DON'T BUY A 
FROM RANCHO FORD OF TEMECULA!
November 19, 2008
Dear George Cox, Bruce Priesing, Lou the technician, and all the employees of Rancho Ford,
I would really like to know how you all feel about what's going on at this time with your employer (Ford), GM & Chrysler? They are BEGGING for the government to give them this bailout! Things don't look to good for you! How secure do you feel about YOUR job now? As I was going through my two years of hell with my truck (and still am at this time), you guy's could have cared less when I told you that I couldn't work without my truck. During the 50 day's my truck was in your shop for repairs, I was unable to make a living for my family. It really didn't seem to matter to you! All that mattered to you was getting my money for more of the same repairs! I must say, I don't feel too sorry for you! What do they say? "What comes around goes around"? CARMA! The failure of the Big 3 has nothing to do with the economy, it's all because of the crappy product you sell to the public! I've been reading all the feedback on your bailout request, and it's not just me, as the whole country feels the same way I do. It's time for the Big three to go down! They couldn't keep up with the times because of their greed! I for one will NEVER buy another vehicle produced by the Big 3.
Sincerely,
Chuck Schaefer
Prospective Rancho Ford customers,
My name is Chuck Schaefer. I have driven and owned Ford vehicles all of my life. That is about to change however! Since October of 2000 I have purchased over $100,000 worth of vehicles from Ford on the A-Plan through a corporate employee. I have three sons that will be driving in the near future that I thought I would be purchasing Ford vehicles for. I think that those facts would qualify me as a good Ford customer!
In July of 2004 I leased a Ford F-250 Superduty Diesel from Rancho Ford in Temecula, CA. According to their website, Rancho Ford of Temecula is #1 in customer satisfaction in the Western United States. I planned on purchasing the vehicle at the end of the lease. I have maintained my vehicle like clock work! Every time I take it in for an oil change I tell the mechanics at Rancho Ford to check the vehicle from bumper to bumper for anything else that may need to be done. I try to catch things before they become a major problem. I drive hundreds of miles weekly for my business which is why I chose a Ford diesel. I have been told that a diesel should get 300,000 to 400,000 miles if maintained properly. I chose a $45,000 truck because I thought I would be driving it for the next 10 years!
In November of 2006 the truck started giving me problems as it was running badly. It had 91,772 miles on it and was still under warranty. I took it in for repairs while it was still under the warranty. Instead of replacing the failed part at that time, all they did was clean it. On March 7, 2007 I had problems on the road and had to pull off the freeway and go to the closest Ford Dealer (Heller Ford of Escondido, CA). At that time the mileage was 105,280, which took the truck out of warranty. Heller Ford had to replace the same part that Rancho Ford had just cleaned off in November! The cost of that repair was $1,922.10!
On March 30, 2007 I was traveling home from a vacation with my family. The truck broke down while driving through the desert in Indio, CA. I took the truck to Fiesta Ford in Indio. They replaced the map sensor. That repair cost $346.71. Actually, the trip cost me hundreds of dollars more than the actual repair itself because I had to wait three days for the part. While waiting for the part I had to pay for a rental car and hotel in Indio. Fiesta Ford also wrote on the repair ticket that I may still have a problem with the EGR system which is what I paid Heller Ford $1,922.10 to repair just 23 days earlier!
On June 15, 2007 I took the truck back to Rancho Ford because the engine light came on and the truck was running very badly. This time they cleaned the EGR valve and tightened the EGR valve harness terminals. I paid $242.52 for this service!
Just ten days later, on June 25, 2007, the check engine light came on again so back to Rancho Ford I went! This time they installed a new EGR valve that cost me $408.99. I drove away from Rancho Ford and didn't even get two blocks when the engine light came on! The temperature gauge was reading hot and thick smoke was blowing out of my tail pipe! I turned around and went back to Rancho Ford. When I arrived I spoke to Lou, the technician who worked on my truck. Lou stated that he "can not even keep these 6.0's on the road!"
This time Rancho Ford had to replace the EGR cooler and the engine oil cooler. The EGR cooler is what I had replaced in March for $1,922.10! At that time Mr. Bruce Priesing, the assistant service manager, informed me that "it was my lucky day"! He stated that they would only be charging me $1,200.00 to replace the same part again. It took them seven days to replace the part!
