My Dad is getting screwed over, anyone got any tips???

He has a:
2005 F150, puchased November 2005.
It currently has 25,000 KM

The brakes were sticking and not working right. He brings it in to the dealership to have the work done under the Ford warranty.

They told him the brakes rusted and coroded because he wasn't driving it enough so the warranty doesn't cover it. They would not release the truck to him unless he paid the repair bill... which he did as he needs his truck for the weekend.

As far as I'm concerned, Ford is in breach of the warranty. There are no aftermarket parts on the truck, and the maintenance schedule was followed and COMPLETED at the dealership.

How can I help him get his money back from the dealership? Should we approach ford warranty first? The Dealership? Better buisiness bureau? small claims court?

 

That sounds like bulls**t to me, lazy dealership un-willing to do the work because the truck still has a valid warranty. I would notify the manager of that dealer, and possibly contact Ford themselves. And find another dealer for future business.

 

What they are trying to say is that if he leaves it sit for months at a time then the brakes will rust and fail... they assume he is doing this.

If he drives it regularly, but just goes down the road a ways and back, it will be enough to keep the brakes in shape (the brake apply cleans the rotor surface).

I would file some complaints claiming the truck is regularly used and should be covered.

 

If he paid by credit card then I'd contest it with the card issuer. Make it a pain for the dealer. Even if there is an exclusion in the contract for lack of milage this seems like a deceptive practice.

 

when I had my 05 in for the brake TSB the stealer said brakes are only covered for 12,000 miles. They are one of those wear items normally not covered. Since I don't know what miles/km equals, good luck.

 

Asside from when Dad was in the hospital for a month, This truck is driven at least TWICE a week, never off road, never even seen a gravel road. the canadian equivelant of the 12000 miles is 30000km... and the truck is under that by 5000km

 

I've been digging around, found these useful links
How to get a Warranty Honored (a quick read)
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Warranty-Honored


Need to file a complaint against BOTH
- The dealership.
- Ford Motor Company.

File a complaint with Better Business Bureau
https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/GetStarted.aspx

File Complaint with Consumer Protection Authority of BC
http://www.bpcpa.ca/index.php?option...=109&Itemid=47

File with Small Claims BC
http://www.smallclaimsbc.ca/

Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (Canadian Lemon Protection)
http://www.camvap.ca/eng/camvap_for_me.htm

 

The basic brake warranty as far as pads are concerned is 12 months/12,000 miles. 25000 km translates to about 15K miles, so you're SOL in regards to that warranty.

That's all I'm gonna say...without being there first hand, seeing and hearing both sides, I can't and won't make a judgment as to who's right or wrong. And neither can any of you.

 

im gonna agree with quintin on this one.

but in the OP's defense, they should have asked for permission to do the repairs before they were performed if they were going to be charging you (him).

 

First of all they didn't touch the pads.
12 month/20,000 km is for Brake pads and linings, clutch disk, wiper blades

Rotors, calipers fall under basic 36 month/ 60,000 km warranty

Secondly... it was rust on the rotors... Ford repaired them by grinding them down.

My understanding is that Ford covers the cost on repairs concerning SAFETY and PART FAILURE. (save the exceptions such as brake pads, windshield wiper blades, paint chips after the first year...).

I've done nothing to void the warranty (no after market parts, no driving off road, no hauling heavy loads - ALWAYS maintain truck per maintenance schedule, and take it to the dealership it was purchased at).

I wish this fell under the corrosion coverage, but that is only on body panels not rusting out.

I'd rather save myself the pain in the butt of going to court. but that is the surefire win. I'm going to try to negotiate with them for 2 weeks... after that it is Better Business Bureau and Small Claims Court.

 

Update for everyone.

Dad got his money back today!! He didn't even need to escalate to the regional rep. It was all done at the dealership level.

Dad sais "Ford is taking care of it"

It probably helped alot that he is considering trading in his current 2005 F150 to a 2008 F150. They now have 5 year warranties. (He'd been considering this anyways after helping me buy my 2007 Ranger in August. If you have the money, the prices on new trucks have never been lower... now's the time to buy.)

Now some of you will argue that the dealership only reversed the bill in order to get the sale. But right now he is still considering, nothing is signed.

That does not change the fact that a warranty is a legal document. brake pads and linings are the only part of the brake assembly listed under wear items under the Ford Warranty. The rest of the brake assembly is covered by the basic 3 year warranty (5year on the 2008 Dad is considering).

I have a 6 year extented warranty I bought for the 2007 Ranger... It has a WHOLE CHAPTER of Exclusions and most of which are brake parts... that's right, my extented warranty does not cover rotors, pads, linings, calliper. (But i bought it for when a window motor goes out, interior heater or some other similar things that other drivers chose to live with... I like EVERYTHING in my vehicle to work-this warranty basically pays for the shop time for things i have no idea how to fix, but probably could do myself if i had the tools and supervision)

Being a legal document, if you are going to exclude anything it needs to be stated that the part is either exclude or is a wear item under limited warranty or is a wear item without warranty.


So, I'm taking my ranger have it's brakes looked at... ABS issues. My ranger is just over 18 months old. If repairs need to be done, my FORD warranty is gonna take care of it. Yep, going to the same dealership. (if no repairs, then i'm out a diagnosis fee)

Ford's service has been great, even tru this adventure.

The way we look at it, in three years this was their first screw up. I owned a P.o.S. Plymouth breeze that I took to the most competent Dodge dealership in town... they weren't that competent. Every repair with them I had to always bring the car back at least once. The last repair job was the last straw, and I decided to buy my widdle twuck.

And this is why Dad is probably going to own a new truck (with a new warranty, :icon_biggrin: )by Rememberance Day (if not Halloween... ). He's really been eyeing the Peublo Gold, he has plain Black.

I want to thank everyone for their tips and support.

ps.. anyone wanna buy a neglected truck. lol. just kidding.