Why Ford Sucks (advice needed, venting..)

[WillBrink]

Florida has a provision for multiple problems resulting in a certain number of cumulative days in repair.

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, after deciding to take it up a notch via social media (and I have a good following and a simple Google search will show I'm well represented on the net) I got an email today saying my case has been kicked up to a regional manager and reviewing my case to assist, etc. Whether it's to placate me for a while etc, I don't know. I really hated to be that guy who has to make threats like the fact I have a six figure mailing list, published all over the planet, etc and currently working on a very unfavorable review of Ford. The old "you don't know who you are dealing with" card some times works, and it's an A hole move, but one they forced on me. I rarely if ever play that card for obvious reasons. Yes, I had to go full A hole. See what happens....

[Ned Christiansen]

The whole auto industry is about making money, not cars, and in my experience in working with the companies and owning their products, I find them mostly the same. They are there to f### us out of our money and they know they're all the same so when people do like I do, never buy X brand again, it means I'm buying Y brand next so it's Y's turn. Somebody disgusted with Y will go to X-- there are plenty of "us" to go around so everybody in the auto industry wins.

Call the company? Feh. You get somebody who knows nothing and is authorized to do nothing but give you a few insincere, scripted lines. They literally don't give a f### beyond hopefully keeping you quiet to a certain extent but they know they are beyond any damage you can do.

I bought a new Pontiac Bonneville (first and last Pontiac) in the 90's-- their flagship. The brakes had about a 1-second delay if you slammed on them to keep from hitting a kid or a car or a deer. One second delay. Nobuddy no'd nuthin. I went back and forth with "Pontiac Cares". Noboddy no'd nuthin. I made a video of it and sent it in. Never heard back. I finally happened to bump into the regional service manager and after a lot of runaround, they bought it back.

My first and last Dodge-- same crap. Nobuddy no's nuthin. "They're all like that". "That's not covered".

Isuzu-- I bought it because I saw a lot of them in the third world and figured they must hold up well and a great sounding warranty. Things immediately started falling off. Warranty? Who a re you again?

Been there with Ford. Been there with Toyota.

We are the just the final step in the manufacturing process where presto, the poorly, hastily designed, cheaply made car turns into money.

I've met plenty of sincere, smart people in the auto industry who wanted to create a safe, quality product. Problem is, that grinds up against a corporate culture and philosophy that will do anything to squeeze another $.17 per car out of quality and safety, and into their pocket.

[NYH1]

Will, if you guys get another hurricane....park it in a flood zone!

NYH1.

[glocktogo]

Going to vent, then advice welcome:

Back story: never owned US made car. Drove just about every brand of Japanese car out there since 83, with no major complaints. I decided perhaps it was time to give a US company a try and my research suggested Ford the best of them. GF got a C Max, I got an explorer. Explorer seemed like a solid vehicle until at 20k miles it started to suffer some mysterious electrical problem, the worst of which manifests itself by hitting the gas peddle and nothing happens. The revs are there, it's just nadda between transmission and the engine. It can last a few seconds to a few minutes and when it does finally engage, the car leaps forward similar to what happens when you drop the clutch hard on a manual car. Other things are rear view cam coming on when going forward, cruise control shutting off for no reason etc. Worst, and potentially dangerous is the dead motor thing. Left me dead in the water in an intersection the other day.

Brought it to Ford service three times now. First two times, being (apparently) an electrical issue, and an intermittent one at that, of course they couldn't reproduce the problem or fix it. Third time was the charm as I walked the tech out and it did it for him in person, so he confirmed it and said he thought it was electrical vs a transmission issue. Once they got it int he shop, you guessed it, they could not reproduce it, and no fix.

Now I'm getting pissed. Many phone calls, etc later to Ford corporate, them generally doing jack shit to help me, etc, they then ask me to bring it in for a 4th time!

I said I would, if they would at least tell me what they would happen after #4 visit and no fix: replace the car, let me out of the lease, etc of after #4 if was not fixed. Their response was "we will evaluate that afterward in a 'good faith review'"

I responded, "so if after #4 and nothing is fixed, we go onto #5?"

Hence a total non answer and yet, I should bring it in for #4 with zero commitment from them, so at that point I declined knowing it was a waste of time and all they are doing is trying to wear me down and give up. I have 7 months left on the lease.

Of course my sense of right and wrong says simply stop paying them and tell them to come get their POS car and sue me if they don't like it. Problem there is, they can ruin my credit which is very good.

I could pay off the lease (as much as that idea grinds my f-ing gears) and just walk away from it and Ford altogether. That's the simple but most $ route. They have me screwed because with that issue, can't really trade it in to another brand (at 6 months you can easily be roled into another lease with other brands) because it's got this electrical issues.

So, it appears I'm stuck with Ford until the lease run out (which is me paying for a defective car), pay the lease off and walk, which is me throwing $ in the toilet on a defective car. Getting an attorney involved at this juncture does not seem a wise investment either.

Any other options you can think of?

Yes, n =1 experience, but that will be my first and last US car. Fu*$ Ford.

You need leverage in your negotiations with Ford. That leverage is here:

https://www.bbb.org/us/Storage/16/Do...-LLsummary.pdf

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Purchasing it in MA has no bearing. It's in FL, you're in FL, the dealer is in FL and Ford has presence in FL, so FL law applies. If you got it within the past 24 months, the LL probably applies.

