First, DO NOT go to this company for ANY reason. We are not the first people to write a usacomplaints.com about this company (but we are trying to make sure we are the LAST). This company also has a Consumer Report complaint about them on another site as well. After I have finished this complaint, I will be contacting a local news team that does reports about Shreveport/Bossier area companies that rip people off and I will also be contacting the Better Business Bureau in an attempt to shut this company down permanently.
Now that we have gotten that warning out of the way, let me explain what happened:
My fiance and I went to Cottman's Transmission to purchase a car (there was an ad for several cars in a local Classified Ads newspaper) and the prices were in our range. We looked at several that we were interested in, but they were either to expensive or "already sold". We finally settled on a '93 Nissan Maxima. The body was in great condition (although the paint on the hood was peeling and faded), the engine (we were told) was new... As was the transmission. We were told that the only thing wrong was that there was an electrical problem... An open circuit, to be exact. We were assured that the problem could be fixed in at most 2 days (depending on the work load of the shop) and that it should not cost more than $200...$500 if the main computer was gone. Mind you now, AARON BENNETT looked me in the eye the whole time he's explaining this to me. He said that he "Just wanted to get the money he put in it back".
We were also told that the car had an after factory sound system (pioneer cd player, "10's or 12's in the trunk", good speakers throughout... And "I'll get you the faceplate for the cd player"). The car goes to "his electircal mechanic"s shop. We tried to contact Mr. Bennett the next day trying to find out if the car had been shipped... No answer from Aaron, but we're assured that he will call us back. We knew the name of the place he was sending it, so we called them.
At first, we're told that "there is no open circuit, but there is a 'mystery shift' ". I have no idea what this means, but I'm hopeful since there's no open circuit and we may be paying less than expected. The mechanic tells us he needs to get in touch with Aaron to find out what work they did on it and why there may be this "mystery shift".
Still no word from anyone by the next day, so we again call Cottman's... Aaron, again, is nowhere to be found. I'm beginning to get worried as now I have realized that he has not even signed the title (we did have the sale notarized, so I'm not in a panic... Yet). I inform the receptionist that we need the title to be signed and that the mechanic needs to speak with Aaron to find out what might be going wrong. Again, I am assured that he will call me... Do I really need to mention that to this day he still has not called me back? Ok, TO THIS DAY HE STILL HAS NOT CALLED ME BACK.
I call the shop where the car is... The mechanic says he can't continue until he speaks with Aaron, so they are at a stand still. That was early in the morning... I call later in the afternoon and they say they still haven't spoken to Aaron, but that both the Engine Control Module AND the Transmission control module are shot and that Cottman's should have called me to give me the parts needed and prices. I call Cottman's and they say that they have not spoken to the mechanic. This pattern continues for a few more calls and finally the mechanic tells me that the total is going to be around $1300 for the 2 modules BEFORE he can continue to work and find out what is even wrong with the car.
I try to contact Aaron at Cottman's Transmissions to inform him that this is unacceptable and that if I wanted to spend $1800 (which is not the problem) I would have bought a car that was AT LEAST running right (trust me, there were several cars we were looking at that cost less than that, that actually were working). SURPRISE, SURPRISE..."Aaron's not in right now... He's in and out all day but I'll pass the message on to him and he'll call you back". So my spouse and I decide to go Scooby-Doo on this guy.
We call back on our cell phone... We say that we're interested in buying one of the cars we saw in the newspaper... And guess what? Aaron is now in the office! Wow! I didn't see that coming! When he gets on the phone we ask about a car that he told us earlier was already sold... And guess what? It's not sold! He's selling it for $300 more than what we bought our car for! Wow! YET ANOTHER SURPRISE...
At this point my fiance puts him on a brief hold and I get on the phone... Needless to say he sounds shocked to hear my voice... I tell him everything that's going on and that I don't appreciate it and this is not what we signed on for. He stammers his way through a few explanations including, "Huh... I haven't talked to them so I don't know what's going on with the car..." to which I reply, "Odd... The mechanic told me he got off the phone with you about an hour ago and that you were supposed to call us and tell us what was happeneing..."
"Oh no... I haven't heard anything. Tell you what, I'm going to call him right now and call you right back... Let me get your number..."
I'm thinking, "Yeah, right... YOU'LL CALL", but I like to pretend in my head that this is a fairly descent world and people aren't full of crap and that maybe... MAYBE there was some miscommunication... Maybe they usually scam people and the mechanic wasn't told to not scam us... Maybe the mechanic had the wrong car in mind??? Maybe there was some big confusion?
I give him 20 minutes to call me back... No call (of course, and by this time I've already called the police to find out what I can and can not do to get my money back and/or car fixed)... So I call back... Wow... BIG SURPRISE!!! Aaron isn't available! I tell the receptionist, "Look, I JUST spoke to him and I KNOW he's there... Put him on the phone."
here response, "He just left..."
I inform him... Her that I've called the police and I'm about to start legal proceedings. She says she'll inform
Thankfully, we contacted someone else about another car (because the broken Maxima is our only car at this point) and the guy happens to be a mechanic. He hears what's going on and says he'll tow the car to his shop and take a look at it for free and that he won't charge us too much to fix it, but from what he's hearing the diagnosis is ALL wrong. So... We're still waiting to see what exactly is REALLY wrong with the car.
BUT, while we're paying for the "diagnostics" at the mechanic's shop (which he said he couldn't run because the 2 modules were out... Yeah, $73 dollars pissed down the drain plus the $23 cab ride...$100 for NOTHING)... While we're there, we realize the face plate for the stereo is still not on... The speakers in the trunk? Not there... Just wires for the speakers and amplifier... And there's still no real telling what is really wrong with the car... It might end up costing God only knows what for a car originally priced at $1000.
Long story short (too late, huh?) DO NOT GO TO COTTMAN'S TRANSMISSION AT 9167 Linwood Ave in Shreveport, LA... But if you find that you have to and you have no other choice? Bring your own Vaselline because THEY DO NOT PROVIDE ANY!!!
Michelle
Nacogdoches, Texas
U.S.A.
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