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New owner - engine failure

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Nick@VaBeach

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Update from Ford: concern escalated to technical department. No further update expected until Monday, dealership unable to proceed without input from Ford I guess...

Another week bites the dust.
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Did they even check the tone ring nut? I doubt it. In my case, I told them to install the updated rear cylinder block plate or buy it back.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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Did they even check the tone ring nut? I doubt it. In my case, I told them to install the updated rear cylinder block plate or buy it back.
I received only the most summary description of what they did with the car last time they had it. We are getting very close to the buyback conversation... I think buy backs are a little more complicated for used cars but I'm going to start looking into my options.
 

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Hey guys,

Been looking for a GT350 for a long time, finally pulled the trigger on a 2020 car in black. 7k miles, tech pack, beautiful car. Picked the car up on 9/16 from a Ford dealership. My first Ford, and my first Mustang.

Started driving home on some back roads, initially the car was driving great. Eventually got on the interstate and noticed a weird missing/skipping sensation at constant cruising throttle. Cruise control wouldn't stay set, and after about an hour a little wrench popped up saying "check manual". All temps were normal, I pulled over and checked the oil, new and fresh and at the normal level.

Pulled in to a Ford dealership near where I was, service was closed but the manager took a look. After I turned the car off the wrench disappeared so he couldn't figure anything out. No code was stored.

Continued driving the car home. Always restarted with no code, ran fine for a bit, and then got weirder with the missing/skipping/stutter at cruising speed the longer I drove. Car felt good in 1-4 accelerating, but then started acting up in 5th and 6th. Almost felt like the clutch was slipping, a weird miss then surge.

Got home, woke up the next morning and took the car to my local Ford dealership - not where I bought it - for them to see what was going on. Of course, on restart no code was stored, wrench was gone. Puttering around town, car felt normal.
IMG_2364.jpg

The dealership took a week to do anything. Then, when they looked they found no stored codes but noticed misfires while driving the car. They spent yesterday on the phone with Ford, then I got the word yesterday that they found very low compression in cyl. 5. Dealership is thinking the car will need an engine replacement. They are trying to figure out how such a serious problem didn't throw any sort of code or cause a limp mode. There are more diagnostics being run before Ford approves the replacement. There are apparently also some issues with the variable charging from the alternator so they're looking at that too. Ford seems to think the alternator can cause funky codes, but I don't see how it would cause low compression... to me low compressions = engine replacement but Ford wants more proof. I asked the dealership for compression/ leakdown documentation.

Just putting this story out there so anyone who starts having similar issues can see. Will keep this updated. I'm supposed to be speaking with both the dealership service manager and a Ford rep later. Definitely concerned about the immediate loss of value from the engine replacement, and how quickly an extremely minor problem turned into tens of thousands of dollars of work. We will see what happens.
Very sorry to hear about your experience. Beautiful car too. This unfortunately a prime example of why a pre purchase inspection is worthwhile for any used vehicle, especially a used sports car. Not gonna lie though, I too would have probably taken the gamble on this being a decent car since the car you got is so new and such low mileage. Hope all works out soon so you can enjoy that gorgeous ride!
 

Lorne34

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Keep on them and document everything (phone, email, in person conversations, etc) as you go...
 

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sublime1996525

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They drove the car about 150 miles... not sure when. Guess they didn't notice all the issues. A real simple one is that cruise control doesn't work. Guessing that's because the engine is surging/ missfiring enough to knock it off even when you can get it set. Should be a red flag.
Damn! I would be pissed.

I received only the most summary description of what they did with the car last time they had it. We are getting very close to the buyback conversation... I think buy backs are a little more complicated for used cars but I'm going to start looking into my options.
I'm not sure you can get a buyback on a used car...maybe it depends on the state but it's usually a final sale.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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Update from today: no update.

Ford rep says diagnostic work has yet to continue. Can't tell if the delay is at the dealer level or at Ford's level. I asked for more information.

Whether or not a buyback is an option is a somewhat nuanced proposition for a used car but one that may save us all a lot of hassle if hey can't get the car fixed while it remains under the original warranty. I'd rather not go that route, but I'm not going to accept a result that is anything other than a 100% fully functional car that runs and drives as well as it should - almost new - or getting my money back.

