Vikki;

I KNOW dealerships are often times depicted as "bottom dwelling...etc..etc..etc.".....I KNOW they are often times perceived by the general public/consumers as opportunistic and exploitative by nature......driven purely by profits in both the sales area....AND in SERVICE departments.

As you may recall, I asked you for referrals at a couple of your stores in the last week or two......BECAUSE .....not one....but TWO vehicles in the Stacey family fleet....blew up. One of those vehicles is our 2003 Expedition. While being driven by my oldest son....it made a loud....almost "explosive noise"....and then ran really poorly and continued making a very loud "popping" noise. To make matters worse...potentially, anyway.....he continued to drive the vehicle to our home.

Well....after speaking to your Service Mgr, Mr. Bob ________, we had the car towed from our home, in Laguna Beach to Ford of Orange. You may recall this is the second time in about 2-3 years that we've had an incident with the car.....that....in OUR mind's eye COULD have been a major repair, inasmuch as we're not exactly a family of auto mechanics! (We're pretty naive in these matters....though I know a little.....buy only enough to be dangerous!!??).

I just had a call from someone in Service @ F of O....and they said the problem was a "blown spark plug"...(literally it blew out of it's threaded socket....probably aluminum heads/threads??)....and that it's happened before......that there's a kit to effect the repair.....and that the total charge will be between $300 and $400.00 dollars and that the car will be ready in about ONE HOUR!!!

Vikki...I have to tell you ....(and please tell David!)....that I'm among those who, in truth, have that inherent distrust of dealerships....of independent repair shops....of the auto industry, as a whole! I think we've all been victimized..........at least once in our lives......by some sort of car transaction.....whether it's a vehicle purchase or a repair. You folks have proven....actually on TWO occasions..... that I may have to drop my guard....my paranoia.... when dealing with the Wilson entities! It's patently obvious to me that the SHORT TERM profit mentality....("Get ALL you can...WHILE you can...and get it now!)....has not been a part of my dealings with F of O! You guys are great! Thank you...ONCE AGAIN...for your kind referrals....for your valuable time and effort...and other assistance in the last few years... I CAN tell you this: Given the variety of vehicles (brands) you have in the corporate structure.....and given my very, very positive experiences with you and your managers.....you WILL ....in the LONG TERM.....be selling us a car in the future...though your honesty and integrity have deferred that process in the short term!

Sincerely;

John