Great Truck - Don't buy Ford in the Caribbean

[SnyperX]

@Ford Motor Company
we should all tag them in this post. get this guy some much needed answer hopefully then!

Seems FoMoCo can longer be tagged directly :-(

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[HighDesertRanger]

Seems they are no longer active on this forum:

As of December 30, 2024; Ford Motor Company no longer monitors this forum. If you are an owner and have an inquiry for Ford, including inquiries related to a quality or safety issue, please contact your local dealership or Ford directly. Please see all of the ways you can contact us at Contact Us | Ford® Customer Service, Help & Live Chat | Ford.com. You can also send us a direct message on the official company pages for assistance: Ford Motor Company Facebook or Ford Motor Company X.

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/ford-motor-company-announcement.15059/

 

[HighDesertRanger]

And OP, very sorry to hear about your situation.

 

[stemplar]

The manufacturers warranty is not a contract between you and the dealer, so they can't arbitrarily void the warranty or add addendums to it. Of course if they see that you've done something, like modified the engine internals in a way that void your warranty, they can report it and deny a claim, but they can't void your warranty.

 

[IslandMan87]

The manufacturers warranty is not a contract between you and the dealer, so they can't arbitrarily void the warranty or add addendums to it. Of course if they see that you've done something, like modified the engine internals in a way that void your warranty, they can report it and deny a claim, but they can't void your warranty.

No, but if you read the warranty policy, it says that there is no warranty if the vehicle is sold in a country outside of their coverage area, so there is no warranty to void, and there is no support to rely upon. I currently have no way of performing my software update for the brakes, for instance. There is no OTA update available, and no dealer support is provided. Fraudulent misrepresentation seems like the only way through. This is why I also had a problem with them trying to set terms around 4-month oil changes and prohibiting non-dealer modification of the vehicle - they don't underwrite the warranty, so what business do they have setting terms?

“If your vehicle model is not sold or serviceable by an authorised Ford Distributor/Dealer in the destination country, you will not receive warranty service.”

(2025 Ford Warranty Guide, Section 2, p.4)

Called Ford Caribe again today (distributor) and sat on hold for about an hour until 1700, when I was told there were no representatives available. So, I just reviewed the original email I sent three weeks ago (which I have been following up on nearly daily), looked up the addresses for as many of Ford International's Board of Directors and C-Suite members as I could find, which was a fair number. The email describes my experience so far and asks for help, citing a lack of response at the distributor level, and no obvious means of contact (not for lack of trying!) to deliver any accountability to a non-responsive distributor. I also included every single distributor (Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc) whose email address is listed in the manual. If I don't receive any help, then I would suggest that Ford's corporate policy regarding customer support would become pretty obvious.

I also sent a demand letter of sorts to the non-authorised dealer last night, citing their documentation, the warranty policy, and responses from Ford thus far, and asking them what they'd like to do to rectify the problem. I gave them five business days (they have informally had an additional week, as they were made aware of the problem less formally a week ago). The bank (which is a larger stakeholder in the vehicle than I am) is also in copy. Next week, unless I receive a reasonable response, I will likely hand this over to the lawyers.

None of this helps me get the software update the truck needs.

I will continue to try to reach the distributor on a daily basis and report back in a few days to see where this saga leads and if Ford comes up with any means of accountability.

 

[IslandMan87]

Seems they are no longer active on this forum:



https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/ford-motor-company-announcement.15059/

From my view, it seems they are no longer active anywhere!

 

[stemplar]

No, but if you read the warranty policy, it says that there is no warranty if the vehicle is sold in a country outside of their coverage area, so there is no warranty to void, and there is no support to rely upon. .

Ah, that’s an important detail I didn’t see earlier. I didn’t realize you were in a region where there was no factory warranty; honestly I didn’t know such regions existed.

Then if the only warranty is what the dealer is offering, I’d personally take a written copy to my lawyer and take their advice.

 

[IslandMan87]

Ah, that’s an important detail I didn’t see earlier. I didn’t realize you were in a region where there was no factory warranty; honestly I didn’t know such regions existed.

