Scammed or Clueless? 2009 Expedition

[1955moose]

Wow! It never ceases to amaze me the crooks out there. How do they know it's been 16k since oil change? Even with full synthetic oil 15 k is the absolute max, and the oil and filter would be so dirty. I know you like this SUV, but with the lack of services done, this may be a troubled child in the future. A o2 sensor or a failed fuel pressure regulator that failed, along with the filthy air filter, explains your black smoke. The other issue I'm concerned with is your catalytic converters that have been exposed to a rich fuel condition. It doesn't take much to make them fail. Your transmission fluid is over due as well, other readers say 130k is the service point, although that seems way high, even for synthetic. Just one more item to consider. Hard to believe the dealer didn't catch any of these simple items, during inspection. When we did inspections on used vehicles at shops I worked at, we checked everything. Keep us posted.


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[Bedrck47]

You may want to call a lawyer also

 

[1955moose]

That's definitely a good idea.


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[ManUpOrShutUp]

Update on Expedition. Mechanic called and said on further inspection, blown head gasket. 20 hours labor and parts, likely $2500. I am calling dealer before proceeding, see what they want to do.

That's what I was expecting. While a bad O2 sensor and air filter could cause the smoke, they would have to be in really, really bad shape. There's no way the dealer didn't know about it. They probably poured in some head gasket sealer, which temporarily conceals the issue. On the plus side, you would have an excellent small claims case and the dealer hopefully knows this, which should provide some incentive to either let you out of the deal or fix the problem.

 

[Snag]

damn, If it wasn't for bad luck you would have no luck at all.

I hope the stealership news is good, I have my doubts

 

[rcanfiel]

My mechanic said oil was last changed at 114K.

I had the vehicle independently checked by a Ford dealer. They found none of this either. Probably just plugged in the device and checked the codes, etc.

It is my supposition that the used car dealer got the vehicle at auction, but it had issues that went undetected. I believe they had it for just a few weeks. They had a mechanic on staff, but is probably not the greatest. Budget mechanic maybe

So far, they have been saying they will fix it. Not talk to them today, just last night.

The catalytic converter issue is interesting. Once figure out direction, will have them check it out.

As just the head gasket seems $2,500 and there may be other stuff, I have my mechanic checking out used engines and giving me an estimate. 60-70K engines appear to be in the $2,500 range. My concern is, they open it up to do the head gasket, and come back with other stuff that causes it to balloon. I will call the selling dealer once I have that info to see what they want to do.

 

[1955moose]

What's weird is blown head gasket is white billowy smoke, not black. Black is usually overly rich fuel. Either way, this sucks. Hope it all turns out ok. In the future please stay away from the Gypsy car lots. Dealer lots are more expensive, but usually a better bet. I still like buying from private party, and have the vehicle inspected at a nearby shop.


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[Snag]

I would suspect other problems, that rig was not maintained. As indicated by Moose, those CATS are easy to kill. And then because of poor oil maintenance you have the normal oiling issues associated with Modular engines. Phasers, tensioners, lash adjusters, followers and VVT solenoids

And it sounds like you "might" want to make sure they cover repairs at the shop you request. If they repaired it I would be worried.

 

[FisherPete]

Hmmmm.... used car dealer .... New Jersey .... sounds like a recipe for trouble!

I lost a spark plug on my 99 and the dealer who failed to properly torque the plug thought helicoiling new threads into the old head was a reasonable solution. It wasn't. A different dealer replaced the head and went to the district rep to make the first dealer pay the $3400 cost. Lesson: no second chances!

 

[Snag]

I suspect more lesson's learned for rcanfiel on this one.