I've been a LOYAL Ford customer for the past 12-15 years. I currently have a 1998 x-cab F-150 4x4, 2002 Super Crew F-150 4x4 and a 1998 Expedition 4x4. Before these vehicles I had a Ford Windstar and a Ford Ranger 4x4. Yes, I have a thing for 4x4's. I'm going to post a letter I'm sending to the West Coast Ford Rep regarding my 1998 F-150. Please read the letter and let me know if you agree with me. The fact is I've been screwed by Wynn's extended warranty. Word of advice.... if you own a Wynn's warranty... BEWARE!!! I purchased a 84 month 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. They will look for loop holes so they don't have to pay your claims. If you have a tool box or advertizement on your vehicle, they will catagorize it as a commercial vehicle and cancel your policy. Not only will they not pay the $3800.00 repair bill, they cancelled the remaining 2 years 24000 miles on my warranty. Make sure you remove any decals or tool boxes from you vehicle before taking it in for any warranty work. Here is the letter... Oh, this issue was given to this Ford rep and they declined to help because I have 76000 miles on the truck. This is a letter in responce to their decision. Please let me know if you think I'm right?

Dear Jon Doe:
I wanted to introduce myself. I’m a LOYAL Ford customer. You probably are aware of my issue. I took my 1998 F-150 into Future Ford. I took it in to have the driver’s side power window motor replaced. I received a call from my advisor stating there was a sign of a head leak. At this point he called Wynn’s and they asked the heads be removed for examination. They would not send an inspector until the engine was torn down. Wynn’s came out and took photos. According to Luis, my Future Ford advisor, the claim was pretty much authorized. He seems to think once the repair hit a certain dollar amount they took a closer look. It appears they found a loop hole. Even thought the vehicle is not a business or commercial vehicle, they categorized it as commercial because I had an advertisement on one of the doors. They stated it wouldn’t matter if the vehicle sat in my driveway all year long… the fact the decal was on the truck made if a commercial vehicle. I fought tooth and nail, but the policy is cancelled. I looked into legal advise, but was advised the small print in the contract allowed Wynn’s the cancel my policy. I looked into a refund and it appears I will get about $150.00 back. This is the prorated amount. We all understand I was done wrong by Wynn’s, but there is nothing else I can do with them. I was completely disappointed when I heard from Tom at Future Ford. I understand there are 76000 miles on the vehicle, but me being a LOYAL Ford customer should count for something. You look into the books of Ford and you’ll see we’ve owned nothing buy Fords for the past 10 plus years. I just bought a vehicle that is replacing the current 1998 F-150 in question. I did buy the Extended Service Agreement through Future Ford. The agreement number is WTWA101700. I understand 76000 miles is out of your range, but that does not mean there isn’t someone else that can authorize some help. Please explain why Ford will spend millions for a 30 second Super Bowl commercial, but won’t spent $1000.00-$2000.00 on a LOYAL customer. That is wrong in itself. I have chosen to be a Ford guy and now I’m getting a slap in the face from Ford. I cannot tell you how many people I’ve bragged to about my Ford’s. I take allot of flack for being a Ford guy, but I’ve always spoken highly about Ford. Is Ford spending $2000.00 on this going to break the bank? Is $2000.00 worth keeping me as a continued LOYAL Ford customer? This is pennies for Ford. I understand there are rules and guidelines, but this issue needs to be taken up the chain of command. Another reason Ford should step up is the electrolysis on the head. I have records to show I’ve done all the maintenance. I’ve gotten expert opinions and as deep as these pits were, it was probably defective from the factory. The Future Ford mechanic has NEVER seen anything like this. Why wouldn’t Ford want to keep me as a customer? My wife and I have credit ratings of 770 or higher. We only buy Fords, but if Ford is unwilling to help, I will say I will NOT buy another Ford. Once again, it’s the principal. The amount I’m asking for is pennies and I think Ford should step up and help out a LOYAL Ford customer. If you look outside my house right now, you’ll see a 1998 F-150, 2002 F-150 and an Expedition. That in it's self should be enough. You could ask anyone who knows me, is Rich a Ford guy and every last one of them would say yes. I’m sure you have the ability to get this authorized. Please don’t let a simple miles issue spoil our long lasting relationship. I would like a call from you regarding this issue. Tom would not give me your number and that is no problem. I’m sure between the owner of Future Ford and the CEO of Ford; they can step up and keep us as a Ford customer. Once again, Id like to see a fraction of the loyalty I’ve shown Ford over the past 15 plus years. I’m sure you understand my frustrations. PLEASE HELP!!!!
Sincerely,
Rich

 

Nicely done and i wish you luck.

