02-05-2011, 10:29 AM
As an ex Ford parts manager. and a son that is a Ford master technician, I want to tell you that Ford is not the problem here, It is the dealerships.
My son had a customer come in that had a Ford truck with 46,000 miles that had never had an oil change and it lost a bearing. Ford told him to send an oil sample to them. They tested the sample and told him there was no problem with the oil, repair it under waranty (it was a 5/50,000).
We could, without Fords approval go as much as 500 miles above the warranty .
It is also illegal to require that the maintenance be done by the dealership, as long as it is done. We had many do-it -yourself guys.
If any dealership tries to snow you, write a letter directly to the company, but be polite and explain your problem. Keep in mind the dealership will get a copy of the letter. Most car companies will help within reason
As for the Festiva, we had an 88 that we bought new and traded it in on the 2006 Focus. We loved that car but we wore it out. It was designed by Mazda (which Ford owned) and built by Kia, (which Ford also had a big share).
My son had a customer come in that had a Ford truck with 46,000 miles that had never had an oil change and it lost a bearing. Ford told him to send an oil sample to them. They tested the sample and told him there was no problem with the oil, repair it under waranty (it was a 5/50,000).
We could, without Fords approval go as much as 500 miles above the warranty .
It is also illegal to require that the maintenance be done by the dealership, as long as it is done. We had many do-it -yourself guys.
If any dealership tries to snow you, write a letter directly to the company, but be polite and explain your problem. Keep in mind the dealership will get a copy of the letter. Most car companies will help within reason
As for the Festiva, we had an 88 that we bought new and traded it in on the 2006 Focus. We loved that car but we wore it out. It was designed by Mazda (which Ford owned) and built by Kia, (which Ford also had a big share).