Southern Specialized Truck & Trailer, LLC in
Little Lake City (FL)

BEWARE OF BAIT AND SWITCH: Paid for NEW “Ford Long Block”engine (as listed on invoice) and our Ford dealer recently discovered Southern Specialized (Jon) instead installed an $8K rebuilt engine for a price of $28,000 and it has failed. * Southern Specialized (Jon & Brianna)- Please feel free to defend your actions or challenge any of these facts and let the Public decide if it’s appropriate behavior. “ Detail: Ford F350 engine failed 2 years ago while pulling our 38’ trailer home thru Lake City, FL to Knoxville. Looked online and chose Southern Specialized for the repair. Jon at SS offered 2 rebuilt choices or a new “Ford Long Block” crated motor with injectors. As this regularly carries my family camping across the country I wanted a new and reliable engine so my wife and I paid the price for the Ford engine. Jon, the manager, said it could be serviced at “any Ford dealer under warranty”… they just look at the serial number “so you don’t even need paperwork”…. and so we got none other than the invoice. So I paid $28K +/- cash for this “new Ford engine” to be installed as I waited 3 weeks stranded in a campground for it to be completed. Note: truck is a 2008 which I bought in 2021 for only $22K… that’s how important it is for me to have this vehicle operational and worry free. Engine required intervention continually on the 2 day trip home as the high pressure hoses kept popping off as the connection wasn’t cleaned. Also noticed it was missing a motor mount bolt. I’m an old diesel mechanic from my Army days so I had the tools and hair spray to keep the hoses “glued on” but also had a mobile mechanic assist one time. Called Jon and he said he’d reimburse my out of pocket cost (only $200). Never did. Called back, promised again… never did. * Fast forward to now* Took it into Ford as I now have a leak from the front cover. * Ford said this isn’t our engine, it’s a rebuild.* I was floored. When the Ford dealer investigated by calling the rebuild manufacturer, the manufacturer said they have no idea how Southern Specialized got this engine as they have no record of them or relationship with them. Ford was told that due to this there was probably no warranty coverage anyhow due to their terms and conditions. Regardless, unlike Ford… this rebuilt long block motor has only a 1 year warranty (way over now) and it is going to be $6-7k to repair the front cover that was improperly installed by the SS mechanic. The engine didn’t fail… SS’s workmanship failed, per the mechanic who eventually explained this to Brianna, the owner, as well. I began to call my attorney but wanted to give these new owners at Southern Specialized a chance to keep this civil. I’ve owned large businesses and would want someone to give me the same chance to discuss this and seek a resolution in a friendly way. I called and asked for the owner and she (Brianna) was unavailable. She called me back and was very kind and said they wanted to look into it but wanted to do the “right thing”. This was encouraging! From there … she never called back. I initiated every call to check back in. In my last discussion, Brianna got kinda testy and said she would call back after taking to Jon. Nothing. No offer of any assistance. Silence to this day. This isn’t sour grapes, but a warning. I’m retired and have all the money I need and am not a scammer out to make a quick buck. I’ve never demanded any money or repair, rather I have given Brianna the time she requested to find a solution. However, I’ve owned several large businesses and believe in the old ways of trust and ethical behavior. And when people treat others THIS way, I take a different approach. I share the truthful experience with proof in total transparency. If you have any questions, please contact me directly. I have receipts and documentation to support this situation. In the meanwhile, I will post this review here and on other review sites, contact the Better Business Bureau and consider further legal alternatives.

Brought my F250 here to get the AC and engine fixed. They did a great job and offered a fair price. My truck runs well and the AC is cool. Would recommend!

The guys in the shop were able to fix my transmission issues after another local business did major damage to the transmission. They had me back up and going in no time . Jon was very helpful through the whole process of contacting us the entire time and giving update and providing photos of what was incorrectly done .