So, this is a relatively lengthy post. But I needed a place to rant. Read on if you care enough.
So I bought my 1998 V6 Mustang used about three years ago. I've loved this car. I honestly wanted to continue driving Mustangs the rest of my life. Until I had a brake problem on my left rear wheel. Let me explain why I won't be buying Ford again.
So my brake issues started about two years ago now (22 months ago roughly). I had an independent mechanic I trusted and I had brought it to him. What was happening was that the brake pads on the left rear were being eaten up fast and the caliper was tearing into the rotor. So he fixed it. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary fix. So I brought it back to him, and he was nice enough to not charge me for the second visit (or the third). On the second visit, he replaced the pads and gave me a new rotor. On the new rotor, he cut striations in it to allow the pads to breath better. He also re-surfaced the right rear rotor.
However, again, the pad got torn up. The caliper just didn't want to disengage. So I brought it back to my mechanic a third time. He actually told me he doesn't know what it was (I was kind of confused that he didn't have any more ideas, but I really just think he didn't want to keep giving away free service under repair warranties). So he told me to take it to a Ford dealership, and gave me $300 towards the cost that Ford would charge me.
So I took it to a Ford dealership. They charged me $630 to replace the left rear rotor, caliper and pads as well as re-surface the right rotor again. Even though I had told them that this was what my previous mechanic did, they assured me it was fixed. I also requested Ford certified parts.
I thought, "Ok, they know what they are doing" and was comforted by a 12-month/12,000 mile warranty from Ford.
Well, 6 months and coincidentally, 6,000 miles later, the brake started making the wonderful scratching noise that signifies that it will be going out again. So I brought it to a different Ford dealership (it was under warranty, however I had moved and was no longer in an acceptable driving range of the previous dealership). The new dealership (dealership b for this conversation) assured me that the brake was fine, and if I heard any scratching, it is just because after market parts were used by the previous repair. This got me somewhat upset, since like I said previously, I requested Ford parts (Motorcraft), not after market. But again, I thought, "Ok, they know what they are doing" and was comforted by the fact that they said it was normal.
About two months later (2,000 miles), the noise started getting worse. So I brought it back to dealership b, and again, they gave me the same answer. "This is normal for after market parts. Don't worry." I was a little bit leary at this point, but I said, "Ok, they know what they are doing."
Well now, here we are, 13 months after the initial repair (and 15,000 miles later), the brakes are back to having torn through the brake pad and the caliper has now carved a notch into the rotor that is about 1/4 inch deep and circles around the entire back side of the left rear rotor.
I bring it back to them, and they now refuse to fix anything. They are telling me I must pay them $715 for repair work (new caliper, rotor and pads on the left rear, new pads on the right rear and a re-surface on the right rear, and new brake hoses on all four wheels.) They are also telling me that this is only a 50% chance that it will fix it, and if it doesn't work, it will be another $175 + labor for another piece. And I had them take off the wheels so I could inspect also, apparently what dealership b told me was not correct. The original dealership (dealership a) did use Motorcraft parts.
Neither dealerships will honor the warranty (having brought it in twice while under warranty and told it was normal and not to worry apparently means nothing) and Ford Motor Company seems to tell me that I am ***** out of luck.
Am I wrong in thinking that I was mis-treated here? Should Ford be covering this since I was in there twice about the issue while I was still under warranty?
I am usually a heavy lurker here, but this needed to be posted. Thank you for taking the time to read.
So I bought my 1998 V6 Mustang used about three years ago. I've loved this car. I honestly wanted to continue driving Mustangs the rest of my life. Until I had a brake problem on my left rear wheel. Let me explain why I won't be buying Ford again.
So my brake issues started about two years ago now (22 months ago roughly). I had an independent mechanic I trusted and I had brought it to him. What was happening was that the brake pads on the left rear were being eaten up fast and the caliper was tearing into the rotor. So he fixed it. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary fix. So I brought it back to him, and he was nice enough to not charge me for the second visit (or the third). On the second visit, he replaced the pads and gave me a new rotor. On the new rotor, he cut striations in it to allow the pads to breath better. He also re-surfaced the right rear rotor.
However, again, the pad got torn up. The caliper just didn't want to disengage. So I brought it back to my mechanic a third time. He actually told me he doesn't know what it was (I was kind of confused that he didn't have any more ideas, but I really just think he didn't want to keep giving away free service under repair warranties). So he told me to take it to a Ford dealership, and gave me $300 towards the cost that Ford would charge me.
So I took it to a Ford dealership. They charged me $630 to replace the left rear rotor, caliper and pads as well as re-surface the right rotor again. Even though I had told them that this was what my previous mechanic did, they assured me it was fixed. I also requested Ford certified parts.
I thought, "Ok, they know what they are doing" and was comforted by a 12-month/12,000 mile warranty from Ford.
Well, 6 months and coincidentally, 6,000 miles later, the brake started making the wonderful scratching noise that signifies that it will be going out again. So I brought it to a different Ford dealership (it was under warranty, however I had moved and was no longer in an acceptable driving range of the previous dealership). The new dealership (dealership b for this conversation) assured me that the brake was fine, and if I heard any scratching, it is just because after market parts were used by the previous repair. This got me somewhat upset, since like I said previously, I requested Ford parts (Motorcraft), not after market. But again, I thought, "Ok, they know what they are doing" and was comforted by the fact that they said it was normal.
About two months later (2,000 miles), the noise started getting worse. So I brought it back to dealership b, and again, they gave me the same answer. "This is normal for after market parts. Don't worry." I was a little bit leary at this point, but I said, "Ok, they know what they are doing."
Well now, here we are, 13 months after the initial repair (and 15,000 miles later), the brakes are back to having torn through the brake pad and the caliper has now carved a notch into the rotor that is about 1/4 inch deep and circles around the entire back side of the left rear rotor.
I bring it back to them, and they now refuse to fix anything. They are telling me I must pay them $715 for repair work (new caliper, rotor and pads on the left rear, new pads on the right rear and a re-surface on the right rear, and new brake hoses on all four wheels.) They are also telling me that this is only a 50% chance that it will fix it, and if it doesn't work, it will be another $175 + labor for another piece. And I had them take off the wheels so I could inspect also, apparently what dealership b told me was not correct. The original dealership (dealership a) did use Motorcraft parts.
Neither dealerships will honor the warranty (having brought it in twice while under warranty and told it was normal and not to worry apparently means nothing) and Ford Motor Company seems to tell me that I am ***** out of luck.
Am I wrong in thinking that I was mis-treated here? Should Ford be covering this since I was in there twice about the issue while I was still under warranty?
I am usually a heavy lurker here, but this needed to be posted. Thank you for taking the time to read.
