My FGX XR8 denied warranty

[LoudPipes]

The ACCC offers advice on how to approach complaints and problems.

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/complaints-problems


It’s obvious the OP needs the dealership to put in writing the reasons for rejecting the warranty claim.

Honestly I could never see this going to court, after expert mechanical engineers are cross examined in a witness box Ford’s interpretation of misuse may not be that of the court and companies don’t like to expose themselves to further litigation when mediation is the least destructive sensible solution. In these cases they generally use their legal muscle as intimidation not as a reality.

Add to that the plaintiff would have to be seriously motivated to also chance the financial and time cost involved.

For those who hang on to every word written in a warranty, you are the ones the companies write them for, you’re the majority who are hoodwinked without question. For the rest the ACCC and legal professionals offer advice on how to break down the deceptive walls the companies hide behind.

Whether it’s a performance car or not, driving a stock tuned vehicle at full throttle for 12 seconds regardless of where it’s done shouldn’t cause a failure in the mind of a fair thinking person.

[aussiblue]

Yes but as has been pointed out, a number of State consumer/fair trading agencies that act for the ACCC in these matters have also published material and or emphasised that using you car in motorsports is one thing that definitely voids the warranty.

Yes by all means contact them (now the Department of Commerce in WA) but I can anticipate the response.

Also note the political reality is that these agencies approach changes according to which party in power - more consumer orientated and more related resources when labour is in power more business orientated and less consumer rights orientated and less consumer help resources when the liberal/coalition parties are in power.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

i feel sorry for you mate but honestly everybody knows a new engine in any car being a ferrari or fiat pinto needs time to bed in the rings etc etc. to take a 2000km car to the drag strip is negligent to say the least. mechanical sympathy has to come to mind for at least 5000km if not 10000km. i have been buying new cars for the last 26 years and have never had an serious engine problem.

i drove my brothers wry when new around 1500km then again at 17000km . totally different car , it felt like it had another 50kw added on!

if you were ford and warrantied every car that got thrashed at the track you would go broke overnight!

What an absolute load of total crap.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

1000km and you're thrashing it at the drags?
I don't think I feel too sorry for the OP. That poor car.

Any properly screwed together engine is ready for anything by 500km. My engine builders just used to say no extended throttle in top gear but other than that leave three gear strips out the front of the workshop when leaving :-)

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

Lotus say here http://www.lotuscars.com/ownership/warranty :



So for Lotus' it's a limited warranty for some motorsports events and only their motorsports division vehicles and no drag racing.

That's an out, but what's the bet, they have never, ever, ever used it.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Not necessarily, the damage could have started then, just like getting a nail in your tyre, you could have picked it up many miles/week’s before hand and have a slow deflating tyre and not known when the actual damage was caused.

Planet you are on?

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by CQB-241

I concur with several here that dragging a 2000km old car constitutes abuse. I won't be belting mine in that way at that time of its life.

Should have bought a Barina.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by Grechie

Will a dyno power run void the warranty? For example a dyno day, with 3 power runs?

That's harder work than any drag run.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by Bosko

Ben,
With things heating up on this thread towards Ford, this will not be good for you so maybe this thread should be locked!
.

Maybe instead it should be promoted.

[SensationFG8]

Originally Posted by mcnews

That's an out, but what's the bet, they have never, ever, ever used it.

I was at a track day organised by the lotus dealer. A car spewed oil all over the track and was disabled. They fixed it under warranty, provided him a loaner and let the guy use one of their cars for a session.

Some brands get performance cars and who their customers are.

Honestly if this car was not tuned some runs at the drags should not void the warranty unless there is specific proof the failure mode could be caused by that (let's face it they have an out there). The blower shouldn't operate outside its parameters, it's linked to rpm by the belt, so what specifically about this failure do ford say was caused by a drag? You need it in writing.

[Mowdit]

Originally Posted by CQB-241

I concur with several here that dragging a 2000km old car constitutes abuse. I won't be belting mine in that way at that time of its life.

Disagree, if there was a run in period it would be specified in the manual, at point of sale, or have a big sticker on it.

Or in the case of Mercedes, it would be electronically rev limited until 2-3000klm like the A45.

