new 12/04/02
Tim,
I am having trouble getting my information together as I have limited records
left. I am going to go to the dealer today to try and get copies of my receipts,
I'll tell them I need them for tax purposes or something.
1. VIN#s: 1FALP54N1TA263789
2. Date of malfunction: January 3, 2002
3. Where did the malfunction take place (highway, city streets, driveway, parking lot, etc.): Driving on a city street.
4. Odometer reading at time of malfunction: 99K (I think I indicated 96K before, that was from memory, my paperwork showed 99K)
5. How fast were you traveling? 35-40MPH
6. Were you accelerating or staying at a constant speed?: Constant
7. Estimated date of purchase, new or used?: Purchased new in May of 1996
8. Estimated Odometer reading at time of purchase : Very low maybe 12 miles or so.
9. Full Name, address, and a good phone number to reach you at during the day
and night:
Peter F. Gregory
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 a clicking sound, turned down the radio and thought it sounded like I was low on oil, maybe the valves were making noise. Within a mile there was a LOUD clunk and the vehicle died. I am not a mechanic but I new it was bad.
11. Customer service phone # you called and the name of the person you talked to. (if you can remember): Bill Brown Ford in Livonia, MI (800) 726 0924
12. Did you feel satisfied with the answers customer service provided? NO Explain.: I was made to believe that mine was an isolated incident. They wanted to charge me $10,500 for an entire new engine as apparently a valve had punctured a cylinder head??? As the car had a blue book value less than that I declined and donated the car to a local charity.
13. Which dealership did you take your vehicle in for service? (name, address, phone number): Bill Brown Ford in Livonia, MI (800) 726 0924
14. What was the cause of failure determined by the dealer?: Here is the
problem. The dealer never committed to
anything other than verbally. They stated I had major engine failure, no
compression that possibly a valve had punctured one or more cylinder heads. It
is NOW my belief that they new the cause of the problem but intentionally tried
to hide it from me to make me think that I was the only one with this problem.
Bill Brown Ford claims to be the #1 Taurus dealer in the USA, In hindsight I am
SURE they new of these cam failures by January of 2002.
15. What was the cause of failure determined by you?: Cam failure leading to
catastrophic engine failure.
16. How much was your statement? (I hope you kept your receipt): They charged me
an hours labor to tell me I needed a new engine, I do not have the receipt at
this time but I think it was about $75.
17. What can FOMOCO do to make you a satisfied Ford owner? As the car was donated to charity it is gone and can not be repaired. If Ford would give me a certificate offering a significant (half of my loss seems fair that would make it $5,000) discount off the purchase of a new Ford vehicle it would be a win-win situation. They would keep a loyal customer as I have driven only Fords since the 1960's and they would probably only take a minimal loss on the discounted vehicle I would purchase.
Peter is the only owner so far to donate his car to charity, and only owner to mention a coupon off future sales may be an acceptable solution. In contrast a lot of folks are saddled with car they need to use which does not run, still has payments owed and needs thousands of dollars worth of repairs to be useable. For 99% of V8 owners this is not a fair, viable or acceptable solution.
Tim