Cottman Transmission in Mauldin, SC has a problem with some of their employees or with their contractors. I took my '93 Blazer to them to have the bearings in the rear-end replaced and the differential rebuilt. They explained that they didn't do that work at this particular shop, but would have to send it out to someone else.
After nearly two weeks I'm finally told that it's ready. I picked it up at 5:30pm. The test drive went fine until I noticed that I needed gas. I thought there were extra miles on it, but I couldn't remember for sure. I didn't think anything about that until I was filling the tank. The lower body and all of the underside were covered in mud. I started looking closer and saw that there were scratches in the finish. Since I'd just had it painted a year ago I was very upset.
I started a closer inspection and noticed a dent in the tailgate that wasn't there before, as well as damage to the rear bumper and the trim around the front right fender. I found the invoice in the glove box and the milage difference was around 295 miles. I confronted them with this information and they agreed to fix the damage. Of course, this meant that I was out of a vehicle for another two weeks. They never offered to rent a car for me, or even asked if I was being inconvienienced.
They repaired and re-painted the tailgate. I have yet to hear anything about the bumper cover they were supposed to order. The trim piece was straightened, but still doesn't look good.
I am fully convinced that my Blazer was used for some type of off-road fun. The mud splashes around the front of the vehicle look like they were from the front tires spinning in reverse, which would indicate that it was in 4-wheel drive. I guess they must have overheated it as well, since my spare bottle of water and antifreeze were missing. (When I checked the fluid level it was very high; 2 extra gallons will do that.)
I never received a satisfactory answer about how my vehicle was damaged or where all of the extra miles came from. I even emailed their corporate customer service office and have yet to hear anything from them. They actually guarantee a response to all comments within 24 hours, but I guess they don't mean it.
After this experience I would talk with friends or relatives before taking a vehicle to any Cottmans franchise for any type of service. This is not a trustworthy company.
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