Will continue to provide updates.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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Very sorry to hear about your experience. Beautiful car too. This unfortunately a prime example of why a pre purchase inspection is worthwhile for any used vehicle, especially a used sports car. Not gonna lie though, I too would have probably taken the gamble on this being a decent car since the car you got is so new and such low mileage. Hope all works out soon so you can enjoy that gorgeous ride!
This is an interesting case because I doubt a pre-purchase inspection would have shown much. The car doesn't retain error codes, and drives fine for a while, especially around town. Only after you drive it for awhile, and try to hold a cruising speed, does the issue start to become apparent.

I think that if a Ford dealership can't figure out what was wrong with it even with help from corporate, then an independent shop wouldn't stand much of a chance of finding the problem either... plus isn't this what the warranty is for? Paid a lot for this car because it still had significant warranty coverage, low miles, and a clean Carfax/ OASIS report. If anyone knows an independent shop that is the "Voodoo" whisperer I'd love to hear about them... just don't think a typical inspection would have found anything. Car looks clean as could be.
 

stanglife

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I guess I missed this originally - but you said the problem started on the way home from the dealer where you purchased the car. Maybe a good lesson for others (at your expense) is that it would have been best to turn around that moment and get the selling dealer to resolve or buy back - even if it meant a sleepover somewhere and visiting the dealer the next morning. The dealer technically is under no obligation to cancel the deal - but I think you could have argued that the contract was for a correctly running car.
Still the best option may be the lemon law considering it's under the original new car warranty but then there are those hoops to jump through.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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I guess I missed this originally - but you said the problem started on the way home from the dealer where you purchased the car. Maybe a good lesson for others (at your expense) is that it would have been best to turn around that moment and get the selling dealer to resolve or buy back - even if it meant a sleepover somewhere and visiting the dealer the next morning. The dealer technically is under no obligation to cancel the deal - but I think you could have argued that the contract was for a correctly running car.
Still the best option may be the lemon law considering it's under the original new car warranty but then there are those hoops to jump through.
In hindsight, this probably would've been the move. But, the issue didn't seem all that serious at first. More of a minor annoyance that I assumed was related to a malfunctioning sensor somewhere. If I had any indication this would become a multi-month sage I would've just turned around and handed them the keys.

Then again... isn't the point of doing business with Ford the benefit of Ford service being available near you?
 

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stanglife

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Yeah I agree. I once went to a specific Home Depot because they had something in stock that I needed. I brought a return with me from another Home Depot, the item was damaged and I just wanted to swap it. The manager argued with me because it would hurt his numbers, he said. Sad.
 

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The manager argued with me because it would hurt his numbers, he said.
This is BS, the return gets charged to the selling store. It only hurts his daily numbers.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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Spoke with the Ford rep today. No work has been done, apparently the "tech" who was supposed to look at the car is not at work so they've done nothing with it since I dropped it off last Monday. Going to pick it up today and take it to another dealership. We'll see if they can be bothered to take a look at what's going on with the engine.
 

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Spoke with the Ford rep today. No work has been done, apparently the "tech" who was supposed to look at the car is not at work so they've done nothing with it since I dropped it off last Monday. Going to pick it up today and take it to another dealership. We'll see if they can be bothered to take a look at what's going on with the engine.
Nick
I hope what Iā€™m about to say helps your mindset.
BTWā€¦Easier said than done.
Todays terrible service is the new norm. Great customer service is no longer what companies strive for, itā€™s just to expensive.
I need to remind myself every time I interact with ā€œanyā€ business, things arenā€™t what they used to beā€¦.SAD!! I take a deep breath and pray I can get through whatever customer no service Iā€™m faced with.
 
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Nick@VaBeach

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Nick
I hope what Iā€™m about to say helps your mindset.
BTWā€¦Easier said than done.
Todays terrible service is the new norm. Great customer service is no longer what companies strive for, itā€™s just to expensive.
I need to remind myself every time I interact with ā€œanyā€ business, things arenā€™t what they used to beā€¦.SAD!! I take a deep breath and pray I can get through whatever customer no service Iā€™m faced with.
I'm afraid you're right, and it doesn't seem to be the people I'm interacting with at the dealership (who has done nothing wrong here). It seems like a complete and total lack of urgency from management at the dealership and Ford. I'm lucky I have another car because this is about to be week 5 without this one.

Customer service is bad everywhere, especially in the post-covid world, but I figure at this point I'll try another local dealership and see if I can strike up a new relationship. Something about vinegar and honey... ?
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