touchdown

huh??

Amen!

1. touchdown, what possesses you to continually come back to this Ford forum if you will never buy a Ford again? Why not? A forum is open to all. The forum is for letters to Ford Management and I wanted to say something to Ford management - and anyone else that wants to listen. 2.If true, why do you spend the time? Are you just holding a grudge? First, I do not spend much time on this forum or any others (except Buckeye football, of course) Do I hold a grudge? Probably - a little griping on a forum costs nada and saves me a mint in psychoanalysis. Paranoids can have enemies - people with grudges can have legitimate complaints. 3. I wonder why her car blew smoke out of the tailpipe (before she traded it in). The car I gripe about was driven by a little old lady and impeccably maintained by a dealer (oil change every 3000 miles). Documentation to prove it up ting yang 4. When I see this kind of thing, it makes me curious as to whether you ever took the time to correct any things that you perceive that you were 'done-wrong' by Ford. Yep. Short version is - In additon to the calls to Customer Service (if you can call it that) - I have at least a dozen emails to Ford customer service - got a form email response that did not address issue but tolf me how much Bill Ford cared. Sent at least 3 letters to Ford management (district and corporate) - full of attached documents - got form letters in reply that did not even discuss the complaint but only said that my dispute had been settled by the customer service rep (who did not know what a head gasket was) Did the small claims court thing (including a arbitration session in which Ford sent a district manager who said up front he had no authority to settle - lost case because I am not a lawyer (did not play one on tv and did not sleep at Holiday Inn express either) and made some mistakes that caused some of my key evidence to not be accepted by magistrate - I think I had a good case - documentation ran to 200 pages - win some lose some The dealer we bought from was out of business so it was hard to follow up with them Is that enough documentation and effort to satisfy you? 5. You certainly seemingly have the time now, don't you? Sometimes I have free time - is that a problem? But thanks for caring! You seem to also have free time to post - congratulations! By the way - I agree with your points about documentation and going to successive higher levels of management - it is a good strategy and often works. I did not find it useful (or possible) with Ford If Ford had written back with non-form letters or let me (believe me I tried) even talk to a level of management higher than the customer service rep (did I mention she did not know what a head gasket was and certainly was not an expert on warranties). I probably would not have a "grudge" and would not have the pleasure of exchanging posts with you (all in good humor on my end and I hope yours too). Who knows - I might have spent all the time I wasted on the small claim process and lurking in this form on finding the cure for cancer. Or maybe (and more likely) drinking beer on the patio - so the way I look at it my "grudge" is saving me money and wear and tear on the liver so maybe it is a healthy thing? who knows? Touchdowm Beat Michigan!

johnnyb82 For the record, I appreciate your posts and your polite and professional attitude. Don't let the apologist get you down. As with any Board their are hardcore apologists and hard core critics (such as the Lemon and Otis). While they can be entertaining, nothing you do or say can change their mindsets. But there also seem to be a lot of thoughful and reasonable posters who would like to hear what you have to say. I echo your point that the supposed purpose of this forum is to tell Ford Management things they ought to here - whether they listen or care is another matter. My experience with Ford on warranty issues has some similarities - the striking point that I got from your post was the clueless Ford Customer Service and Ford's unwillingness to even put a manager on the phone to explain Ford's position. Even more than Ford's refusal to honor a warranty (at least as I saw the situation), I was very put off by Ford's customer service and Ford's apparent policy of preventing anyone who has knowledge or authority from actually speaking to a customer. I will not buy a Ford again for this reason - I posted here to let Ford management know that and appreciate that you have done so also. Touchdown

Tiberius I am confused about your statement that the vehicle in question in a 1995 car - the original post talks about a "new" lincoln Do you have some first hand knowledge that is not reflected in wrenchman's original post or ?? FYI, I am not arguing with you - just asking. I am interested in Ford and warranties and am not at all clear on the specific nature of the complaint by wrenchman (e.g,. what type and year vehicle, what problems were experienced, what Ford/dealer did or did not do, what aspect of warranty was not honored, etc) and I can not tell much from the original post TD

Wrenchman Can you share some specifics on the situation and what Ford did not do under the terms of the warranty ? I am curious about Ford not honoring warranties and would like to understand more. Thanx TD

Well - this post has been up for about two months There have been some interesting and passionale opinions expressed about whether Ford managemetn actually reads these posts - But - there has been very little (none?) solid first hand information about any organized efforts by Ford management to read the posts on this forum My tentative conclusion is that Ford management does not read these posts - but - hey - I could be wrong and it would not be the first time

I agree that the "design" problems with the windstar and 3.8 are a long time ago - the deceptive practices on the TSB were also a long time ago and might not reflect current management. However, my major complaint is not the 1994ish design flaw - it is the poor customer service and refusal to even let me speak to anyone except the customer service center (a young lady that did not know what a head gasket was). I am also mad about the Ford corporate refusal to acknolwedge its past deceitful practices and take corrective actions. These are not old problems with an "old" management team - these are the "here and now" of Ford - my experiences started in late 2004 and extended thru 2005 (amazing how slow the court system works) My point is that customer relations is important to a car company's reputation and probably to its survival. I slept thru my business class in college (come to think of it - I slept thru college) but I think that the professor said something about customers being an essental part of the sales process or supply and demand or something like that. My experience is such that Ford does not deserve and will not get any business from me in the future. My experience with Chrysler, on the other hand, has been positive so far and has Jeep earned my loyalty as a result of my customer service experience. I know that others will have different experiences but from what I can tell Ford has the worst customer service and customer relations in the auto industry and deserves to sink. I will shed no tears for the company when they do (although my sympathies and best wishes to the employees that are dragged down with management's sinking ship) :titanic: Touchdown

