Complaint Review: Schmit Brothers Ford

Schmit brothers cost us $1,100 in repairs after telling us there was nothing wrong with our truck. After we showed them proof of the damaged parts they had failed to find, they refused to help us.

My husband and I were interested in buying an '04 V8 4WD Ford Explorer from a nearby dealership (Eric Von Shledorn) in Saukville, WI. We took the truck to Schmit Brothers Ford to have it independently inspected before we purchased it. We specifically asked for a detailed inspection, because we wanted to be careful buying a used truck, especially one that would be hauling heavy loads (my horses).

Schmit brothers spent over an hour "inspecting" the truck. They noted nothing except some rust on the brakes. Their report specifically says "suspension checks out well." We bought the truck based on their recommendation.

The same week, we brought the truck into our local mechanic to get the oil changed and the rusty brakes checked. Our mechanic found that the rear springs were very badly rusted. One was broken in three places, the other broken in one place. We saw this in person. In addition, the ball joints were shot and the parking brake didn't work.

When we contact Schmit Brothers about these problems, and provided photos of the damaged parts found by our mechanic, they refunded our inspection fee but refused to do anything about the $1,100 we spent repairing the truck. They said that maybe they would have done something for us if we had called them about the damage the same day... perhaps they might have done the repairs for us. But why would we want these untrustworthy people to repair damage they didn't even tell us about in the first place?

Schmit Brothers obviously lied about inspecting our truck. They did nothing for an hour, and changed us $85. Although they refunded that fee, their incompetence (or dishonesty) cost us dearly. If they had told us about the damage on the truck, we could have negotiated with the dealer for a lower price... or not bought the truck at all, since it had such serious issues. My husband and I feel very taken advantage of.