Cracking paint? Here's some advice
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09-26-2001, 10:49 PM
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Omaha Nebraska
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Cracking paint? Here's some advice
About my cracked paint and getting Ford to pay for it...........
My truck does not have an extended warranty (1999 with 50,000 miles) but here is what I was able to do and the steps I took to get it done:
1) I started with the body shop manager at the dealership where I bought the truck. He looked at the paint and I had him agree (verbally tell me) that he felt the cracked paint was a factory defect. I had him write an estimate right then to repair the damage. The estimate was $2600 to completely strip the entire truck to the metal and start over.
2) The body shop manager then talked to the Ford field rep about the situation. The Ford field rep of course turned down my claim. Reason: I was the second owner so they did not know what the original owner had done to it - he could have repainted it for all they knew.
3) I then talked to the salesguy that I bought the truck from. He was able to get me the name and phone number of the original owner. I talked to the previous owner and had him verify that nothing had been done to the original paint.
4) I then called the customer relationship manager at the dealership where the truck was purchased. He also turned my claim down saying that the Ford field rep had said the truck had been repainted and that the truck was out of warranty anyway. I let him know that I had talked to the original owner and that the original owner was prepared to sign a statement in front of a notary public that the truck had not been touched.
5) The customer relationship manager then said "let me call the field rep and see where his thoughts are on this" I also found it the right time to now mention what is called Ford "goodwill" money. This is money that Ford allows dealers to use for situations like this, but no one is going to tell you about it, you need to bring it up. Call it "goodwill" money and they will respond to that. This starts to show them that you have done your research and know what you are talking about.
6) The customer reationship manager called me back and said that the best they could do was the following (while letting me know that technically they did not have to do anything - making it seem like they were doing me a favor):
the estimate was $2600 to have the truck repainted. the dealership would kick in 10% ($260) bringing the total down to $2340. There was a maximum of $1500 in Ford "goodwill" money available - bringing the total I would have to pay down to $840. I let the customer relationship manager know that I needed to talk to my "lawyer" first before accepting anything. (there of course was no lawyer involved)
It is also important to note that I had decided before starting this whole process that if I had to pay up to $500, i was willing to do that. I was at this point at $840 so I only had $340 more to go.
7) The next day I called the customer service manager back and let him know that my "lawyer" did not find the offer acceptable - in fact my "lawyer" did not think that I should have to pay anything. I told him that even though my "lawyer" would not agree with me, I was willing to pay $340 instead of $840 just to be done with the whole deal.
8) The customer service manager countered with the following offer:
$2600 estimate minus $1500 Ford "goodwill" money equals $900. the dealership would then split the $900 with me, making my portion of the whole deal $450. ($50 less than I would have paid).
9) I accepted this offer on the grounds that the dealer would provide me with a loaner car for the 2 weeks needed to repaint the truck, put it in writing, sign it and fax it to me so that I could review it with my "lawyer". As a final kicker I also got them to throw in a free undercoat and paint protection. I had a signed offer agreement on my fax within 5 minutes.
The whole process took 4 days, 5 phone calls and a total of maybe 45 minutes on the phone. It went much smoother than I had anticipated. My feeling is that if had continued to push, I would have likely ended up getting it all done for free, but I could tell that going any further was going to start taking up more time than I had to give.
The key is to do a little research on the internet, check out a few sites dealing with Ford paint problems as well as read what others on this site and others have done to get results (or lack of results). Above all, do not take "no" for an answer. Ford is famous for stonewalling, be persistant and firm (but rational) and you should get results.
If you have any questions email me at nealioh@yahoo.com. I am here to help others like myself get the satisfaction that they are looking for. Good luck to all.
My truck does not have an extended warranty (1999 with 50,000 miles) but here is what I was able to do and the steps I took to get it done:
1) I started with the body shop manager at the dealership where I bought the truck. He looked at the paint and I had him agree (verbally tell me) that he felt the cracked paint was a factory defect. I had him write an estimate right then to repair the damage. The estimate was $2600 to completely strip the entire truck to the metal and start over.
2) The body shop manager then talked to the Ford field rep about the situation. The Ford field rep of course turned down my claim. Reason: I was the second owner so they did not know what the original owner had done to it - he could have repainted it for all they knew.
3) I then talked to the salesguy that I bought the truck from. He was able to get me the name and phone number of the original owner. I talked to the previous owner and had him verify that nothing had been done to the original paint.
4) I then called the customer relationship manager at the dealership where the truck was purchased. He also turned my claim down saying that the Ford field rep had said the truck had been repainted and that the truck was out of warranty anyway. I let him know that I had talked to the original owner and that the original owner was prepared to sign a statement in front of a notary public that the truck had not been touched.
5) The customer relationship manager then said "let me call the field rep and see where his thoughts are on this" I also found it the right time to now mention what is called Ford "goodwill" money. This is money that Ford allows dealers to use for situations like this, but no one is going to tell you about it, you need to bring it up. Call it "goodwill" money and they will respond to that. This starts to show them that you have done your research and know what you are talking about.
6) The customer reationship manager called me back and said that the best they could do was the following (while letting me know that technically they did not have to do anything - making it seem like they were doing me a favor):
the estimate was $2600 to have the truck repainted. the dealership would kick in 10% ($260) bringing the total down to $2340. There was a maximum of $1500 in Ford "goodwill" money available - bringing the total I would have to pay down to $840. I let the customer relationship manager know that I needed to talk to my "lawyer" first before accepting anything. (there of course was no lawyer involved)
It is also important to note that I had decided before starting this whole process that if I had to pay up to $500, i was willing to do that. I was at this point at $840 so I only had $340 more to go.
7) The next day I called the customer service manager back and let him know that my "lawyer" did not find the offer acceptable - in fact my "lawyer" did not think that I should have to pay anything. I told him that even though my "lawyer" would not agree with me, I was willing to pay $340 instead of $840 just to be done with the whole deal.
8) The customer service manager countered with the following offer:
$2600 estimate minus $1500 Ford "goodwill" money equals $900. the dealership would then split the $900 with me, making my portion of the whole deal $450. ($50 less than I would have paid).
9) I accepted this offer on the grounds that the dealer would provide me with a loaner car for the 2 weeks needed to repaint the truck, put it in writing, sign it and fax it to me so that I could review it with my "lawyer". As a final kicker I also got them to throw in a free undercoat and paint protection. I had a signed offer agreement on my fax within 5 minutes.
The whole process took 4 days, 5 phone calls and a total of maybe 45 minutes on the phone. It went much smoother than I had anticipated. My feeling is that if had continued to push, I would have likely ended up getting it all done for free, but I could tell that going any further was going to start taking up more time than I had to give.
The key is to do a little research on the internet, check out a few sites dealing with Ford paint problems as well as read what others on this site and others have done to get results (or lack of results). Above all, do not take "no" for an answer. Ford is famous for stonewalling, be persistant and firm (but rational) and you should get results.
If you have any questions email me at nealioh@yahoo.com. I am here to help others like myself get the satisfaction that they are looking for. Good luck to all.