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My Thanksgiving Day "Celebration"

TQuentin1

TQuentin1

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So here it is Thanksgiving Day, and just when I was just starting to see the light on the project list and have my Dyna close to the top, the Fix Or Repair Daily ('01 Crown Vic) started peeing oil on the driveway! Coming out between the back of the oil pan and the tranny. I am betting main seal. Too big a job for me to tackle crawling around on the ground. But wouldn't you know it!

So Friday I carry the car over to the garage around the corner. I walk back home and check the fluid in the drip pan I have had under the car. Hmm. This stuff is more like coolant! The owner (Mike) calls me back later on telling me that it is NOT leaking oil, it is leaking coolant! The bad news is that it will be about $1,100 to fix it. The worse news is that there was a class action suit agreement by Ford to fix the cheap plastic intake manifolds and replace them with one redesigned with aluminum in the spot that is cracking. BUT, THE TIME PERIOD FOR REPAIR IS 7 YEARS FROM ORIGINAL PURCHASE DATE. Guess what!!

So today is Saturday and I have my Fixed And Repaired Daily back in the driveway with my wallet lightened up just over $1,100!! Mike says to go back to Ford and see what they will do. I have the part. Anyone wanna guess what they will say?

TQ
 
Problem is that the work was done by an Indy. Used the Dorman replacement intake manifold which meets or exceeds the OEM upgraded manifold at HALF the price! Their click rate is also substantially lower.

Think I probably need to hit Ford customer service directly.

TQ
 
Now if it was Toyota or Nissan..................

I have a friend in New Jersey who just had his toyota chassis and tub replaced due to rust on his 13 year old vehicle, and was not charged one cent. Toyota paid for it.
 
WOW TQ - :small3d031:

You definately have a case and should get at least some of your money back. If things are looking badly, remind them that they only continue to be in business in this economy due to the good of all the little people (thanks to our elected officials :newsmile093: ). They obviously don't have a good sense of business, and it's about time they start. You have paid more than enough prior to this job and would be happy to overlook them the next time service is needed.

Just a bit of an aside - I bought new locks for my saddlebags and ~3 months after receiving them, one broke. I called the company (Moore Industrial Hardware) and was told 'because they don't make the product, they don't stand behind it'. :bigsmiley31: Long story short, finally the Owner of the company answered my calls. He repeated the same lame excuse (FYI-they are primarily distributors) and explained he would take me to lunch (never mind I'm in AZ and they are in OH), but not replace the lock. My retorted, I hoped his business goes the way of his customer service (correctly termed - Customer NO Service). :bigsmiley19:

Moral of the story, you have lots of people up the Found On Road Dead corporate ladder, so don't stop until you get the answer wanted :boxing - and, Don't let them take you out to lunch!! Be a squeaky wheel!!!

Also, if your calls are not answered, it might not be a bad idea to raise the issue in a crowded lobby where other car owners can await the response. :s

Good Luck, I hope you have better success than I :bigsmiley29: did!

CatWoman
 
TQuentin1 said:
Think I probably need to hit Ford customer service directly.

TQ
Click to expand...

Good Luck. You may have better results than I did but about 2 months ago I escalated a problem all the way up to Ford in Dearborn. A few years ago, they would have given you anything you needed. It seems now (at least in my case) they are tough on any warranty claims. I went to the public library and got all the names of all the key people and wrote to the directly. It was a colossal waste of time. My car was still under the 3 year/36000 mile warranty and they insisted I damaged the part, and I did not. We are talking about a $75 part with next to zero labor to install it. I was shocked.

But you never know. They may like you more than they liked me and give you whatever you need. But either way, Please let me know what the results are.
 
I used to work in the service department at a VW dealership (20+ years ago...). In situations like this, they would usually offer to pay for the parts if the customer paid for the labor (more times than not, labor is a lot more than the parts...) - if the dealership did the work. Not sure how much luck you will have since the work was done elsewhere, and non-Ford parts were used...

But as they say - if you don't ask, you don't get!
 
T wrecks said:
Now if it was Toyota or Nissan..................

I have a friend in New Jersey who just had his toyota chassis and tub replaced due to rust on his 13 year old vehicle, and was not charged one cent. Toyota paid for it.
Click to expand...

I had a 88 Toyota Camry; a and a half after the warranty was up the paint started failing and body molding was starting to rust which I didn't even notice untill it was pointed out by the service writer. The car was stripped and repainted and mouldings replaced. didn't cost me anything.
 
Times are way different at this moment. Most of these car companies are 2 paychecks away from disaster. Even the import car companies are watching paying out any money right now. The OP is asking for a warranty claim on a car that is 8 years old. I hope he gets what he needs, I really do. But do I think they are going to pay on such a labor intensive part, I doubt it.
Yes, Ford is better off than GM and a few others but I know they are watching dollars in a big way. But by all means ask in a nice way. When they told me "NO", I went nuts on them. Even though I was right (I did not damage the part), that was the Kiss of Death from that moment on. Don't make that mistake.
 
TQ...I have had the "Holiday Malaise Blues"...from multi-vehicle failures to the seasonal timing issue...! The good news is patience and firm commitment to making things right does work. We even used local TV new station' Horowitz of "Fight Back" fame, BB Bureau, and even the DA/Lawyer route. You have many paths to follow and measured mitigation matched to communication exchange is key...hard to fight big Corporations with deep pockets.
 
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