Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Whos Stupid, Me or the Dealer?

I really need advice. I have a 98 Contour, about 64,000 miles. Seems like I can understand most anything else but I really can't figure out the "repair process" a car goes through when it goes in for repair. In my previous post, "Should I Sue", I indicated I took my car in for a head gasket repair. Now 4 visits later I am still having problems. Each time I take it back I am charged more $$. First it was in a month for the head gaskets ($2450), then later another $125 for O2 sensor, then another $400 for a cannister purge valve, and this week a bunch of disconnected vacuum lines, some other broken parts and a cruise control cable. I get it back and it stil does not run right. The car starts and stalls. Sometimes it acts like its going to die and then "lurches" forward. Prior to the head gasket problem, all was fine with the car. I take excellent care of it and it is very well maintained. When I originally took the car in, (after negotiation) they quoted me $2300 to repair it. I took that to mean that since I had no prior problems with the car, they would REPAIR the problem(s), and it would run correctly as it did prior to this problem. I did not think I would have to keep taking it in and pay more $$ for repairs, that as the dealer states, "just happen" Shouldn't those repairs have been included in the original price? Shouldn't the car have been road tested and fixed prior to me picking it up? And why do these things seem to go bad right after the original repair was done? (In addition during this time my car has been at this dealership the mechanic that worked on it has been fired and from what I understand, for incompetence.) Do these repairs sound legit and why do things keep going wrong? As I stated the car STILL doesn't run right after 4 visits. Am I being unreasonable? When is enough, enough? Am I right to be suspicious or is what the dealer is telling me correct? What do I have a right to demand? Should I keep paying for all these new repairs? My car is 5 years old, can I still contact Ford? Should I sue?

Or is there something I, a woman with no mechanical knowledge, can try to do on my own? I put some gas/injector cleaner in but that didn't seem to help. I had the fuel pump replaced twice inside of 6 months at the end of 2001. Same with the fuel filter. Any other inexpensive fixes I could try to do myself or take to a shop to do? Also, could this starting issue be related to the original repair? None of this happened before it originally went in.

AND this is unrelated but is driving me crazy as well. The rear doors stick and make a "metal on metal" sound when I open them. I have tried WD40, oil, lithium grease but none of that seemed to work. Suggestions!

HELP and Thanks!!

I think the point is, they quoted you to "fix" your car.

They haven't done that.

You should be taking it back and DEMANDING it be running as it was prior to the fault occurring. If their repairs have not rectified the problem, they should be fixing it now for free OR giving you a refund for work that they did that didn't fix the problem.

Thinking aloud too, it's amazing how helpful dealers become when you start
1. Contacting regional / national management. Suggest a letter to dealership owner with cc's to State manager and head office (hell, cc Bill Ford if you want to)

2. Mention the word lawsuit (you only need to mention it!)

3. Mention the filmcrew from a current affirs show that you are going to bring around to see them......


ASk to be shown the parts they have replaced and for them to explain what the damage / fault was. If you are unsure about what's going on, you probably need to find someone who has some idea of cars to go with you for this part or they could show you anything.....


Dont know if that's been helpful or not.

BOTTOM LINE: THE DEALER HAS NOT REPAIRED YOUR CAR AS HE SAID HE WOULD, SO NEEDS TO FIX IT NOW (FREE) or refund you your money.

The dealer really needs a few of these :

i agree.

they are doing stuff to your vehicle to make things go wrong. central ford in lansing, mi did that to my explorer. the check engine light kept coming back up and i took it back to them and they said that the (i forgot which part it was) was broken. i said sure fix it whatever, then got it back adn it came on again. went in and told them i want my money back and it done for free and the machanic actually admitted that he pinched the hoses to whatever part went wrong. oh yea, they also said they did a tune up when they really didnt'. i found that out about 6 months later though. basta*ds!!!!

I bought a 2000 SVT Contour from a dealership here in Washington, and they had lied to me about some things that were wrong with it. I took it into another dealership and they fixed the problems with my $$$$. I then went back to the original dealership and showed them the paperwork of THE SAME job they did to repair the item. They blew me off. I Then went to the service manager (head guy, not the advisor) and he tried to blow me off, but when i asked for the District Managers phone #, he then became more than willing to help me and refund ALL the money. Go and complain to the service manager and ask for the District manager's number. Also, whenever you have work done, demand to see the parts. I know here in washington, they are suppose to give you all the old parts(very few do). even if you just throw them away, it is still a way to try and protect yourself. i would also go and consult another dealership(if possible). That type of thing makes me mad. sorry to hear that man

the noise in the back doors are nothing.. our 96 contour does it all the time.. i took some rubbing alcohol on a rag and wiped up all the old grease off of it and them put some lithium grease on some Q-tips to add to the part and kept moving it back and forth.. wiped up these grease with a rag and then did it on a Q-tip again... it took three times to get it in the right place..it has to go inside the door via being on the part that sticks out and if you keep moving it then it will get there.... go back to the dealer and ask to see the service manager and tell him about how much you paid and that nothing was done and see if he can get someone who knows what they are doing to take care of this problem? or he ,the service manager, might be the problem?? the service fees are split up from the mechanic, the service manager, the dealership... and i cant think of who else, but there is a split.... and they only make money when someone pays for service.....

It sound as if the technician who worked on your car to correct the defective head gasket,
broke a lot of parts on your engine/car as he performed the repair.
When a Technician breaks enough stuff to eat up all of the profit in a job,
he ultimately gets fired.
He was also probably responsible for doing this on more than one occasion.

You need to go to the dealer and ask, "How does this stuff just break all of a sudden?"
Act 'stupid'.
Ask 'stupid' questions.
If you aren't satisfied with your explaination, ask to have it explained in 'ENGLISH'.

When you sign over the car for repairs, you are giving them permission to 'REPAIR' your car,
not to nickel and dime you for everything they do and break.
And if you aren't satisfied with the repairs, then they need to correct it or YOU need to take corrective actions.

Corrective actions may mean taking to car to ANOTHER DEALERSHIP
and getting a second opinion or just getting the car inspected.
Then you need to contact the Better Business Bureau, your local Town Center, Local Newspaper, and Local TV Station.
You would be amazed how eager they would be to write a story
about how you are being mistreated and taken advantage of.

Thanks everyone. As soon as I read through the posts I went right outside and am working on the door problem right now! For such a small problem considering everything else it's driving me nuts!

Also thanks for the suggestion of contacting the media to see if they're interested in hearing about my experience. That is a GREAT idea and I will let you all know what the outcome is!

Because this is such a great resource, one last question. My drivers side controls only operate my passenger side winodw intermittenly. Everything other control works fine. Do I need a whole new switch? Not sure if I do because it does work every now and then. The same dealer that worked on my car said I do. Or could something just not be making contact or need to be cleaned seeing it does work every now and then?

Thanks again!!