new 12/30/02
This past week I was informed my 99 Taurus SHO had cam shaft failure. Unfortunately I have 49,000 miles on it and have been told by Ford too bad. The dealership gave me a number to call Ford customer service and after reading all the articles on your web page I found out Ford lies to everyone with the line. We are unaware of any problem. I going to send emails and letters to the links you have on the page and hope maybe someone will help. After going to Kelly Blue Book and finding out the trade in value of a 99 SHO is about $10,000.00 how can I afford to put 5,000 to 10,000 I repairing the engine. On the other hand I still have 15 months of payments left so how can I afford to make payments on a vehicle that is no longer drivable. Since it is financed thru Ford maybe they would like to reposes their lemon. If you have any new links to get some help from Ford please let me know. I have bought 4 brand new Fords in than last 12 years and think I bought my last one in 2000.
here is my info
Brad DeGroft1999 Ford Taurus SHO
49,825 miles
VIN # 1FAFP54NXXA265091
1. VIN#s - 1FAFP54NXX265091
2. Date of malfunction -12/17/02
3. Where did the malfunction take place (highway, city streets, driveway, parking lot, etc.) - PARKING LOT
4. Odometer reading at time of malfunction - 49,560
5. How fast were you traveling? - JUST STARTED CAR ,PUT IN GEAR ,HAD NO POWER, MADE TERRIBLE NOISE
6. Were you accelerating or staying at a constant speed? - NOT MOVING
7. Estimated date of purchase, new or used? - AUGUST 1999 BOUGHT NEW
8. Estimated Odometer reading at time of purchase 0
9. Full Name, address, and a good phone# to reach you at during the day and night.
10. Brief description of the time of events leading towards the malfunction. (what did you hear and see before, during, and after the malfunction) HEARD NOISE LIKE A VALVE TAP ON WAY TO WORK ,ABOUT 10 MILES, DROVE FINE AND SEEM TO HAVE FULL POWER, AT END OF DAY WHEN I WENT TO START CAR TO GO HOME WAS WHEN THE PROBLEM WAS NOTICED AS STATED ABOVE
11. Customer service phone # you called and the name of the person you talked to. (if you can remember) CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER DEALER GAVE ME, NOT SURE WHAT IT WAS, BELIEVE IT TO BE MAIN NUMBER AND TALKED TO A STEPHEN
12. Did you feel satisfied with the answers customer service provided? Explain. NO I WAS NOT SATISFIED, THEY TOLD ME THEY NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM, THAT I WAS ONE OF A KIND AND SINCE I HAD OVER 36,000 MILES MY WARRANTY WAS UP AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME. ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THEY DO KNOW OF PROBLEM
13. Which dealership did you take your vehicle in for service? (name, address, phone#) KELLER BROS. FORD 730 SOUTH BROAD STREET LITITZ, PA 1-800-651-3673 JEFFREY GEHMAN IS SERVICE MANAGER HELPING ME
14. What was the cause of failure determined by the dealer? POOR MANUFACTURING
15. What was the cause of failure determined by you? POOR MANUFACTURING
16. How much was your statement? (I hope you kept your receipt) I HAVE NOT HAD THE CAR REPAIRED YET. WAITING TO HEAR FROM FORD
17. What can FOMOCO do to make you a satisfied Ford owner? ADMIT THEY MADE A DEFECTIVE PART AND REPAIR CAR AT THEIR EXPENSE
Hope this answers all your questions if not let me know and I'll be happy to answer any. At this point the dealership has been very helpful and has worked with me, giving me your web page, giving me numbers to call. When I called ford they told me they never heard of this problem or the lawsuit and that I was on my own. I sent a letter to ford Dec 20 and have yet to hear from them. I also sent 4 e-mails to customer service, customer loyalty, and other district managers and all I got was an auto reply from them saying they where out of the office till Jan 2. The dealer has told me the only way he can determine full damage is to pull the engine and that that is going to be expensive. He suggested I wait till I heard from ford before I run up a bill and I agreed. At this point I'm waiting on ford for a response. If you have any suggestions on what I should do next feel free to make suggestions. I've attached a copy of the e-mail and letter I sent to ford.