As I said on the phone, patience - with polite persistence. This isn't going to happen overnight.

 

Any updates on this?

 

Also interested - any updates?

 

Probly got resolved with the condition of no further comment on this site.

 

Hey guys, I am so sorry for the LONG absence from the site here.

I have been very busy battling ford, no this is not resolved.

Here is the full story:



My Story:

For those of you that do not know, I am a school teacher and have grown up a Ford 'kid'. In the 11 years since I started driving I have owned 7 Ford vehicles with no thought of ever purchasing anything else, until now that is.

In February of this year (2015) I purchased a 2014 leftover from a dealership near where I grew up, in Mesquite, Tx. The truck as with all of my previous vehicles was a step up from the last. It is a 2014 F-150 XLT; the truck has a 5.0L V8 and is four wheel drive. It is by all accounts in theory a very nice truck. I purchased the truck at night, and one lesson that I have learned is that when you are dealing with an unethical company, this is a terrible plan. The night time hue hid the true issues with the truck, and these would not be discovered until the next day after I had driven it home.

I phone the dealership the next day and informed them I had found a series of scratches around the truck as well as some other minor issues. They were quick to set up an appointment to take it back.

It took three trips to the dealership to get these initial issues resolved, the last trip resulted in the body shop repainting the back half of the drivers side of the bed. At this point we are several weeks into this process.

This is an email I sent to the dealership on March 20th, over a month after I bought the truck. At this point the truck had been in their possession for 3 out of the approximate four weeks of ownership:

BEGIN QUOTE

Good morning sir,

I am contacting you all this morning once again as an upset customer, it appears that this is becoming more of a habit than not at this establishment. I think that over the past month I have exhibited a fair amount of patience with your dealership throughout the many transactions that I have had. I know I do not need to remind either of you about how poor my experience was with the finance department when I purchased my truck, or of course about the melt down that happened when attempting to purchase my fiance's vehicle.

I dropped my vehicle off Wednesday evening with David in service shortly before six p.m., David told me to rush over to enterprise before they closed and that he would call me first thing in the morning with information that we needed to go over on my truck. That call never came; it was 5:45 yesterday evening when David finally called me. He told me that two of the minor issues were resolved, and that the third was going to require the entire drivers side of the bed to be repainted. He went on to say that the reason for his call was to inform me that I needed to drive my loaner vehicle up to the dealership at 7:00am the next morning so that I could drop it off, pick up my truck, only to drop my truck back off at 7:00am Monday morning so that I could get a rental car again, so that the body shop could start working on my truck Monday and hopefully be done by Thursday or Friday.

Are you all confused yet? I have no idea if any of this is standard practice at your dealership, but one thing I can definitively say especially after having done business down the road as well is that this is not customer centered.

I feel that as a customer that just spent thousands of dollars at your establishment, I should at least be entitled to be treated with my convenience in mind. I have given up on being treated with any sort of dignity or respect (aside from the two of you whose treatment has been nothing short of stellar). I informed David that I would not be in today to return the vehicle as I live 40 minutes away and I work from 7am to 6pm most days as a teacher, and that without the courtesy of at least giving me 24 hours notice there is no way I could accomadate the dealerships needs which seem to out way my own.

At this point I would just like to very clearly state what my expectation is as a very frustrated customer.

I would like the issues I brought the truck in for, for a third time, completely resolved before I pick it up. I have no interest in seeing, driving, or talking about coming to get the vehicle until everything is completely resolved, regardless of what the service department wants.

I would also like to add that since David has not called me to actually talk to me about the status of my vehicle, just to inform me that I need to take one back, that I did not have a chance to ask them to please check the headlights as the flicker when you go over bumps in the truck. Please add that to the list.

The last time I dropped my truck off with you all the interior was dirtier than when I dropped it off, Lance in the service dept was witness to this. The drivers seat was covered in grease dust and the center console was covered in dirt. Needless to say I would like the truck to be cleaned.


If you feel that any of this in beyond the scope of reasonableness, I would be more than happy to further review my experiences with you all.