 

o.k. lets work this through.

Personally I do not think you will get anywhere with this letter. I hope that you have not sent it yet. Instead pay your lawyer to write it on his letter head. It will prolly cost you 50 bucks.

We all know and advise everyone on this board to never ever buy an extended warranty from an aftermarket provider. Also just about all wartranties in the world are null and void if the vehicle/lawnmower/blender/tv/etc... is used in anyway commercially. It doesn't matter how it is used.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Ford. There is nothing they can do for you this is solely between you and your warranty company. So making statements like I will never buy a Ford again will be heard on deaf ears.

Put yourself in Fords shoes, you chose an outside warranty vendor not their warranty, and they -Ford- have done everything they are supposed to do. Again so no more broad statements of I will never buy a Ford again. It makes you sound unintelligent.

Now, can Ford push a little on your warranty company? Yes. can they threaten to no longer sell that warranty provinders product? Yes. So instead of pleading/whinning about Ford paying a few thousand dollars for poor little you have your letter written to help your case against the warranty company not Ford.

We all know Ford-and any other big company-will not pay for your repair. But they will help you kick your warranty companies a$$ if they think that they wronged you in anyway, one of their-Fords- loyal customers!!

I wish you the best of luck!

 

Have you had any other warranty claims with Wynns? If you did they they created the precident of honoring the claim. If they did not ask for all the $$ back as they would not have payed any claim because of the sticker. As stated by hcmq Ford is free of any responsibility what so ever. Asking them for help will yield better results. Who sold you the warranty? The dealer? Whom ever did, get them involved.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

Thanks, but I dissagree with a couple of the opinions. First one- Put yourself in Fords shoes, you chose an outside warranty vendor not their warranty, and they -Ford- have done everything they are supposed to do. Again so no more broad statements of I will never buy a Ford again. It makes you sound unintelligent. I can tell I won't buy another Ford if they don't step up. I could care less if there was 200,000 miles and I had 10 other warranties. The fact is I've purchased nothing but Fords. It's obvious the Wynn's warranty company screwed me and if Ford was loyal in the slightest, they'd step up and at least pay for the $1300.00 head. 2nd one- As stated by hcmq Ford is free of any responsibility what so ever. I don't believe this is true. The head was pitted almost a 1/8". They say electrolisis. The 20 mechanic (at Ford) stated he had never seen anything like this) I have all maintenance records showing the antifreeze was changed and properly maintained. They day antifreeze caused the electrolisis.. well the last I checked, it's reccomended to run antifreeze in your vehicle. There is a very good possibility that the head was defective from day one. The Wynn's warranty is the largest aftermarket warranty company available. If you go to your local parts store and see Wynn's fluids and parts... same company. The warranty was purchased through my credit union and yes I did try and get them involved. I Northern Ca rep tried to get the ruling reversed, but they would not due to the sticker. Once again... this is not Ford's responsibility, BUT due to the situation I'm in, they should step up and at least buy the head. This is pennies for Ford. I'm walking advertisement for Ford, if they don't think a $1,300.00 investment is worth keeping that, then they can get other customers. And by the way, the Ford dealership service manager thinks Ford should step up. They helped by lowering the hourly rate by around $20.00 per hour. As far as a lawyer... to me that would look threatening. I'm not threatening to take action on anyone. I've explained my situation and they can either step up or I'll step out. I'm a grown man with excellent credit. If I decide to never buy another Ford, that does not make me sound unintelligent. It's not a threat, it's a promise that will cost Ford in the long run. They might not miss my buying directly, but I do own a small business and I'm in contact with customers daily. Thanks again for your comments. I'd like to hear more. And yes, the letter was sent.

