I've been a Ford pick up truck fan for a long time. And, there was a time when I would have agreed with their marketing slogan, "Built Ford Tough". But, not any more.
Fact is, the last two I've owned have belied that claim entirely.
I bought my current one, a 2004 F-150, from Palm Bay Ford reluctantly, in the summer of 2008, after their service department blew up my 2001, after replacing a faulty control module. Without checking, they had turned the engine over on a flooded cylinder, breaking a piston rod, that they knew of and they weren't sure about the crank shaft, or exactly what else.
I had bought the 2001, from the same dealer in 03, had serviced it regularly and best of all it was paid for. Then I was faced with a blown engine, caused by the dealership's service department. Their offer was their idea of a great deal on the 2004, which was even the same desert tan color of my 2001. After a thorough inspection of both the truck and service records and after weighing my somewhat limited options, I very reluctantly signed on to five years of payments again.
With three and a half years, or $11, 000 to go, I've babied this truck, never driven it off road, serviced it regularly and at 53,000 miles I just invested another grand in new Michelins all around, after mounting, balancing and alignment.
Now, the selling points that were highlighted by the dealer when selling me the 2004 was the low mileage and fact that it had been "rustproofed". And, there is in fact a brown goo that oozes out of my door handles and creeps down the doors, if not cleaned regularly with a solvent soaked rag. Their service department pointed to such creep as evidence of it's effectiveness, as it would "creep into" all the crevices and fill all those hidden creases and crannies and do it's job, prevent rust.
My pride of ownership, as I admired my truck new tires and all, took a huge hit yesterday though. While closing the rear driver's side door, after the click of the latch came the clunk of something hitting the running board. I looked down, expecting to find something had rolled out of the back just as I had closed the door. Instead, I was looking at a two inch by two inch chunk of my back door, paint intact, rusted out all around, sitting there on the running board.
So tell me Ford, just how much less is this "rustproofed" "Built Ford Tough" 2004 F-150 with 53,000 miles and your "Bumper to Bumper" warranty worth now?
Just how upside down am I?
Why should I ever, even consider another Ford purchase when my "Built Ford Tough" fully "Rustproofed" six year old truck is leaving chunks of itself along the way?
How about it?
Very Truly Yours,
R. D. Taylor
Below is the response from Ford, and my return correspondence.
Dear Marites:
Thank you for your prompt response.
I did not expect Ford to replace my vehicle. But, I do expect that with reasonable care, my vehicle should last beyond the last payment to Ford without rusting out and falling apart around me.
Am I to infer from your email below that by returning my vehicle to the dealership, it will be repaired in such a way as to retain the value I should be able to expect from an otherwise not compromised model of the same year and mileage? And, that these repairs will be made at no charge to me?
And, I hope you might understand my reluctance to return to the same highly trained and qualified dealership, which'd blown the engine on the last truck I took in for repair.
Oh while we're on the subject of Ford's quality, I was treated to yet another example of Ford toughness while attending a continuing education seminar in Lake Mary this weekend. It seems there is a well known, (at least in law enforcement and hotel security communities.) defect in my Ford, allowing for total disabling of the alarm and near instant entry, simply by jamming my driver's door lock in.
According to the responding officer and Marriott security officer, this has become such a well known exploit, that we (proud Ford truck owners) are now singled out for burglary due to the ease and quickness that a thief can be in and out of our vehicles. (Case #20100362083 as filed with the Lake Mary P.D. 2/2/2010)
Please advise why, as an owner, Ford had not brought this to my attention and offered a repair that would prevent this total subversion of the vehicle's security system near instantly?
And, given that this is an obvious inherent vice in this vehicles' security design, will Ford repair my, now un-lockable, but "Built Ford Tough" truck at no charge, or is this further evidence that I may have made the wrong purchase decision?
Very Truly Yours,
R. D. Taylor
-----Original Message-----
From: crcfmc@ford.com [mailto:crcfmc@ford.com]
Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 11:51 AM
To: r.d.taylor4539@earthlink.net
Subject: Ford Motor Company
Dear R. D. Taylor,
Ford will not replace your vehicle due to age and mileage. If you have paint and rust concerns that are not resolved, we suggest you contact your local Ford and Lincoln-Mercury Dealership to repair the vehicle. They have factory trained and certified technicians, comprehensive service information and specialized equipment to resolve your concerns.
