I feel sure this has been resolved by now. Wonder what the outcome was?
Engine blew up in the shop.
- Thread starter Chris142
- Start date
As has been mentioned a used engine is a terrible idea. You're married to it and then ANYTHING that goes wrong in the future will be blamed on you. This is assuming it runs correctly once the swap is completed. These things aren't always plug and play like the text book says they should be.
New rattles, inoperable lights, codes of ANY kind, stereo problems, parasitic draws, grinding, whirring, pulling, wandering.....it'll all be something you did during the engine swap
It's either stand your ground or buy the car and crush it so it can't haunt you.
New rattles, inoperable lights, codes of ANY kind, stereo problems, parasitic draws, grinding, whirring, pulling, wandering.....it'll all be something you did during the engine swap
It's either stand your ground or buy the car and crush it so it can't haunt you.
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
I thought about how to handle this. Certain unknowns like prior maintenance records, prior repairs, how long has the customer been coming to this shop.
Definitely concur replacing the engine is not a COA that makes any sense. One coa is to refund the customer for the recent work that was performed at Chris’s shop. Another coa is to do nothing, engine failed and the vehicle’s itself is outside of its running window/life expectancy (200k miles).
If the shop is being accurate in what happened, the shop has no liability. Not sure there is any coa that doesn’t result in a angry customer, or a lifetime liability for the shop on a vehicle not admired for its dependability.
Not yet. The shop is going to fix it with a used engine. It's been ordered but has not showed up yet.
It's not worth the negative publicity that could incure if we tried to fight it.
Which engine is it?
Google says its a 4.0L v8
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Sucks, but I would be inclined to do the same if I ran a shop. Sometimes in life we just have to eat the censored sandwich.
Just keep in mind there's no guarantee there won't be negative publicity after the goodwill job. A used engine could be asking for trouble too. In any event good luck!!
Wow. Talk about your all time freak incidents.
Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2026
So did the customer lose his mind when he got the news?
So, it is settled - the shop is absorbing the cost of the engine and it's been ordered.
That is expensive for sure, but the best of the worst solutions. Sometimes, the best course of action (COA) is the one that has the least forseeable friction.
Dave's auto just had the same thing but with one of their engine builder's making the mistake. No warranty, but because of the issue, fully covered by the shop.
Even with disclaimers and bailments, the shop loses in the court of public opinion and that can be more costly in the long run.
That is expensive for sure, but the best of the worst solutions. Sometimes, the best course of action (COA) is the one that has the least forseeable friction.
Dave's auto just had the same thing but with one of their engine builder's making the mistake. No warranty, but because of the issue, fully covered by the shop.
Even with disclaimers and bailments, the shop loses in the court of public opinion and that can be more costly in the long run.
Does that matter if they're making the customer whole?
IMO for the cost of a used engine and the tech's labor, a used engine was a no-brainer from the word go.
I think Ford used that engine when it resurrected the Thunderbird in the early 2000's. I just Googled it and that Tbird (11th gen) was introduced in 2001 as a 2002 model and used a 3.9L version of that Jaguar AJ engine.
It sounds like the engine in question had issues and unfortunately for the OP's business it 's**t the bed' while in their possession.
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Certainly does if it ends up like @D60 Suggested....
A lawyer would go to that in a second... I'm on the shops side..
I appreciate the fact the shop is trying to goodwill the repair. However I wonder how the technician is being paid - if at all?
Even a drunk lawyer would advise against this solution I think.
They would have been better off just offering Fair market value on the car. They own every problem now going forward.
Bet this isn't the last of this thread.
Even a drunk lawyer would advise against this solution I think.
They would have been better off just offering Fair market value on the car. They own every problem now going forward.
Bet this isn't the last of this thread.
Customer service by thermodynamics lessons. Interesting take. "It's a bold strategy, Cotton...."
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Yeah it's not like the rest of it has proven to be in good mechanical order.
I agree. It was a no win situation out of the gate, and imo not the fault of the shop. Devil's advocate here: I would have explained to the customer it had nothing to do with any work the shop performed and stood firm. Had it gone to court I'd hope the people hearing the case have half a brain. The mileage on the vehicle and other evidence the shop could dig up should help, then hope for a ruling in the shop's favor and move on. If I lost I'd pay as per the ruling. As in life everything passes, and this too shall pass, including the bad PR no matter how it was handled.
Replacing the engine is not going to stop the average Joe from saying they blew up my engine and put a used engine in it, I'll never use them again. Or the possibility of the customer saying they did the right thing, but people hearing the story thinking they'd rather not take a chance dealing with that shop.
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