Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Never buying a Ford again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all I just got my 2000svt contour in late July with 35,000 miles. I started noticing the gas pedal sticking. (small thing really) I simply cleaned the throttle body.

Next my car started to buck violently. I took it in and was told nothing could be done until a light came on or a code showed up. After about a week I noticed this would only happen at below half a tank of gas but really bad at a quarter tank. Hince the fuel pump is going bad. I took the car in a second time because the car was really bad. I had two mechanics ride along. During the ride they both agreed it was the fuel pump. (keep in mind this is all covered under warranty) I then was harrased about not getting a rental to drive.(different story) Anyways, when I dropped the car off for the fuel pump to be changed the service guy asked if anything else needed to be look at. I said not really but there is a small squeek coming from the right front fender. I said you can look at it but it's not that big of a deal. The service guy said "no problem, we'll take care of it". Now comes the *censored* up part. After five days of calling to see what the problems were and non returned phone calls- I get some info. The fuel pump was the problem. They said it would be covered under warranty and I would just have to pay the deductible and the cost of the fuel filter and labor. fuel filter= $17.45 + labor 1/2 hr $36.00. I can handle that.

The service guy then says he had three different mechanics drive my car to see what the squeeking was and they didn't know. Once again I said this wasn't that much of a problem and if they couldn't figure it out it wasn't that much of a problem. He said it wasn't and said he would call back when they knew. I asked for a total on the bill. He stuttered and after about five minutes of trying to find a sheet where it was written down he said he would have to call me back. Later today I heard nothing from him and gave him a call. He told me that after numerous attempts of lubbing the chassi they finally fixed it. I was happy until he said it would be $260.00 for just lubing the car. First of all I never said fix the squeek and was never told this wasn't covered under warranty. He said "yeah man, I didn't realize it was going to take this much and it costs so much for the labor". I said, you offered to fix it and never mentioned any charge or it not being covered under warranty. I then talked to the service manager and (explained again and again and...) he finally said " since the initial service guy offered to do this and never informed you of any costs then we will take care of it. So, as I drive the wounderful mouse powered rental Focus back I had time to cool down. sort of. I go to pay and the total was $106.00. After all of that I gave in and paid the man. The intial service guy that I was dealing with talked to me and was appologizing over and over. He admitted to his mistakes and even had the nerve to ask for a good review when I get a follow up service call.

Now, as I pull out of the dealership I run over the first bump- guess what!!!!! (squeek * squeek * squeek * squeek)


I can only imagine how pissed I would have been if I paid that $260.00.

Does anyone know if this would be under any kind of lemon law? I live in Charlotte, NC. I looked these laws up but only found lemon laws on new cars.

Also, are these problems expected on 2000svt's. Should I get out of this while I can. I really like the car but for only having my car since late July and three problems already, I want to wreck the darn thing.

I had a Nissan before this and never had a major problem. That car had 180,000 miles on it.

This really just feels good to vent some anger, but any advise is appreciated!

You should've turned around and demanded that 56 bucks back, they DIDN'T fix your problem. One of the few things that I can think of that would cause a squeek is the springs. I know that on some of the Contours there was a repalcement bulletin to change out the springs because of rusting. Another one could be your CV joints. If it was driven hard before, then that's a possibility. I hope that dealer fixes his mistake. If you call into the Ford customer service they will handle you problem promply, or you can threaten the guys at the Ford dealer that you'll do this, you will defanately get some reaction.

I would of but it was 5:50 when I left and they close at 6:00. Thanks for the advise.

Hey man, we've all had our problems with Ford. I've had massive amounts of trouble with them. Take a look at the post below just for starters! Your best bet is to write a letter to Ford. They respond pretty fast. Also send a copy of the letter to SVT and a copy to the dealership GM and the owner.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=capitol&Number=249136&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

i don't trust ANYBODY to fix my car anymore.
i've been screwed way too many times.
... and with the cost of labor, i can just start replacing stuff until the problem goes away and still save thousands of dollars. i know i do it right.

... one thing about ford.

i have a friend that was a repair tech. he's a big chevy guy so he went to work for a chevy dealer. they couldn't get enough repair work to keep him. neither could 2 other chevy dealers. but when he went to work for ford, they had more broken cars than they could handle.
fords are great...if you are a mechanic

Your "situation" isn't that bad. It's the dealers treatment and they aren't owned by Ford.

You made it seem like it was a blown engine, when it was only $56 bill. Try a $2000 repair and then cry a river.

BTW: Go to Nissan websites and read the dealer complaints. try www.freshalloy.com 1st.

No car is immune to problems, it's how a dealer or manufacturer handles problems that satisfies customers.

Mystery squeaks: Metal heat shields attached to the body. The rear seat snap in clips can make an annoying intermittent squeaks.
Ford is finally admitted that the dealers are screwing customers, have you noticed the advertising? "Have you tried a Ford lately?" ringing from their lips. Warranty repairs are the biggest joke. I know, I have folders full of papers on my Contours that would choke a horse. Then they want you to come back for Oil changes, Tires, etc.

i feel ya, Furd bend me over a few times. they have no idea what there doing. its unfortuniate that certain things we have to take our cars to a dealership. as far as the lemon law. if your car has over 50,000 miles i highly doubt you can do anything about that. i have been through the shi* with Furd Tech's and parts departments. <<no offence looselugnut>>. I dont blame you one bit about buying another Furd. Ive owned a Probe, Acclaim and the Contour. BY FAR the Contour has been the best running car, and as far as durability goes, (besides the H20 pump <<three hours to get home>> thats the biggest problem i ran into. The probe and the acclaim both had new tranny's replaced, Probe had so many remarkable things go wrong and all Furd did was F*** me. the acclaim, had 30,000 miles, CV joint, tranny, throttle cable, cracked radiator and so on. i found that my father put it best. <<being a mechanic for 15+ years>>

"ALL CARS ARE JUNK......YOU JUST HAVE TO FIND THE BEST JUNK"

atlest you have your car i have been without my car for 7 weeks now for a mild finder bender.
Pic's Here

mike davidson ford.