So the next time you go in, explain that you simply cannot tolerate assuming the liability for such a serious safety issue for yourself and your family. Remind them that there are lots of "statistics" regarding unresolved vehicle safety defects and you're unwilling to drive another mile in it and risk becoming one. Then explain what you're prepared to do, which is: file a safety complaint with NHTSA, invoke the Lemon Law (if applicable), file a complaint with the BBB, the state AG's Office and the local news "problem solvers", which love to take on big fish. Explain that you'd prefer NOT doing any of those things and give them a some options. Offer to let them provide a loaner vehicle of the same model and equipment (or better) until they confirm the problem themselves and fix it. Offer to amicably end the lease wherein they cut YOU a check for the prorated portion of your "due at lease signing" amount. Offer to allow them to substitute a vehicle of the same model and equipment (or better) for the duration of the current lease.

Whatever you do, don't accept the vehicle back without them confirming the actual issue and repair. Don't let them say "well let's try this and see if it fixes it", because that makes you the expendable guinea pig. Explain that you won't drive it until the fix is CONFIRMED, due to the safety issue at play.

None of us wants to read about you as a statistic, so look out for numero uno!

If they're unwilling to do any of those three things, then proceed with your promised response.

P.S. My last Ford was probably my last one ever. A leaking brake hydro boost (major safety issue) was diagnosed just 2K outside the warranty and they wanted a grand to fix it. No give at all. I might've eaten a few hundred dollars, but no decent car should need a thousand dollar fix within an oil change of the warranty expiring. I told them I'd save the grand and put it towards a Toyota, which is exactly what I did. Traded it for a 4Runner and never looked back.

I'd love to own a Raptor or GT350, but I'd only do it if it came with a 10yr, 100K bumper to bumper warranty.

[WillBrink]

You need leverage in your negotiations with Ford. That leverage is here:

https://www.bbb.org/us/Storage/16/Do...-LLsummary.pdf

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Purchasing it in MA has no bearing. It's in FL, you're in FL, the dealer is in FL and Ford has presence in FL, so FL law applies. If you got it within the past 24 months, the LL probably applies.

So the next time you go in, explain that you simply cannot tolerate assuming the liability for such a serious safety issue for yourself and your family. Remind them that there are lots of "statistics" regarding unresolved vehicle safety defects and you're unwilling to drive another mile in it and risk becoming one. Then explain what you're prepared to do, which is: file a safety complaint with NHTSA, invoke the Lemon Law (if applicable), file a complaint with the BBB, the state AG's Office and the local news "problem solvers", which love to take on big fish. Explain that you'd prefer NOT doing any of those things and give them a some options. Offer to let them provide a loaner vehicle of the same model and equipment (or better) until they confirm the problem themselves and fix it. Offer to amicably end the lease wherein they cut YOU a check for the prorated portion of your "due at lease signing" amount. Offer to allow them to substitute a vehicle of the same model and equipment (or better) for the duration of the current lease.

Whatever you do, don't accept the vehicle back without them confirming the actual issue and repair. Don't let them say "well let's try this and see if it fixes it", because that makes you the expendable guinea pig. Explain that you won't drive it until the fix is CONFIRMED, due to the safety issue at play.

None of us wants to read about you as a statistic, so look out for numero uno!

If they're unwilling to do any of those three things, then proceed with your promised response.

P.S. My last Ford was probably my last one ever. A leaking brake hydro boost (major safety issue) was diagnosed just 2K outside the warranty and they wanted a grand to fix it. No give at all. I might've eaten a few hundred dollars, but no decent car should need a thousand dollar fix within an oil change of the warranty expiring. I told them I'd save the grand and put it towards a Toyota, which is exactly what I did. Traded it for a 4Runner and never looked back.

I'd love to own a Raptor or GT350, but I'd only do it if it came with a 10yr, 100K bumper to bumper warranty.

Great intel I will put into play right now. Thanx!

[Buckaroo]

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, after deciding to take it up a notch via social media (and I have a good following and a simple Google search will show I'm well represented on the net) I got an email today saying my case has been kicked up to a regional manager and reviewing my case to assist, etc. Whether it's to placate me for a while etc, I don't know. I really hated to be that guy who has to make threats like the fact I have a six figure mailing list, published all over the planet, etc and currently working on a very unfavorable review of Ford. The old "you don't know who you are dealing with" card some times works, and it's an A hole move, but one they forced on me. I rarely if ever play that card for obvious reasons. Yes, I had to go full A hole. See what happens....

I was thinking that you might be able to pull that kind of weight, nice work! Don't feel bad for holding them accountable to treat you right, stand your ground

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[WillBrink]

I was thinking that you might be able to pull that kind of weight, nice work! Don't feel bad for holding them accountable to treat you right, stand your ground

I don't feel bad at all, just don't like to be that guy, even when forced to.

[Buckaroo]

I don't feel bad at all, just don't like to be that guy, even when forced to.

Yeah, it sucks

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Coal Dragger]

One other option to actually address the OP's problem....

I used to sell cars for a living after the Marine Corps before I decided to go railroading. Customers desiring to get out of a lease early was not at all uncommon for a variety of reasons. Often a manufacturer will offer incentives to help a potential customer get out of a lease on a vehicle in order to get them in a new one.

Maybe the solution is to start looking at a new vehicle to lease and inquire if there is a way to factor an existing lease termination into the deal.

[WillBrink]

One other option to actually address the OP's problem....

I used to sell cars for a living after the Marine Corps before I decided to go railroading. Customers desiring to get out of a lease early was not at all uncommon for a variety of reasons. Often a manufacturer will offer incentives to help a potential customer get out of a lease on a vehicle in order to get them in a new one.

Maybe the solution is to start looking at a new vehicle to lease and inquire if there is a way to factor an existing lease termination into the deal.

Why should I pay the remaining existing lease termination on a defective vehicle? I think many have directly addressed my issue and glocktogo above set the standard of the thread for useful intel to have Ford actually honor their warranty, etc.