HiPo Joe Charles

11/28/2024

Transparency Matters: Jay Hodge Ford making bad reviews disappear!

TLDR: Bad experience, lies, and lack of transparency with Jay Hodge Ford. I left a 2-star Google review and was going to leave it at that, but my review has now disappeared (along with at least one other recent negative review), so now I'm on a mission to share my experience!

My experience with Jay Hodge Ford of Morrilton, AR:

For those of you that know me well, you know I bleed Ford Blue. I always have. I bought my first new Mustang on 12/3/1988, and I can even tell you I paid $12,371.86 for it. As someone who has put a ton of miles traveling across the eastern U.S. for racing events, relying on Ford trucks to tow trailers loaded with rare and valuable race cars, I have always trusted the Ford brand. This loyalty was put to an extreme test this past October when my truck experienced a mechanical failure while traveling in our F-250 with my family, leaving me stranded while towing a 2012 Boss 302S factory Ford race car—a rare and irreplaceable vehicle.

I entrusted Jay Hodge Ford of Morrilton with the repair, expecting the same professionalism and quality service I always receive from my local dealership. Instead, I faced weeks of delays, almost nonexistent communication, and a lack of accountability. I'd love to share the details of this experience but there's just too much to type. Weeks into this disaster, I reached out to the General Manager, Mark Busha. I left a phone message, and he was copied on multiple emails. I received no response from Mark. When the repair was finally completed, I shared an honest, very detailed review on Google, only to find out it had been removed—likely flagged by the dealership. The review still shows from my Google account, but it’s no longer public.

When I received my truck back, a very quick visual inspection revealed additional concerns. Both front valve stem covers were missing (they aired down the tires to make the truck more accessible). A screw holding the passenger fender liner was about to fall out. Multiple push pins were missing from the top radiator cover.

These oversights, though small, are indicative of a lack of attention to detail. After such a long and frustrating repair process, these issues compounded my disappointment and raised serious concerns about the overall quality of work performed.

To Jay Hodge Ford: I hope this post prompts you to reflect on how you handle customer concerns and the quality of service provided. Transparency and accountability are critical to building trust, and I want to ensure others don’t experience the same frustrations.

Mistakes happen, but it’s how you address them that defines your character—or, in this case, the character of the business. Had the GM responded favorably to my phone call or emails, I probably would have never left the negative review. I don’t like leaving poor reviews. Now that my Google 2-star review has been removed, and the fact that I never received a customer service survey, I feel the need to make this social media post and encourage every one of you to share it. I have also shared my experience with Ford Customer Service Division by filing a formal complaint against Jay Hodge Ford with Corporate.

I am sharing a picture of my 2-star Google review that somehow was removed. I am still at a loss as to how or why my review was removed.

Ford Motor Company
Ford Performance
Better Business Bureau
KATV Channel 7
KARK 4 News
FOX16 News
THV11
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / ArkansasOnline.com
Arkansas Times

Kelly Charles

08/18/2023

Open Letter to all my friends. As much as I appreciate you thinking I could actually get a new Mustang GTD, you’re mistaken. You see all my toys and assume I must be rich.

I’m not rich. I’m just irresponsible. 🤷‍♂️😆

03/03/2018

Please like and share the original post from InTech Trailers and let's help fellow racer Lyons Racing win the "Max the Tach" trailer!

09/05/2017

I made a "Dragon Run" a few weeks ago. If you've never had the opportunity to drive Deals Gap (Tail of the Dragon) you need to make it happen. 318 turns in 11 miles. Its way too much fun in a GT350R!

10/08/2016

CAUTION / Wet Paint!

Well, it looks soaking wet. :)

Very slick, almost feels "soft" its so slick. Huge Props to the guys over at Glasslife Atlanta! Thank You for all you guys do for me!

10/07/2016

Check out this great article from the guys at SVTPerformance.com! Steve Turner tells my story way better than I could have. I can't thank Ford enough for all their support. From the local level at Prater Ford to the corporate level at Ford Performance. I am very humbled and very appreciative.

This is a discussion forum about Ford SVT Cars and Trucks

10/06/2016

Sneak Peak at the new GT350R!!! I was able to pick it up at the rail yard in ATL before it was even delivered to my dealer. It went straight into my trailer and made a bee line to Glasslife Atlanta.

More pics coming soon.

07/29/2016

It was the last session of the day, I had no idea it would come so close to being my last session ever…

On April 30, 2016 I was running a track event in my 2016 GT350 Mustang at Roebling Road. Being my second track event in the car I was slowly gaining confidence in the car and more especially myself. This was the most capable car I had ever driven on track and she was fast. I spent most of the day creeping up on my abilities behind the wheel and was nowhere near the capabilities of the car.

