I was perfectly happy with this vehicle until it was in a low-speed accident (red-light runner crossed my path at <15 MPH). To make a long and slightly annoying story short, the other guy's insurance took care of it, and the damage was purely cosmetic... or so they told me.

Two weeks later, I arrive at work and spot a trail of liquid coming from underneath the hood. "Aw, hell." Nobody ever wants to see that. It smelled sweet like syrup, and I know that smell -- coolant. My first thought was the radiator, and perhaps the damage from the wreck was more severe than the collision place thought. So I took a deep breath, made a phone call, and got it towed. So far, so good.

Fast forward two days (happy Easter!), I get a phone call first thing in the morning. They've determined the water pump failed, and that it was not at all related to the crash. It was a warranty issue, and they said it wasn't their problem. Cool. They also wanted $185 for the tow. Not cool. They were reasonably nice and said that Ford would reimburse me for the tow, so I didn't go flying off the handle just yet. No, that didn't happen until I called Ford.

For starters, I'd just like to ask: what the hell happened to customer service? I must've been transferred between six different reps, and had to explain my story each and every time. Finally, the last one said rather plainly: "We can't find you in our system." Now, I'm normally pretty easy to deal with. I was in retail and customer service, and I know how much it can ruin your day to deal with an angry customer, especially when the problem isn't even remotely your fault. I promptly forgot all of that and just let loose on this poor guy. After about a two-minute long tirade of F-bombs and how I'd purchased an extended warranty, he finally managed to find my information. Hallelujah. "Oh, and we can't reimburse the tow expense because you didn't call Ford Roadside assistance first." If I hadn't just exploded a few minutes earlier, he would've caught another earful.

So I coughed up the $185 to have the car released, at which point a local dealer took over the repairs. Finally, things are going on track. I just need a loaner to get to work tomorrow and I'm all set.

(Just to be clear, this next part is more of a complaint about the dealer at this point. I won't name names [but it's a certain Ford dealership in North Olmsted, Ohio, if anyone's looking for a place to avoid]).

"Oh, we can't give you a loaner. You needed to make an appointment beforehand, so we could reserve you a car." Don't get me wrong, I understand completely that other people will have their loaners, etc, etc... but that particular phrase must've been a Pavlovian anger inducing phrase, as it implies I should've had the foresight that my car was going to break down. I'm sure that's not what the technician meant, but that's what I heard in that vitriol-laced moment. He quickly followed that up by giving me the number of the next closest dealership and seeing if they had a loaner for me.

I was given much less run-around there, but they couldn't give me a loaner, since the car wasn't being worked on there. I explained my situation to the service manager there, and he told me that in my situation (where no loaner was available) they were required to pay for my rental. In short, I was lied to at the other dealership-which-shall-not-be-named. Frankly, at this point, I'd given up any hope of trying to work something out with Ford and looked elsewhere for temporary transportation.

I've owned several cars throughout my driving career, and never did I have one lose a water pump at 15,000 miles. Most of my vehicles made it well past 200,000 and never lost a water pump. This issue, along with my treatment at both the dealership and Ford's warranty department, pretty much guarantees that I'll never buy another Ford again. I've learned my lesson.