unsafe 2006 ford freestar

Check and see if there are any technical service bulletins (TSBs) on this issues.

While your lawyer should be able to tell about the lemon laws, for other readers: There are lemon laws in most or all states that allow you to return a vehicle that you have returned for repairs and the repairs were not done properly. The laws vary by state and usually require that a problem has been addressed by the dealer at least a certain number of times.

Jeff

i live in canada so we don't have the lemon law option

There are other ways to get a resolution, but you should give the dealer and the regional Manufacturer's reps several chances to make it right. But if they don't, you have to ratchet up the pressure in measured steps, offering them an opportunity at each step...

First you make sure you have all your documentation in order, and that you are 100% in the right, you didn't skip any steps or ever make any misrepresentations that could come back and bite you - run every step of this process past your lawyer to make sure.

Second, you have all future contacts from the Dealer or Mfgr. through your lawyer or in writing, period. You are taking the gloves off so you have to be painfully above the board, they can easily turn it around and make extortion or blackmail charges if you say the wrong thing.

Then you take your "free" personal webspace at Rogers (or get paid web hosting at an outside provider) and put up a decent looking page explaining all the problems you've had with the car, all the efforts where they tried to fix it, with a timeline. Put copies of the relevant repair orders and paperwork up there, but be careful to black out (redact) your address and phone number and other personal info that the lawyer says is better to leave out.

Make up several printed packets with copies of all this information

- both redacted for the press, and unedited for legal purposes.

Then you get some publicity - go to the local newspaper, radio or TV "Consumer Reporter" and have them shake the bushes at the dealer and Mfgr. on your behalf. Preferably with a camera crew.

If all else fails, you paint the car yellow (optional) and paint "They Sold Me A Lemon and Will Not Fix It. See for all the details" on the sides of the car, and park it in front of the dealership. (You can use poster paint so it washes off.)

Make sure to obey all parking regulations, document every time you come over and drive it 1 or 2 miles every 48 or 72 hours (or whatever the regulations are) so they can't ticket or tow it as an "abandoned" car.

(The dealer may try to call in a favor at City Hall or the Police Station and "Get that eyesore out from in front of my store!" and they'll lie that it hasn't moved in a week to make a plausible reason. You want to CYA for that ahead of time. Leave a copy of the log sheet face up on the dashboard to make the tow company think twice - they'll be named in the illegal towing complaint...)

If that last move doesn't get your lawyer's phone ringing with an offer to 'make it right', they've got *real* problems.

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Absolutely. Sometimes dealers or manufacturer's reps don't get the idea the first time. And, often, they really want to do the right thing.

If the dealer or manufacturer's rep doesn't do the right thing.

This idea is a thing of beauty.

My first comment is:

Do you know what the enter key is for? Tap it twice, just every once in a while!

The second comment is...I would think either Ontario or Canada would have a Lemon Law process.

snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com wrote:

You sir have just wrote the longest, on average, sentences I Have ever seen, many of them are not even sentences... very hard to read. If you spoke to the ford dealer like this, they probably didn't understand you!

Seven "sentences" (lines of words with a period at the end we might as well say) for all that.

Just to let you know, Ontario is a Province (what you probably call a state) and Canada is the Country that Ontario is within.

And to answer your question, No, canada does not have the "lemon" law as you do in the US. The freestar owner might want to start here:

The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan is a program where disputes between consumers and vehicle manufacturers about alleged manufacturing defects or implementation of the manufacturers' new vehicle warranty can be put before a neutral third party (arbitrator) for resolution. (right from their website at the site mentioned)

Backyard Mechanic wrote:

The trick is, you have to get your problem escalated up into Dealership Owner or Corp. Vice President territory so the person actually has the authority to solve it.

If they can't write a note to the lower levels saying "Replace every single piece in the braking system if you have to, just get it right - tell Accounting I said so." you haven't gone high enough yet and you are wasting your time talking to them. The only reason to do so is to get them to acknowledge they aren't authorized to help you, and bump you higher up the chain of command.

And if the lower levels won't let you get anywhere near that real decision making person out of fear for their personal fiefdom, then you have to take the public pressure route.

Yeah, I know. Through the years, other people have used variations on it. Usually the 'public pillory' method works, and if it doesn't it's incredibly cathartic. (You've still been wronged, but you feel a lot better getting it out in the open.)

God, I hope I never have to do anything that drastic myself...

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Sometimes when people are upset and venting, their grammar and punctuation goes downhill.

I'd rather it happens here than similar things at the dealer.

Jeff

Suppose I had said:

"I would think either Ohio or the US would have a Lemon Law process."

Would you infer from that I didnt understand the US?

I know that most yanks are unbelievably ignorant of Canada, but I'm not one of them. I'm still too ignorant but at one time I could name all the provinces, territories and their capitals; still can name most. And point them out on the map.

Wait, "out of the contract" - Is this car a lease or a purchase? A lease might be complicating things a LOT - they are harder to unwind.

Unless you think the cause is hopeless, never take the option of "figure out what the heck is wrong with the (brakes) and fix them once and for permanently" off the table.

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There must be something wrong with lyour ISP, you are getting double posts.

The Ford dealership is trying to help us get Ford to take the vehicle back. The Ford dealership gave us phone numbers of people to call. The Ford dealership gave us email addresses of people to contact. The Ford dealership said they would take the van back if Ford fixed it first. The Ford area rep won't have the van fixed or let us out of our contract. Our lawyer sent a letter (to ?), but we never got a response. If other people with the same problem will contact me maybe we can start a class action suit against ford. I'm posting in newsgroups groups for suggestions. ___________________________________________________________

=== The Ford dealer is giving you the runaround. === The Ford factory rep is giving you the runaround. === Your own lawyer is giving you the runaround.

Either all of these people are collectively conspiring to cheat you out of car you deserve, or they are individually telling you that you have no case - that you are a potentially vexatious litigant, not worthy of serious business consideration. Asking for class action suit support in a newsgroup would tend to support the second scenario.

If you think you have been wronged, plunk your money down in front of your lawyer and tell him to SUE. If he hesitates to go forward, take another look at the strength of your case.

Good luck.

Rodan.

What contract?

Jeff