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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 113
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 113 |
Originally posted by dluv:
This really just feels good to vent some anger, but any advise is appreciated!
I know how you feel about just paying an incorrect bill just to get out of there. I did the same thing and then a few days later, went back and calmly and politely explained the situation and how the bill was too much and the service manager refunded my CC on the spot. It wouldn't hurt to have the customer sat. form in your hand also, if you have it.
To all the 2000 SVT bashers  mine's been pretty solid so far. As a matter of fact, I was wondering if they had licked some of the common problems. But now that I look at my list,  I have had:
Fixed under warranty
- repaint driver-side door because paint did not match under door ding strips
- replace EGR valve (moosing)
- replace p/s pump (leaking)
- new dash (warping recall)
- driver door weather seal (leaking)
- driver door pin switch (interior light and chime would not turn off)
- replace leaky foglight
Other:
- my tires wore out on the inside shoulder @25k, a common problem with contours. Dealer would not do anything, which I frankly understand, because they have no idea what curbs I could have run over. Just get a life of the car alignment deal at a good shop and take it twice a year or so.
The bottom line is, hey if I wanted a soul-less appliance to go from point a to point b, I would buy a Toyota Camry and not have to worry so much about problems.
2000 T-Red SVT #2010
Quit whining about gas prices and start caring about how much you pay in taxes. Then go here.
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 133
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 133 |
Originally posted by TourDeForce:
If you mean to imply that Fords are significantly less reliable than a Chevy, dream on. The good Fords we've owned, Bronco, several vans for the business fleet, Capris RS 5.0, Town Car, LTD wagon, Montego, Torino, Torino Touring, 2 Grand Marquis, Escort, and now my 'Tour. The Capri belonged to my older brother who was about to put 250,000 miles on it when he got sandwitched on I-95. All other got over 100,000 and most nearing 200,000 before being traded.
Yes, I have a large family.
I'm with ya bro, my Contour was, until it got stolen and joy-ridden to death, an awesome car. Sure, like anything, it had it's little piddly problems, squeaks, rattles, etc. And I also went through a HUGE battle with the stealerships over a bucking problem, which with the help of TourDeForce, dbbubba and a couple others we finally figured out. But that wasn't the cars fault, nor Ford's fault. The stealership is and was at fault in my case and in this guys case. Cars are made of metal, plastic, aluminum, etc, etc by humans. Modern cars are 10,000 times more reliable and more efficient than they ever have been in history. I wouldn't blame all Fords just because of one unscrupulous dealer. I have had Fords my whole life, and in every case, they have been reliable and long lasting provided they were cared for. But through trial and error I have had to weed through dealers, some are dishonest, some are stupid, some are too big to take the time for diagnosing a small squeak that most of the owners wouldn't care about. So it's up to us, the owners to seek out competent care. I miss my little silver Tour, it was always up for an impromptu road race through the twisties. It got consistently 25-30 mpg. It was fine looking AND it didn't look like all the other rice that everyone else with a backwards baseball cap drives. Remember, luck is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. And I have ALWAYSh ad great luck with my Fords, there must be a reason for it eh ? Peace bro, I'm on the lookout for a Tour that I can spend the time with to hotrod now that we bot an SUV for momma to drive. So LOOK OUT world !!!
Ken, 99 Silver Frost SE Zetec Atx, polished alloys, Kumho's, Pioneer hi power CD/AM/FM. Factory spoiler (added) Audi side lites, Borla stainless steel muff. Stolen, recovered in pieces. Looking for another Tour, preferably V6, 5 speed.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 98
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 98 |
Your best bet is, as others have said, threaten the dealership with 1) reporting them to Ford proper for performing unnecessary and unrequested procedures on your car, 2) reporting them to the Better Business Bureau for performing unnecessary and unrequested procedures on your car, and 3) threaten to sue them for both the $56 and punitive damages. As I have been faced with the same problem here in California (I turned my car in for a tune up, and gave them Mobile 1 and a oil filter to put in.. and they added and "additive" for $30 that I did not request)
If this dealership treated you this way, perhaps they are open to a class action law suit... If you have a laywer friend, they might be interested in padding their resume by taking a case like this....
