Raphael52 Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hello. On May 21st, 2013, my C-Max was hit by a speeding driver. I needed the rear strut replaced and it took 44 days for the part to arrive at the authorized Ford repair shop (and another 12 to install it and perform the necessary body work). I called the dealership where I bought the car and they confirmed that the part was on "backorder." Shame on me that I didn't have rental car coverage with Geico. If I had the insurance, Geico would have paid the first $1,500.00 dollars for the rental car. I was charged $2,925.00 for a 56 day rental on a Volkswaggon Jetta. The original total was $3,233.00 but the people at Enterprise took pity on me and lowered the bill. I've contacted Ford Consumer Affairs and Customer Service and was refused any compensation for having to rent a vehicle for so long while waiting for a part. I was told that as long as there wasn't a manufacturers' defect, it wasn't their problem. I LOVE this car (I'm 15 months into a 3 year lease) but I am not happy with the way I'm being treated in this situation. I'm writing to this group in hopes of getting some satisfaction (having Ford waive 4 lease payments sounds fair to me but I suppose I'm biased :) Thank you all for taking the time to read this post and have a great day. Allen Whipps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 Welcome aboard (I guess). First question is why isn't the speeder's insurance paying for everything including the rental? Did the car not stop or you didn't get the plate number? I do believe that Ford owes you something as good will. It's unconscionable that Ford builds and sells a car and can't deliver one part on the vehicle in one week or less. If that's Ford's MO, it's no wonder Ford gets poor scores on surveys. IMO, what's fair is for Ford to pay for around 37 days of rental. So 37/56 * $2925 = about $2000 which may be more than 4 lease payments. That's where I would start and go from there. IMO, what Geico would have paid is irrelevant in the discussions with Ford. What's relevant is 44 days to get a strut. Come on Ford. Allen Whipps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raphael52 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 The accident was considered my fault because I was making a left into the oncoming traffic (going to a strip mall). It was a legal turn but she was speeding (hard to prove says Geico) and not wearing a seat belt. I drove her route with my rental car the next day and there are 2 stop lights. Unless you put the pedal to the floor, you have to stop at that second light and then proceed. As someone put it to me (and I'm not making a dig here), in this part of Long Island (Glen Cove) "people either hit the gas or hit the break, HARD; make turns at your own risk." Someone at the repair shop offered that since the C-Max is a popular NYC Taxi, it's possible that the owners stockpiled all the struts (after this winter they'll need them given the shape of the roads). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) I think the repair shop is just trying to find excuses to appease you but they could have a point if replacing struts is a routine maintenance item on taxi fleets. Struts should last at least 100k miles and likely double the average miles a typical NYC taxi does in a year even on NYC streets and expressways (I spent 3 1/2 years working in midtown). Even so, 44 days??? Interesting facts on NYC taxis. Apparently some things haven't changed in 15 years. I don't recall ever having a female taxi driver. Edited April 30, 2014 by Plus 3 Golfer obob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raphael52 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 44 days... Hard to believe, right? I'm not making this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obob Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hello. On May 21st, 2013, my C-Max was hit by a speeding driver. I needed the rear strut replaced and it took 44 days for the part to arrive at the authorized Ford repair shop (and another 12 to install it and perform the necessary body work). I called the dealership where I bought the car and they confirmed that the part was on "backorder." Shame on me that I didn't have rental car coverage with Geico. If I had the insurance, Geico would have paid the first $1,500.00 dollars for the rental car. I was charged $2,925.00 for a 56 day rental on a Volkswaggon Jetta. The original total was $3,233.00 but the people at Enterprise took pity on me and lowered the bill. I've contacted Ford Consumer Affairs and Customer Service and was refused any compensation for having to rent a vehicle for so long while waiting for a part. I was told that as long as there wasn't a manufacturers' defect, it wasn't their problem. I LOVE this car (I'm 15 months into a 3 year lease) but I am not happy with the way I'm being treated in this situation. I'm writing to this group in hopes of getting some satisfaction (having Ford waive 4 lease payments sounds fair to me but I suppose I'm biased :) Thank you all for taking the time to read this post and have a great day. Just in case this is useful: So I assume you added the car rental to your insurance. My father has Geico and when his car was in an accident he went to an approved Geico repair center and the rental was covered - no money transferred - Enterprise gives Geico a good discount. And the repair center drove us to the rental place and when we picked the car up we just left the rental at the repair center. When the repair took longer that expected that was all negotiated between Geico and the repair place. (though it was not 56 days) Also, in the future, Ashley is a Ford employee that helps people on this message board. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/user/1579-fordservice/ When I rent cars long term or short term, I like the rates I get from costcotravel.com (need to be a costco member) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raphael52 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 Yes, I've added car rental to my insurance. Thanks for the link to Ashley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Personally if I knew* it was going to be this long and expensive, I would have considered a good used part: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/400583662082?lpid=82 *hindsight being 20/20 and all obob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raphael52 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Yeah, I was thinking I might have bought a used pick-up truck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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