REQUEST PHOTOS & PARTS!!! Our ordeal began May ‘15 and just ended today, Jan 29, 2018…learn from our misery. We had high hopes for a resolution to my wife’s troubled 2005 diesel Excursion when we took it to this shop, they came highly recommended. I explained the intermittent lack of consistent power, stalling, a vibration and odd noise that had plagued the vehicle for months to a couple of guys at Bud’s, Nick Leon being my primary contact. That was in early May ’15. Bud’s Diesel told us their techs didn’t know how the car was even running, that it had a blown head gasket and should not have been operable. Nearly $12K later the car engine was rebuilt and we picked it up. I didn’t drive it home but wish I had because the sound it made was horrendous…it was the same sound I shared with Nick Leon, our Service Advisor when I first brought it to Bud’s.
We promptly returned the Excursion to Bud’s Diesel because it was not running any differently than when I first dropped it off. Lost power, stalled and noisy. A week later I spoke to Bud, the owner. He had tried everything he could think off (including installing a different block thinking perhaps he had received a defective one) but after driving it admitted to me he was stumped. I suggested me spend some time online (assuming mechanics have forums like everyone else) to see if he could diagnose the issue. I then went on vacation. Weeks later on June 22, 2015 we finally got the vehicle back and I was assured by Nick everything was “perfect” with the Excursion. Same problems persist for months then silence from Bud's.
I call the Bureau of Automotive Repair because I must now question whether any of the work they did was even necessary!
The investigator found some flaws in their paperwork and worked that into a credit and settlement offer wherein I agreed to pay an additional $2664.79 for fuel injector replacement. In April of 2016 (nearly a year later) this work was completed and the car ran fine for a while. Then low and behold, the EXACT SAME PROBLEM RETURNS! Intermittent power loss, stalling on steep hills and the same engine noise. I contacted Nick requesting copies of the previous paperwork containing warranty info (which he didn’t send) and I spoke with Bud and arranged for the Excursion to be towed to his shop the next day. My phone rings early that next morning and Paul (Bud) the owner tells me he has reviewed the records decided to adopt a new shop policy to reject vehicles from customers who have filed a formal complaint with the BAR.
So I contact the investigator, the case is reopened, records I had requested were reviewed and we discover that the Excursion is now 2204 miles over the warranty. Paul’s tone left little desire to return to his shop before this discovery so we took the car to the local dealership. The Ford dealership found that our Excursion was filled with the wrong oil, it was too thin. A viscosity test was conducted. Because of this there was not enough pressure created for the injectors and the motor to run.
This made perfect sense since prior to our initial engine failure we had changed service shops for oil changes and returned to the same shop after Bud’s completed the fuel injector work. It explained why the car ran no better after Bud’s rebuilt the engine and why the problem resurfaced again this year after one oil change. Did we really need an engine rebuild and the multiple trips back and forth to Bud’s like a ping pong ball? I doubt it but here’s the valuable lesson for those of you who have read to this point, Bud’s Diesel does not save parts or take photograph’s of your damaged parts unless you request it in advance. There was no way to confirm the need for our complete engine rebuild BECAUSE WE DIDN’T REQUEST PHOTOS OR ENGINE PARTS. So my advice to you is request photos of any damaged parts and/or the parts themselves when entrusting Bud’s mechanics with your vehicle. Oh and coincidentally, the service center that put the wrong oil in our car? Same shop that referred us to Bud’s Diesel. My $16,000.00+ lesson.