I bought an F-150 from Rowe Ford in Auburn ME in February 2024, and it’s been one issue after another. During the test drive, I pointed out a malfunctioning power mirror and a strange growling noise from the rear end. The sales manager said the mirror ‘shouldn’t have been on the lot’ and promised to fix it. They told me the noise was from ‘bad tires’ and refused to replace them unless I paid extra. They said if I didn’t buy it, they’d put new tires on and raise the price.
I should’ve walked away, but the price kept me hooked. During the closing, they at least scheduled a repair for the mirror in August 2024, which seemed absurd, but I figured maybe parts were backordered. After I got the truck home, the growl got worse and worse, so I took it in, and it turned out both front and rear differentials were shot, along with a new wheel end and other parts.
The repairs took from May to July, and for nearly two months, I was told a loaner vehicle was ‘coming soon’—never happened. The service department’s communication was awful. I had to call repeatedly to get a response, and voicemails were ignored. I escalated it to a service manager before anything got done.
By mid-July, I got my truck back and called in August to confirm the mirror repair. Turns out, Rowe Ford had no record of it, even though I had email and text confirmations from them. They scheduled a new appointment but tried to charge me $125 for a diagnosis on a warranty issue. They acted like they didn’t know about the warranty, and the whole situation was filled with rude, incompetent staff. The whole time, they claimed no record of the repair agreement, despite me having proof from them. They told me they’d fix the mirror for $125 + $450. I told them to forget it.
Last month, the vibration I originally complained about was still there, even after I bought new tires. It got so bad, I felt unsafe driving the truck. It sounded like someone was hitting the rear diff with a hammer. I scheduled another appointment, and they said it needed new axle bearings and seals. After they fixed that, they called me to pick it up and said there was still some vibration, but they thought it was the tires. I said, ‘These are brand new tires with less than 500 miles on them! How could it be the tires?’
I insisted that they put in writing that the vibration was from the tires, but they refused. They only gave me a ‘word of mouth diagnosis’ from the shop foreman. I said, ‘I’m not taking your word for it. I’ve had this truck in the shop all summer, and now you’re saying the problem is the new tires?’ They still wouldn’t commit it to writing. So, I told them that if they didn’t fix the issue before my warranty expired in 2.5 months, I would escalate it to Ford directly.
Moral of the story: I want someone at Ford to know what’s going on because I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong and just want a proper diagnosis. I don’t want to hear, ‘It must be the tires’ when the tires are brand new and the problem is still there.