Again, I apologize that this is coming over so crass to the only two people that seem to actually care about what goes on, the reality though is that I am discovering is that you two gentleman are alone in this one.

I look forward to hearing your responce.

Respectfully,

-Dennis

END QUOTE

One week later I came back to the dealership on a friday afternoon to pick my truck up again. This time I had to burn a half day at work to get there before they closed. When I arrived at the dealership I found that the region of the bed that they had supposedly repainted was over buffed and the entire wheel well had a scrape through all the layers of paint and down to the metal. I went to alert the dealership staff, and as they scrambled around to figure out what to do I began to further inspect the truck. What I found was shocking, it was one of those moments that you knew you have not only made a grave mistake, but that there was going to be a long road ahead of you. I found that the entire truck, literally every panel, was covered in a series of odd scratches. It looked as if the truck had been buffed with a bag if rocks, then sanded with abrasive paper. I have attached a photo here on this page of an area on the truck.

The dealership did not know what to do, and this began my battle with the Ford Motor Company.

The following Monday, March 30th, I received a phone call from the body shop stating that the defect was present on every panel of the truck, and that the only way to fix it was a total repaint. I held my tongue at this point; three days later I received the follow up call stating that the Ford Motor Co had acknowledged the truck was factory defective and they were willing to repaint. My response was that I did not buy a used truck and that I was not okay with a repaint.

Over the next weeks I had multiple conversations with members of the regional ford customer service team. The last conversation of the week was with Tommy White, the customer service manager of the region. His phone number for his office is a Florida number so I don't quite understand where the region is as I live in Dallas, Tx. I told Tommy that if he could guarantee in writing, that a dealer repaint would meet and match all factory standards for thickness, hardness, gloss, corrosion resistance, and road abrasion then I would sign off immediately on the work. He responded by saying of course I can't put that in writing. I asked him why and this led us to agreeing that the truck needed to be replaced.

Over the next two weeks I heard nothing from Ford. This leads us to mid April. I finally was told that I needed to bring my truck back to the dealership (again) so that it could be dropped off for a company inspection that would begin the buy back process. I again had to take a half day off of work to make it there on time. The vehicle I was then given was a dealership loaner. I drove this truck until May the 28th. During this time I had many, many many conversations with Mr. Tommy White, as well as members of the Ford Required Vehicle Division. The issue was that they could apparently not find an identical replacement truck. They offered me several trucks, but they were all lesser trucks than what I bought. I finally sent this email:

BEGIN QUOTE

Good afternoon sir,

I hate to be blunt but I can see that this is once again turning into a hassle for me. I understand that you all are in a position that you did not want to be in, and I do apologize for that. Nevertheless, the truck did come from you all's lot.

At this point I am going to say this as easily as I know how, and I sincerely hope that you do not take my frustration as being aimed towards you John and Mark. My anger is aimed at Ford as a whole, for the amount of time, energy, money, and emotional distress that this issue has caused me.

I do not recall the exact sticker number on my truck, but I believe it was close to $48,000, I will find out later tonight when I get home and look at the window sticker from my original truck. Whatever the number, that is what I expect to use for the so called replacement vehicle. The truck had less than 1300 miles on it, and over half of those were acquired driving back and forth from your dealership thanks to the multitude of issues I experienced with that vehicle. I sincerely hope Ford did not use such poor judgment as to penalize me for those low miles, as that would give me no choice but to take legal action against the company.

The truck that I purchased was purchased for a reason, the options it had were what I wanted, and I do not feel as a customer and the person paying for it that I should have to settle for anything less that what I originally purchased.

In regards to my conversation with Mark regarding what I am willing to flex on, I clearly stated that I would accept 4 different colors, and the choice of two different motors. Nothing else was discussed, I apologize if there was some confusion here.

The colors I am willing to accept are silver, dark silver, white, and ruby red. I have to have a center console and will not move on this. I have to have a 3:55 rear end and 4wd and will not move on these items. In addition to those, the chrome package, leather seats, back up camera, spray in liner, tow package, gray interior, and all of the other items that i originally paid for. I dont consider this a negotiation as I have already paid for these items on that vehicle, and furthermore, if Ford as a company is trying to scam me out of these items than that is simple theft and I will have no choice but to get both my attorney and law enforcement involved. I sincerely hope that it does not come to that, and that the company can use better judgment in dealing with my case than it has up to this point.

