Consequences of poor Ford warranty service

[cro142]

I really like the way Falcons drive, particularly on country highways, and over the past 30 years I have purchased a new Falcon every few years - I've had 8 Turbo's since 2003, and I absolutely love 'em. I do a lot of km!!

The main problem has always been the patchiness of Ford Dealer warranty service. Sometimes it has been really good, but I think this is outweighed over time by those instances of poor service.

Like others on here, I have had small problems which sometimes Ford are unwilling to resolve, and you get into that rut of taking the car back again and again. Very frustrating. For example, that guy on here at present with a diff clunk in his new car - you would think Ford would rush to fix it, but that's doesn't seem to be happening. I have had similar experiences and it really bugs me.

I often feel that the service advisors are trained (??) to minimise warranty claims rather than provide legitimate service.

I think also that Ford grew fat and lazy over the years when they had around 60% of their sales to managed fleets, where warranty service was minimal as no one cared about all the small problems with the car, as long as it did not "stop" during the lease period. This lead to the "they all do that" syndrome.

I wonder if the chickens have come home to roost?

I realise that a major reason for the poor Falcon sales is the shift in market demand for that type of vehicle, but I also wonder how many loyal buyers changed brands because of poor Ford warranty service?

PC

[pottery beige]

my experience the service managers are highly trained in the school of dh

[Windsor220]

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

i've had zero issues with getting anything fixed on the Rio, and it's done with grace and courtesy.

[fte50]

Originally Posted by cro142

I realise that a major reason for the poor Falcon sales is the shift in market demand for that type of vehicle, but I also wonder how many loyal buyers changed brands because of poor Ford warranty service?
PC

Todays consumers are making more educated purchasers based on the features they want, need, cost, internet reviews and customer service.

Its also a new type of world where the loyalty you speak of is applied to "their personal criteria" and not so much the brand.

Considering the respective market segments are so competitively on par with quality, price and features, one can conclude (amongst equal brands) that other than individual styling preference, amongst the biggest magnet is perceived/actual customer service.

I have experienced Ford, Holden, Toyota, Alfa and Renault warranty service and from my experience found many similarities amongst all but the Alfa stood out as the best honest service, was proactive not just reactive and always explained in depth to keep customer informed being minor/major servicing, warranty claim etc.

As for the others, when things were good everything was good, when things are bad they are all the same crap.. again just my experience.
But this is more a reflection on the dealership acting as the brands agent.
I truly wonder if the brands themselves know of half the problems/customer complaints creating the negatives that are then compounded to bigger problems due to the dealerships poor customer service or unwillingness to act.

Do Customer Satisfaction Surveys send the message ???

[Kieron]

Sadly, one of the best Ford service centres in Perth has gone, I changed from the dealer I purchased the car from the Centre's many years ago and got great service every time.

Even down to the dreaded diff bush on my FG XR8. It looked like the pics from the 'diff clink' thread but I never felt anything in the driveline (and I knew what to look for having had a BA XR6 with **** driveline), Centre Ford actually spotted it during a regular service, rung me up and said the car will be about 2 hours late due to changing the diff bush.

Proactive, the way they should be for the customer, but many years ago, I was told FoMoCo don't support this approach, hopefully this has changed.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by cro142

I really like the way Falcons drive, particularly on country highways, and over the past 30 years I have purchased a new Falcon every few years - I've had 8 Turbo's since 2003, and I absolutely love 'em. I do a lot of km!!

The main problem has always been the patchiness of Ford Dealer warranty service. Sometimes it has been really good, but I think this is outweighed over time by those instances of poor service.

Like others on here, I have had small problems which sometimes Ford are unwilling to resolve, and you get into that rut of taking the car back again and again. Very frustrating. For example, that guy on here at present with a diff clunk in his new car - you would think Ford would rush to fix it, but that's doesn't seem to be happening. I have had similar experiences and it really bugs me.

I often feel that the service advisors are trained (??) to minimise warranty claims rather than provide legitimate service.

I think also that Ford grew fat and lazy over the years when they had around 60% of their sales to managed fleets, where warranty service was minimal as no one cared about all the small problems with the car, as long as it did not "stop" during the lease period. This lead to the "they all do that" syndrome.

I wonder if the chickens have come home to roost?

I realise that a major reason for the poor Falcon sales is the shift in market demand for that type of vehicle, but I also wonder how many loyal buyers changed brands because of poor Ford warranty service?

