new 11/24/03
1. 1997 FORD TAURUS SHO
2. Was just getting off of the freeway about a mile when as when the cam blew.
3. The car shut down and smoke was coming from under the hood. My wife and I did not know what was going on.
4. We got the car towed to a mechanic Paid almost $1000.00 to replace the cam. Yet they found out that internal damage had been done and said that the engine needed replacement. they recommended that we call a dealership. however they said that the cheapest price just to buy the engine was $ 6000,00 not including the cost of labor.
5. The car had exactly 124851 miles at the time of the incident.
6. When we purchased the car it had a little over 44,000 miles back in 1999.
7. Of course the WARRANTY had expired. and ford said they will do nothing.
8. Since my place of employment is over 30 miles from home I felt that I was going to lose my job, and had to take must of my vacation time, which as you know with most companies you cannot take off without pre-notice. The money that I spent to get the cam fixed was the car payments. Which put me behind. So I am still making my payments on a car that is sitting in a garage that is lifeless, that I still owe $10,000 on.
9. The disturbing thing is that you see these much older cars still on the go with less upgraded engines. and even more mileage . And the man reason that I bought the SHO was because felt that the engine would be long lasting. 10. Also at the time of the incident I was not speeding. and not on the freeway. Even when driving on the freeway I was not speeding ,but was doing a little less than the speed limit, which was 60 miles .
Wayne Wright
1FALP54NOVA151696
Details pending - Buford
11/24/03 - Evening,
All was going reasonably well this morning until Larry sent me a note: "I have a few cam failures, will you please post them for me?" As part of the process I called Wayne and left a message he called me back tonight. It seems Wayne has been lurking on V8 SHO for 2 years and knew all about the cam issue, he just thought because he took great car of his car it could never happen to him.
He has $10,000 in payments to Ford left and a car that needs a $13,000 engine. Because he had cancer and is taking care of his mom he is not flush with funds. On one hand I hate getting my heart kicked in by all the stories of all the folks Ford pooched. It ruins a whole day at least. On the other hand it may be necessary. Anytime I get tired of V8SHO, the web related work and the lawsuit I meet another hurting person Ford really worked over; ruined and impoverished.
Remember the guy who paid a ford dealership $23,000 to rebuild his engine? Or the couple who purchased a V8 SHO for their "A-student" daughter to go away to school in? Remember the GI, stuck with payments, who's wife left him when the SHO died?
It isn't about 21,000 bad engines, it's about 21,000 screwed over owners and their families. Owners can fix the problem for less then $1,000. I bet Ford could have fixed each car for one-fourth that but made a judgment: "Better to ruin 21,000+ lives than be responsible and take care of this.
The day will come when the damage is tallied and Ford will say "That is way too much money, it is unrealistic, that much in damages will hurt Ford as a company." We need to archive these stories now for that moment to have any real perspective. Without any trace of a conscience showing, Ford ruined the lives of 21,000 families. Hurt as many families as the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor or Al Qaeda did on 9/11.
It hurts to learn the impact of this mess on people, but it is necessary, and needs to be written down and archived.
Wayne has a message for all those lurkers who think it could never happen to them, "Weld your cams!" - Buford
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I was called this evening right after Tim did this for me. I kinda wish I had done this. We tend to get mired in our day to day stuff, talk about all kinds of things on the list both on topic, and off. There are few words that I can publish that could convey my outrage that Ford can stand by, shrouded in their corporate smugness and think that we will go away.
What we really need to keep in the forefront, is that for every Wayne that finds us, their are countless others that have been told, and believed, because Ford would NEVER lie to them that it must be their fault because they have never heard of this problem before.
Meanwhile, every month they tear another coupon out of their payment book, write their check as they look out the window at their lawn ornament, and send off their car payment.
FORD, ARE YOU LISTENING??? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!
lARRY ECK
WEBMASTER