I wish that I could give these inept, unqualified, incompetent and unprofessional fools only a ¼ star for this review. This is the first review I have ever written but it probably won't be the last, because I am sick and tired of spending good money for shoddy service. AL MEYER FORD IN LUFKIN, TEXAS is hands-down the absolute WORST service shop I have EVER had the misfortune to deal with in my 48 years on earth.
I work in heavy industrial construction, mostly building power plants, and therefore sometimes I am out of town for several months at a time. Now, I am the once-proud owner of a 1997 Ford F-250HD 4-door pickup truck with the International 7.3L Powerstroke diesel engine with only 143,000 miles on it. It sat for a couple of months while I was out of town, and when I got back, I couldn't get it to start. I then made the horrible decision to have it towed to Al Meyer Ford to have it looked at. I figured the fuel was crappy in it, so I told them I wanted the fuel system flushed and a full service done on the truck. No big deal, as I had had the truck in and out of their shop several times for routine service, all documented.
I had to leave town again, so I told them I would pick it up when I got back, as I was in no hurry. Keep in mind, this truck was in perfect shape; 148k miles and all original with no modifications whatsoever other than a straight-pipe exhaust.
I would drop in by the shop every two weeks or so when I was in town to check on progress. They kept telling me that they couldn't figure out what was wrong; that they couldn't get it started either, and that they were still troubleshooting the problem.
They had my truck for more than 5 months, and, $5,000.00 later it still doesn't run like it did before taking it there. Oh yeah. Truth. They told me over the phone, when somewhere was there to actually answer the phone, that I needed a new fuel pump, new fuel lines, a new fuel filter, two new fuel tanks with new sending units, a new solenoid and two new batteries.
When I got the truck back, the turbo waste gate is messed up, parts are missing; like the fuel filter cover, the air filter plenum, several screws and bolts, etc... Now I have some sort of parasitic drain on the electrical system as well that completely drains the batteries ever couple of days. They tried to do a brake job on it and stripped the bleeder valves in the process. SO instead of fixing the problem, they told me that the truck didn't need new brakes to begin with.
Al Meyer does NOT have a qualified diesel mechanic. PERIOD. Even the mechanic that butchered my truck told me in his own words that he had NEVER worked on a Powerstroke before and that since the truck had been built before he was born, he didn't have a clue what he was doing. One of the times I went in to check on the truck, they had an apprentice beating on the engine with a 4lbs hammer for some reason. When I asked where the mechanic was, I was told by the apprentice that the "mechanic" was hardly ever there because he and his wife were either expecting a new baby or had just had one. I can't remember.
The service manager lady doesn't know anything at all about cars or trucks or diesel engines or anything else that I know of, for that matter.
She basically just answers the phone sometimes and gives you a story.
I wish I had taken them to court or sued them or something. I'm just disgusted. What I really wish is that on that fateful day I had sent the truck to Nacogdoches instead of Al Meyer Ford in Lufkin. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT take your diesel truck to them. They do not have a clue what they are doing and when you get your truck back, it will not run, and they will loose parts to boot. Oh... and charge you top dollar parts and labor rates in the process. I don't know how they stay in business. read more