I am sincerely exhausted with this issue and I hope that we can resolve this soon. The amount of strain that Ford Motor Company has put on me over the last months is excruciating.

Mr. Robatham, please understand that if Ford continues to try and get me to settle, I will take this case public in several ways, feel free to pass that to your superiors. I have no patience left for this situation.

As luck would have it, as I am typing this email one of your wonderful sales staff called me yet again to try and get me to buy another truck from you all!!!! Can you believe that! After everything that I have been through with you all, the terrible service, demeaning conversations with your finance staff, the nightmare of this vehicle, and you all still have the lack of moral behavior to call me and ask for more money. The mans name was Dwayne. I hope you can feel how enraged I am because gentlemen I assure you that was what I needed to be pushed over the edge. The behavior exhibited from your establishment is beyond insulting, I am beyond frustrated. My next phone call is to my attorney as I have CC'd him on this email as well. I hope you all can take this time and come up with a real offer of a solution for me.

Dennis Ingram

END QUOTE

This email stirred up a wonderful amount of trouble. I was asked to bring the loaner truck back and pick up my original truck. Once again I had to take a half day off of work to make it there on time. I was then told by dealership personnel that they were no longer allowed to communicate with me. That email was sent on May the 28th. For the next several weeks I was given an email that was supposedly a direct FORD email and I was instructed to use it only.

Here are those emails:

BEGIN QUOTE

email number 1:
Good afternoon,

I was given this address by Mark, an amazing manager at Ford in Mesquite, Tx where I bought my 2014 F150 from.

The last email that I sent to the gentlemen at the dealership consisted of me saying that I was carbon copying my attorney on the email. This was true, as I did do that. However, I am not looking for any more of a fight with this than I already have. I cc'd my attorney because at this point I have lost 3.5 full days of work dealing with this issue, and countless dollars and hours of my time, not to mention the ongoing frustration of not have a vehicle that I am going to keep. The reason that I sent that email is because I received an email from John stating that FORD was only allotting $44,545 MSRP for the replacement of my brand new truck, which is four thousand dollars less than the MSRP on the truck, I know this as I kept the original window sticker.

Email Number 2-6:

Good afternoon,

This is now my 6th email with still no response. I can only assume at this point that the Ford Motor Corporation is intentionally ignoring me. This again is very disheartening as I have done nothing short of purchase a very expensive vehicle that I had hoped would be a solid vehicle for me to make a living in. This vehicle has turned out to not be free of defects and even though the Ford Motor Corporation has promised to replace said vehicle, they are once again lying to me.

I would hope that there is still an ounce of dignity and ethics left somewhere in this company so that we can resolve this case.

-Dennis Ingram


Good afternoon,

This is my 5th email and still to no avail.The Ford motor cooperation seems to be doing a wonderful job of ignoring me. I have spoken to no one in the last 24 hours. I will be calling the Ford customer service line today to get another case going, only to have Tommy White close it I am sure.

-Dennis Ingram

Yesterday I spoke with Reginald from the replacement department who was shocked to hear that I had been labeled as non-cooperative. It is extremely obvious at this point that someone is relaying false information to the Ford Motor Company regarding my case. That person may or may no be Tommy White. The level of corruption that is taking place within this company is shocking and quite concerning. I never imagined it would be so hard for an American company to make good on delivery is product FREE OF DEFECT, and such an expensive product at that.

-Dennis Ingram

Good Afternoon,

To my understanding this is the Ford email that I am supposed to direct my vehicle replacement concerns towards. This is the fourth email I have sent to this address and thus far have had no responses.

