EBay Item Number: 160031217430
On September 25 I purchased a 1997 Ford F450 Regular Cab XL Flatbed Turbo diesel 5Spd (160031217430) from clobberpricesaa i.E. Lawrence Marshall Ford-Mercury in Hempstead, Texas, by making an offer to buy of $6,500. This offer was accepted and that same evening my wife and I drove 4 hours from San Antonio, Texas to Hempstead, Texas to pay for and pick up the truck. We arrived around 6:30pm and did a quick look-over of the truck and all appeared fine. Lawrence Marshall Ford-Mercury is one of the largest Ford dealers in Texas so our concern was minimal that the truck would be misrepresented. Besides the ad for the truck stated: Mechanically this vehicle is in excellent working/running road worthy condition. This vehicle has been tested for safety and reliability and passed Texas state inspection. Engine works fine.
We left the dealership at 8:00pm, they close at 9:00pm, not long after we started our 4 hour drive home the alternator light came on. This light continued throughout the trip indicating the alternator had failed.in addition, after a couple of hours of driving we stopped to refuel and noticed a considerable amount of diesel fuel leaking down by the front right tire. We opened the hood and looked all around but were unable to find the source due to poor lighting.
We made it home but went through considerable diesel. Early the next morning, September 26, I opened the hood and quickly identified that the overflow container for the coolant was half full of diesel. At a little past 8:15am I contacted Keivan Esfandiari who was my sales person at Marshall Ford. He told me not to worry that Marshall Ford was a large dealership and they would make it right. He told me to take the truck to a mechanic and get an estimate. He said do not have any work done until the estimate was approved by him. I contacted a number of diesel mechanics and none knew what the problem was. I then found one that said bring it in and they would look at it. They had no idea what the problem was and recommended I take it to Red McCombs Ford, which is a large Ford dealer in San Antonio, Texas.
At Red McCombs Ford they knew exactly what the issue was because they had just completed repair on an identical issue for another customer. I asked could they create an estimate that I could provide to Marshall Ford. He said he could provide a very accurate estimate by referencing the previous customers account for the same work. The estimated cost for repair was $1,700.00. The problem with the truck he explained was a cracked sleeve that the diesel flows through in the head, this crack allows the diesel to enter the cooling system and then cause the overflow tank to overflow thus dumping diesel onto the ground. I also asked him to provide an estimate of the alternator repair: his estimate for this work was $300.00.
I then called Keivan E. At Marshall Ford and informed him of the costs. He immediately balked at the cost and said they had no intention of paying that amount. He said he might do a couple of hundred dollars at most. I pressed him further to resolve this issue and he said he needed to talk to the manager. Once he returned he said we don't want to repair the truck, instead you can return it. I explained that the trip was 8 hours round trip. He would not change his position. I then requested to speak with the manager, Mike Saul. Mike and I discussed this for some time without any resolution. His best offer was to return the truck and get my money back. I explained that this would be a total investment of over 16 hours of driving for me plus gas and diesel. I informed him that the truck was exactly what I wanted except for the major mechanical issues and that I wanted them to correct the problem so that the truck was as THEY ADVERTISED IT TO BE.
I asked what will they do with the truck if they get it back? If they were going to repair it, why not help me to repair it and leave me as a happy customer. Mike made it clear that their intent was to simply send the truck to an auction and let someone else buy the truck. I asked where was the integrity in that if they placed the truck in an auction without informing the potential buyers of the mechanical problems the truck has. He said buyers have a chance to inspect the truck; they can even bring a mechanic if they want.
At that time it became very clear to me that maybe they were fully aware of the issues when they sold me the truck. They were surely willing to screw the next guy. This didn't set well with me. Later I called to try and talk with the President and CEO and also the General Manager of Marshall Ford. The General Manager, Ted Teague (sp?) called me back but no resolution was met. Later a representive for the CEO called me, Don, who worked on my behalf but not resolution was made. I have also contacted the Texas Department of Transportation, they are sending me documents to file a formal complaint and I have filed a formal complaint with eBay.
My position is this: I am not looking for any gain in any form above what was clearly advertised. Marshall Ford has clearly misrepresented this truck deceptive advertising and they have had a lack of concern for the cost to me for their misrepresentation. They aldo said it has an AM/FM/Cassette Audio System, guess what, it will not even turn on. They said it has a Trailer Brake Controller, it doesn't work. They said Mechanically this vehicle is in excellent working/running road worthy condition. This vehicle has been tested for safety and reliability and passed Texas state inspection. Engine works fine. This truck is not even safe to drive in it's current condition because of a fire hazard with diesel spraying over the engine. The alternator doesn't work and diesel fuel in the cooling system is far from being road worthy.
Overall, I want to keep the truck and not be put out for 16 hours of driving to return it and have them screw the next guy in line; however, the truck needs to be brought up to a level that equals their advertisement in eBay. This estimated cost is $2,000
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