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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / February 2005Ford Protect Warranty - Worthless?
Hi. My girlfriend bought a second hand Focus from a Ford main dealer about 18 months ago and paid ?499 for a three year Ford Protect warranty. The car is with another Ford main dealer at the moment to have a small gearbox repair - the centring spring for the gearstick has broken. The dealer has told her that the part is not covered and she will have to pay ~?60 (probably +VAT) for the repair. All the paperwork is in the car and the Ford website is useless, as are the Ford Protect helpline and Ford Customer Relations. Does anybody know whether such a part should be covered or not? I certainly don't see why gearbox/linkage parts should be excluded from warranty. The Ford Protect people told her the only springs covered were the suspension. That sounds like a failure to interpret the policy correctly but without the docs I can't check. Can anyone here help, before we have a stand-up argument at the dealer later today? Thanks, Tim. > Hi. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > that the part is not covered and she will have to pay ~?60 (probably +VAT) > for the repair. <snip> > Can anyone here help, before we have a stand-up argument at the dealer > later > today? I'm actually in the process of investigating extended warranties for my soon to be 3 year old Focus. I have the leaflet for the Ford one in the car and can let you know what it says tomorrow if that's of any help. G. >> Hi. >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > G. All done and dusted thanks. We went to pick the car up and checked the warranty booklet and sure enough, all springs are excluded from warranty other than the suspension. It seems ridiculous - the dealer was surprised too - but they you are, not a leg to stand on :-( More than worthless, I'd say. Not that my Focus has given me much trouble, but on the few occassions when something I thought might be covered required attention, the extended warranty was of no use. I would not buy another warranty from Ford, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Rob > More than worthless, I'd say. > > Not that my Focus has given me much trouble, but on the few occassions when > something I thought might be covered required attention, the extended > warranty was of no use. I would not buy another warranty from Ford, and > wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Hi it depends on your point of view. As long as the main things are included, like the engine, gearbox, air conditioning etc., the warranty can be of great use. It aren´t the cheap things that you must be worry about like a little spring at the gear stick, they don´t lead you to your ruin. But the big expensive things in your car that would cost you thousands of Dollars or EUR to change or fix are the reason for an extended warranty. bye Jupp > it depends on your point of view. > As long as the main things are included, like the engine, gearbox, air [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > But the big expensive things in your car that would cost you thousands of > Dollars or EUR to change or fix are the reason for an extended warranty. ====================== Perhaps... When forming your point of view, though, keep in mind the cost of the warranty can be about equal to the cost of a major repair. If you have the good fortune of never needing the warranty, you've still shelled-out a large chunk of change. I stand by my advice to skip extended warranty coverage. I believe most major consumer protection groups give the same advice. Rob > I stand by my advice to skip extended warranty coverage. I believe most > major consumer protection groups give the same advice. Agree completely. This is a form of insurance, but one should only take out insurance on things that are too expensive to pay for out of pocket (like, for example, liability). For normal things like car repairs, you're just paying someone else's overhead. There's a reason why salesmen push these plans, and it ain't because they feel warm and fuzzy about our welfare. "There is no such thing as a free lunch". >> it depends on your point of view. >> As long as the main things are included, like the engine, gearbox, air [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >I stand by my advice to skip extended warranty coverage. I believe most >major consumer protection groups give the same advice. Watch out for warrantees that only cover just the parts or just the labour. Often when you have to pay for one of these items the price of the bit you pay for becomes inflated and you effectively pay for both labour and parts - plus paying for the warrantee. I once made the mistake of taking up the (Citroen) dealer's "free" service where I had to only pay for the parts. I know it said Gold in the name of the oil they used but I didn't realise that it actually contained a lot of real gold - with a price to match :(  SignatureAlan mailto:news2me_a_2003@amacleod.clara.co.uk > When forming your point of view, though, keep in mind the cost of the > warranty can be about equal to the cost of a major repair. If you have the > good fortune of never needing the warranty, you've still shelled-out a large > chunk of change. Hi of course do you need to compare the cost of the warranty with the dangers it covers. If the warranty costs you a thousand Dollars I would agree not to buy it. It depends on the price. And how many money you can bear to pay if something expensive has got to be fixed. And, also important, if you need your car substantly for your normal living, as for going to work. > I stand by my advice to skip extended warranty coverage. I believe most > major consumer protection groups give the same advice. Maybe in USA, I live in Germany, so I don´t know what yours are telling. But here in Germany you can buy an extended warranty by other insurance companies then the manufacturer´s ones also. So here I can choose what kind of warranty I want and how many EUR to pay for. bye Jupp > More than worthless, I'd say. > Not that my Focus has given me much trouble, but on the few > occassions when something I thought might be covered required > attention, the extended warranty was of no use. I would not buy > another warranty from Ford, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Ford's Extended Service Plan does not cover wear and tear items And plenty of items are subject to wear and tear according to Ford. Forget the brochure that explains what is covered. Ask for a copy of the policy to see what is _not_ covered. There are Ford dealers who sell the extended warranty on the Internet for very little over invoice. Also look for third party warrantees that are not only cheaper, but that do cover wear and tear. -- Don Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are much more pliable. ~ Mark Twain In defense of Ford, I bought my USA Focus wagon over here in Germany. 2nd year the A/C went out. I took it to a German Ford dealer, and they fixed it free under the warranty (they said there was a scratch on a sealing o-ring). I was quite pleased about that. >> More than worthless, I'd say. > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are much more pliable. > ~ Mark Twain |
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