Originally Posted by
dwasson
Zone reps are charged to save the manufacturer money, save the dealer money, and help the customer, in that order.
Zone Reps, or Field Service Managers, do not do anything to save the Dealership money.
Your dealership gets reimbursed for any warranty work it does.
They get reimbursed poorly also...
Your dealership is Ford's last concern.
Your dealership is a Service Center, just like Joe's Service Center or Bob's Service Center.
The difference is that they SELL vehicles directly from the manufacturer,
and they are trained on how to SERVICE and REPAIR these vehicles according to the Manufacturer's Standards.
Your dealership has the unfortunate advantage here, because they are stuck as your middle man to the manufacturer.
And it is unfortunate that FORD is our manufacturer.
Since FORD has been sued by so many individuals, and has be plagued by so many recalls, and the Firestone fiasco,
FORD is looking to cut its losses everywhere possible.
What you need to do is to ask your dealership to get a Field Service Manager to come out to see your Marauder.
They visit their area dealships about every two weeks.
Find out when they will be there next, and make an appointment to see them.
If your dealership REFUSES to make the appointment, just ask them if you need to call FORD CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE to get an appointment made.
They will shutup and make your appointment because the last thing they want is a Customer Assistance case opened on them.
Take your car to every paint shop in your area, and get from them, IN WRITING,
what the cause of your paint problem is, and how much to cure the problem.
EVIDENCE OF MANUFACTURER DEFECT is all you need to get approval.
When you hand over to the FORD FSM a fist full of estimates,
they will have no choice but to approve your claim.
Your dealership will NOT be involved at this point.
You will be told how much FORD will reimburse you for correcting the defect.
Take that figure, get your car repainted, and submit the bills to your dealership for reimbursement.
Reimbursement can take 2 - 4 weeks.
The most important advice I can give you is...
Stay Calm, Be Confident, treat your Dealership as if they were your best friend,
and NEVER be afraid to ask questions or challenge decisions.
I had a 1998 Contour SE Sport (24V Duratec V6 ATX).
It lost it first ATX at 31,000 miles.
ATX was serviced at Ford's recommended interval.
All Service was done at my dealership.
No one else ever touched this Contour.
Replacement ATX FAILED at 81,000 miles. (50,000 miles later)
Dealership could not do anything for me because my Extended Warranty was expired,
and the FORD REMAN ATX only came with a 3yr/36k mile replacement warranty.
My dealership had no authorization power to approve anything.
So we go to the FSM...
FSM tells me that a 1998 Contour with 80k miles is an OLD CAR.
I told him that Ford's REPLACEMENT ATX only had 50,000 miles on it,
and it should have NEVER failed.
It was serviced MULTIPLE times, yet I still have a bad ATX.
I even mentioned to him that I was a moderator on the CONTOUR.ORG website,
and that I was in charge of the TRANSAXLE forum.
I told him of the numerous complaints and failures of this ATX on the forum,
and I was prepared to hand him evidence of design flaws,
that would lead to the reason for the failure, as well as statements from PROMINENT FIGURES
from corporations that have a hand in the R&D of the CD4E ATX,
and how they correlated with my ATX failure.
FSM ignored these facts and stood by the 80,000 mile OLD CAR decision.
I wrote a letter to BILL FORD @ Ford Executive Park.
I sent him a copy of EVERY SERVICE INVOICE for the Contour.
One of Mr. Ford's Assitants called me.
Not even Mr. FORD would talk to me.
They agreed with the FSM and basically told me I was SOL.
I wasn't looking for complete replacement, I was only asking for some assitance.
If FORD had only payed for HALF of the repair, I would have been happy,
but I didn't even get that.
The second replacement FORD REMAN ATX ran me $2,500.
So I swore I would never buy another FWD car again, if it was a FORD Vehicle.
Pete...
2k04 BLACK Mercury Marauder 300A #810 of 3223
DOB 10/31/2003
DOP 1/2/2004
2k19 AGATE FORD Edge ST with Performance Brakes
DOB 12/11/2018
DOP 6/19/2019
Water Wetter, K&N AirCharger/Drycharger, SS Inserts,
SilverStar 9007SU, WeatherTech WeatherFlectors, Steering Wheel Badge,
AutoMeter Gauges (Oil Press, Voltmeter, and Trans Oil Temp),
ASC 840 VSS Sunroof, Kenwood KFC-C6879ie x4, COBRA Fender Badges,
Z&M Rear Control Arms, FORD GT Coil Covers,
Gorilla Lock Lugs all around, Decklid Designs Trunk Lid Liner,
SCT Xcalibrator2 (Innovative Interceptors) w/Lidio's (Alternative Automotive) Marauder 3.55 tuning,
4R75W by Fred Brown's Performance Transmission, tuned to match Lidio's tune,
DG Motorsports Carbon Fiber Radiator Cover, Zack's Badgeless Grille,
Accel 140034-8 Coil Packs, Granatelli Motorsports Coil-On-Plug wires
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of rice,
I will fear no turbo for displacement is with me.