I had an interesting and generally positive experience with Chrysler lately for my 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee The brake pads and rotors went bad after 22,000 miles and had to be replaced ($330) - I had mentioned the pulsating on my first oil change but did not pursue it aggressively Before I took it in, I searched the net and talked to some friends - there were a lot of indications of a design shortcoming in the size or materials of the brake rotors (Jeep redesigned and used larger rotors after 1995) I pointed this out to the dealer but there were no TSBs etc so the dealer said nothing he could do I paid for the service and was OK with Jeep and the dealer - 22000 is low for brake job in my opinion but not totally out of reason for a large/heavy vehicle - not a big deal and I forgot about it Two months later I got a letter about a class action suit on the premature brake failure - apparently a lot of people had problems and Chrysler settled - the deal was to take your Jeep in and they would replace the pads and rotors for free - nice deal but too late for me and the settlement did not cover people who had already paid for brake jobs I called Chrysler customer service - unlike my experience with Ford, they were friendly and helpful - and told me to send in letter, repair record, and receipts Yesterday they called and said I would be getting a $330 check Granted, Chrysler had to have a law suit settlement to prompt action - but I was not covered by the settlement and they could have blown me off - they did not With this customer service, Chrysler earned some loyalty and I will strongly consider another Jeep for my next vehicle (so what if gas is $3) As for Ford, I will never buy another and won't even accept a Ford as a rental car (Hertz accomodates me well on this issue) Touchdown

The subtitle to this topic is forum is "Open letters to Ford Management. And, yes - Ford reads these." I am curious if this is true and am looking for some hard data. I have heard the antecdotal reports that Ford lawyers read the forums to see if proprietary information is disclosed but I never have know if this is real world or urban legend. Has anyone: *been personnally contacted by a Ford rep (or lawyer) because of a post in this forum? *have first hand knowledge of anyone else that has been contacted by a Ford rep/lawyer? *know of anything that Ford has said or done that is directly related to somthing posted on this forum? I am not trying to flame or dis Ford with this post - I am genuinely curious about whether Ford management really does read anything in this forum. Touchdown

Yep - I called and left a voicemail with David to call the Skipper. My experience with Ford customer service was bad and when Ford promised to return a call or have a supervisor call me - they never did. And WTF - it feels good (OK and maybe a bit juvenile) to tweak Ford a bit Sorry to hear about you dog - maybe you and the dog should go live on Antarctica for a few years - I hear its colder there. :poke:

New car warranties usually have a time and mileage limit, typically 3 years and 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Some people are very low mileage drivers and hit the time limit first. They do not get the benefits of free warranty service for parts that wear out as a function of mileage. They get the short end of the stick when an engine fails after three years even if the engine fails with very low milage. Some people are very high mileage drivers and may hit the 36000 mileage limit in a year. They get the short end of the stick when parts - such as paint - go bad earlier than one would expect. When you buy a new car - you know what you are getting and the warranty length is a factor in your purchase decision. I do not see a reason that recalls (or extended service plans) need to have a time and mileage limit and a which ever comes first provsion. In a recall, the manufacturer (Ford) is admiting that they screwed up and are trying to make it right. (Or trying to head off class action lawsuits) If the problem is a headgasket, why do they need a time limit at all? Ford could - and in my opinion should - warranty the part for a reasonable mileage limit, say 100,000 miles for an engine part. I am not saying the whole car should be covered for 100,000 - only the part that Ford acknowledges has a defect. It would even be fair to prorate Ford's liability based on mileage - if a car had a headgaskey falure at 10,000 miles Ford pays 90 percent - if it fails at 90,000, Ford pays 10 percent. Time should be irrelevant. Conversely, if Ford had a recall for a paint problem, the recall/extended warranty should be based on a time limit only, say 7 or 10 years. Mileage has little to do with paint bubbles. If a car has paint bubbles and Ford acknwledges a defect and issues an extended warranty (for example say for 5 years or 50000 miles) why should a car that sits outside for four years and has few miles on it be covered while a car that is driven a lot and has 60000 miles in two years not be covered. Mileage should not be a factor in the "recall" warranty. Also, Headline today on Oval is: Ford's 2007 Models To Include 5 Year, 60K Warranty Apparently Mr Ford thinks that longer warranties are a good idea (at least for now - we will see how long it lasts) TD

I gave your good buddy David a call and left a message (clever idea!) Has he called you back? I would be interested in an update Thanx Touchdown

Similar story on my end. I requested (about 10 times) to talk to a District Manager at Ford about a warranty issue but was refused by Customer Service (and I use that term loosely). Teh Ford Dealer would not give me a number for the District Manager. After bugging the dealer about 10 times, they would finally agreed to connect me to the District Manager on a three way call (but not to give me a number). When I finally talked to the District Manager - the first words out of his mouth - even before he heard what the problem was - were "You can tell me your problem but it won't matter - I do not have a budget to assist customers" Needless to say I am not impressed with Ford's interactions with customers They have lost a customer - I drive a Jeep now and will never own a Ford again Touchdown

Maybe people buy Hundai's because their customer service is better than Ford's. I don't know - never had a Hundai but it can not be worse than Ford's TD