XRoads Ford Refuses Warranty Work

[wbpo]

Crossroads Ford in Cary, NC refused to work on my transmission and rear end because of mods that had been made to my car. They say they discussed with Ford and Ford agreed.

Here's the mods:

BBK Cold Air Induction
HP Front Tower Brace
Flowmaster Mufflers

My warranty says different. BOYCOT CROSSROADS FORD IN CARY, NC.

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Originally posted by wbpo
Crossroads Ford in Cary, NC refused to work on my transmission and rear end because of mods that had been made to my car. They say they discussed with Ford and Ford agreed.

Here's the mods:

BBK Cold Air Induction
HP Front Tower Brace
Flowmaster Mufflers

My warranty says different. BOYCOT CROSSROADS FORD IN CARY, NC.
How could those mods possibly have ANYTHING to do with a tranny and rear end issue???

Call SVT direct and discuss it with them. That is rediculous, and is also illegal!

[keelhauld]

They believe that all the extra "power" you get from the CAI is what caused the problem with the drivetrain....

So many shops will do whatever they have to so they don't have to do warrenty work...

[rachrse]

Sounds like they are trying to run alot of bull by you,take Ken's advice and call svt there is no way a CAI put,s that mutch horsepower to the drivetrain. I would be makeing alot of noise at that dealership. Rachrse

[wbpo]

Yeah, I called SVT. A very nice gentleman said he would call the dealership and ask them to reconsider but there was little or nothing else he could do. He said all dealers are independently owned and they can choose or not whether to do warranty work.

So much for SVT. I still say "Boycot Crossroads Ford".

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Is there another SVT dealer near you? Take the car to them if there is. If not, I would get a certified letter stating that you are requesting, in writing, a determination of how they denied your warranty claim. They have to PROVE that your mods caused the damage, and with your mods, I do not think it is provable. However, I am not a lawyer, nor am I an automotive engineer, so this is a guess. If they cannot prove that your mods caused the problem, then they just broke Federal law. :wtf:

[PETSNKE]

Unfortunately it's the dealer's call weather a mod voids a warranty repair, keep trying other dealers. I have a friend who had a tranny failure and his selling dealer said it wasn't covered due to a aftermarket shifter, tried another dealer and they covered it under warranty. That dealer just happened to be a Ford Motorsport dealer and was more receptive to modded vehicles.

[grscobra1]

This is a clasic case of who is on first. Any time you take you car back to a dealer fo warrenty work it eats into their profits, so they will find anything to get out of the work. They did the same thing back in the 60's to us with the new Mustang. Keep your cool be a pain in the neck for them and you will get the work done, just to get rid of you.:bash:

[wbpo]

In writing from Crossroads Ford...

"From Ford---Cannot repair problem until vehicle is back to OEM Specs".

That is word for word. So I guess the rule from Ford is, you mod you car and your warranty is no good regardless of what the law says.

[grscobra1]

Thats the biggest load of bull yet:) You mean if you take your car into a dealer to install a Ford aftermarket part, the next time you have a warrenty issue, the deale has to turn it back to OEM, before doing the work:huh: Someone needs to pull there head out from were the sun doesn't shine and get with the program.
As long as cars are made, there is someone who wants to make it faster or better, that's the facts. In this case with only minor mods made you would think the dealer would want to keep a good relationship with his customers, but then again I guess not:fryem:

[cobramach]

Sorry I don't have any real help to offer here, only an opinion. I don't think many Ford dealers really care that much once you drive the car off the lot. Please, any dealer reps out there, tell me otherwise. I would like to hear it! Fortunately, my 01 has been trouble free (except for the driver's side seat belt not retracting).

I used to take my 94 Cobra and my 93 F150 to a Ford dealer for repair work. For several years, I was frankly very pleased with the service. I had some good warranty service as well. But about three years ago, things started to slip. I basically quit going because of excessive price and shoddy work. And this was now cash on the barrel head work, no longer warranty. My results were about 50-50. When I personally knew the mechanic and the service writer, I had good results. When I did not, I got sloppy, ignorant work. I had a service writer tell me that my 94 Cobra was a fake. He and the mechanic decided this must be so after they tried to install the wrong clutch in my car. Stupid me, after owning the car for five years, I had to decipher my VIN and then explain it to the guy.

I was taking my 01 to Ford for routine maintenance, having them stamp the service book and so on. They generally made such a mess of the engine compartment and fenders that it wasn't worth the convenience of the two hour Quick Lube oil change while you wait (sarcasm intended).

