new 8/26/03
I heard of this class action suit from V8SHO.com. I would like to be included in this action, and I think that my information will help the case. Sorry that it is kind of lengthy, but I feel the whole story is important.
97 SHO
Black
VIN-1FALP54N7VA275349
I bought a used 97 SHO from Westside Volkswagen in Minneapolis MN in August of 2001.
In July of 2002 with about 90,000 miles on it the Engine quit working. (during a road trip to Iowa)
I took it to Clear Lake Ford (the ford dealership in Clear Lake Iowa-possibly named something else now) Where they told me that the engine failure had something to due with a Cam failure . They would not give me a clear answer on how to fix it. They then convinced me that the only option was to replace the engine.
Upon hearing this I contact Ford Customer Care through their hotline, and they said that they couldn't help my situation, but they would help Clear Lake Ford locate a replacement engine.
Ford was not able to locate an engine for me for over five months. In the meantime I had several conversations with Ford Customer Care about the situation. They refused to help me at all.
Finally in February of 2003 Clear Lake Ford located an engine for me. I agreed for them to purchase the Engine and have it put into my car.
They charged me $5008 for the engine and service. When I picked up my "repaired" car, the check engine light was on. The service manager told me that there was some kind of error in the transmission, and that it probably only needed the fluids changed.
As I was driving the vehicle home, I noticed that it was shifting very hard. I then took the service managers advice from Clear Lake Ford and took the vehicle to Kennedy Transmission to have the fluid changed (Plymouth Minnesota).
Kennedy Transmission told me that the service manager at Clear Lake Ford obviously lied to me about the nature of the check engine light to get me out of the dealership. Kennedy Transmission informed me that the error which caused the check engine light was due to a shift sensor error. When I explained that I just had the Engine replaced they told me that I should contact
Clear Lake Ford and have them fix the problem, and that they obviously new what the error was, but didn't want to fix it.
When I called Clear Lake Ford, the service manager denied that they had installed the engine incorrectly, and that the problem occurred after I took the vehicle home. I then told them what Kennedy Transmission told me about the check engine light and the shift sensor error. Again the service manager denied any guilt. I then had them read to me the list of errors from the diagnostics that the car had when I brought it in originally (from back in July of 2002--advice from Kennedy
Transmission) he read me the list, and it did not include the shift sensor error. I then told them
that the car didn't have this error when I brought it in, and now after you "fixed it" it does. Clear Lake Ford still denied any
responsibility for the transmission problem.
I then contacted Ford Customer Care again, once again they said that there was no way to prove that the transmission problem was due to them installing the replacement engine improperly, they said that they wouldn't even pay to have a Ford Service Center take a look at it to see if possibly something was installed wrong.
At this time I just accepted that I was going to be screwed by Ford.
Later I took the vehicle to get the shift sensor replaced, (at Andy's garage-Anoka Minnesota), after putting in a brand new shift sensor ($400) the error still existed. Andy's garage told me that when the replacement engine was put in that Clear Lake Ford must have not installed the wiring correctly.
Replacing the engine cost me over $5000, I traded the vehicle this August (2003) for a new vehicle. Due to these problems I did not get a reasonable price on my trade it. ($4500 less than Kelly Blue Book for a trade it) plus the $400 on replacing the shift sensor, which didn't solve the problem.
I estimate that the Cam failure ended up costing me $9900 out of pocket, without even figuring in the hassle of not having a vehicle for 6 months. In order for Ford to make this situation right for me I would like to get $15,000 from them in
expenses and in hassles. Not to mention the fact that they lied and cheated me.
Please contact me with any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Also if you could let me know of any more information about the class action suit.
Thank you,
Alan Johnson