NEPA11

Hi all,

So I bought this used 2004 Fx4 Crew cab in October. Nice Truck 96,000 miles and some change. (Ive been a ford guy all my life, Just got rid of my 1999 lifted f150. Had 180k, ran like a dream) At the dealer I noticed the tick. Salesman said and I quote "Ohh thats nothing to worry about, My truck had the exact same noise, and it was the same year as that. Truck is fine!!!" So I bought it after I test drove it. After a few weeks I noticed the tick was getting louder. I knew about the cam phaser issues. So I took it to another FORD dealer closer to home to have it looked at.

So today I get a call,

1) Cam phasers are shot
2) Lifters are broken
3) Camshafts are broken
4) Metal throughout the engine.

I got a 90day 4500mile warrenty. The service manager called the warrenty company. They want to put a JUNKYARD motor in my truck. I say HELL NO!!! I have no idea what im getting, if its been used and abused or not. I have no idea what to do because im at the mercy of the warrenty company.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

painthorseowner

If it's under warranty they should have to put a remanufactured engine in it. Period. I totally agree on not taking something out of a salvage yard. I've never heard of any warranty company even trying to do that......

Lenn

My advice is... dont fight it.

You've got a 96k mile truck and were lucky enough to get a warranty with it. You've already done better than some that purchase trucks of that "seniority". Unfortunately, you're in a position of few options. You can either sell it and buy a new one (good luck with a blown engine) or you can have them fix it.

Here's what I'd do. I'd let them fix it with whatever type of engine that they deem fit. It is after all... thier dime. They'll be covering that engine for the remainder of the warranty's life. After that, you'll be in the same boat as you were when you initially purchased the truck- one of knowing nothing about it or how it was cared for.

If the shop that installs it is worth half a damn, they'll pull the cam covers to look for signs of sludge and things like that. They'll let the warranty company know if the engine is worthy of going into your truck or if its a potential future liability.

After the install and the warranty expires, chances are... the shop will have some sort of parts and labor warranty since they did the job and they "verified" the components to be installed.

When I worked for a Volvo dealer, if an engine in an older car needed to be replaced, that was the route we RECOMMENDED people to take rather than spending $5000 on a new/reman engine (part only) for a car that was only worth $7000 in working condition.

Second peice of advice- YOU took the liability for the truck when you agreed to purchase a vehicle that was making a strange noise PRIOR to your purchasing it and you elected to take a salesman's word for the noise being "ok" rather than having it checked prior to purchase. Count your blessings that with a jacked engine, they put a warranty on it. That should NOT have happened.

.
How!?!?!?! Its a 96k mile old truck! There's no logical reason in the world that I can see for someone to expect a warranty company to pay for an essentially brand new engine in a vehicle that's already used up 1/3-1/2 of its "expected" life. Remanufactured? Never gonna happen.

NEPA11

Thank you both for the suggestions. Anymore advice from anyone is appreciated. I think the best route might be to wait until I hear back from the dealer or the agent. If the agent calls me personally I might offer him a "happy-medium" so to speak. Whatever the cost they were planning to pay I might cover the difference to get to the $4500 price of a remaned engine. I doubt they'll do it but it cant hurt to ask.

wrvond

I think that sounds like a great idea. You never know, they might go for that, since it wouldn't cost them anything more.

HoustonRider

Heres another spin:

you could focus on deceptive trade practices by the dealer. You brought it to their attention, they chose to deceive you (intentional or not) by letting you know there was NOTHING wrong with the engine when you drove off. You asked before hand and they responded with /without malicious intent (whos to say?)

They got a trade, don't know **** about it and took a chance when they sold it. They lost. They need to make it right. I would START with, I want to bring the truck back and you refund my $$$.

13Harleyfan

I would read any and all documentation regarding the warranty you purchased, see what they cover and see what your legal rights are, if the salesman tells you the noise is normal, you as a customer have to assume he is telling the truth and your purchased was based on his statement and since he is employed by the dealership, he represents them. The company selling the warranty assumes the dealer is selling you a vehicle that will provide you reasonable service during the length of the warranty contract so they come out ahead in the long run, but every once in a while they have to eat an engine or transmission because the dealership was unable to detect a potential failure.

bill2014

that's rough man see what you can get out of the dealer and warranty company and if you can't get anything out of them have the different motor put in and find a different truck hopefully still a ford

diamonbird

I would most likely go to the website JustAnswer and hirer a lawyer so to speak.
You'll have to pay a fee but it's really small (less then $50) I think and tell them what happened and they will advise you on how to handle the situation that way you won't lose as much as you're getting ready too!
This is what they(dealer) are hoping you won't do!

13Harleyfan

Going with a lawyer right now is a little premature, keep us posted on how they handle this and let us know the name of the company that issued the extended warranty/service plan.