How to prove I didn't pull the filter off?
My roommates won a 2002 Ford Escape 3.0 L from a dealership a week ago Sunday. After the contest, they inspected it (apparently they had just bought it themselves for the giveaway) and called on Wednesday saying it was ready for them to pick up.
When she got there the dealer revealed that it needed an additional $4000 of work within a few months (brakes, tires, and windshield, among several other smaller things). She didn't take the vehicle then, so her husband could talk to the manager about the repairs, which they refused to cover.
I was going to buy it from them, so after discussions, we decided to take it anyway, planning to get the repairs done cheaper elsewhere. We finally got it home on Friday, and I drove it to a friend's place a short distance out of town. On the way there I noticed a soft "pfff, pfff, pfff" sound similar to an exhaust leak. On the way back, the sound got significantly louder, and then the engine rattled and blew up. Total distance driven from the dealer: 59 Km (36 mi).
Before we towed it back to the dealer we discovered that there was no oil in it and the filter was missing. There was no oil spray anywhere, so we suspect the dealer drained the oil and forgot the new oil and/or filter. Since there was already some friction over the needed repairs, they have already suggested that we blew the engine intentionally, and they may not cover anything.
Is there any way to prove that the engine was dry when we got it?
Added (1). Forgot to mention, there were no warning lights at all until I was pulling off the highway when it blew.
Added (2). Thanks Donna, I have submitted the story to that site.
The BBB can help sort that out. File a complaint and they will ask three peers (similarly qualified shops) to evaluate the situation.
The oil warning was not on?
Contact Ford or ask on this site.
http://social.ford.com/?gnav=footer-aboutford
Wow, what a scam! No way to prove, even if you found a filter in the trash at the shop. Guess it just proves the old adage, "You get what you pay for"
How do you win a car from a dealership? Sounds like a scam!
Why would you think the dealer would spend money on this car, change the oil no way that would cost parts and labor. It seems to me that you didn't even take the time to lift the hood or you would have known the air filter was missing long before you lost the engine so I say it is your fault for not doing anything.
- Could a clogged fuel filter cause a code P0300 to go off in my 2004 ford taurus? My engine light went on. Got it checked at autozone and P0300 came up. My fuel gauge is also going nuts. I ll put $20 in which would give me a half tank. But I ll start the car and it will be at full, then I ll start the car later that day and it will be at three quarters. It is different literally everytime I start the car… I have no idea how much gas I have.
- Is the saying this car can't even pull the skin off a rice pudding generally used by older people? A guy told me that he fitted a tow bar to their car and I asked him if it was the Ford Ecosport and he said "No, that thing couldn't even tow the skin off a rice pudding." I know what the saying means but is it an old saying that older people use to describe an underpowered car? In this case their Ford Ecosport. It was a guy in his 60s that said this to me.
- As the accuser, do you think Ford will be able to prove there was a party and she was in a bedroom with him? Or is evidence not needed when assassinating a white man's character because of what southern Democrats did to Blacks?