ComplaintsforDon Franklin Ford Lincoln, LLC.

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I dropped my truck off 2/18/24 to get both exhaust manifolds on my F150 ecoboost. The place I ordered the manifolds from ordered the wrong parts earlier in the month so I’m went to Don Franklins parts department to get the correct part. I ordered and received in the EXACT part that I was told that I needed. I dropped the parts off with my truck on my appointment date and time which was 2/18/24 at 8:15 am. Then it took over a week to have everything installed. Part of it was because I didn’t have all the hardware needed but Don Franklin service department told me I could buy the hardware needed for just over $200. This is a lot higher then I could’ve bought the parts for but I was ready to get my truck fixed so I authorized to use their studs and 2 of their gaskets. I went and picked my truck up 2/26/24 and was told me truck was running perfect and ready to go. I paid $1110.87 and left the dealership in my truck. Well once I picked my truck up it had a check engine light and was misfiring really bad. I pulled it into my shop and got it lined out and fixed. Well 3 days after I picked my truck up I could heard the exhaust manifold gasket fluttering while accelerating. Which is the sound it was making before I had the manifolds fixed. I called Don Franklin and couldn’t get ahold of anyone so I waited for a call back and never got one. I called back up a week later and got an appointment for 3/19/24. A month after I picked up my truck. I called in with my complaint and got an appointment around 3 weeks after I picked up my truck. I received a call around lunch time on 3/19/24 stating that my manifold gasket on the driver side had blown out of the side of the manifold. They told me that the repair is 100% on my but they’d offer me a discount to get the repairs done. I’m my opinion that just isn’t the right thing to do. I ordered the EXACT parts they told me to order and even bought some of their parts and now they want me to pay another $1000 and wait even longer.

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  Customer came in to have repairs made. Customer had his own exhaust manifolds, that he had purchased from an outside aftermarket source. Customer still needed hardware and exhaust manifold gaskets, that he had not purchased yet. We gave him the price for additional parts. He agreed, we made repairs. Customer came back with exhaust leak, we checked and found that the exhaust manifold gasket had blown. If he had purchased the parts (manifolds) from Don Franklin, he would have received the updated version of this part, that prevents gasket from blowing. Aftermarket has not done said update. So we agreed to warranty the gasket and the labor for the gasket, but he would need to purchase the new updated version of the manifold from Ford or he would have the same issue. Customer at that time would be out the price for the exhaust manifold and a little labor to change manifold. Customer would not agree to those terms therefore no further repairs were made.

  Customer response

  03/26/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the repair started to fail less than 72 hours after the repairs were made. The exact gasket is on the other side for the manifolds and there are no issues so how can the gasket be at fault? I ordered the exact part the Don Franklin of London’s part department told me I would need as well with the same part number. I was told if I put an OEM gasket in that I would have to purchase from them and also purchase hardware that i’ve already purchased that “if” it were to mess up again then Ford’s warranty would cover the time to replace the gasket. But, I would also need to buy another manifold and hardware for a third time. I’ve already spent over $1500 to get this issue resolved and to fix both sides. But now it’s turning into me spending another $1500 to get just one side fixed. If I wasn’t told the EXACT part to buy and it wasn’t less than 72 hours after I picked the truck up that the issue re occurred then I would have no problem covering all of this myself. I just feel that my satisfaction has not been a priority since the beginning. I mean it took over a week to get an 8 hour job complete. Took 2 days to even get my truck pulled in to begin the work when I had an appointment and stressed that this was my primary source of transportation.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  Business response

  03/27/2024

  So Ford Motor Co has updated both right and left manifolds for this truck.  The new design has an extra bolt hole in them and this keeps them from blowing the exhaust manifold gaskets out. The engine cly head comes with this hole already in it, so you just bolt up the new design manifold with an extra bolt. We do agree that customer only has an issue with one side at this time, however he may also has an issue with the other side due to the aftermarket manifolds. That would be due to the fact that the ones the customer purchased do not have the extra hole in them. As far as the customer ordering the exact part that he was told that he would need is also correct but due to Ford changing the design of tis part and the aftermarket world has not made that change to theirs. As far as buying additional gaskets and hardware, any time that you have the exhaust manifolds off you will need to replace those gaskets and hardware. If the customer did elect to have us replace the exhaust manifolds, gaskets and hardware kits then this would be covered under warranty by Ford Motor Co. for 2 years and unlimited miles. As far as the time issue, the customer had 2 new exhaust manifolds in the truck when he dropped it off, but once we got started making repairs we found that he had two manifolds for one side of the engine and none for the other side. So customer had to get us one for both sides from the aftermarket source that he had originally bought them from. Also the customer didn't have any of the hardware or the exhaust manifold gaskets for either side. So once we called him about that he agreed for us to get those for him. We had to order those from Ford, so this is a lot of the delay issue with the repairs that was needed. Also we furnished the customer a loaner vehicle for several days while his truck was in our shop. Attached you will find 2 different pages from Ford stating the changes made to the manifolds.

