Crain Ford of Jacksonville — Local services in Jacksonville

I decided to not post personal negative feelings but just state facts of my experience with Crain Ford and let the viewers form their own opinions. Starting from the very beginning, I went to Crain to a certain sales manager a buddy of mine knew and felt like would take good care of my wife and I. This sales manager was going to "fix us up." I wanted a nice truck at a fair price. We should have shopped around and checked prices with other dealers but did not and that is completely my fault for not doing so. Anyway, we go to sign papers at Crain and he tells us "I got y'all hooked up with an extended warranty, gap insurance, free oil changes, etc." We were like "wow, thank you!" Two weeks later the paperwork comes in the mail. My $44,000 truck was now $50,000. We were charged $6,000 for all of those things he "hooked us up" with. I called him out via text so that I had record of it. He responded that this is how he makes money and that he sets up all of his customers that way. I still have the texts saved on my phone. Yes we should have gone through the contract with a fine tooth comb but we did not expect there to be anything snuck in. That was our first experience with Crain's service. This week while driving my kid to school the plastic oil plug came out and within seconds my oil drained, the truck shut off, and the engine locked up. I had it towed first to a local guy I know and trust. He put the plug in and put oil in it. It wouldn't start. He said "those plastic one turn plugs were definitely not Ford's smartest idea." I then had it towed to Crain. There I was told it needed a new engine but they would not cover it since the plug came out. They chose to blame Splash for changing the oil and putting the plug in wrong. The last oil change was almost a month ago. A few months before that the mechanic at Splash told me their other customers have had several problems with "those plastic plugs" and he does not like servicing them with those plugs. Splash always does an outstanding job for us. They have great customer service. The service manager at Crain said he's never seen or heard of these plastic oil plugs being problematic however Splash, a whole thread online with the same problems, myself, and others I've talked to since do know about the poorly designed plug. So now the truck that I owe $40,000 on has no engine unless I pay $12,000 to Crain to replace it. When I asked if they would give me a loaner so I could go to work the next day I was told they were out of loaners. My wife took her Tahoe to Everett GMC to have it worked on recently. Everett was out of loaners also yet she left there in a brand new Denali. Everett is serious about customer service. The next day Crain had an extended warranty person come look over the truck. After the weekend passed I called to find out where we were at with everything. I was then told I have to authorize Crain to do a tear down to see if the extended warranty company will cover it however if they deny the claim, which they had already said their was little chance the extended warranty company would cover it either, then I'd have to pay an additional $1,600 for the tear down. So I've drug my feet and held off for a few days from posting this, hoping they would come through and own it but they have no intention of doing that. I do not feel like it is right or honest to go after Splash when it has been close to a month since the oil change was done AND since they had told me long before that the plugs were a major problem for a lot of people. If it was only a couple days after the oil change I would feel completely different. That's just what I believe is right. Again, the viewer can form their own opinion. So that has been the facts alone of my personal experience with Crain. Hopefully I can find a solution to replace the $12,000 engine. The Crain Commitment: It's all about YOU,...

Unfortunately I cannot in good faith recommend you get your vehicle serviced here. I dropped my vehicle off to have a few issues diagnosed. I did drop it off in the later afternoon, so I was completely aware and contempt that they probably wouldn't get to it till the next day.

The next day came and went without a call. I ended up calling the establishment on the third day to request an update. Was told that my service provider was away on lunch and that they would have him give me a call back when he returned. I never received that call.

I called back on the forth day to get an update and was told the issue the mechanics found and what it would take to remediate the said issue. The service provider stated they will have the parts in the morning and should have my car finished late Monday. Perfect.

Come Monday I never received a call that my car was finished or even a curtesy call to update me on the status. I called that Tuesday to which I was told that one part was back ordered and would get there on Thursday then they can get the car finished and ready for pickup on Friday. Frustrating, but fine. I can wait.

Friday comes and goes with no call about my vehicle. I thought well it is a Friday I will wait till Monday afternoon and see what happens.