---------
1998 E0 Contour SVT #2478/6535
B.O.D. Wed, 07/16/97
P.O.D. 09/14/97
Black/Midnight Blue
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 90
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 90 |
well it sounds like a lot of us have started our pain and suffering at the dealership and gone from there. obviously it seems like we're sold a car and then left to die. the way i see it, its gonna become an issue where you start taking a ford to a honda dealer and so forth.
from reading all of this we are all having the same issues. after reading this i called about the fuel pump and found the dealer here wants $450!!!  now begins the journey of surfing and putting out postings to find a cheap new or used one. there is a site i found called www.all-parts.com which has seemed to be very useful. i got a tie rod end on there for $20. everywhere else wanted $125+.
the sad thing about all of this, which i know EVERYONE will agree with, is the fact that this is such a beautiful car. its sooo much fun to drive and i have one of the only ones around here so it turns a lot of heads. if only this car held up as good as the f150, i think this troubleshooting forum would be empty.
00 Toreador Red SVT-#1751 of 2150
KKM intake
No resonator
Eibach springs 2 1/2" drop
No door ding guards
Side markers
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123 |
Yeah and then you hear your Import having friend with 25k cars talking about taking theirs in the dealers wash and clean it each oil change etc. I mean erhm I've found my local dealers are just pathetic to no end. I take a car in for a tire rotation and an oil change. Rear wheels look like new (clean shiney) when I bring it in and the fronts are black from brake dust. I come to pick it up and look at the wheels and they are the same as when I brought it in.. that tells me no rotation was done, ask them and they are like oh well we'll fix it. That happend TWICE! at the same dealer. This is the dealer (and reason why in 8k miles and at 15k I went trhough the insides of TWO full sets of BFG Comp KD's) plus a set of Firehawks until I took it to another tire shop and had them fix it. I think when this ride dies out (i love the car, i have owned several fords but..) I'm gonna get an import car (subaru or toyota or something) :\
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 652
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 652 |
Originally posted by dumped00svt:
well im gonna start out by saying that i completely agree w/this cat dluv!! my 00 svt has been the biggest piece of poo ive ever owned in my time. first off i'll tell you the squeeking noise isnt a cv boot or a spring or anything like that. mine does it on the drivers side and the problem is between the fender and the bumper, theres a clip where it bolts on and that clip rubs on the fender hence making the noise.
now to address the dealership issue.......i dealt w/richmond ford in richmond va and had the same problem w/their horrible service. my list of problems on my car personally have been a blown motor @26k, 2 blown trannys @10k and 36k miles, electrical, etc. i hate this car and its a trap b/c once you take out a loan for it your stuck and automatically upside down unless you find a way to get a really good deal. this car has had sooooo many problems that i cant truly figure out how its still running. i just recently mysteriously broke a tranny mount. the tie rod ends are destroyed as well. this car seems like a lego car made by a 2 year old who only knew how to half a@@ build it.
now im hoping that since you replaced the fuel pump it stopped "bucking". im having the same exact problem and in trying to sell the car it does me no good to have to keep it constantly on full just to try to scam someone to buy it.
bro i'll tell you like this.......i truly understand your frustration and anger and my personal and honest opinion is that its luck of the draw. sometimes you get a good one and sometimes you dont regardless of the make. this i will say though......get out ASAP!!!!! you hold this car too long and you'll pay more on upkeep and repairs than the cars value and what you owe. trust me
He, weird, cause my '95 Contour has been a very dependable car for me. I just keep up on all the maintainance and have had all the recalls serviced, and give it TLC, and mine drives like new, and it has 130,000 miles on it now. And I hammer on mine everyday, everywhere I drive, I'm into the throttle (just not excessive RPMs). I HAVE had a couple of very minor frustrations with it (like new cooling fans- since it was an AZ car for it's first 3 years which later turned into a recall, and typical waterpump problem at 70k mi) but I'm still running the original motor/trans and all right now! And I plan to hit 200k with it before I will freshen up the running gear. I DID hear though that the first Contours (like '95-96ish) were the best ones, but then Ford started loosing their a$$ in lost sales and in the later years had to start deleting all the features and premium equipment. Then they even started doing foolish things like switching to a returnless fuel supply line, and all this other retarded money-saving stuff in an effort to try and save their butt. Maybe I just got lucky with my '95, or maybe the older ones WERE all built better?
'95 CONTOUR SE
-Enkei 16s
-SVT wannabe
-Dual escapes w/ 2 1/2" stainless tips
-True LED taillight conversion
- Audi Xenon Projector Retrofit
-Mp3 deck, dual 10s
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