Glenn B.
Lifetime Supporter
I am the owner of a RCR Lola T70 and a Superformance/Shelby Daytona Coupe. I had sent my Superformance/Shelby Daytona Coupe #106 to Roush Performance to rebuild their all-aluminum 427IR engine that began burning oil and smoking after 4,800 miles of use (it was never put on a race track). It is well known that Roush aluminum small block 427s have an inherent problem and a large number have failed and continue to fail. Roush has refused to publicly acknowledge and accept responsibility for a design/material flaw in their product.
Thinking that they would be the most expedient and proficient in diagnosing and resolving the problem, I spent $1,500.00 to ship the car to them and $7,000.00 on the rebuild. The day before the car was to be shipped back to me, Roush called and informed me that their technician had crashed my car during a test drive. No police report was filed. They refused to disclose the name of the driver or the details of the accident. They provided no pictures, and did not provide a listing of parts that required replacement. Roush represented the damage as a “fender bender” and that they would repair the car, repaint it, and return it to me. I requested that they provide a new rolIing chassis to replace the car they damaged and install my engine and transmission. This would provide me a car with a serial number that was not associated with accident damage….which is the condition of the car they received from me. They refused. They offered no compensation for loss of value of the vehicle, nor for the loss of its use for the extended time it would take to repair it. Frankly, after they built a $32,000 engine that failed in 4,800 miles, crashed my car, withheld information and delayed responding to my requests for weeks while I waited for someone “higher up” to make a decision, I chose not to trust them to repair the car and had it returned to me in Texas at my own expense to get an independent and objective estimate of the damage and repair costs. I told them if they wanted to present an acceptable solution, I would listen, but if their position was to let them fix it to their satisfaction and nothing else, that would not be acceptable.
I had the car delivered to Moorespeed, Inc. in Austin, an excellent classic, exotic and high performance car repair and restoration center, who is also a Roush dealer. David Moore and his team disassembled the front of the car and found that the “fender bender” included broken and re-welded tie rods (Roush did this just to be able to move the car), a destroyed steering box, bent sub frames, a cracked firewall, a crushed and cracked hood… including all the mounting points torn out of it, a twisted front wheel, and broken and bent brake components, just to list some of the damage. It was obvious from the damaged wheel that the car actually had suffered two severe impacts: the first must have been a curb or parking block, and the second was a from pole stanchion. To date, Roush has made no attempt to contact me to resolve this matter. I finally ended up having to file a suit against them to elicit a response. We provided them with the documentation of the damage repair estimate and a letter from Lance Stander, owner and CEO of Superformance and Shelby Distribution USA, stipulating the diminution of value of the car resulting from the damage. What we received today from their lawyer speaks volumes. I quote: “Plaintiff denies each and every, all and singular, the allegations contained in the Plaintiff’s Original Petition….” In other words, Roush is now denying they crashed my car, denying the extent of the damage as determined by Moorespeed, Inc., denying the loss of value determined and provided in writing by Lance Stander at Superformance/Shelby and denying compensation for loss of use since the accident last October. Many would say this is just a lawyer jockeying for position, but Roush is their client and has determined the method they wish to pursue to resolve this.
Each of you can come to your own conclusion about Roush relative to their quality, behavior and ethics. I am basing mine on 3 facts:
They sold me a $32,000 engine that failed in 4,800 miles.
They crashed my dream car.
They have completely denied any responsibility for either occurrence.
Thinking that they would be the most expedient and proficient in diagnosing and resolving the problem, I spent $1,500.00 to ship the car to them and $7,000.00 on the rebuild. The day before the car was to be shipped back to me, Roush called and informed me that their technician had crashed my car during a test drive. No police report was filed. They refused to disclose the name of the driver or the details of the accident. They provided no pictures, and did not provide a listing of parts that required replacement. Roush represented the damage as a “fender bender” and that they would repair the car, repaint it, and return it to me. I requested that they provide a new rolIing chassis to replace the car they damaged and install my engine and transmission. This would provide me a car with a serial number that was not associated with accident damage….which is the condition of the car they received from me. They refused. They offered no compensation for loss of value of the vehicle, nor for the loss of its use for the extended time it would take to repair it. Frankly, after they built a $32,000 engine that failed in 4,800 miles, crashed my car, withheld information and delayed responding to my requests for weeks while I waited for someone “higher up” to make a decision, I chose not to trust them to repair the car and had it returned to me in Texas at my own expense to get an independent and objective estimate of the damage and repair costs. I told them if they wanted to present an acceptable solution, I would listen, but if their position was to let them fix it to their satisfaction and nothing else, that would not be acceptable.
I had the car delivered to Moorespeed, Inc. in Austin, an excellent classic, exotic and high performance car repair and restoration center, who is also a Roush dealer. David Moore and his team disassembled the front of the car and found that the “fender bender” included broken and re-welded tie rods (Roush did this just to be able to move the car), a destroyed steering box, bent sub frames, a cracked firewall, a crushed and cracked hood… including all the mounting points torn out of it, a twisted front wheel, and broken and bent brake components, just to list some of the damage. It was obvious from the damaged wheel that the car actually had suffered two severe impacts: the first must have been a curb or parking block, and the second was a from pole stanchion. To date, Roush has made no attempt to contact me to resolve this matter. I finally ended up having to file a suit against them to elicit a response. We provided them with the documentation of the damage repair estimate and a letter from Lance Stander, owner and CEO of Superformance and Shelby Distribution USA, stipulating the diminution of value of the car resulting from the damage. What we received today from their lawyer speaks volumes. I quote: “Plaintiff denies each and every, all and singular, the allegations contained in the Plaintiff’s Original Petition….” In other words, Roush is now denying they crashed my car, denying the extent of the damage as determined by Moorespeed, Inc., denying the loss of value determined and provided in writing by Lance Stander at Superformance/Shelby and denying compensation for loss of use since the accident last October. Many would say this is just a lawyer jockeying for position, but Roush is their client and has determined the method they wish to pursue to resolve this.
Each of you can come to your own conclusion about Roush relative to their quality, behavior and ethics. I am basing mine on 3 facts:
They sold me a $32,000 engine that failed in 4,800 miles.
They crashed my dream car.
They have completely denied any responsibility for either occurrence.