As Ford haven't opened the superchager one could assume they know exactly what is wrong with it, and in turn one could assume they know this from having had other failures already.

Bearings most likely.

Should Ford not want to play/pay, take it to an independent suitable repairer and get it fixed, have them detail the strip and any faults found, if it can be determined to be part failure or casting then have a lawyer send a copy of the report to Ford with a payment demand.

Basically, get it fixed and drive it, it wasn't made to be laid up.

Goodluck
Cheers Chris

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Planet you are on?

I was clearly saying that the damage could have been done many moons before it was picked up on, and it is anyones guess where it actually occurred.

[Top_Ghia]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Any properly screwed together engine is ready for anything by 500km. My engine builders just used to say no extended throttle in top gear but other than that leave three gear strips out the front of the workshop when leaving :-)

Did they offer a 3 year 100,000 km warranty?

[DK30RB]

If it comes to a CTTT hearing, the focus will be on "Fit for Purpose". What is the purpose if the XR8.

Lodge a complaint with CTTT, it won't cost you anything, Shoot for the stars and hit the moon and i'm willing to bet the dealer and ford will buckle.

I'm telling you from experience. When i had my issues with another brand, i lodged a hearing with the CTTT, i had everything documented, and was asking for a full refund, costs, and compensation for a year of grief with the vehicle.

The dealer and manufacturer buckled and gave me a brand new car, which is all i really wanted anyway.

Make repairing the car the "cheaper" option for them.

Xr8 comes with a supercharger, brembo brakes, a V8, R spec suspension. Its built to be driven in a different manner to a small 4 cylinder hatch back.

Ford will have no choice but to fix it under warranty.

[99AUXR]

Originally Posted by mcnews

What an absolute load of total crap.

Agree with everything you say but post count much lol

[chrisandsharon]

Park it outside the dealer with a sign on it:


8000km
SUPERCHARGER BROKEN ALREADY
VEHICLE USELESS
PRICELESS



they will love that is what I'd do. Get it tray topped/towed there if need be

.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by chrisandsharon

Park it outside the dealer with a sign on it:


8000km
SUPERCHARGER BROKEN ALREADY
VEHICLE USELESS
PRICELESS



they will love that is what I'd do. Get it tray topped/towed there if need be

.

Or do something similar to what this guy did.

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11435143

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by DK30RB

If it comes to a CTTT hearing, the focus will be on "Fit for Purpose". What is the purpose if the XR8.

Lodge a complaint with CTTT, it won't cost you anything, Shoot for the stars and hit the moon and i'm willing to bet the dealer and ford will buckle.

I'm telling you from experience. When i had my issues with another brand, i lodged a hearing with the CTTT, i had everything documented, and was asking for a full refund, costs, and compensation for a year of grief with the vehicle.

The dealer and manufacturer buckled and gave me a brand new car, which is all i really wanted anyway.

Make repairing the car the "cheaper" option for them.

Xr8 comes with a supercharger, brembo brakes, a V8, R spec suspension. Its built to be driven in a different manner to a small 4 cylinder hatch back.

Ford will have no choice but to fix it under warranty.

CTTT no longer exists in NSW, is now NCAT.

In this case, Ford is not liable due to the motorsport warranty exclusion.

In this case, the remedy sought is against the entity from which the vehicle was purchased, and the remedy is that the vehicle was not fit for purpose.

Some manufacturers do fight CTTT proceedings, I remember a case involving a surgeon's wife taking on a German Manufacturer in relation to a very expensive sports vehicle, was a very expensive exercise in the CTTT (as lawyers were allowed with consequent cost implications).

But that very wealthy surgeon swapped from that German carmaker (he had purchased some 5 vehicles new from them) to Porsche....so there is a lesson in all this for manufacturers as well......

There is no certainty with litigation....that's why it is always better for the parties to reach an informal resolution-with both parties walking away with certainty of a settlement - they may not happy, but with a result they can both live with.

[Grunter]

It's hard being a FoA supportor for some time and thinking back to the days when FoA used this forums in a positive way (Uncle Geoff days). Then seeing how Fordforums (public or not) have been used against a member in this manner.

