion of the mall parking lot that they rent across the street as this shop is very cramped in space for parking. While it seems some details of the report don't exactly add up regarding the trani, the damage, etc....these things are true.

"you have no clue buddy, you dont know me or my mechanical ability, let alone anything about a 45RFE.." Really? That must explain why the people who DO know you and your abilities didn't want you attempting the work. I know more about that tranny than you ever will. "yes I know that it takes ATF+4" Very good. Actually, it requires ATF+3. The preferred upgrade is to use ATF+4. Chrysler is going to all Synthetic fluids. Now, how did you determine the wrong fluid was installed? You do know there are additives that convert Dexron3 to several different fluid varieties, don't you? The additives work perfectly. "no I didnt steal the battery... why would I?" I don't know...maybe because you said it came out of a Bulldozer. Am I supposed to believe you went to the parts store and asked for a Bulldozer battery to go in your Durango? You do know that using the incorrect part voids the warranty on that part don't you? The strongest battery I found for a Caterpillar ANYTHING is 1500 ca. You must have found a "special" one. "yes the shifter was out of ajustment, when in D it was in neutral and in 3 it was in drive." Did you use a scanner to set the proper position? No? Oh...I must be thinking of a different 45RFE, or any of the other transmissions your Durango came with. Without a scanner, it will never be in the correct position. "as far as going on their lot... it isint a lot, they park cars at the shopping mall across the road." Sure they do. They just park the customer's cars on a mall parking lot, so every hoodlum around can steal them. Sure. When you gave the shop (you still ahven't said which one...Cottman, or AAMCO) your vehicle, a BAILMENT is now in force. The shop is responsible for your vehicle. If it gets stolen, damaged, etc, the shop is responsible. When you STOLE it(took without authorization), you put them at risk. If you had wrecked the vehicle, you would have immediately pretended you knew nothing about it, and sued the shop for any damages YOU caused. You know it, I know it, we ALL know it.

you have no clue buddy, you dont know me or my mechanical ability, let alone anything about a 45RFE.. yes I know that it takes ATF+4 no I didnt steal the battery... why would I? yes the shifter was out of ajustment, when in D it was in neutral and in 3 it was in drive. as far as going on their lot... it isint a lot, they park cars at the shopping mall across the road. feel free to watch on my blog where I will post pictures of their f-ups (((ROR deleted link))) CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

1)Cottman and AAMCO are two different Corporations. As we'll all soon see, the story changes almost immediately, and has more plot twists than an episode of Murder She Wrote. The subplots are just as lame. 2)"...neither of us have the money for that so I decide to gt the old trans from cottman to do a little snooping it is then that I start getting pissed, Tom had told my mother that the trans was junk and not rebuildable but I completely disssembled it and found out that the friction plates and steel plates had worn out, THATS IT!!!!!!!!!! total cost to fix it was UNDER $100 and all of the other fRiction plates and steel plates WERE PERFECTLY FINE!!!!" First you say the plates were burned up, then you say they are fine. Pick one, and stick with it. We'll all figure out how money plays a part in all of this. Just because you can but the plates for $100, does not mean anything. Anyone who just throws new plates in a tranny and calls it rebuilt has never done one before. What about the piston seals? Return springs? Snap rings? Gaskets? Uh-huh. They don't matter do they? 3)" I decided to just comb the junkyards and find one from a running vehicle because tom said that he couldnt rebuild the trans so we found one 4 days later for a reasonable sum of $315 at Airway Auto in battle creek, so we made a day trip of it and went and bought the trans with 38k miles on it and when the guy who owned the place asked who was installing it I said probably myself but if things get tight then cottman would do it..... this is where I started hearing more hororr stories and one cought my ear about a guy with a jeep grand cherokee that had work done to their truck and after it was done while they were on a family vacation a week later the transmission magicly shifted ino reverse causing them to spin out and roll their jeep." Never happened. Nope, not a chance. If for some reason(always due to operator error) the tranny was shifted from drive to reverse, the transmission would disengage until the vehicle slowed down sufficiently. When it finally did engage reverse, it would have simply broken the sprag(and possibly the case) and coasted to the side of the road. You watch too much TV. You consider $315 to be a reasonable price for a tranny that works. I told you money was the issue. A $315 tranny for that vehicle is a core, and needs to be rebuilt. Good work Sparky! 4)"...I think $@# this joint I will do it myself but after my mom decides htat se still wantsthem to do it because they said it would be done in 2 days whereas I said I would work on it in the evenings until it was done but less then a week and atleast if I did it I knew it would be done correctly but no she wanted it monday like they said, I told my mom that he was full of @$@#$ and proceided to make a wager of $20 that wouldnt be done on time.... I won I went down there on wendsday and looked at him square in the eye and said "What the hell is goin on?" and his only reply was that his $5 a hour labor hadnt shown up in 5 days but reguardless he was able to have a tech work on a $100k showcar that came in with a problem over the weekend... I guess we were put at the bottom of the list because we didnt spend the $2k on a rebuild......." It seems your Mom thinks very little of your mechanical skills. What a shock that a PAYING customer will get the mechanic, while the "customer supplied old used up tranny" gets a minimum wage flunkie. Did you really think it would be the other way around? 5)" and it drug out a week then he needed a seperator plate because he claimed ours was bad ( yea because his hack job mechanics screwed it up) so that was another week and finally when the cat was out of the bag a week later when he found out I had tore down the transmission and ever sence then he has been a total a*s to us UNTIL TODAY a glimpse of hope this evening WOW IT IS DONE! too bad the shifter isint ajusted correctly, the transfercase shifter was not either and the transmission was filled with the wrong fluid, my mom drove it about a mile before she took it back to them and said something was wrong..." Huh? What does the spacer plate in your original tranny have to do with anything? Why would they need to do anything with it? You brought them a perfectly good used tranny, you bought for a fraction of what one would normally sell for. I seriously doubt the rebuilder screwed it up. Using your own Mother's opinion of your skills, I think we all know who did what. The shifters aren't adjusted correctly? What adjustment? Wrong fluid? When did you have an analysis done? Who did it? What fluid do you think is supposed to be in it? I know, let's see if you do. Here's your hint...it's not Dexron3. 6)"...um yea it is a EGR valve and you need a new battery they said....... hmm a 1 year old 1800 cca industrial battery from a Caterpillar BULLDOZER just up and gave up the ghost I dont think so! I have had enough of their bulls#it so I went to their lt and used my spare key and hopped in it and fired it up and took it for a spin and it works enough that it will move under it's own power again so it is comng home in the morning whether they like it or not and I will finish repairing it." So now you think the EGR system is their problem, and should be resolved for FREE. No. You have the WRONG battery installed, and since you know where it came from, I'll assume it was not obtained legally. So much from your story points to this conclusion. Like...going on their property after hours and driving the vehicle off the lot. This is known as STEALING. If you had wrecked it, you'd be trying to make them buy you a new vehicle, because it was in their care. Here's a thought...the reason the vehicle doesn't work correctly is because you thought $315 was a "reasonable" price for a good, working tranny. I can't wait to hear about more of your repair skills. This goes back to how everyone KNOWS the high price is TOO MUCH, yet the unbelievable low price is the right price. And of course, because the customer doesn't want to spend any money, it must be the mechanic's fault. And finally, it has to be the mechanic's fault when the customer provides their own part, and it doesn't work. I love you guys.