PC

The warranty/service issue isn't a Falcon thing, owners of all shapes and sizes of Fords have reported issues with getting Ford and dealers to fix things under warranty.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

Mum has had nil issues with warranty service with her Hyundai and we got it from the auctions and take it to a place we never use for servicing...

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

The warranty/service issue isn't a Falcon thing, owners of all shapes and sizes of Fords have reported issues with getting Ford and dealers to fix things under warranty.

Never had an issue getting stuff fixed on my old xr5t or my new car. That said they have been pretty faultless.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

No actually I don't think they are

I used to manage a small company fleet and due to my preference I ran all fords

(4 office cars, 2 wagons and 6 utes) the fleet was made up of falcon based products and 4 Rangers , and as far as reliability went they couldn't be faulted, HOWEVER the little niggle things especially on the fairmonts and Giha's were painful and it didn't seem to matter which dealer they went to it was the same response of no fault found or they all do that,

it came to a point where I had had enough and we replaced 1 of the utes with a Mazda BT50 and the service was just fantastic, so when the accountant got a new car she wanted a Mazda 6 in place of her Fairmont and again none of the little warranty comebacks for rattels and AC only getting cold or warm on 1 side etc, I stayed true and got a territory but the MD got a statesman and while I was having trouble will stupid annoying problems, the statesman only went back for log book services.

The last ford that company purchased was my territory and I replaced it with a fully loaded Colorado in 2010, I hear you laugh at the idea of a Colorado, but it was faultless for the 12 months I had it for before I changed jobs and to my knowledge it has been up until it got replaced with another one in November by my replacement.

My sister has a now 18month old Territory and its a really nice car, but I can't put myself through the pain of dealing with warranty service on another one.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Never had an issue getting stuff fixed on my old xr5t or my new car. That said they have been pretty faultless.

that could be the pivotal part there

[RG]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

I've had no issues with Skoda, they actually found stuff that I hadn't noticed and fixed it without being asked.


Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk

[superfly]

I've had no issues at all with my Ford dealer on warranty claims. And I didn't buy the car off them.

I did have issues with Subaru and warranty claims.

[XR8AU2121]

Have a 2010 Mazda 6, 50,000km so far from new and it has never required any warranty repair. It came with a 4 year factory warranty which runs out in March next year and I still can't find any thing that requires attention.

Also still have a 2000 TH Magna which was bought as a demo and it to never had a warranty repair. Has 180,000km on it with nothing more than regular services, still drives like new.

[Crazy Dazz]

In my experience (~30 years of new car ownership) it is completely down to the individual dealership, regardless of brand.
I’ve had a new car from dealer X, and had **** service; the old “we couldn’t replicate the fault” (that happens every time) excuse. Taken it to dealer Y for the next service/ issues and received “yes, that’s a known issue and we have the replacement parts to fix it.”
I have also found that is SOME cases dealing with the sales department can be a different experience to the service department. There have been dealers I would never buy a car from, but would go there for service every time.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Welcome to the world of new car warranty. All places are the same.

Not my experience. Some brands are indeed better and of course there is also variance between dealers in the one brand.

Once cars are sold new on the internet and we know that day is coming, the main differentiator for many buyers will be customer experience with warranty and after sales service.

Ford have some work to do.

[turbo4me]

I have had no issues with any warranty claims.

I suppose that's because i have never had to make one.

[Professor Farnsworth]

lol...

[Paull]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

...but I can't put myself through the pain of dealing with warranty service on another one.

Wow!!!!! That so rings true for me too.

[Windsor220]

A lot of people say they dont have issues with other makes is probably because they dont have many warranty issues so have no problem in replacing things when they do go wrong. When it comes to a car for example like the Falcon they will be bleeding money fixing the amount of issues with it so become more strict with the ones they do fix. They cant afford to replace everything on every car they sell. Faults have to reach a certain level before they are deemed replaceable under warranty.

I have worked for about 5 different manufactures over about 15 years and they all deal with warranty the same. Some they fix no worries, some they dont due to not being severe enough and some end up being rejected completely.

Im currently with Mitsubishi and just recently we rejected a warranty claim due to their use of the vehicle and ended up with a disgruntled owner. Holden was the worst where some times the manager would literally stand over the customer and tell them too bad and to get out. Warranty was rejected all the time. I have worked for Ford and still deal with them sometimes now and warranty is no different.

