R145,000 spent on an engine review and after multiple breakdowns still no vehicle 2 years later

Summary of events is as follows: 24/9/2023 - Ford ranger received water damage during floods and due to road closures I took the Ranger to a local mechanic who proved unable to repair the vehicle.

2/11/2023 - Took the Ford Ranger on a flat bed with disassembled engine to Autoworks strand.

11/1/2024 - (70 elapsed days) collected repaired vehicle at cost of R128,701 - I was so shocked by the state of the engine compartment that I recorded the subsequent meeting with Bruce Martin asking about warrantees etc should the vehicle break down - transcript of the meeting is available.

7/2/2024 - (27 elapsed days) vehicle broke down. Autoworks initial written response was an electrical fault and offered to rebuild the engine at my expense. I did not believe this finding so appointed Patrick Swan as an independent assessor to do a full review. Reason found for failure was piston protrusion and valves impacting piston heads that caused engine failure.

October 2024 - After much legal wrangling, Autoworks repaired the engine. Autoworks took the repaired Ranger for a drive and “heard a funny noise” and repaired engine failed.

December 2024 - Autoworks purchased a new engine from Ford and installed.

17 January 2025 - Collected the Ranger from Autoworks Strand - Whilst driving to the car rental place in Lakeside (with the Autoworks driver following in the Ranger) the Ranger went into limp mode. Bruce’s initial response is summarized in the below WhatsApp that I sent to Gunter:

Hi Gunter. When I got my bakkie back from you beginning 2024 it lasted 3 weeks before the engine gave out. It then took a year to fix and today when I collected it it lasted 2 hours before the engine light came on and the engine lost power. When I phoned Bruce he told me to pay for the rental bakkie myself because he wasn’t going to spend any more money on a rental vehicle and the engine light coming on (the spanner light) had nothing to do with him as he had only replaced the engine. I would explain how I feel right now except I have difficulty coming to terms with my current feelings and emotions. Bruce then said I can take the bakkie somewhere myself to get the engine light fixed as it didn’t have anything to do with him.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the above.

Ranger sent back to Autoworks.

21/2/2025 (379 elapsed days). Got the ford ranger back.

27/3/2025 (35 elapsed days). Ranger broke down 20km from the farm. Oil all over front of engine and engine compartment. Due to my panicked state I could not see the oil on the dip stick and added 7l of oil. Autoworks were adamant that the oil had been added before the breakdown hence the reason for the break down. In consultation with Patrick Swan, he did a full analysis of the disassembled engine. He stated that should an engine be driven with too much oil in it, it will break down and evidence of the engine being driven with too much oil in it will be clearly evident. No such evidence was found (Report with detailed photos produced) and Autoworks did not quote on any such repairs. As I was by this stage desperate (6 months had passed) I negotiated a lower fee to fix the engine and paid R18,441. For clarity - There is zero evidence, from either the detailed analysis by Patrick Swan, or the subsequent repairs done by Auto works, that the vehicle was driven with excess oil in the engine. The extra oil was added after the breakdown.

20/10/2025 (207 elapsed days). Received the ranger back. Asked for mail confirmation prior to collection that all was in order with the vehicle. Received written response that all was 100% in order.

21/10/2025 (1 elapsed day). While in the process of reregistering the engine, a massive oil leak was found. Oil sprayed all over front of engine and engine compartment, exactly the same as the incident on 27 March. After Autoworks driver added oil, Autoworks drove the Ranger from Paarl to Autoworks Strand against my recommendations - and the recommendation of the Service manager at Ford Paarl.

Ranger is currently at Autoworks Strand.