 

In all honesty, that is the most ridiculous letter I have ever read. I admire you for taking the time and effort to write it and attempt to get someone within the Ford organization to help you out, but I couldn't disagree more with what you are doing.

Yes, you are a loyal Ford customer just like millions of other people in the world. But the problem that you're addressing here isn't a Ford concern. It's a concern with the aftermarket warranty company and the independent dealership that sold it to you, not corporate Ford. In essence you're demanding that Ford shell out a couple thousand dollars to fix your truck because you failed to read the fine print of your warranty agreement. Doesn't that seems a little wrong to you?

"Hey, I screwed up. Now you pay for it or I'm never buying one of your vehicles again!"

I might be able to see the guys at the dealership giving you a break on the cost of the parts to repair your truck, and maybe even some labor costs, but I wouldn't expect Ford as a company to do much of anything for you. If they repaired your vehicle for free just because you are a "LOYAL" customer they would have to start repairing everyone's vehicles for free now wouldn't they? I would like to get free repairs on my truck for as long as I own it, but I don't foresee that happening.

 

Electrolysis is a very common accourance in modern engines and has nothing to do with how well you maintained your coolant. Something else is causing it and 9 times out of 10 it is something the owner of the vehicle has done to the vehicle to cause it. Like an aftermarket stereo or alarm system that was improperly grounded. The mechanic who told you about it is not up on modern engine issues.

I understand your frustration and I understand that you want Ford to pay your bill. Switching to another brand won't help nor will the other brand help you in the same situation.

Your issue is clearly with Wynns and not Ford and I also believe that the Ford dealership you are working with has gone far above the call of duty by lowering their prices for you.

What I meant about you putting your self in Fords shoes is that you are a small business owner and should understand how these things work. You have to look at this on the scale that Ford has to deal with things like this.

And I must still disagree with you. Your request for money from Ford in your letter sounds whiny and unintelligent. Instead you should have been asking Ford for help in getting this matter resolved and then they possibly would have offered to help pay some of the cost.

 

There's a lot of pressure on the buyer when they are in the closing room buying their vehicle to get stuck with all the add -on stuff. There's no way you can read thru all the fine print at that moment.

IMO extended warranties are crap and not worth the paper they are written on. Save your money to apply it to any future repairs is what I'd do.

 

I don't understand exactly what I did, but once in the Financing room, they (Ford Credit) offered to lower my payments by $25 per month, and told me it would include the security system (Which I really did not want) and to extend the warranty 2 more years bumper to bumper.

I looked over my financing paperwork last night, and I am clueless, as to what actually happend with that deal still.


Anybody have enlightenment?

 

So what you are saying is that you let a salesperson pressure you into signing something before you read it, then go back and complain that you didn't take the time to make sure of what you were getting into?

I don't even know what to say.

People need to start taking more personal accountability for things in their lives instead of just whining about bad decisions they made and expecting someone else to fix them.

 

In my case, yeah sort of. The pay-off does not seem to have went up. The payment went down $25 per month, the finance guy hit me with "Ford Credit is worried about two things, theft, and mechanical, so they offer this deal, including 2 more years Bumper to Bumper from Ford, and the security system"


I looked over the paperwork last night and I just don't get it at all. I even read the paper I signed accepting the deal. I am not complaining about it though. Just a little confused. It did not help that it was Valentines Day, they took my truck I drove there in, and I had a 6pm Dinner Reservation at a swanky place to eat. They got me out of there at 5:55pm, good thing the new F-150's are pretty fast!!!! lol I made the reservation by the way, by the hair of my chinny chin chin....

 

Richgonfishin,

While I sympathize with you, I don't think Ford is the bad guy here. If you had the Ford ESP warranty, then maybe so, but it is an aftermarket warranty, and they are the ones who screwed you, not Ford.

Just because you are a loyal customer and Ford can afford to fix your truck doesn't mean they should bite the bullet for you. I'm sure they have millions of LOYAL customers who were screwed by an aftermarket warranty company. Should they bite the bullet for all of them? I don't think so.