People need to get out of the idea thinking that Ford is the worst manufacturer ever and realise that what they do is quite wide spread. Last time I checked they ranked quite well in a customer service survey. Falcon doesnt sell because it has become an irrelevant car. Not because of warranty.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Yes but just because they act similarly to other manufacturers in their rejection of claims doesn't make it right.

[martyal44]

It was Ford CRC's attitude about a warranty claim 'I modified the car' (by removing a bit of plastic that was already split to get a piece workable again) that made me never wanting to go to that dealer again or buy Ford parts if I could avoid it.
Imagine talking to Ford CRC on your bluetooth-working good-telling the guy that you love your car and it's going well- my G6E- and then he states 'oh by the way you've modified your car according to fine print on page xx', great thanks, and it was the parts guy who was always the most decent to deal with who suggested I call Ford CRC. They let him down big time.
(And this is not a whingefest I'm answering the OP's thread title.)

[Express]

I’ve owned 7 new cars from various manufacturers in the last 5 years and could bore everyone to death by writing pages on the subject of my experiences with warranty claims and customer service. The truth for me is most have been positive.

I feel sorry for those who have bad experiences but the simple fact is some manufactures have a history of trying to avoid claims where possible and when this happens some dealer’s go into bat for their customers and some can’t be bothered. I know it’s won’t make you feel any better but it’s a classic case of ‘the luck of the draw’.

It’s not hard to work out which manufacturers struggle and therefore get caught up in a catch 22 of trying to limit their financial hit and which manufacturers sell on the power of good customer service.

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Last time I checked they ranked quite well in a customer service survey.

I don’t know where you got your info from or did you just plucked something out of thin air?

I’ve done some work over the years as an ambassador for one manufacturer to help with the negative impact of J.D. Power’s surveys and had a little outside insight into Fords approach. And I do mean outside so I'm repeating a second hand comment from an industry source. Sad to say it on a Ford Forum but in recent years Ford couldn’t care less.

Hopefully as Ford implements their global import strategy that will all change.






.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Here are the consequences of poor Ford Warranty Service as well as just poor service in general.

A few years ago wife wanted a newish car. She wanted a Mazda 3, I convinced her that the Focus was similar but was available in a diesel with an 'advanced' 6sp transmission.

I deliberated between the i30 and the Focus. Focus had less warranty but more power, i30 was a more common car but had a smaller engine (but economy figures in par with the Focus) and a low tech box.

Got the Focus. The sales process was disgusting, absolutely abhorrent! I couldn't believe that the treatment I received required a 5 page letter to CRC to explain...

I started a thread here. Some felt sorry for me, some said the behaviour of the dealership was shocking some said... "what did you really expect?"

The dealer handled this issue is such an unprofessional manner. I recall our first meeting with the 'Customer relations' person using words to the effect of "Well, it is obvious that someone is lying, I'm here to work out who?"...

Get real. We just paid cash for a near new Focus and this is how we were treated... If I said that to one of my customers I would deserve every bad review they give me.

After that meeting, I noticed the specific sales person was still working there when I dropped in for a service. I guess, in essence, he did his job, after all, he did get the sale... even though the methods used were deceiving and untruthful. Had I been his boss, I would have sacked him. Having said that, something tells me that the boss was well aware of what had happened.

That's ok. I stuck with it, had the car serviced and 'looked after' by the same dealer and had the usual issues one has every now and again.... With ANY warranty repair I was told it was either 'normal' or 'couldn't be replicated' or 'something we have never heard of before'. In fact, the only way I could get things done was to capture them on camera or video.

Some things were fixed, some I was told 'oh, it has only happened a few times, when it does it again or gets worse come back to us'.. so even with solid proof they questioned the validity of my issues and tried to get out of it.

The car must have been well known in the 'circles' of the dealership. Every time I took the car in for a service I was given below par treatment, made to pay for things I shouldn't have, charged for things that weren't even done and lied to about the products and services I was buying that were very obviously misrepresented.

I didn't bother following it up. I hate winging and like fighting my own battles.

Till they 'serviced' my car the final time. Wasn't done correctly, was over charged and found items on the invoice that weren't replaced. Called Ford again, explained the whole story and said words to the effect that I was totally sick from the last 2 years of this faeces, that the dealer has ruined what was once, I assume a very good car and that the 'total experience' has ruined any respect for the brand. I requested a refund.

They, of course questioned my 'facts'.. and after providing the evidence they requested accepted my version of events and stepped in to help.

