Cottman Transmission Ctr

06/25/09

Beware the "Free" Diagnostic Inspection Scam‎

by jdimart

This shop doubles the list price of parts in order to make up for the time they spend inspecting your car for free.

I asked twice in advance for the cost of the repair and didn't get an answer until the job was complete. I couldn't dispute the charges until it was too late. I never gave approval to proceed with the repair since they wouldn't tell me the cost.

When I picked up the car, I brought a printout with pricing from two Acura dealerships. The list price for the part was $66.93. Cottman charged me $124.46.

When I presented my information and expressed my concern, the counter person became rude, argumentative and extremely obnoxious. At one point waving my paperwork saying, "you can't come in here at the end of the day with this b...#*%, questioning our prices!"

Even a discount coupon printed from their website was tossed to the side and not honored.

There was no manager at the shop during this exchange.

I will never do business with Cottman again. I strongly urge others to avoid this rip-off operation.

• Cons: Deceptive pricing practices