So, up to that point in time, I had paid a grand total of $4,120.32 for repairs on my vehicle from March to June in 2007. This should have all been done in November while my truck was still under warranty! That cost is simply the total repair costs for my vehicle and doesn't include the amount of money I had to pay in car rental fees, hotel fees, and lost work! I am a self-employed contractor and I need my vehicle every day to be able to make a living!
I picked up my truck from Rancho Ford on July 2, 2007. At 9:28 pm on the evening of July 3, 2007 the check engine light on my dash came back on. At 3:00 pm on July 4, 2007 I came out to my front yard and noticed a huge puddle of oil on my driveway under the truck. On July 5, 2007 I had my truck towed back to Rancho Ford.
When I arrived at Rancho Ford with the truck I told them that when I picked it up from them on on July 2, 2007 my radio wasn't working properly. I also indicated to them that my hitch cover had been bent while in their shop. On July 6, 2007 I received a call from George Cox, the head service manager at Rancho Ford. He informed me that my truck was ready to pick up. He indicated that the problem was a pressure sensor that blew off the top of the motor which sent oil all over the engine compartment. This explained the oil on my driveway. This was a completely different issue that was unrelated to all the other problems that I had experienced with the truck up to that point! They cleaned the engine and replaced the parts at no charge. Mr. Cox told me, however, that I would need a new radio! I said to him "no, I need a whole new truck as this one is falling apart before my eyes!"
On November 9, 2007 my truck was again towed back to Rancho Ford. As before, the truck was leaking oil on my driveway! Additionally, it was leaking coolant, the heater was blowing cold air, and the air conditioning was blowing hot air! When they received the truck they made these repairs at no charge. I was shocked to say the least!
On March 20, 2008, my truck was full of building materials as I was on my way to work. All of a sudden it started blowing thick smoke from the tail pipe as it was over-heating and losing power. I had to pull off the road. I had to pay $248.00 to have it towed back to Rancho Ford in Temecula. The problem, once again, was the EGR cooler! I had to purchase a third EGR cooler in a twelve month period of time! The repair cost was $1,163.25!
On September 26, 2008 the check engine light came on once again! This time I took the truck to The Truck Shop in Murrieta. It was diagnosed as having another bad EGR valve! They reparied it for a cost of $529.52. The mechanics at The Truck Shop told me that they suspected the reason the EGR coolers continue to go bad has something to do with the head gasket or oil cooler. At this point I decided that Ford hadn't figured this out yet!
On October 3, 2008 the check engine came on again. I took the truck back to The Truck Stop. They informed me that I needed another EGR cooler as well as head gasket work! They gave me a verbal estimate of $4,000 to make these repairs. I took the truck directly to Rancho Ford from there thinking for sure they would take care of me this time since it had only been 15,000 miles since they installed the last EGR cooler! They wrote up an estimate for $3,613.16 minus the $1,163 I had paid for the last EGR cooler. I guess they thought they were giving me a great deal by charging me another $2,450.16 for my fourth EGR cooler in only 19 months!
At this point I indicated to them that I was not going to spend another dime on the truck! I asked them if they saw a pattern here? I indicated to them that, in my opinion, I would continue to have this problem with the truck as it was obvious it has something to do with a faulty engine design. I suggested this was not a normal issue after I had the second EGR cooler replaced! It became very apparent to me that they just wanted to keep taking my money and either had no intent on figuring out what the problem really was or were incapable of diagnosing the problem correctly. I indicated that there is no vehicle owner that I know of that would continue to pay for the same issue over and over!
I encourage everyone who reads this to please inform anyone you know, who is considering purchasing a Ford, to please read my story on this website! I would not wish this experience on anyone! This truck has been an absolute nightmare! The truck has been in the shop a total of 50 days in a 19 month period of time and cost me close to $10,000 in repairs. This doesn't include any of the additional costs I've incurred because of this problem as well as the lost income due to not having a work vehicle available to me! The truck started having problems when it had only 91,772 miles and was only 2 years old! That's considered low mileage for a diesel vehicle! I would have to say that I've come up well short of getting my money's worth out of a truck I paid $45,000 for! Please go to the contact me portion of this web site if you have a similar story you would like to share and I will make sure to post it!
PLEASE BOYCOTT RANCHO FORD OF TEMECULA FOREVER!
Sincerely,
Chuck Schaefer