Ford Buy Back!

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by dan50

I see: this is Ford we're talking about...

What's wrong with the DCT in it's current form?

If Ford had a "do over", they would use the DCT minus the bad seal.

[Supramk3]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

IMO, your car is not a lemon at all. The problem is bad service. If your transmission is not working properly, the dealer should fix it.

If the dealer is either unwilling or unable to fix your car, do you buy another car from them and pray that it doesn't break?

Id try a different dealer and see if tge problem id fixed, the ptoblem may be the service dept at his current dealership.

Sent from the HO KID network using FF Mobile

[dan50]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

What's wrong with the DCT in it's current form?

If Ford had a "do over", they would use the DCT minus the bad seal.

Gosh, just read around the forum. I know the seals are an issue (and continue to be) as is the mediocre dealer service network. Also, mysterious refusals to go into gear, an unpredictable "learning process", half-baked software made only somewhat better after several revisions, etc.

Add that to the marginal mpg improvement the DCT offers and the number of people who, when buying a mass-market car, expect conventional behavior, and you don't have a winning combination. Ask Praton what's wrong with the DCT in its current form.

Mine behaves OK after a really bad first 5,000 miles, but I have very low confidence it will continue to do so. Finally, you may want to ask yourself why the Focus has substantially more incentive cash on the hood than its competitors despite being the most stylish of the lot.

If yours has always worked great, I'm happy for you. That is far from a universal experience though.

[Sprint]

Originally Posted by 12_T_Hatch

Well ladies and gents, I have reached that point... I have owned "Casper" for 18 months and in that time I have put 31,142 miles on her. (Keep in mind I was out of the country for 6 of the 18 months of ownership...) Sadly though my experience with her has been nothing but headaches - I have had to bring her to the dealership for transmission issues 14 times (not counting regular service related issues - TSB's - Recalls - oil changes - new tires - etc), and half of those times required a two or even three day stay at the dealership... So after being without my car for two days due to my transmission, I decided that enough is enough. Even the service adviser at the dealership I have started using since moving told me that until Ford comes up with a permanent fix I am stuck coming back every few weeks for the transmission to be "reprogrammed" with the latest patch. After hearing that and brooding about it the entire ride home I decided to write Ford Motor Company, notifying them in writing that the problem was still there and if they don't take radical steps to correct this issue I will be forced to pursue my legal options provided to me under the Missouri lemon law. I also included in that letter a copy of every service record I have showing my complaint of a transmission problem plus my retail installment contract showing exactly how much I paid for the vehicle plus all the money I put as a down payment. In the letter I gave them two options buy the car back from me or switch me into a comparably priced and equipped vehicle that I approve of. If they do the later you can rest assured I will either be driving the Focus ST (it only comes with a manual transmission so I shouldn't have the shuddering, hesitation or grinding that I am currently experiencing) or I will abandon the Focus line all together and get into the nicest Fusion I can for 29,000. I also wrote in the letter that they need to re-imburse me all the tax, tags, title and motor vehicle inspection fees I paid to get the Focus road ready.

Anyways, I will let you know what I hear back from them. I gave them ten business days to respond before I start executing on the promise to report them to the BBB, and Missouri Attorney General. This is probably showing me as a sucker, but even with the headache this car is for me - I still LOVE Ford. I am hoping that they stand behind their product and pave the way for me to trade into a different Ford.

Did your dealer replace the clutches on your focus?

[mmmfloorpie]

Originally Posted by 12_T_Hatch

Well ladies and gents, I have reached that point... I have owned "Casper" for 18 months and in that time I have put 31,142 miles on her. (Keep in mind I was out of the country for 6 of the 18 months of ownership...) Sadly though my experience with her has been nothing but headaches - I have had to bring her to the dealership for transmission issues 14 times (not counting regular service related issues - TSB's - Recalls - oil changes - new tires - etc), and half of those times required a two or even three day stay at the dealership... So after being without my car for two days due to my transmission, I decided that enough is enough. Even the service adviser at the dealership I have started using since moving told me that until Ford comes up with a permanent fix I am stuck coming back every few weeks for the transmission to be "reprogrammed" with the latest patch. After hearing that and brooding about it the entire ride home I decided to write Ford Motor Company, notifying them in writing that the problem was still there and if they don't take radical steps to correct this issue I will be forced to pursue my legal options provided to me under the Missouri lemon law. I also included in that letter a copy of every service record I have showing my complaint of a transmission problem plus my retail installment contract showing exactly how much I paid for the vehicle plus all the money I put as a down payment. In the letter I gave them two options buy the car back from me or switch me into a comparably priced and equipped vehicle that I approve of. If they do the later you can rest assured I will either be driving the Focus ST (it only comes with a manual transmission so I shouldn't have the shuddering, hesitation or grinding that I am currently experiencing) or I will abandon the Focus line all together and get into the nicest Fusion I can for 29,000. I also wrote in the letter that they need to re-imburse me all the tax, tags, title and motor vehicle inspection fees I paid to get the Focus road ready.

Anyways, I will let you know what I hear back from them. I gave them ten business days to respond before I start executing on the promise to report them to the BBB, and Missouri Attorney General. This is probably showing me as a sucker, but even with the headache this car is for me - I still LOVE Ford. I am hoping that they stand behind their product and pave the way for me to trade into a different Ford.

How did you put so many miles on it for being out of the country for 6 months?

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by mmmfloorpie

How did you put so many miles on it for being out of the country for 6 months?

That's only 2595.17 miles per month for the 12 months that they drove the car on average. That does seem a little high but at 30 days/ month that would only be 86.5 miles/ day. I had been doing 105 + miles a day just a few years ago, now mind you that was alternated with days of not going very far as I was rotating in and out of university and internship rotations.

[12_T_Hatch]

Originally Posted by mmmfloorpie

How did you put so many miles on it for being out of the country for 6 months?

Simple, I drove more the 12 months I was in country...

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by dan50

Gosh, just read around the forum. I know the seals are an issue (and continue to be) as is the mediocre dealer service network. Also, mysterious refusals to go into gear, an unpredictable "learning process", half-baked software made only somewhat better after several revisions, etc.

Add that to the marginal mpg improvement the DCT offers and the number of people who, when buying a mass-market car, expect conventional behavior, and you don't have a winning combination. Ask Praton what's wrong with the DCT in its current form.

Mine behaves OK after a really bad first 5,000 miles, but I have very low confidence it will continue to do so. Finally, you may want to ask yourself why the Focus has substantially more incentive cash on the hood than its competitors despite being the most stylish of the lot.

If yours has always worked great, I'm happy for you. That is far from a universal experience though.

I understand that many people have had issues but nothing that I've read leads me to believe that the DCT is an inherently bad design.

I would hope that Ford's attitude is "let's get it right" rather than "let's give up and throw it away".

[6769MOPARS]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

I understand that many people have had issues but nothing that I've read leads me to believe that the DCT is an inherently bad design.

I would hope that Ford's attitude is "let's get it right" rather than "let's give up and throw it away".

Agree. Our DCT has been great so far. We experience minor shudder on mild acceleration only; other than that, if performs flawlessly.

[Berlin Bill]

Originally Posted by mainest

Just more evidence to heed the old maxim that one should never purchase a car in its first model year. This is also confirmation of the validity of "Lemon Laws".

I agree - in 1981 I bought a first-year Ford Escort GLX and, although I liked most things about it, the engine had a serious failures twice that required major repair work. Ford covered the 1st, but not the 2nd.
It is only now - about 30 years later - that I am looking at the possibility of buying a Ford once again and part of that process is reading this forum.