Good Luck

 

I don't know why people get so rude on this site. It's a situation I'm in and I was asking for opinions, NOT RUDENESS!! Basically I posted this for two reasons. One, I wanted to warn people about Wynn's after market warranties. Just because I vehicle has a decal on it doesn't make it a commercial or business vehicle. The fine print says NOTHING about having a decal on the vehicle. This is my personal vehicle and me advertizing a business while driving it on my own time should make it a business vehicle. The second reason is IN MY OPINION Ford should step up and help. Are the legally obligated? NO, but it's the priciple of the matter. And I am taking responcibility for my actions. I know I will be forking out some cash for NOT reading the FINE print, but there is NO reason why Ford can't step up and pay for the head. Again, it's the pricipal of the matter. In good faith if Ford cared to keep me as a customer, they would step up and help. Hcmq- I have to say your one of those guys who insist on being RUDE instead of giving some useful information. The FORD Mechanic who has been building engines for the LAST 20 plus years stated he had never seen this before and ANTIFREEZE is the biggest cause of electrolisis. Get you facts straight before making yourself look unintelligent. I guess you know more than the guy working on these vehicles 6 days a week. Oh, he probably only works on the older vehicles and not the more modern ones. Give me a break and get a life. Is Ford legally liable? NO!!! I know that, but they (in my opinion) should step up and show some loyality. How much has Ford made off me and the people I've reccomended Ford vehicles to? Probably hundreds of thousands. Some of you seem to be missing my point. There seems to be NO loyality from the big guy. I can tell you as a small business owner, if I had one of MY LOYAL customers screwed over by whoever... I'd step up and try and make it right. So what if I spent a few hundred of my own money.... it will pay for it's self in the long run. This is a small world and what goes around comes around. I just wish everyone in this world was as perfect as hcmq. What a joke that guy is!!! Who know's the letter will probably get me no where, but at least I giving it a shot. Got to go..... lots of fine print to read. For you that haven't been RUDE, I'll post the outcome. Thank you for reading.

 

hey rich,

im not on here to bash anyone, and i do think its wrong for you guys to give a d*ckhead opinion. give a clean and clear opinion...example... i think your wrong blah blah.....good luck.

now that said.

i dont know if ford is gonna hook you up. i really hope they do. **** on wynn and make sure everyone sees you do it!

But i think if Ford met you half way on $$ or something,(that they sort of have) then you shouldnt be too hard. Promising not to buy another ford is pretty hard, considering they have no responsiblity here. if the ceo knew you, like you know your customers, then you probably would be good to go, but like most of the time....your SOL

but once again, i hope you succeed, and i wanna know if it works out, or if you try a different approach. GOOD LUCK

SEMPER FI

 

quagmeyer, thank you for your post. The funny thing is I shook the hand of the owner of the dealership after buying my THIRD vehicle from them. He's an older gentleman and is kind of out of this mix (retired so of speak), but he happen to be there the day I purchased my latest vehicle. I was introduced as a great loyal customer who had purchased several vehicles from their dealership. It was kind of an honor. Yes, the dealership is doing allot to help me out. The service manager is also the one who suggested I write a letter to the Ford Rep. He just so happens to agree that Ford purchasing the head is a SMALL amount to pay to keep me as a loyal customer. They discounted the labor, but don't have much room to work on the parts prices. Right now I owe $2989.00. The original bill was around $3500.00 ( I think? ) The cost of the head is $950.00 and that is what I'm asking Ford to help out with. I'm not asking for any of the labor or the power window motor that actually brought me to the service department to begin with. I'm sure the head doesn't cost Ford $950.00. Even of they were to sell it to me at cost would help. I think some people thing I'm asking for freebies. I'm not, I'm asking for some LOYALITY. As far as the letter goes... I asked my wife to proof read it and she wants to make a few changes. Maybe I'll take some of your opinions and put them into the new letter. I still think it can't hurt. And as far as not buying another Ford, if Ford isn't at least willing to listen or do something about the issue, I really don't think I'll spend another penny of my hard earned money on a Ford. It's time the BIG DOG stood up and helped out who has made them what there are today!! Thanks again.....