Then if the only warranty is what the dealer is offering, I’d personally take a written copy to my lawyer and take their advice.

Doesn't really matter. I bought a truck with a factory warranty, administered and supported by Ford. If they can't offer that, they'll have to pay to fly someone in. I wouldn't trust them to administer the factory warranty terms properly at this point, given their attempt to change to some ridiculous terms, and considering my prior experience with their team, not to mention that they lack factory tools and resources. It remains to be seen how they can provide the software update for the recall.

I'd rather Ford agreed to provide some reliable phone/email tech support and warrantable parts, and I'll sort the labour and bill the dealer so they can indemnify the cost. It's challenging to find a trustworthy mechanic in this area. It's mostly shade-tree stuff. I want to know if 8 bolts come out of my skid plate, 8 go back, rather than only 2, which some lazy mechanics will do, so it's more convenient for the mechanic to take it down next time. I expect a factory level of care, and frankly, the only thing that gave me any confidence in the non-authorised dealer was that I thought they were authorised and therefore accountable to Ford if I had any problems.

 

[stemplar]

Doesn't really matter. I bought a truck with a factory warranty, administered and supported by Ford. If they can't offer that, they'll have to pay to fly someone in. I wouldn't trust them to administer the factory warranty terms properly at this point, given their attempt to change to some ridiculous terms, and considering my prior experience with their team, not to mention that they lack factory tools and resources. It remains to be seen how they can provide the software update for the recall.

I'd rather Ford agreed to provide some reliable phone/email tech support and warrantable parts, and I'll sort the labour and bill the dealer so they can indemnify the cost. It's challenging to find a trustworthy mechanic in this area. It's mostly shade-tree stuff. I want to know if 8 bolts come out of my skid plate, 8 go back, rather than only 2, which some lazy mechanics will do, so it's more convenient for the mechanic to take it down next time. I expect a factory level of care, and frankly, the only thing that gave me any confidence in the non-authorised dealer was that I thought they were authorised and therefore accountable to Ford if I had any problems.

Now I’m really confused. I thought you were in a region where the factory warranty wasnt applicable, but you just said that it is, and I’m confused about when you’re talking about the local dealer vs. Ford. Given this, I’ll step aside since I clearly can’t help. I do wish you luck though.

 

[IslandMan87]

Now I’m really confused. I thought you were in a region where the factory warranty wasnt applicable, but you just said that it is, and I’m confused about when you’re talking about the local dealer vs. Ford. Given this, I’ll step aside since I clearly can’t help. I do wish you luck though.

Sorry, yes, it isn't very clear. There is no factory warranty service here, as per Ford's warranty terms, because there is no authorised dealer here in the country at all (news to me!). The (non-authorised) dealer still contractually sold me a truck with that Ford warranty, which is the problem. That doesn't mean Ford can't provide parts warranty without service to the vehicle's original point of sale elsewhere. We have zero manufacturing here, so if, for instance, I buy a washing machine, which then breaks under warranty, they won't provide service, but of course, they will provide appropriate parts once I have proven that the claim is warrantable, and it's my cost to get them here.
In relation to expectations from the non-authorised dealer, my point was that a reasonable expectation would be for them to indemnify me under Ford's terms, but the problem is that because that isn't administered/arbitrated by Ford, I have no guarantee of the requisite fairness, or accountability for any lack thereof.

 

[mrmike7189]

That sux. I guess if I lived there...I'd buy a Toyota or some other world wide brand .
seems that Ford isnt?.

 

[Jason B]

That sux. I guess if I lived there...I'd buy a Toyota or some other world wide brand .
seems that Ford isnt?.

Yes, Ford is a worldwide brand, they just don't have authorized dealers in the Carribean.
There are Ford dealers in the Carribean, but not where OP bought his, wherever that was.
Ford Caribe | Choose Your Country | Welcome to Ford!

 

[Jason B]

From my view, it seems they are no longer active anywhere!

They were never really 'active'. The only response was something like "Sorry to hear you are having problems. May I have your VIN?". Seemed like canned responses most of the time.

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