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Reflections on June 8th, 2012:

Moving into the rest of our life………… Over the last several years Alice and I have been “wintering” with our motor-home at a campground i...

Thursday, June 14, 2018

The REST of the story on our new Ford Focus SE....

In the prior post we mentioned having blown the transmission on our tow vehicle (2011 Ford Fusion) while vacationing at Port Pickens in Pensacola.  Here's the highlights of a real SNAFU that turned out well:

  • Transmission blew on our tow vehicle while in Pensacola, which is 500 miles & 8 hours away from Titusville.
  • We had the car towed to World Ford in Pensacola. They pronounced the transmission and associated parts DOA and the cost to repair exceeded the value of the vehicle.
  • We told the salesperson that we needed to purchase a new vehicle that was towable four wheels down.  He showed us several, we picked one out and made a deal...he gave us a brochure on towing it, showed us how to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery etc. Alice followed me home in the new Focus  while I drove the motorhome.
  • A few days after getting home we called our RV service place to make an appointment to have a "base plate" installed on the car for towing.  They questioned if the car was towable...I assured them it was as I'd told the dealer it was the top priority.  We made the appointment.
  • The RV service place questioning of the towing on that car got me thinking...so I went to the Owners Manual, and the brochure/flyer the salesman had given me highlighting the specifics, and found he was referencing a different engine-transmission Focus than the one we were sold. The one we was sold was NOT towable except for short distances at slow speed.
  • I wrote a letter (email) explaining all this to the dealership General Manager with a cc to the salesman.  They immediately owned up to the problem, said they'd find a way to make it right.
  • A few hours later they called.  They had located the exact same car (color, trim etc) but with the correct engine-transmission that was factory approved for four-wheel down towing.
  • Since it is a 15 hour round trip from Pensacola to Titusville, we agreed to meet them in Alachua which is 2.5 hours out from Titusville, saving their driver five hours drive time.  We did that yesterday, and the new Focus SE 2.01l is now here.  End of story.