If additional assistance is required, we recommend you discuss the concerns with the Service Manager. They will further assist in facilitating your service needs.
We understand that this may cause inconvenience on your part; however, this step is essential for us to ensure that your concerns are addressed appropriately.
Sometimes e-mail communication does not allow us to gain additional information that may be helpful in responding to your inquiry. Should you feel that we have not adequately addressed your questions, please feel free to contact us via telephone at (800)392-3673 between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing-impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact 1-800-232-5952. Please provide your 10 digit reference number - 0416660360.
Sincerely,
Marites
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
For online support visit us at: www.customersaskford.com which contains answers to frequently asked questions and links to other key product and service information.
Ford Confidentiality:
--------------------
For security reasons, please do not submit any sensitive personally identifiable information, such as credit card numbers, driver license number, SSN, DOB, etc. Thank you.
[THREAD ID:1-51YF2L]
-----Original Message-----
From: r.d.taylor4539@earthlink.net
Sent: 2/5/2010 03:54:08 AM
To:
Subject: RE: Ford Motor Company
Dear Ford:
I am the registered owner. I live at 2067 Acacia Street N.E., Palm Bay, Florida. Odometer, 53,000, as stated earlier, I included the vehicles'
vin:# below (1FTRX12W14NA09261) which will give you the exact information regarding style, etc.
The relief I seek is a truck that doesn't leave chunks of itself while going down the road. A truck with value past the time the last payment is made, not one that rusts out and falls apart around me, before it's paid off. Not only is my door rusting out, there is a blister forming on the left front of the hood and I can only guess where else.
The vehicle was into Palm Bay Ford for routine oil change service less than three months ago and the rust on the hood was pointed out then, and basically ignored. The problem with chunks falling out of the rear driver's side door had not been detected at that point.
My daytime phone: # 321-722-2894 or, 321-432-1814
Very truly yours,
R. D. Taylor
-----Original Message-----
From: crcfmc@ford.com [mailto:crcfmc@ford.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 4:54 PM
To: r.d.taylor4539@earthlink.net
Subject: Ford Motor Company
Dear R. D. Taylor,
Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the rust concern on your 2004 Ford F-150.
We are sorry to hear you feel this way. We hope you would re-think your decision about purchasing Ford products and services. In addition, we would like to have your vehicle concern properly documented. Please provide the following information in order for us to proceed.
Registered owner of the vehicle information
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Cellular Phone Number:
Daytime Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Vehicle Year:
Vehicle Make:
Vehicle Model:
Odometer Reading:
Servicing Dealership:
Has the vehicle been diagnosed by a Ford/Lincoln-Mercury Dealership for the current issue?:
Brief description of the type of assistance you are seeking:
If you would prefer to provide this information over the phone, you may call us toll free at 1-800-392-3673 between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact us by calling 1-800-232-5952.
Sincerely,
Marites
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
For online support visit us at: www.customersaskford.com which contains answers to frequently asked questions and links to other key product and service information.
Ford Confidentiality:
--------------------
For security reasons, please do not submit any sensitive personally identifiable information, such as credit card numbers, driver license number, SSN, DOB, etc. Thank you.
[THREAD ID:1-51YF2L]
-----Original Message-----
From: r.d.taylor4539@earthlink.net
Sent: 2/4/2010 05:51:45 AM
To: crcfmc@ford.com
Subject: General/Corporate
Ford Motor CompanyMain Topic: GeneralCorporateEmail Questions: Why should I ever consider a Ford purchase again, when my "Rust-proofed" 2004 is leaving rusted out chunks of my back door on the running board every other time I close it?
http://rdtayloratlarge.blogspot.com/2010/02/built-ford-tough-yea-right-compa
red-to.html
Oh, and as the blog says, I bought this one from the same dealer who's service department blew up the engine on my 2001 while "repairing" it.
Vin# 1FTRX12W14NA09261
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