Stuck in a horrible situation and need some help

[Koobs]

I brought my cpo fiesta into my dealer for what seemed to be paint bubbles on the door panel. Ford said it was covered under warranty, ok fine. I drop it off tuesday to get the door repainted and this is when it starts happening. I get a call a few hours later saying they will not cover it as it is not the original door but a replacement that was originally black and was painted molten orange. So we call up the original dealer which mind you is the one that was supposed to inspect the vehicle. They said they will only pay half of the cost of a new door and paint. I am livid. The 172 point inspection includes checking the body panels so why wasnt this found? It obviously wasnt reported on the vehicle history and obviously wasnt found during the inspection. Im at a standstill with the dealer and have no clue where to go. I think it is ridiculous that I have to pay half of the bill for something they were supposed to find. If I could speak with a ford rep and have some assistance. That would be awesome. Thanks

Update: I dont think I will be able to get any further than the offer currently on the table. I do get where the original dealer is coming from and let me elaborate on that a bit more in detail. The car obviously was in some accident that the previous owner shittily had fixed (the paint wasnt even holding up which gave way to this whole ordeal) and this was found when I brought the car in for the bubbling paint which I thought at the time was factory. My local dealer found it at their body shop and informed us. At this time we called the original dealer which is about an hour and a half away and they are doing their absolute best to work with us due to the location. The guy at the original dealer gave a good point. He said not that it is true but we could have had the job done ourselves, weren't happy with it and are trying to get them to pay for it. It is important to note its been about 3 months since the purchase date. I respect the dealer for the offer and may have been harsh due to my innitial anger about the whole situation. At this point in time this is most likely the best ill get from them and do not want to push the situation further and be shit out of luck completely.

Update #2: No response from the original dealer today. Was supposed to hear back after they got the quote from my local dealer. The original dealer said they would try to get a dealer to dealer price so I have reason to believe they pissed my local dealer off and they didnt send the quote over, but I could be completely wrong. Ive been without my car for a week now and im starting to get really irritated with this situation and am taking everything into consideration you guys are saying. Thank you so much for the support!

Update #3: Got a response and the original dealer said it was all worked out and will be painted early next week. Didnt say anything about cost but we will deal with that when it comes. Lets hope this is all over soon even though I have to pay for it

 

[GAbOS]

Yeah, I would take all of that information and call Ford of North America and make sure to inform them of the practices their dealers are engaging in with intentionally failing to report repairs.

 

[Seijou]

I also purchased a CPO and had an overall pleasant experience. But when I did have some issues, I almost walked out (I was so upset at the sales staff). The general sales manager saw what was going on and asked me to stay and chat with him. He listened to me and tried to address my concerns. I told him I was no longer interested in the sale for today, but I would come back.

I came back the next day and he took care of some things I brought up. Customer service is their #1 goal in order to be successful. Since then, I've seen him a few times and always greeted him.

If I have any problems related to sales, I would take it directly to him. He's always been realistic with me, i.e. "This is what I can do for you, this is what I can't..." Your problem seems like one that the dealership should fix. Therefore, I would try with the general sales manager at the dealership you purchased the car. If he/she can't or won't help you, keep feeding it up the food chain. Try the regional manager next. I know there is a regional service manager, but not sure if there is such thing as a regional sales manager. Keeping pushing it. They need to do right by you. Be polite, but persistent that they take care of the issue. Offering to cover 50% is nice, but not enough. Who you talk to makes a big difference... don't feed it to any of the folks at the bottom of the chain. Go directly to the people who CAN and WILL help you... i.e. general sales manager, etc.

 

[OffTheWall503]

Shitty situation. Sounds like the dealer knew this car was damaged and tried to sell it to you as a brand new car.

 

[Seijou]

Shitty situation. Sounds like the dealer knew this car was damaged and tried to sell it to you as a brand new car.

I understand what you're saying, but CPOs are always advertised as used cars, albeit with a little insurance. It's a very clear distinction and a lot of stuff can be brushed under the rug. None of these things would be acceptable in a 'brand new' vehicle.

But what the dealer did to the OP was just wrong. Fight it!!!

 

[me32]

Op contact ford customer care an get in touch with a regional rep. Keep us posted. Most cpo cars are suppose to only be fixed with ford OEM Parts an paint.

 

[Noodles]

If it has body panels replaced they are not allowed to sell it as certified pre-owned. I would definitely either be demanding for a few thousand back for the difference in value, or them to honor the original deal. Either way I would contact the regional rep.

Sent from the Canyon's Edge

 

[FistSt215]

Get a lawyer involved that's got to be illegal for them to see you a CpO when it's been damaged or been in a accident

 

[eleven]

Guy here in KC bought a CPO FiST...get this...it had no headlight bulbs and no air filter...wow

 

[Koobs]

Guy here in KC bought a CPO FiST...get this...it had no headlight bulbs and no air filter...wow

God damn is that crazy, leaving the inspections up to the dealers is pretty risky imo

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Had a similar experience with a CPO Focus. After getting the car home I noticed the paint on the bumper wasn't just "aged", it wasn't consistent with the paint elsewhere. Pulled the bumper, found a repainted yellow bumper with a "manufactured date" on it that was older than the car itself was. The car had obviously been an in accident because the airbox...had...a...hole...in...it and the heat shield around the cat was torn and resting on the cat. I didn't pull a carfax since the car was CPO and should not have been a CPO if it had been in an accident, a fact confirmed by the sales sleaze before the purchase. When I returned, the dealer admitted they did the bumper, so of course they should have done the rest too. Resolution: new airbox, new cat heat shield, same old repainted bumper.

