Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care

An interesting story re: my Cadillac....I took it to Cottman in Paoli, Phil the owner let his manager Brian take the car home to "test drive"...his manager proceeded to take my Cadillac out later that night and drink with his brother. He then wrapped it around a pole, injuring his brother and totaling my car. Now his brother is suing everyone. BTW Brian STILL works for Cottman, please tell him I said hello when you DON'T take your car into that horrible shop! more

I'm trying to remember how many transmissions we have had rebuilt at this place. I'm thinking three but two for sure. We just had our Ford Explorer Tranny done less than a month ago. I'm thinking we had our Chrysler Town & Country done, too. Pros: Work done professionally, on time, for good price Cons: Hell, the only drawback I can think of is no free coffee! more

Over a year ago, I had the transmission in my 01 Grand Cherokee rebuilt by Cottman. I first met Phil and Brian. You couldn't ask for better people to have work with you. Very friendly, very professional, very polite. They assured me that they would work with me to make this process as smooth and as painless as possible. I still had a little of my extended warranty left, and they dealt with the extended warranty company for me. Called and kept me in tht loop of everything that was going on. Which if you ever had to deal with an aftermarket warranty, it is a big mess. So I was very pleased about this. The Jeep was finished as promised, actually earlier than promised. They will go out of there way to take care of there customers. Offers rides to work form work. Pros: Good work, friendly people Cons: They're not closer to where I live more

i am the manager of a repair shop in downingtown pa i have sent brian and phil dozens of my customers who have trans problems and every one of them have given me rave reviews of the service there they are honest, caring, professional customer oriented people they have taken care of my customers fairly and most importantly honestly i would not send my customers anywhere else for transmission repair. thier staff are highly trained and do the work right the first time Pros: professional and honest Cons: have not expierenced an yet more

My transmission case cracked, car wouldn't move, stuck at a light. I had it towed to Cottman from the Liberty gas station on Lancaster. Cottman paid for the towing, and got me a used transmission, charged me about $1800, and had it back to me in a week or so. Not having done this before, I must say I was very pleased, and so far so good with their work. I had no problems with Brian and the shop in general. Sorta surprised by many of the other reviews on here. more

This place is in the business of selling new or replacement transmissions, end of story. They're NOT trying to help you! If you had a NEW CAR and said "it doesn't feel right" they'd try to sell you a new transmission. Save a thousand bucks or two and find an honest mechanic instead. Pros: Serviceable work Cons: Unnecessary work just to make a couple thousand bucks off you more

My first mistake was going to Aberdeen Sunoco in Wayne (OK work and attitude but pricey) who sent me to these jerks. I went to Aberdeen occasionally for 10 years but am NEVER going back. Second mistake: taking my car to Cottman. Third: believing the condescending kid, who called me by my first name every five seconds, when he said they had to take the transmission apart (about $300). After this creep took my car hostage he tried to pitch two costly ways to fix it, both of which involved rebuilding the transmission. After I kept bugging him he offered something less expensive. (Oh, really, Brian? Thanks SO much for telling me that in the first place, Brian. Oh, and by the way, Brian, I already know my own freaking name so stop talking down to me, Brian. OK, Brian?) Of course he had to tack on something else - doing me a favor of course: 'oh, we found something else wrong' - to get the bill up to two thousand. Then he d*cked me around when I tried to get the car back. Took them two days more

They (especially Brian at this place) treat you like garbage: they try to sell you work you don't need (gotta bring that bill up to an even $2,000 or try to anyway), push you around when you try to get your car back and then charge you through the nose. Anybody who knows cars knows to stay away from Cottman, Aamco (they're the same company) etc. The franchise shops also have a nationwide reputation for doing terrible work. Mechanics who know their stuff don't work for these guys - they have shops of their own. Pros: Competent work Cons: Bad service, overpriced more

Cottman is GREAT!!!!! Cottman really took care of my car and myself, the customer. Brian was great communicating with me and finding out exactly what I needed. Cottman understood the stress of having your car in the shop and took care of all my needs. Cottman even had my car done a full day earlier than promised. I would take my car their anytime. They really pulled through and got me exactly what I needed when I needed it. Thank you Cottman and Thank you Brian!!!! Pros: Great service from all employees more

These places LOVE to rip off people who don't know cars. My first mistake was going to Aberdeen Sunoco in Wayne (don't go there either) for convenience instead of waiting and going to my local mechanic. Second mistake: going to this place because Aberdeen Sunoco recommended it. Third mistake: believing the condescending kid at Cottman (who called me by my first name every five seconds) when he said they had to take the transmission apart. Then when he phoned me again, having taken my car hostage, he lied to me giving me two sales pitches for costly plans. When I asked him if those were the only choices he said yes, THEN after I kept bugging him he offered something less expensive. (Really, Brian? Oh, thanks, Brian, for telling me that in the first place, Brian. Oh, and by the way, Brian, I already know my own name so stop talking down to me, OK, Brian? Greeeat!) Took them three days longer than the 'uses your name every five seconds' kid said it would. Seven days (replacing a transmission actually takes about 15 hours) and a couple of thousands of dollars later I finally got my car back. Pros: None Cons: Terrible service and dishonest more