Complaint Review: Jarret Scott Ford

I purchased a replacement engine from Jarrett Scott Ford in 2006. I had a certified mechanic who ran his own mustang performance shop install my engine, which came with a 3 year 36000 mile warranty from the ford dealer. Within 2000 miles the new engine started shaking and making a valve noise so I took the car to Jarrett Scott Ford.

The service guys were nice and took my vehicle in for inspection. Once disassembled and inspected they determined that there was a fatal problem with one of the main bearings, which managed to damage the crankshaft causing the shaking and other noises. The dealership did a warranty replacement of the

crankshaft and other components, allegedly $5000+ worth of parts, since the engine was a discontinued model.

When I picked up the vehicle to drive it home it was later in the evening and the dealer was closing. While driving it home I noticed a hissing noise like an exhaust leak when I accelerated.  I called the service department the next day and they asked me to drop the vehicle off again and they would repair the problem.

I dropped the car off the following day and the dealership repaired the exhaust leak, which was alleged to be a kinked exhaust manifold gasket. I returned to pick the vehicle up again a few days later and when I turned on the car several of the lights were on to include the airbag and abs in particular. I stepped inside and informed the service writer who told me to drive the car for a couple of days and if they did not go out then bring it back and he would have someone look at it again.

The drive home from the dealership is a straight shot down a long county road with almost no traffic lights. I drove the car to work the next morning and it overheated while I was idling in the parking lot listening to the radio spewing a mixture of oil and coolant onto the pavement at my job. I called the dealership again who had the vehicle towed for another inspection. The dealership told me they were not responsible for the problem as there was a problem with the power distribution box, aka under the hood fuse box where the larger relays and fuses are. I attempted to explain to the service manager that there was nothing wrong with the electrical system of the car prior to them touching the vehicle but he insisted that his mechanics do not make those errors.

When I got the car back into my garage at home I inspected the engine myself, keep in mind I worked in a service center for 7 years in the past. I immediately noticed that my serpentine belt was rubbing against part of the engine block and that an idler pulley was completely missing. I continued my

inspection and noticed the bottom half of the fuse box appeared to have been snagged by the battery wire connection and pulled away from the box. This made it to where some of the items in the box were not connected it was an amazing feat the car even ran like this. I immediately called the service manager for Jarrett Scott Ford and again attempted to explain the situation to him. He continued to insist that his mechanics do not make these kinds of mistakes, referring to the fuse box. I continued my argument with him by explaining that a belt pulley is missing as well. The service manager agreed to have the vehicle inspected again to replace the missing pulley, but insisted that he was voiding my engine warranty because of an electrical problem that his people could not have done in his opinion.

I gave the dealership one final chance to correct their wrong but all he did was replace the pulley. There is a mark in the aluminum on my engine where the metal was partially rubbed off by the pulley being missing. I gave up at this point and chalked it up as a life lesson. I fixed the fuse box myself by simply pushing the bottom of the fuse panel back into place so that it made good contact with the fuses and relays again. Now I have a 1998 Cobra sitting in my garage rotting with an engine with less than 2,500 miles leaking oil into the coolant system due to a dealership that screwed up. When the dealership touched it the vehicle had new hoses, belt, engine, exhaust, and engine mounts this is just in the engine compartment. When I had the engine replace I spent over 12,000 on the parts and repairs. All of this happened well within the mileag and timeline of the warranty of the engine. I made the claims to the Dealer during 2008. I am not looking for money; I just want my car that I spent soo much of my money on fixed.