I love Ford vehicles. I think they build a pretty good product, by and large. My 10 year old truck has 158,000 miles on it, with basically only only one heavy repair, the rear end, so I think that says something. However, Ford service quality does not support the quality of the vehicles. Over the last four years, I have been to three different dealer shops on my side of town. They all seem the same. They act like they want to do a good job, but they can't pull it off. God help me if I need any warranty work. Maybe the seat belt will be a good test. Sorry for ranting on. The warranty refusal thing just struck a nerve.

[grscobra1]

I agree, they mean good but it turns into a mess when it's done.
Since 1971 I have never taken back any of my Fords for warrenty work. I first talk to the dealer about suppling the parts and I'll do the work. This worked for me a number of times, you will get told they are not resposiable for the out come, but you do get the parts for free and then take back the old ones for return.
I only ran into a problem one time where the dealer would not do what I wanted, I wrote a letter to Ford and the issue was resolved.
I think the problems are from dearles who want to go by the book and won't work with there customers and I bet in that case you won't go back to them for another car either.

[GaborVincer]

Make them pay. I thought that if you purchase a Ford product that it's warrantied by "FORD" not the dealer. Who are they to say no.:rant:

It almost seems that they are :kiss: with you.

Find out if there is a district manager for the area and give him an ear full.

Good luck..:tmb:

[wbpo]

Ended up taking it to another dealer. They did not understand what the issue was with Crossroads Ford not wanting to work on it.

Oh well, their loss, My Excursion lease is about up and the new dealer is going to put me in a '03 Black F-350 4x4 Crew Cab.

[rachrse]

Maybe they just didn't know how to fix it. Glad to hear your going to get it fixed, like you said their loss. Rachrse

[LFacemire Jr]

To me it would seem that a warranty has a value to it. Meaning that if ford would ever deni warranty work unless the car is brought back to OEM specs and they more or less take or void the remainder of your warranty that there would be a monitary lose or value of the car(not just the needed current repairs) that ford should have to reimburse somehow....
Maybe I'am just looking at it for a backwards point of view.:bash:

[Skip Miner]

Ordinarily I wouldn't comment, but in this case I think a response is necessary, because a good dealer can sometimes be used as an example to the bad ones.

I bought two cars from Orisman World of Ford in Alexandria, Virginia -- a 2000 Explorer and my 1999 SVT Cobra. The Explorer was new and the Cobra was a trade-in with 14K miles. Both cars have been serviced exclusively at Orisman every 5K miles. My 17 year old daughter has been driving the Explorer ever since she started driving at age 16. She and her frineds jamed the CD by accidently putting two CDs into the player at once. I took it to the service dept to see if they could fix it. They simply replaced the changer for me and pulled out the CDs, all under warrranty.

My T-45 went out on my Cobra at 32K miles. They replaced it for me at no cost. They also put in a new clutch, which I paid for. (With 32K miles the clutch is a consummable.) Both were warrantied for another 12k miles or 12 months.

When I took the Cobra in for a 45k service I said the clutch was making a noise like the throwout bearing or the clutch cable was bad. They called me and said the clutch was bad, but they would replace it under warranty. It was 1K miles over the 12k mile warranty but within the 12 month period. -- And Orisman is not an SVT Dealer!!!:jawdrop:

I have had nothing but great service from Goef Bennett and Jim McNutt at Orisman. Because of this experience I sent my son there to buy a 2003 Explorer. I know they are reliable and fair.

Goef is a gearhead with a 90 LX with 550 RWHP so he is sympathetic to mods on your car.

I'm surprised at your dealer, because the service department competes for business the same as the new and used car sales departments. All suffer when one is bad.

Show this to your dealer and tell them this is what good service is about.

Skip

[wbpo]

Agree, I wish you could see their "Undisputed price leader" TV Ads. What a joke. What is even more crazy is I sued and won an $18k award from the previous owners of this dealership a few years back for "Shady Business" issues with regard to a purchase I had made there.

You would think they would not want to screw around with me of all people. I'm still deciding whether to sue once agani.

[cobramach]

Short and sweet: Anyone in the Denver area have a really good SVT dealer experience? From repair work to parts. I am curious and would like to patronize a good dealer.

[dmark101]

that sucks. :(

it appears that this dealership doesn't know about the magnusson act.

that act states that the dealership/manufacturer has to prove that the modifications are what caused the failure with the equipment in quesiton.

since you're already getting the car fixed, it's a bit useless at this point, but i would still write the dealer and explain this to him. remind him that the power of the internet is strong.

remember that issue on svtperformance about the lady with the 03?