I understand it's a new world at FoA, but given the support in the past and the continuing ongoing support of Ford in new vehicle purchases from a lot of AFF members, it's hard to swallow. In saying that, it's been obvious for a long time that FoA don't give two hoots about AFF or it's thousands of members.

Sure they are in the business of selling cars, but why potentially alienate a good portion of your current and future vehicle purchases by doing what is by any measure, a dodgy act like this.

"Race on Sunday, sell on Monday" may be dead, but appears it's been replaced with "Sell on Monday, don't give a **** once you've made the sale".

And if it was a Ford dealer, that's no excuse, nor does it let Ford off the hook. Dealers sell and represent the Ford brand, hence are Ford in the customers eyes.

[mik]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Any properly screwed together engine is ready for anything by 500km. My engine builders just used to say no extended throttle in top gear but other than that leave three gear strips out the front of the workshop when leaving :-)

Yeah but it is not the just the engine Trev, there are rules regarding motor sport and warranties for a reason, while in this case it's only something minor by the looks of it, and
And kempys claim it is a fault of the part may well be right and he did not mistreat it.

But, you and I both know some blokes will give motor cars a an absolute belting way above what they where ever designed for, and it's much more likely to happen at tracks, one look at a burnout video tube will show vehicles being thrashed to destruction.

[satria]

Admitted this was back in 1998 or so but my old man did a track day at Wanneroo Raceway in his new GTS and lit up the tyres pretty impressively leaving the pits (have an old photo somewhere), he even spun off the track filling the car (inside and out) with sand. I remember the brakes sounded horrible for ages!

The car went in for warranty work and i know for a fact the dealer knew about it because my younger sister spilled the beans (innocent little kid in the back seat saying "is it because of the time you raced it on the track" or something on those lines with the dealer rep in the car who replied something to the effect of "don't worry abut it".)

I've been a Ford man my whole life but these instances definitely stick in my head and can play a pretty big role in any new car purchases in the future.

I hope they repair your FGX mate, I see this as a dog act by Ford!

[xisled]

Couple of things in this thread that need to be clarified and I think the OP needs this done to.

You need to find out exactly what they are declining the warranty work on, is it that fact you dragged raced the car, or is it due to drag racing the car this may have caused a part to fail. You need to get a letter from Ford for what they are exactly declining your warranty claim on. They cannot just say we are not repairing the car due to one night at the drags.

You also need to get a report from Ford, on what the issue actually is and what they did to come to the conclusion.

Once you have these take, your car to a specialist and get another report done asking them to find the problem. This will be at your own cost.

Once you have established all this, then you can work out what your next step will be. It may be cheaper to fix the car yourself and move on with life, or you could take the fight to Ford.

[FGX335]

What does it matter what anyone on here thinks? Follow up with another dealer, lodge complaints as you have, document everything, and escalate on a regular basis. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, and enough pressure may just have them saying, "Just give this guy what he wants and get him out the door".

It can't hurt to lodge your case with as many parties as you can, persistence often pays off.

[Smoke Pursuit]

You should stick to the dealer you bought it from. Your contractual arrangement is with them.

[kempy311]

Ford CRC has pretty much washed there hands of it. She said in the notes that it was raced and then pictured leaving on a tow truck hahahahah

[EASYBOSS]

Did it actually leave on a tow truck

[Franco Cozzo]

Take it further, go with one of these consumer watchdogs and maybe a lawyer who specialises in this sort of stuff.

I agree with the trying to go down not fit for purpose path, thats going to be your only shot IMO.

[kempy311]

Originally Posted by EASYBOSS

Did it actually leave on a tow truck

Nope has been on a truck 3 times now. Home after it died in the city, to the dealership and back home from the dealership.

[99AUXR]

......

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Take it further, go with one of these consumer watchdogs and maybe a lawyer who specialises in this sort of stuff.

I agree with the trying to go down not fit for purpose path, thats going to be your only shot IMO.

Your issue with that will be surely there is some fine print on the adds that Ford have done stating that it was under a controlled environment, pro driver etc etc.

Perhaps there is some kind of out for Ford there which could be used on the press cars aswell. If you were doing the same event, in the same condition with the same drivers then you might have a case.

Obviously the term pro driver is up to interpretation but there is no way they haven't thought about this.