03 Cobra in the shop again!

[RedSquad7]

if I were you I'd totally try to lemon law it. Get a new 04 Cobra or get your money back and buy a more reliable car. Talk to a lawyer about it and see what you can find out because NO ONE should ever have to deal with so many problems. Just my .02

Your avatar KILLS me!!! Lemon law is specific to one recurring problem eg. 3-4 alternator replacements or just one component or system that they cannnot fix. The car has been doing real well (Fingers crossed). But beleive me- I was looking into it.

 

[Pro-Hawk]

Brotha I would recommend doing as much as you can to return it to stock. I had an intake and mid pipe on mine when it threw the rod and I removed them before it went in, just in case. Uncle Meat gave me some good advice...clean the wheel wells and exhaust pipe where it nears the rear of the wheels of any rubber if you've smoked the tires, be meticulous. I didnt need to clean mine, but it was excellent advice. They checked tread on my tires, wells for rubber, inspected the computer, pulled engine codes....they looked at everything. But you have to remember mine tossed the rod at only 1286miles and the new ones have forged internals. The service dept can also have a lot to do with it...I'm switching, found an awesome place today with guys that are into these like we are and had a great attitude- the dealer I've been going to scares me- its like dealing with the police. Service dept isnt everything though, on a major engine deal Ford will send a rep out to look at the vehicle and authorize the repair. I dont know what to tell you about the j-3, the guy I spoke with today said his service guys just look to see if it has its- rubber or plastic cap? in place- I dont know, havent touched mine yet. Sorry I wrote so much but I know how you feel. Let us know what happens and if you have any other questions feel free to pm me. Also post your problem in the main SVT forum if you havent already...you may get some more insight. Good luck!

There is/was a thread on the V6 talk about a guys CD player that broke. He took it to Ford to fix it since its was still under warranty and they told him no. They said since he had a aftermarket exhaust ( flows) that it caused vibration that broke the radio/CD player. Now Come on I could understand if it was a heavely moded V8 ( and barely at that) but a stock V6 Anyways I just thought I would mention that to give you a idea on how Ford may respond to even the simplest mods. I told the guy the radio was probly junk anyways and Ford was looking for ways to get out of replacing it since they was loosing there shirts on it

 

[Alex Swinney]

Wow, I thought probes were the only cars that avoided ford dealerships like the plague...

I am really surprised. Mustang is the flagship of the Ford line, yet all of these mustang owners refuse to go there for service!!

I know that as a former probe owner (pro-boner) I had the local dealership 'fix' my car a couple of times. I even had them tell me that there was no problem when the car refused to start!

Seems to me that Ford dealerships are a complete joke. Hearing this tells me to never take my baby within 10 miles of a dealership.

 

[ChaosStarter]

Wow, I thought probes were the only cars that avoided ford dealerships like the plague...

I am really surprised. Mustang is the flagship of the Ford line, yet all of these mustang owners refuse to go there for service!!

don't think that teh 'flagship' corvette doesn't have problems with new cars either. i've heard bad things about those cars. but then again, it' is GM

 

[Pro-Hawk]

don't think that teh 'flagship' corvette doesn't have problems with new cars either. i've heard bad things about those cars. but then again, it' is GM

Wasn't the gear box falling our of them when they first whent to the body style

 

[Gray02GT]

There is/was a thread on the V6 talk about a guys CD player that broke. He took it to Ford to fix it since its was still under warranty and they told him no. They said since he had a aftermarket exhaust ( flows) that it caused vibration that broke the radio/CD player. Now Come on I could understand if it was a heavely moded V8 ( and barely at that) but a stock V6 Anyways I just thought I would mention that to give you a idea on how Ford may respond to even the simplest mods. I told the guy the radio was probly junk anyways and Ford was looking for ways to get out of replacing it since they was loosing there shirts on it

I really don't believe stories like that, seems to me that is probably more of a internet hoax. I mean they pull some stupid stuff, but theres no way they would try to claim flowmaster mufflers broke the head unit. I bet its just someone trying to stir up ****.

 

[COBRA90GT]

I really don't believe stories like that, seems to me that is probably more of a internet hoax. I mean they pull some stupid stuff, but theres no way they would try to claim flowmaster mufflers broke the head unit. I bet its just someone trying to stir up ****.

You'd be suprised. Certain dealerships have a history of denying warranty service because of unrelated car modifications. Everything from an aftermarket shifter to different wheel/tire combos have been blamed for denial of service. The dealership utilizes these "excuses" to not provide warranty service. Those are the types of service departments that enthusiausts should stay away from...

 

[Alex Swinney]

don't think that teh 'flagship' corvette doesn't have problems with new cars either. i've heard bad things about those cars. but then again, it' is GM

Maybe so, but I was talking about ford. I figured ford would have the common sense to keep their flagship car afloat. I mean, its not like the mustang has really been new or has any new innovations for the last decade. Besides IRS that is, but that has been available on other rwd V8 cars before the Cobra received it.

I am mainly speaking of problems with dealerships as well, which you fail to address. I know a ton of stories about ford dealerships screwing people on service, but this is the first time I have heard about Mustangs/Cobras getting the same ****ty service.

 

[scorp69]

always remind them of the 99 cobra and the bs svt lied about. also any recalls on the cobra's would also help. hope the cobra gets fixed.

 

[Dr. Wu 2000]

This thread is really scaring me. Hopefully I never have to go thru what he did. So far so good with mine. 700 miles and counting. If I ever need to bring
it in on a warranty issue, I am thinking about removing my shorty antenna I
just installed. They would probably blame that for the problem.

 

[travis0712]

I don't work for Ford, nor any car dealership.

I have to say that every ford dealer is independantly owned and operated.