The forecast was hot and muggy so the organizers of the event announced that drivers of streetcars wouldn’t have to wear long pants. So I wore my standard everyday shorts and t-shirt along with my helmet and gloves.

I had been on the track about 15 minutes of the last session when I experienced a catastrophic engine component failure. This caused a massive oil leak. The oil ignited on the exhaust. If this wasn’t bad enough, the oil fire caused the main fuel line to rupture. At this point, the bottom of the car was fully engulfed. The fireball was two lanes wide and trailed behind the car at least 25’.

I had just exited the last turn onto the front straight when all hell broke loose. I was following a BMW and had just been given a “point by” to pass. I checked my mirrors and initiated the pass. As I’m accelerating pass the “yielding” BMW I was able to go from 3rd gear into 4th gear. This would have me running 125ish MPH as I was about to merge back in front of him. When I checked my mirrors again I saw the large fireball.

My first reaction was “Oh no, what’s happened to the BMW?!?”. Before I could even finish that thought I realized that the flames were coming from me. My very next thought was “Oh f**k, I’m on fire.” I knew I needed to get off the track, but the pit wall was to my right and the “racing line” and other fast cars were on my left. I lifted and started trying to slow the car down.

The heat from the flames must have been very intense as the brake fluid boiled and the brake pedal went to the floor. So now I’m still running 100+ MPH on fire with no brakes. By now I’m past the pit wall and I’ve made my way on to the grass running along side the track.

One thing all racers know is to get off the racing line as soon as possible when there is trouble. Another thing HPDE guys know is there will always be fire extinguishers at corner stations and I was quickly approaching the one at T1.

With no hydraulic brakes I tried to use the emergency brake. I knew that I couldn’t yank it up because it would lock the rear wheels causing me to lose what little bit of control I had. About 20% through the travel of the lever, the cable snapped.

Sometime during all this, I had turned the car off. So I’ve got zero brakes and no power steering. By now I’ve also got fire in the cabin and I’m still hauling ass burning like a meteor on reentry. I did the only other thing I knew to do. I put the car in first gear and dumped the clutch. Some how I was able to get the car stopped without losing control less than 30’ from corner station and the fire extinguishers.

The corner workers were yelling for me to get out of the car. They didn’t realize just how badly I wanted out of the car! LOL Normally if you have an incident on track you are instructed to stay in the car until the safety team arrives on scene. One of the few exceptions is a fire.

I got out of the car and raced to grab an extinguisher and started fighting the fire myself. The safety crew got to me within seconds and quickly got the fire put out. I walked away without a scratch. I never felt the heat from the fire. I am certain that I had someone riding with me keeping me safe. It wasn’t my time to die.

Ford and my local dealer Prater Ford have been very good to me. My 2016 GT350 is being replaced with a 2017 GT350R. This has been one hell of an emotional roller coaster and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

04/13/2016

So what are the chances of a "simple" guy like me actually being chosen by FoMoCo to be able to buy this beast? The application to purchase is being submitted this week. Then the waiting game begins. Only 300 - 500 are expected to be built for 2017 & 2018.

And then, if I'm lucky enough to be chosen... Then begins the figuring out how the heck to pay for it! LOL

03/09/2016

Check this out. We can get banged around a bunch in these karts! Here's a short video from last nights GT2 Heat 2 race at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games in Marietta.

The entire field was bunched up tight heading for this hairpin turn. The leader and I were fighting for position from the previous turn into this hairpin turn. Even though the track was plenty wide enough, he chose hold his line and drive me into the barriers on the left leading into the hairpin. As I'm braking for the hairpin I get KO'd by a pair of karts behind me also battling for position slamming me hard into the outside wall. I swear I heard my spine sound like a zipper!

MAKE SURE TO WATCH IN HD! The action slows to half speed.

02/25/2016

This is GT2 Heat race 2. This was the second race of the evening. I was a little more aggressive in this race and evidently it was considered too aggressive. I got the rolled up RED flag with a nice little "CHILL" shouted my way. Oops. I was the second car in the middle of a tight three way battle. Evidently going three wide in a space for two and half carts was frowned on. (But if I'm the second car, how am I causing the issue?) Anyway, I lift and let the guy behind me pass cleanly. Within a few laps I was stuck behind one of the three cars from earlier. I decided not to push my luck and waited on him to make a mistake (that never happened). LOL

The first night was an absolute blast. I managed my quickest lap EVER in this race. It was a blistering 27.631. Just the week before I managed a 27.978 and I wasn't sure I'd beat that.