The dealer was playing hard ball. Deny, pass the buck and explain that things were 'oversights'. Corporate terminology that doesn't accept responsibility and doesn't equal a 'sorry'.... Requests to see the DP were ignored twice 'I don't know when he's free', 'I can't make a time for you to see him at this point in time'... or words to that effect. Get real.. as if the customer relations officer isn't able to set up that meeting...

Where is this leading to?? Oh, warranty!

After visiting the dealer the last time to fix the previous stuff ups my car was returned to me with an obvious and serious transmission problem... Here we go again.

Call CRC and I was given the line that due to my car was out of warranty I would need to rely on the extended warranty. After all, the ONLY reason I returned to that place was to maintain that warranty.

Called the dealership. Arranged to take it in. The first guy said straight up that there is a problem and that it certainly isn't normal. 'Could be a busted mount, the torque can do it really fast on these cars'... My goodness! They must have forgotten to give him the script!

Got a call mid day. Sorry, we don't know what you are talking about. Normal, normal, normal. We have another Focus that does it, and a Mondeo that also does it. The fact that the problem (a severe and obvious vibration and metallic rattle at shut down) had NEVER happened before was irrelevant.

Explained to the manager that I will not buy the story and that I want it investigated further with my 'extended warranty'. Took the car home, and was promised that he would make some calls.

Waited almost 3 weeks for an answer about extended warranty. Yes, they will pay for the part IF it is a manufacturer fault but I must pay the $660 fee to investigate further. Oh, and I can only claim up to $1000...

Back to CRC we go. With the help of this Forum I was given a few avenues to take that weren't available to me prior. It was getting to the stage where I was seeking legal advice and drafting the ACA letter.

It was agreed that another dealer would look into it. The manager there said straight up that there was a serious internal problem in the transmission and that a few others had been presented with the same issue that was fixed under warranty.

Ford agreed to the repairs, I agreed to pay for the 400km old transmission oil that would set me back around $450. I didn't really care, I was told that the repair bill to Ford was in the tune of $6500.

They did the job, and I was asked to pay for the oil prior to being shown the car. I now know why, it was given to me with the exact same issue as I had when dropping it off. 'It will wear in over time'... (but never did).

In the first week it broke down again - requiring it to be taken off the free way on a tow truck to the nearest dealer. From there it was trucked back to the original place. The part was repaired and off I went.

The next week, it happened again. Left it on the side of the road this time and waited for the dealer mechanic to go out and repair it.

Ford called me to ask how it all went.... told them what happened, the result of the 'repair' they had paid for (if it was even really done??) and the person said she has been advised that the problem I'm talking about is normal and there is nothing left to discuss with this matter.

We hardly drove the car after that... clutch repair = $6.5-7k, whole new transmission?? Hate to know, and apparently only a bunch of specialist technicians in Sydney that could do the repair work.

I was over it. The car was a birthday present for my wife. She hated looking at it, she hated watching me fight battle after battle with Ford and the dealer. She hated the fact that her asking for a new car had somehow helped cause this whole fiasco to happen.

Ford SHOULD have stepped in and been more pro-active. I should have never needed to start several threads here about these issues. If they were smart, they should have used these problems as a learning experience and worked with me to sort it out and ensure it doesn't happen to other people.

From what I understand, they had spent a total of near $10,000 in 'warranty repairs' on my car and they were all sub-standard....

So, this is what has happened.

We sold the Focus and got a new Mirage 1 month ago. This time the wife chose. It was a real nice experience buying from Mitsubishi... and would happily send friends to that particular dealership to also buy. She now knows exactly what a 'powershift' transmission is, knows how much they are to repair and wants nothing to do with the Fiesta, nor any car that contains such expensive and complicated mechanical parts that only are warranted for 3 years.

1 lost sale.

My brother needed a new ute. He saw what happened to me and the time I wasted and bought a Holden last week. Sure, the Ford may be a better car, but he wants the 'whole package' to be good.

2 lost sales.

Next year I will be requiring a mid sized diesel wagon. The first few weeks in the Focus confirmed that the Mondeo with the powershift was what I needed. That soon changed. I will be buying a new i40.

3 lost sales.

My mum wants to replace her faultless Hyundai Santa Fe with something smaller and new. Dad has already circled some replacements from the paper, and when my sister suggested the Kuga I can't say what his response was. In the tirade of swear words I did hear the words Ford, Focus mixed in. His face was very red. He also said that if it didn't have a 5 yr warranty to not bother.