Monday morning comes along and I get a call. Amazing this should be the call that my car is done and ready for pickup. NOPE. The individual on the other side of the phone tells me they just received the new Leather Seats and will be sending my car back to have them installed. My car was not in for service relating to leather seats. It was in service for shocks and a fuel tank so you can imagine my shock. I asked if they were sure they called the right person because my vehicle was not dropped off for seats. They confirmed my name and phone number, but the vehicle was wrong. In my best guess my name was attached to two separate work orders cause they also had my correct work order as well. Anyways that got cleared up and I continued waiting for a call for my vehicle.

No call came so Tuesday Morning I called to request and update on my vehicle. This is when the service advisor told me that they still haven't received a part, but it be there in the morning. Beyond frustrated at this point, but I kept my composure and said ok and to just give me an update when work starts.

15min later I get a call from the service advisor who then corrects himself and states that they actually got the part in that morning and that work is already being done. My car should be ready later that afternoon or first thing in the morning. I was relieved at this point. Finally.

Wednesday at noon I finally get a call stating my vehicle was ready for pick up. I get an uber there, pay for my vehicle, get my vehicle and head home thankful to be done with this whole situation.

Right now the vehicle is operating as it should, but should something happen I will be sure to update. My main issue is the lack of communication from this establishment. I understand things get busy at times, but I whole heartedly believe that if I never made the calls then I would have been left in the dark till my vehicle was done. This in my opinion is quite unacceptable. The customer should be updated when things change like a part being on back order or didn't arrive when it should have. Even something as small as a text would suffice. Not to mention every time I got on the phone with my service advisor they would seem like everything I told them was brand new information and never remembered what my vehicles was...

Our Experience: 5+ Months of Frustration and Financial Loss

We bought a Nissan Kicks from this dealership in February as a gift for our 10-year anniversary. Just three weeks later, while driving near Pine Bluff, the transmission and engine failed without warning—forcing us into the wrong lane of traffic. It was terrifying and dangerous.

We were told our service plan included ride assistance. But when we walked to an Enterprise to get a rental, we were told they wouldn’t provide a ride—only reimburse it later—and only if we had a credit card. We didn’t. That critical detail was never explained to us. So instead, I had to call my 70-year-old mother to drive three hours to come rescue us.

We were initially told to leave the vehicle at the nearest Nissan dealership for repairs. Later, we were informed it needed to be towed instead to the Ford dealer where we purchased it. That tow cost us $400, which we were told would be reimbursed. It still hasn’t been. Then, unbelievably, the Ford dealer said it needed to go back to Nissan for repairs—making that $400 tow pointless.

We were told repairs (transmission only) would take 1–2 weeks. As insurance agents, we explained clearly that we rely on a vehicle to service clients, attend seminars, and support new agents. We were now without a car—and without income.

Given everything that had already gone wrong, I called the Nissan dealership directly. They told me they wouldn’t take the car back and that the engine needed to be replaced, along with the transmission. I called the Ford dealer to confirm. They insisted the engine was fine. I specifically asked multiple times that the engine be replaced too—they repeatedly told me it wasn’t necessary.

That 1–2 week promise turned into 3 months. Three months of no car. Three months of stress, missed work, and drained savings. We estimate we lost over $5,000 in income and opportunity during this time. We expressed that—through tears—and no meaningful support was given.

When the car was finally “fixed” and set to be delivered, I asked again: was the engine replaced? They said no. Sure enough, 30 minutes after leaving the dealership, the car broke down again.

At that point, the dealer finally agreed we should get a different car. We asked for a comparable Nissan at the same price—or $2,000 less for our trouble. They said no, but eventually offered a mere $500 credit.

We began looking at replacement vehicles with the Ford dealer, chose one, and then were told they didn’t want to sell us that one due to expected issues. At this point, we were emotionally and financially exhausted.

Eventually, they agreed to issue a refund. We were told our title, tag, and other items would be mailed with the refund. We received the check in late June—but still haven’t received the title or tag. When we followed up, they said the tag was already mailed... but now they claim they don’t know where it is. That tag cost $1,000, and without it, our home state won’t credit us on our next vehicle.

In total, this experience has cost us over 5 months of stress, $5,000+ in lost income, clients, new hired agents, and events and immense emotional toll. We were misled, inconvenienced, and given false promises every step of the way. This anniversary gift turned into a nightmare.

I wouldn’t wish this...