  Customer response

  03/27/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Attached is the part that came directly from your parts department and what they said I needed exactly and that is exactly what I bought. The only difference between the 2 is the one you all put on my trucks isn’t stamped with a Ford Motor Company stamp. The only reason I didn’t buy the parts from Don Franklin is due to the price of the part. Originally I was quoted $1800 for both exhaust manifolds to be replaced with FoMoCo gaskets, hardware, manifolds… everything needed. Once I dropped the truck off it had to be diagnosed again and I was told that they needed replace and it would be $3000 to replace both sides. That’s when ***** the service manager contacted me and gave me 2 free oil changes and said he would discount the labor for me to $100 an hour. I have no issues with ***** and I am very pleased with his customer service. I just don’t believe that all this falls on me considering I purchased the part that I was told to from the parts department. I will not spend another $1000+ on their services and I will spend my money somewhere else. I will find a service department that will stand behind their craftsmanship and won’t try to gouge me with an additional $1200 for a job that I was already quoted and diagnosed for. I am 22 years old and will buy and service plenty of more vehicles in my life. If there isn’t a resolution that we can come to I will gladly spend my money from now on at another sales and service department. I don’t want a discount on labor, I don’t want a discount on parts. I want my time and my money that I’ve already spent valued. If we can’t get a resolution I will contact Eddie to let him know that I am not satisfied with his London location and all of my future business will be with a different business than his. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  At this time, we would to have the name of the after market source and the part numbers that were purchased so that we can review this in detail. We would also like to check to see if this after market source makes a gasket to machine the aftermarket manifolds, because we installed Ford gaskets with his aftermarket manifolds. There could be an issue with those not matching up. As a good will gesture to the customer if this is the issue, then  we will offer to replace the gasket with aftermarket gasket. We would need the customer to know that there will be no warranty on this because we cannot warranty aftermarket parts. 

  Customer response

  03/31/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I purchased my parts from ******* ********** in Corbin. Call down there and ask for *** ****** and he will get the information you all need. Another question that I have that I would like to have answered. If you all showed me what parts to order and I ordered the parts you all recommended me. When you went to put them on and the part you recommended me wasn’t correct then why wouldn’t anyone contact me to let me know that? 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  Business response

  04/04/2024

  We did get an aftermarket exhaust gasket and it did match up with the Ford Gasket. They do seem to be the same design. We did advise you of the parts that you needed, however Don Franklin does not use a lot of aftermarket parts. We mainly use Ford motor Company parts. Aftermarket retailers can cross Ford part/Part number, however this still does not make them Ford Motor Company Parts. If Ford finds an issue with a part that they make, then they may change the design to fix issues and make it better. It appears that Ford did so on this part. The aftermarket makers have not done this. With the customer furnishing the aftermarket parts and the issue being with the after market part then this would not be our responsibility.

  Customer response

  04/09/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I’m sure it’s a lot easier to tell me this now after the work has been done and I have given you all my +$1000. I ordered the exact part I was told I needed based off a picture and part number and it matched it both exact. I buy the part and I never got told this information that “Oh, Ford has tweaked its manifolds.” I dropped my vehicle off for repair and never received this information. But after I pay up I get this information and now all I can get is, “Well, if you give us another +$1000 we can fix it for you.” I’ll be contacting Eddie in the morning to not complain over the “faulty” part because I believe this comes down to poor business and bad craftsmanship. I’ll make sure you to let him know I furnished my own part because I was lead in a poor direction from his London location’s service and part department and was taken full advantage of. I rate my customer satisfaction a 0/10. My whole experience from day one has been nothing but a bad experience and I will let everyone I know to stay away from Don Franklin in London. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased truck June 2020 with 9800 miles. September 2021 we Noticed damp carpet on passenger side. There was a 1/2 empty water bottle on floor mat, so thought maybe that it had leaked and caused dampness. Let it sit and air out. Truck was garage kept until November 2021 due to my wife in a severe car accident. In November, I noticed a smell, checked carpet and it was wet. Let it air out and it dried. Truck was then parked in garage again and wasn’t driven much. February 2022 noticed smell, checked carpet and it was wet. Was at dealer for 1 week. Service department said they first thought it was windshield seal leaking but wasn’t and figured out it was a drain hose and they fixed it. March 24 2022, noticed smell. Carpet wasn’t wet but truck had a damp, musty odor. Took back to dealer for 1 week. Service department said they cleaned and aired out the carpet. March 30, 2022 damp musky smell returned. Returned to dealer for another week said they cleaned and aired out again. April 15, 2022 damp, musty smell returned but wasn’t wet. April 25,2022 returned to dealer and was there for 1 1/2 weeks. May4, 2022 Service department called and stated they took carpet out, cleaned it and hung it up to dry and now truck was ready. We went to pick up the truck and the console was not slid up enough so you could see the marks where it needed to be slid on up. The console was not screwed back to the dash on one side. The carpet had been ripped and not placed in properly. The middle back seat belt was not put back properly so it was not useable. Spoke with service manage and gm manager. **** stated they would replace the carpet. May 11, 2022, picked up truck. Everything was in place as it should. May31, 2022, carpet is wet again!!! In the past, we always purchased rebuilt. We thought we would buy from a dealer this time to have warranty. We really liked that this business offered power train warranty so that’s why we chose to buy. Wish they would offer fair equal trade.

  Business response

  06/01/2022

  The last time the customer said he had water in his truck cabin, we made a service appointment for said customer. 

  At time of arrival for his appointment we supplied him with a complimentary service loaner.

  Truck was fixed and returned to customer and he was happy.

  A few days later the customer noticed that his center console was moved maybe by an inch or two, we had customer to come back in and we fixed the console as well.

  I'm trying to have a good customer experience with Mr. *****. We offered him $6000.00 more than he paid for the truck 2 years ago.

  We have a service appointment for the customer tomorrow morning and will fix his truck again.

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