Arghh!

I have a '97 F-250 with 35,200 miles on it. I did not drive it much this summer, as I use my car more. I bought the vehcile used with 31K miles on it.

Today, I take the care into the Dealer to have work done, warranty work I assume.

Guess what? The vehicle is out of warranty by 1 month. I sort of lost it and said, how would I know that? When I called Ford's Customer Service line earlier in the year, and provided the VIN, they could not even tell me what rear-end I had in the vehicle. They also said they could not tell me when the warranty started. I remember that call, as I stated that "well, I will have to do any warranty work before 36,000 miles (at least) and before the end of the year to play it safe.

I asked the Service folks if they mail out cards or call folks when their warranties are up and how would someone that bought a *used* truck which is still in warranty at the time of purchase know what *date* the warranty is up or even started? I've looked at *all* the paperwork I was given. Nothing mentions a date when the warranty started, much less ended. I have taken my vehicle into that shop 3 times. Noone said anything to me about this.

I said "well I want to speak with the Service Manager and in the meantime, I will call my attorney". Like I said, I was hot.

Geesh, and they wonder why some folks get fed up. If there was something I should have done or sbould now do (besides tip one back), please let me know. I can take the flames - it's been a bad day and a little more misery is not all that bad.

By the way, a call to Ford indicates that I should have been notified of the warranty start date. When I told the Service Manager of this, he did not seem too concerned. He also mentioned of the Cold Start Knock issue that I documented with them and reported on 02/08/99 that there is nothing I can do about that now either, even if I did report a problem before the warranty end date.

Thanks!

 

don't know what to tell you. i bought my truck three months ago and the dealer told me the exact date that the warranty expired.

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'97 f150 rc, flair side,4x4,v6,5 spd, k&n air filter

 

Yeah, I am learning this is really a dealer issue. Now, two Ford folks have told me the dealer should have informed me of the warranty start date.

But you know what? *I* had some responsibility in this as well. I could have asked more and really pushed for an answer. I just got fed up yesterday when the Service Manager told me that parts that they ordered for my truck back in February that were for warranty work and which had not been yet installed would no longer be able to installed on my truck for no cost to me, as I was told "I should have called the dealership to check and see if the parts were in.". I asked if they shoulkd have called me when they were in and he said "Why?".

The same for the cold start knock. Even though it is a job on one of my vists and it states on the service summary I received that the matter is under investigation, the Service Manager states I should have called them to check on the status of the cold start knock and they will not now address.

Bottom line, the Service Manager wants to accept *no* responsibility. I talked with a some friends and they stated that the items that were not corrected but identified while under warranty have to be corrected - period. And the other stuff? I'll take the truck elsewhere and let others do the work, someone who wants to enter into a working relationship on keeping the truck maintained and not someone who is just trying to cover their ***, or worse yet, does not care.

 

call the ford customer center and tell them that under warranty you waited for parts which they never shipped on time and that your dealer is screwing you. If they give you ANY grief, call the dispute resolution board!!! If you make a warranty claim while under warranty and for whatever reason they don't fix it on time, it doesn't matter..as long as you made the claim or notified them of the problem while you were under warranty!

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David
'99 F150 XLT SC, STYLESIDE
3.73, 4X4 ORP 5.4L, AUTO,
139wb, Medium Red Tor.,
Rhino, K&N, BugGuard,
RainGuards, Superchip, Soft Tonneau
f150online sticker!!! GET ONE NOW!

 

Hi,

Thanks for the info.

Do you have a number or contact for the Dispute Resolution Board?

I will call Ford and see if they can provide.

Thanks!

 

I called Ford and there is Dispute Settlement Board for NY York State. The only similar process would be arbitration.

But I am hopeful we can get this resolved. I did talk with this Ford person and he did state that as long as I had the Service Invoice which showed that I had reported the Cold Start Knock and that an investigation was underway (which it does) that the dealer is out of bounds when they claim that item cannot be fixed under warranty.

So, perhaps this will get resolved...