To restate my position, I have not retained an attorney and have no intention at this time of filing a case against Ford. I chose to CC an attorney on an email so that I would have a third party witness to the ridiculous amount of frustrations that are taking place trying to get this vehicle replaced. At this point I have had to use multiple personal days driving my vehicle to the dealership over the five month nightmare that this has been, I have spent hundreds of dollars in gas just getting the vehicle to and from the dealership, and am experiencing a level of frustration and emotional strain that is causing negative effects in my life that I cannot begin to explain. In addition to my full time job I operate a self employed business on the side that requires the use of a truck. I have turned multiple jobs down and am continuing to do so because I cannot put miles on this vehicle without being punished through the by back process. At this point I simply want this nightmare to end.

I spoke with Tommy from ford corp this morning (or rather he returned my call and left a message) and he informed me that reginald who has been cc'd on this email informed him that I was refusing to cooperate with him. This was difficult for me to swallow and it is simply a lie. I have sent him multiple emails with the information he requested, and sent him all of the paperwork he asked for through CERTIFIED mail, so I know it was received. I told Tommy in a voicemail that sometimes you just get an employee that drops the ball and looks for the easiest target to place blame…once again that target is me, the customer. I have had multiple conversations with dealership gentlemen stating that they had not heard anything from Reginald and that he was not returning emails and calls. It would seem that it is he who is not cooperating.

I will send two emails a day to this address until I receive a response. Thank you.

Regards,

-Dennis Ingram

END QUOTE

During the exchange of emails, or rather the one sided sending of emails from me to FORD, I was also contacting Tommy White on his office number at:321-435-1263. Tommy finally left a voicemail on my phone one morning which I still have saved telling me that he had been told I was refusing to cooperate with the division in charge of exchanging my vehicle. I then began emailing everyone I had an address for making them aware that Tommy was throwing everyone under the bus and that obviously someone was lying. I received a phone call on Friday, June 19th from the replacement division claiming that not only was Tommy falsely accusing them of claiming I was being uncooperative, but that they had never directly spoken to him at all!! At this point I knew I was being railroaded, and that this man, for one reason or another had no interest in solving this case. I began emailing everyone multiple times daily until I received a phone call from Kim Mency on June the 25th at 10:56am. Kim is a manager in the RAV department and wanted to discuss my case. I quickly called her back and we discussed the possibility of getting into a slightly upgraded truck at FORDs cost since they could not find an exact match due to the length of time they had drug their feet. Kim stated that she would seek approval for this.

On Wednesday July 1st at 12:43pm I received an email from the RAV dept stating that a replacement vehicle had been found and that the paperwork had been started. I began reading through the paperwork and discovered that once again, Ford was lying to me. They were trying to charge me the difference on the truck, contrary to what Kim stated when we spoke on the 25th.

This is the email interaction that followed:

BEGIN QUOTE:

Good afternoon Reggie,

From reading that statement it looks like I am going to be charged more money for this truck. Is that correct? What I asked for was to have the price of the truck equalized since a vehicle could not be found.

Regards,

Dennis

_________
The vehicle selected is indeed more expensive than the one you have.

________

Please remind your supervisors that this has been an ordeal going on six months that is not the fault of the customer. There is no question as to what is the right thing to do here, it is just a matter of whether or not ford wishes to keep a long time customer and family of customers. My entire family some of which are large fleet customers have always been loyal to the brand, however, this is causing is all to rethink our loyalties.

Regards,

Dennis
_______
I have forwarded the emails you have sent to Kim. She is currently out of the office but she will read them, as soon as I hear something back I will contact you.

END QUOTE

On July 2nd I received a follow up email stating that the upgrade fee/price was being waved, however, I was still being charged a 470 dollar usage fee!!!

I called Kim and begged for an explanation, she informed that this was a calculated usage fee based on mileage. I asked to speak to someone higher in the company and she told me that there was no one higher in the company that I could speak with.

This leads us to now.

Ford seems to be very fond of formulas so here is one for them. I have taken 8 half days off of work to bring my truck back and forth to the dealership. If you calculate the average pay of a teacher in this area to be $288.00 per day before tax, that equation becomes $288.00/2 for the sum of the half day, multiplied by 8 for the total. That gives us a total pre tax loss of full time employment of $1152.00.

