I have sold my ford, and am purchasing a Honda Civic. The situation I've been dealing with for now close to 3 months has upset me to the point of where I will never purchase a Ford again, and I have been a ford customer for over 7 years - my first car was a ford, and this will be the last Ford I ever purchase.
On February 20th, I took my 2001 Taurus into Peninsula Ford of Palo Alto because with 3 or 4 people in the car, the car would make a loud rattling noise in the back. The car was under the ESP warranty. I was told the rattling was due to the placement of the exhaust, and nothing could be done, and charged a $42 diagnostic fee. I told them this was unacceptable as the car was brought in a few months prior, and the resolution was a TSB that involved moving the exhaust. I called and spoke to a lead there the next day who said he'd have the service manager, Ben Perez take a further look at the car. I took the car back, and was then told the problem was due to the car being 'overweight' due to the radio and fire equipment I have in the car (I'm a volunteer Firefighter and a volunteer for a air ambulance - I have 3 two way radios mounted in a console which replaced the stock console, and my turnout coat, jacket, and helmet in the trunk). I told them I didn't believe this was the case, as the radio console I put in replaced the center console that comes stock, and the weight difference between the two wasn't much. I was told I'd need to have the car weighed. I was only able to get the car weighed with myself and one other person in the car. The car was under the max weight by more than 200 pounds in the front, and close to 600 pounds in the back. Clearly this was not a weight issue, there was something else. I faxed the documentation of this weight issue over to Mr. Perez. A few weeks later, Mr. Perez called me back and told me that he STILL believe it to be a weight issue. I pushed it, telling him it clearly wasn't, and I had the documentation showing the car was below the maximum weight. He then told me that putting the radios in the car voids the cars warranty, and as such, regardless of the weight of the car, the warranty is void. At this point I called the Customer Relations Manager who told me my only option was to call the General Manager, Ron Faudrey, who I called Friday May 7th at 4:10. I have yet to receive as much as a call back.
It's obvious Peninsula Ford doesn't care. I've filed a Better Business Bureau complaint, I've registered my complaint with Ford Corporate. What other agencies would I have be a good starting point?
PS: Peninsula Ford is in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Burlingame (California)
Thanks.
Evan