Auto Service & Repair, Cottman Transmissions, Fern Valley Rd., Louisville, KY unable to repair transmission

Complaints.com received the following e-message on February 4, 2001:

From: r_woodruff [Email User]

RE: Cottman Transmissions

I am having a nightmare of a time with a Cottman Dealership in Louisville Located at 3121 Fern Valley Rd., Louisville, KY. 40213. Phone-502-966-3188. On November 16, 2000 I took my wifes' 1992 Nissan Stanza in for repair as the transmission was slipping. Cottman Transmission installed a new clutch, clutch plate and throw out bearings to fix the problem. By Wednesday November 24 the problem had reoccurred on a couple of occassions and was now worse. So bad in fact that I could not get the car to go into gear.

I called John Summers at Cottman and told him of the problem and he asked that I call him on Friday Nov. 26. In the interim I had a friend who is a professional mechanic at S&S Transmission come by and take a look at the car. He determined that one problem was actually a leaking slave cylinder.

He also noted that the transmission had been improperly re-installed where-by the mechanic at Cottman had failed to bolt the unit back into a brace, wedging it instead against the engine and also forgetting to remount the heater hose into its' bracket. When I returned with the car on Friday I pointed these out.

John had a mechanic repair these two items and then proceeded to tell me he never checked the slave for leaks because he thought that had been taken care of due to a new master cylinder unit. I was reading a poster about a 21 point inspection policy and he suddenly remembered he did check it but assured me it wasn't leaking then.

Must have just started! He did, however offer to sell me this unit at his cost to save me money over what I'd pay at a parts retailer. His cost: $62.00. Plus 45 minutes of labor. "So I’m looking at at another $100.00" and he replied that "A little over that."He called an Autozone while I waited and told me that their cost was $79.00. I asked about my time driving the car back over and waiting while they repaired their own mistakes. He said he had to pay his guys. There would be...no discount on labor.

I left, not having this work done because John said the part was not available. John was aware that the clutch was still slipping and told me to bring it back in on Monday if we needed the car in the interim. I did stop on the way home at a NAPA parts dealership to inquire about the cost of this $62.00 part. Their retail: $30.50. Their cost: Aprox. $20.00 according to NAPA Franchise owner. John had performed $463.00 worth of repairs, improperly assembled the clutch, negelcted a heater hose and then offered to sell me a part at his cost (Actually tripling the cost) to repair what should have been fixed the first time. I took the car to another mechanic on Monday.

I had no confidence in this dealership to repair anything again that I would put my wife and children into. They already neglected the heater hose and failed to insatl a mounting bolt into its bracket. John knew the clutch was was still slipping and sent me on my way . Additionally, John had blatantly lied to me about the cost of this part. I called Autozone to check their price...$37.00.

I decided to take the car to a different mechanic and when he installed the slave he noticed that the clutch was already burn up. He had to re-replace the clutch kit at a cost of $350.00. This Cottman franchise had charged me $463.00 for a clutch that lasted 8 days. During this period I’d contacted Mr. Gary Masterson on several occassions through e-mail. I left my home number, my work number and my pager number. I offered to take him to the car before the second mechanic began repairs so he could look at it himself. He declined to do all these things. I reported the incident to the Better Business Bureau and his response was so innaccurate that it was apparent he took no mare than moments to review the incident and dates. I then reported it to the Attorney Generals’ office. I’ve left messages on the recording of the Cottman customer service line on 6 occassions with Home numbers and work numbers, but can’t seem to get a response. Please, Mr. Leff, I need some assistance.

I am a grocery manager with 4 children. Putting them all thru school (Two in college) I can not afford to pay for a clutch that lasted 8 days. I did return the car and was lied to and told to drive it until they could get the part. Please feel free to call me anytime at home - 502-456-1325 or at work 502-966-3477 to discuss how I can rectify this. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read this and look forward to your earliest reply. Sincerely, Robert ‘Woody’ Woodruff