Lesson? Do NOT buy cars during the summer when you can't stand to stand outside in the sun and spend a lot of time to inspect the car, and always run a Carfax. And, nowadays, some manufacturers don't exclude vehicles that have been in accidents from their CPO programs - read the fine print and run every Carfax. Carfax isn't a guarantee of anything but better than nothing.

 

[Koobs]

I agree fully. I checked the carfax and it was squeaky clean as was the car at time of purchase, but just recently that paint started to take a shit so I couldn't have spotted it then.

 

[me32]

Sometime car faxes dont show things either. If they get fixed without it going through insurance it wont show up on those reports. The problem i see is dealers are the ones not doing the proper inspection. Unfortunately the new buyer tends to be the one that ends up getting screwed on it. As stated you should always fully inspect the car you plan to buy. If you are not able to then have someone that can for you.

 

[BRGT350]

there isn't much Ford will do from a warranty standpoint since the paint isn't original. If the original paint was bubbling, then yes, it would be covered. With the car being used and with a repainted door, there isn't anything for Ford to get involved with. Sadly, it is a dealer issue, and those are horrible to deal with. I question how much "certifying" that actually goes on. I expect to be not much more than a tech giving it a walk around with the used car manager to make sure the car is in sellable condition. I doubt any of them would dig deep enough to know the door was repainted. Buying used is a huge risk since nobody really knows the history of the car and nobody at the dealer actually cares.

 

[boombots]

I'd look to see if certified means no accidents. If it does make them repair or even replace the car. That's grounds for false marketing or sales. They could be sued.

That being said... carfax is a scam. Nothing shows up on it anyway. I was rearended and had a shop do the work via insurance. Never showed up.

Sent from my XT1064 using Tapatalk

 

[jeffreylyon]

I don't think that this is too hard to solve. Find out, from ford.com, where it states how a CPO Ford must be repaired. If it's clear that your car was not repaired according to the Ford CPO standard, write a letter to the dealer stating that you bought a car that was sold by the dealer as CPO, but, clearly is it not - cite the exact language from Ford. Demand that the car be repaired within 30 days or you will file a claim in Small Claims Court for $X, where X is what the other dealer's body shop is quoting to repair the car to CPO standards + the cost of a loaner during the repair period + diminished value as this repair may show up on the CarFAX and ding your car's resell value. If they don't do anything, file the claim and appear - it's an easy win. Use the reward to fix the car.

I doubt that the original dealer will let it go that far - they know that they will lose and it's much cheaper for them to repair the car in their shop than it is to pay (through court awarded damages) for another dealer to fix it. Understand, however, that you're probably in for a couple of road trips as they will want to fix it in their own shop.

Don't stress about this too much. Calmly state what your expectations are (that your car be restored to the state which the dealer claimed it was) and don't let them talk you down from that. They view this as nothing more than managed risk - being summons to Small Claims Court, losing, and paying 200% more than if they just fix their fuck up is too much risk for them; make sure that they understand that that's where this is going.

 

[BRGT350]

Looking over the CPO documents, there isn't anything listed suggesting that non-factory paint is covered by anything nor that CPO means the car wasn't involved in an accident. It appears CPO allows you to buy ESP that you can get when purchasing new.

 

[jeffreylyon]

[MENTION=4823]Koobs[/MENTION] - did you get a copy of the checklist when you bought the car : http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/global/pdf/cpo/ford_cpo.pdf ? If so, did 3A.24 state that there was a repair on a body panel? I don't see immediately see where the acceptable state described, but it is very clear that repairs may only be done with "manufacturer-authorized parts." I don't know if a junkyard door qualified as such. I suppose that they could claim that a junkyard door is acceptable on a CPO car, but I would, then, for sure, let them know that I'm going to get them to say that in court while under oath and publish a copy of the transcript on every social media channel I could possibly think of.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I question how much "certifying" that actually goes on.

Former rentals are now being sold as CPO in large numbers - always check Carfax for that. It really dilutes the concept of "CPO", but in line with dealer greediness.

Demand that the car be repaired within 30 days or you will file a claim in Small Claims Court for $X, where X is what the other dealer's body shop is quoting to repair the car to CPO standards + the cost of a loaner during the repair period + diminished value as this repair may show up on the CarFAX and ding your car's resell value. If they don't do anything, file the claim and appear - it's an easy win. Use the reward to fix the car.

That's an oversimplification. Also, the OP should know that threatening legal action towards a dealer can instantly stop any and all interaction between you and the dealer staff. I've see this, on the internet mind you, happen where the guy seeking resolution was just stonewalled after doing that and referred to the dealers legal council with no more discussion. Keep that in mind before you leap to going that route.

 

[Noodles]

That's an oversimplification. Also, the OP should know that threatening legal action towards a dealer can instantly stop any and all interaction between you and the dealer staff. I've see this, on the internet mind you, happen where the guy seeking resolution was just stonewalled after doing that and referred to the dealers legal council with no more discussion. Keep that in mind before you leap to going that route.

THIS. Unless you are prepared to walk, don't talk the talk. People will get a much further by calmly and rationally explaining thing, maybe in a slightly louder voice in a showroom full of people. There are always rule to a bent and other that can be broken. Someone tried to bend/break a rule by giving a shoddy CPO car. Now maybe they will do the same to make it right.



Sent from the Canyon's Edge