Now, if you calculate that I live 51 miles from said dealership, you can multiply 51 by 8 for the total corresponding miles driven:

408

If you figure that on average this truck gets 15.5 mpg, then the fuel consumption is 26 gallons, at approximately $3.00 per gallon, the total expenditure in fuel is $78.00.

Now, this only accounts for the trips to the dealership that occurred during M-F business hours. It does not even come close to factoring the consecutive weekend trips that took place to try and further this ordeal along.

One can reasonable conclude that over a period of 6 months which this has taken, I have driven no less than 1200-1500 miles just in getting to and from the dealership to solve this ordeal.

So, just so I am understanding Fords Position, I have owned a vehicle for around 6 months, it has spent half or more of its life with me at the dealership, of the 3400 miles currently on the truck, half were put on exclusively getting it to and from the dealership. I am out over $1100.00 just from my full time job, not to mention all of the part time work I have lost because I was told by Ford I cannot put miles on this truck. I have easily lost several hundred dollars in fuel expenses; I have spent hundreds of hours of my time trying to get your company to do the right thing, and after all of that… YOU WANT ME TO PAY YOU $470.00 TO GIVE ME A TRUCK THAT IS NOT DEFECTIVE FROM THE FACTORY!

I just wanted to make sure I am understanding that.


Here is a link to my Facebook page that I have started to help get attention for the corruption inside this company.

www.facebook.com/fordcorruption

 

Holy.That is awful man. At this point, it's looks to be your only option, legal action of course in order to get the ball rolling for you. You've been way beyond too patient with them, and fair with them. They've taken that and abused it, of course and made you suffer and pay for it. I would go after them and squeeze every last dime you could from them. At the very least you have earned that. Please keep us posted on incoming updates!

 

When we first talked, I told you this wasn't going to be easy. I never expected it to get this bad though. I truly feel for you and what you've been through. Persistence is all you have left - other than your lawyer of course. Hope it eventually works out.

Tom

 

I can sympathize with all of the grief but you must love pain. In Texas, your truck does NOT qualify under the lemon law and under the Texas Lemon Law, you will pay for every mile on the odometer and at the beginning of the year that was 58 cents a mile. Looking at it from Fords side, they are giving you a far better deal then you'd get if you hired an attorney. I can assure you, an attorney will cost you as the truck does not qualify in Texas. Yeah, Texas Lemon Law sucks. But you're beating yourself up for $470.00! You must love pain cause I'd slap them upside the head with it and go home with a new truck. I really hope all of this works out for you but I see it as yer looking a gift horse in the mouth and complaining. Best of luck, really.

 

Well said Labnerd.

 

It may have a bad taste but I'd pony up the 470 and have this chapter over, done with and a good ways towards forgotten

 

Agreed. Do it before they change their minds.

 

Again, this is not about 470 dollars. This is about the fact that I have already lost far more than that in days taken from work and fuel expenses plus my time.

After all of that, to slap me with a useage fee is like twisting the dagger. I understand the lemon laws of the state, however I also understand that if the company remotely cares about its customers it would eat the 470 dollars.

To them that is less than dust in their pockets, to me it is a whole lot more.

I have been bullied to the point of criminal actions by this company and I would urge you to consider what you might do had you been fighting for 6 months. I can assure you I have much more fight left in me.

 

I'd pony up the 470 bucks, grab your new truck, and never go back to that dealer. If there's anything wrong with the new one, go trade it in on a (fill in the brand here). You are just not in a good bargaining position and I highly doubt that you will be able to get anything else out of Ford without wasting even more time and money. All you are doing now is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

I respectfully disagree. Had they offered to split the usage fee that might be one thing. But the fact is this truck has the limited miles on it that it has because of the many trips to the dealer. I should not be held responsible for something ford told me to do.
Why is it okay for them to take advantage of me? I have been fighting this from day 2 of ownership. This is not a dealer issue, this is a ford issue.

 

The only way you could possibly do any better is take them to court, and it'll be another 2 years before you get satisfaction - if you even do get satisfaction. Disagree all you want, but you are now just being stubborn. Seriously, cut your losses and settle. A new truck plus a very nominal charge for usage is more than fair, an attorney will tell you the same thing. Just get the new truck and get yourself back in business.