[Rant] Cottman Transmission are a bunch of crooks!

Sounds like Thunderbolt transmission. They put the yeehaw back in my motor after doubling my charge and giving me the same run around about kits and towing. At that point you really don't have much choice, i ended up having to knock my warranty in half to get the price down. My car never ran the same after i got it out of there.

 

Call one of the news stations that do those "I got ripped off by 'x' business". Maybe they'll do a story on you and we can all go "hey, that's the guy on the BBS!"

 

if those include labor that sounds about right... just because its a 96 doesnt mean the parts are much cheaper.
look into a getting a new car.

 

If your transmission's got you down
And your motor falls apart,
Just bring it down to Thunderbolt;
You don't need a brand new car!
We still believe in value
And we pass it on to you.
At Thunderbolt we fix it right
And we guarantee it, too.
We put the YEEEEE-HAW
Back in your motor and transmission.

Had to get some help from the internet.

 

Seals don't usually tear, but gaskets to, so that is true.

$2,000 - $2,500 for a rebuild transmission on FWD transmission is a little high, but not outrageous. A decent rebuild on any transmission is usually going to run you $1,500. O/H transmission labor pays 17-20 hours, and they cheapest hourly a rate a decent mechanic is going to charge you is about $65/hr.

You got ripped when he told you he would charge $350 to take it apart, diagnos it and put it back together. If he wasn't going to be able to put it back together, then he shouldn't have offered you that option in the first place. I would call that a violation of the DTPA.

 

I hate to tell you this, but almost every statement you mentioned is to my knowledge, correct.

A transmission with severely burnt fluid and over 200K miles is very unlikley to have any parts worth salvaging....the fluid no longer has lubricating properties and the moving parts in the tranny will have experienced damage from the high heat. The clutch material will be glazed, adn the metal pieces will be scorched by the combination of heat and burnt fluid.

Keeping your fluids changed at the recommended intervals will help ensure the fluids retain sufficent lubricating properties.

With a transmission in that condition, once you take it apart, the clutch materials are not going to be in any condition to be put back together...and there is no way to determine the extent of the damage without taking it apart, quite the catch 22 there.

Their fault was in not warning you that from what they could tell externally (fluid condition, mileage, and behavior) that you had a very real possibility to need a completely new one. They feared that if you knew that, you would likely not stick with them to do the work. That was dishonest imo.

next....rule out your assumptions about parts, you admitted that you dont know anything about this stuff, so your expectations were WAY out of wack.

Automatic transmission parts are expensive, moreso for foreign cars. Labor is expensive....I havent worked in a shop in over a decade now, adn I mainly do my own repairs so I havent used many, but last I checked flat rate per hour was well over 65 bucks an hour at dealerships, subtract a touch for smaller shops.

Im not tryin to be harsh, so please dont take it that way....but in this case you have to really realize that transmission work is NEVER cheap, it is just way too complicated these days.

By all means get a second opinion, it is the right thing to do with major repairs, even if it costs you a bit to move the vehicle, a matching quote from another shop will ease your mind about worrying about getting screwed, and it might even save you some cash.


edit: codell put it better than I as far as the dishonest part....they shoudl have known there was no way to be able to put it back together.

 

You know I don't think I would have even agreed to paying 350 just for them to tell me what's wrong with it...f**k that.

Glad I have a mechanic I can trust.

 

Since transmissions are the subject, I know a mechanic who recommends never changing the transmission fluid, especially in older cars. To those of you who know a lot about cars: Is this crazy or does it make sense? Why or why not?

 

I've never heard that, but I do know that it generally isn't a good idea to switch oils, i.e. going from conventional oil to a synthetic. The reason for this has to do with the way the seals and gaskets have acclimated to a given oil over time, and changing this can cause problems because those seals and gaskets aren't used to the different oil.

Maybe there is some related theory to changing transmission fluid.

 

I am going through a very similar situation, but instead of getting a rebuilt tranny for $2500, I went with the used tranny for about $800....big difference and it runs fine.

DD

 

Question:

I went in to Autozone because of the "check engine" light in my car. They ran a test on my car and said i need to replace the Trans Selenoid Switch in my car. The part was like $30 .......does anyone have an idea how much that is going to cost?

Its been about a month...and I think I am noticing a difference in performance!

 

I pretty much explained it in my long post above.

heat and extended use WILL wear out the lubricating properties of all lubricants.(transmission and engine oil)

once your fluid is no longer effectively lubricating the moving parts, excessively high heat and seizure/failure of the moving parts WILL ensue.

there may be some disagreement over how long you can keep using it before changin it out, but there is not a single professional technician that would tell you never to change it.


Lynus,

some old school guys believe that changing out old oil will take away the sludge that is holding the parts together....its silly and illogical....a shadetree mechanic's old wives tale if you will.

its BS..plain and simple.

 

Judging by the brain power of some of the morons I have dealt with at chain auto part stores, I wouldnt trust those guys to diagnose something effectively....far too many times have I heard of folks changing out part after part because the code reader said so.

Most computer system diagnosis requires multiple steps, normally with associated voltage cross checks to narrow down which component is causing the problem.
The systems are so interconnected that one part could cause problems in control systems that are only vaguely associated with the one that is really causing the problem.

There is a reason why it takes specialized training to diagnose and repair computer control systems. If it was so easy any joe moron parts jockey could do it, why would there be technicians getting paid big bucks to do it?

 

I have to have the Motor Mounts Changed on My Camry
Probably the Transmission too. . . . .
At this point
I think I going to look for a new car

I like Camrys

Rocket River

 

i don't know about the Autozone you went to, but the one near me consist of 18-22 year olds who probaby couldn't tell the difference b/t a radiator and an alternator. one day i saw a group of about 6 of them under the hood of a truck on "training." don't think i'd take anything they say seriously.

 

They plug a code reader into the OBD port and run a scan. The reader tells them what problem the computer is recording. Any monkey can read a code reader. The kids don't diagnose the problem, the code reader does.

It's a free service. If you want a more accurate idea of the problem, take it to a shop and have them hook up the big reader to it, and pay for something that the free service may have diagnosed.

Buy the switch, get a little dirty changing it yourself, learn something about your car, and save some money doing it.

I agree with this. You need to know your car...know which codes to address and which codes to disregard. Some codes are stored and if you go and replace every code that is thrown, you may be repalcing something that was caused by something else, and can be corrected by fixing another code.

 

I agree, I've went to Autozone several times and the people that works there are mostly clueless. On one occasion I asked about replacements for my side mirrors and this lady was totally clueless. She wanted to sell me mirrors for a damn truck. and I have a small toyota. Then I asked to see someone who knows (ie the manager) and he was kinda lost too, trying to sell me the same damn thing. Geebus Christie!

I've bought and returned so many things there because those silly employees didn't know what they were selling me. Now I only buy something when I know exactly what I need, so I don't have to ask them.

 

so the mechanic at the shop does the same thing autozone does, except the mechanic charges for it?