Ford's warrenty does get abused often, way more often than you may like to think. People putting on aftermarket superchargers, NOS, and blow up trannys and rear ends, only to remove the aftermarket parts and get their warrent work done.

Now, with this said, every dealer is different. My dealer must be awesome because they provide me with great service.

My clutch was squeaking when it was either depressed or out. It came to be a crack in the retainer shaft the throwout bearing sits on.... they couldn't get the part from ford, so ford replaced the entire tranny... I had a flowmaster c-back and a CAI upgrade.... but they know I take care of my car - I go there all the time for my oil changes in both my cobra and my explorer....

They replaced the t-56 with a brand new one, sent down by ford.

They also replaced my front steering bushings since one was making popping sounds when I was braking hard....

They did all this without a one sign of hassle and without me asking them too... I just brought the car in for work.

I also closed the hatch on my explorer one day and the entire back glass shattered due to a broken arm. This was at 44k miles, past the warrenty.... they replaced the arm/bracket and $400 window... all without me asking...

This dealer has been in business for over 60 years.... I think that has a lot to deal with service...

My advise, don't buy a car from someone that won't back you up... and don't make ford replace something you broke from abuse/misuse...

Every car maker has their lemons.... and bad days.... there are good dealers and horrible ones..

Just my 5 cents...

 

[Dr. Wu 2000]

Well said.

 

[Uncle Meat]

They replaced the t-56 with a brand new one, sent down by ford.

Ford has a deal with Tremec on these T-56's. Doesn't matter what the problem is, the fix is always a complete removal and replacement of the tranny. They just ship the tranny back to the manufacturer. I've read of more than half-a-dozen 03 Cobra owners who had their whole transmission replaced just because of a throw out bearing problem...

U.M.

 

[Alex Swinney]

I don't work for Ford, nor any car dealership.

I have to say that every ford dealer is independantly owned and operated.

Ford's warrenty does get abused often, way more often than you may like to think. People putting on aftermarket superchargers, NOS, and blow up trannys and rear ends, only to remove the aftermarket parts and get their warrent work done.

Now, with this said, every dealer is different. My dealer must be awesome because they provide me with great service.

My clutch was squeaking when it was either depressed or out. It came to be a crack in the retainer shaft the throwout bearing sits on.... they couldn't get the part from ford, so ford replaced the entire tranny... I had a flowmaster c-back and a CAI upgrade.... but they know I take care of my car - I go there all the time for my oil changes in both my cobra and my explorer....

They replaced the t-56 with a brand new one, sent down by ford.

They also replaced my front steering bushings since one was making popping sounds when I was braking hard....

They did all this without a one sign of hassle and without me asking them too... I just brought the car in for work.

I also closed the hatch on my explorer one day and the entire back glass shattered due to a broken arm. This was at 44k miles, past the warrenty.... they replaced the arm/bracket and $400 window... all without me asking...

This dealer has been in business for over 60 years.... I think that has a lot to deal with service...

My advise, don't buy a car from someone that won't back you up... and don't make ford replace something you broke from abuse/misuse...

Every car maker has their lemons.... and bad days.... there are good dealers and horrible ones..

Just my 5 cents...

Well, since you gave me 2.5x what I was asking for...

Yes, the are independently owned. But does that really matter? Look at it like this, Bose (the home audio masters) implements STRICT control over the sale of THEIR product. They only sell it to those companies that are willing to sell THEIR product THEIR way. Same with service. They only let companies that are willing to do service THEIR way service THEIR product.

What does that mean? That means that they have total control over how their brand is interpreted. That also means that they see how the customer is treated by way of THEIR standards.

Does Ford do this? NO. They let the dealership control all of this. What does this mean? This means that Ford doesn't give two ****s how the dealership handles problems, as long as they are handled and Ford doesn't have to lift a ****ing finger to help the people that are supporting this massive company (us).

This also means that Ford has no standard when it comes to service (much like you stated). So what one person gets from one dealership is obviously different than what others receive at another.

So, in the end, I still lay the blame directly on Ford's dirty hands. They have the power to fix all this with a standardized (and enforced) method of service, but they refuse.

 

[travis0712]

Well, since you gave me 2.5x what I was asking for...
Yes, the are independently owned. But does that really matter?

Yes it does. They can loose manufatuer to dealer incentives and other disciplinary actions if they do not hold up to Ford's standards.

This also means that Ford has no standard when it comes to service (much like you stated). So what one person gets from one dealership is obviously different than what others receive at another.

So, in the end, I still lay the blame directly on Ford's dirty hands. They have the power to fix all this with a standardized (and enforced) method of service, but they refuse.

Each dealership that has a bad rep for this service they are providing, needs to be reported to Ford. You can start by getting one of their survay sheets and mailing it direct to Ford. It does make a difference, but if Ford does not hear from the dissatisfied customer, actions and check ups can't be directed at the sub-par dealer.

Ford cares, you don't have to believe me, just place a call into the QC department and you will have all sorts of attention. Get your concerns broadcasted to them sternly, but not rude or unprofessional.



Now I am up to a dime

 

[Cobra Jay]

I'm hate to see you or anyone having problems with your dealerships.

It really pisses me off since I am a Ford Employee, to hear that you guys won't take you cars to the dealer.

My only advice to you is, Find another dealer. I've bought 6 new Fords( 3 for me 3 for the wife) from 6 different dealers in the last 6 years. The only reason it isn't 6 from 5 dealers is because one of the sales people that I finally found, and liked died of cancer last year. I think I finally found a HOME though in RUSS MILNE FORD. My sales man is great and he hooked me up with some FREE x-tras, and their parts and service are open 24hrs. Mon-Thurs. Hopefully I won't need them, but if I do there there.

Again, I apolagize to you for you problems, but sounds to me like you need to find another dealer.