4 lost sales.

Everyone I know at work knows the issues I had. They saw the frustration, the stress, the stupidity of the whole situation. They, like some here doubted that a company could be so blatantly incompetent and inconsiderate towards a customer but the paper trail of emails, and pictures soon cleared any doubt in their mind. They are now seriously questioning why a brand would do this.

Ditto to the above for where my wife works...

?? lost sales?

We 'were' a Ford family.... which is the real sad part.

I don't hate the brand. I hate the way the brand has handled the problems we had. If Ford were to drop the powershift and offer a standard 5yr warranty in its products I would certainly look at buying another one.

While I see threads like this and the countless others popping up all the time I feel less guilty with my decision to spend my money with another brand.

Cheers,

Jason

[DJR-351]

The last time I ever exercised a warranty was 1981. Every vehicle bought since I have taken care of any issues myself, yes it has cost me some money at times, but when weighed against the inconvenience and BS when going back to the dealer I'm way in front....

All dealers (not just Ford) can jam their warranty where the sun don't shine as far as I'm concerned......

[zilo]

When I take the wifes Mercedes 250 wagon in they meet me in the driveway, have the free loan car ready and call me two hours before the car is ready for pickup.

I never fill the fuel tank back up and nobody cares....it also has an eTag

They called me recently about a warranty issue I didn't know we had.

On a small number of cars the fuel injector seals fail.

Too busy I said, so they came to our home in a loan car, and took ours away leaving us with a loan car.

The loan car is the same model as the one we have services/warrantied....not some buzz box with ads all over it.

3 years free servicing INCLUDING oils filters etc.


This is damn hard to beat....

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by Express

I don’t know where you got your info from or did you just plucked something out of thin air?

.

There was a survey posted on this forum maybe 2 years ago? Ford wasn't on top but in a reasonable position. Fairly sure it was Australian because Holden were in it and were ranked lower. Nobody took much notice.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

There was a survey posted on this forum maybe 2 years ago? Ford wasn't on top but in a reasonable position. Fairly sure it was Australian because Holden were in it and were ranked lower. Nobody took much notice.

Fair enough but I’ve had a little involvement and even though J.D. Power survey’s are mainly about customer satisfaction with service and not so much warranty claim disputes the two do tie in. Ford has been suffering in these surveys for some years.

Another point that doesn’t necessarily excuse Ford from treating their customers well is that it’s a company moving forward. The closing of local manufacturing is not a recent thing, its been going on in the background for many, many years.

From a car enthusiast’s point I find the loss of a series of locally produced high powered sedans unforgiveable, from a manufacturing point of view I think it’s a sad day for Australia and from a business point of view, I wholly agree with what they are doing. Import and not local manufacturing is the way to make money, all the imported brands that are competing here are a testimony to that.

Ford have for a long time wanted to kill the local product and not known how to come straight out and say it, so subversion over time has played a part.

I believe when Ford introduces the new line of global cars and they have many good ones, their advertising regime will again flood the media and their customer focus will be renewed. If not, they are wasting their time.



.

[Express]

Originally Posted by zilo

This is damn hard to beat....

I hear what you are saying. I like to drop mine off myself so I can chat with the service and sale staff. It doesn’t hurt to be known and to get a bit of a handle of what’s happening around the place, have a look at the new stock and such.

While I’m there I have breakfast before I pick up the loan car and then I’m on my way.

Later in the day when I return I have lunch on their behalf.

Even though you paid for it through the premium price of the car, I always feel as though I’m wanted.

Still I don’t expect Ford or Holden to offer this level of service (a cup of coffee will suffice) but I do wish to feel as though I’m a valued customer and walk away with a positive feeling.



.

[Franco Cozzo]

I had some issues with getting warranty work done on my Focus at a particular Ford dealership, who I previously bought my Fiesta from new in 2009, and Mum bought a new car from them in 1999.

They changed hands and it all went down hill, one of my mates works there and I hear some interesting stories.

If I do buy another new car it probably wont be through Ford, depends on what it is, when you know something is best in class why wouldn't you buy it?

The only reason I went Ford in the first place was at the time the Fiesta was the best car in its class.

I think its up to management in regards to warranty work, because at Essendon Honda, we were warrantying stuff left right and center without question, even when stuff was out of warranty, meeting the customer "half way" on things.