Ford customer service is crap - need advice

[Merlin]

Hi guys need some quick advice:

I dropped my BA XR6 off today at Power Ford as the brakes are shuddering once again (3 machines so far), however this isn't my problem. The car has 25,000kms and about 3000kms after the cars 15000km service the handbrake stopped working (apparantly a common problem with the BA and AU?) So when I dropped off the car I said:

"Oh by the way the handbrake dosnt work, could you fix it up".

Dealer "sorry sir the handbrake is a servicable item which means we would have to charge you for it"

Me: "its a new car under a warranty, its covered by that warranty"

Dealer "no its the same as oil, disk pads ect. they require adjusting or replacement, this is not covered by warranty"

Me: "but it was fine at the 15,000km service, how does a handbrake need adjusting every 3000kms?"

Dealer "sorry there is nothing I can do, you must pay for us to fix it"

Me "when I bought the car I had a handbrake, now my handbrake dosnt work due to manufacturer fault so you must replace it, Im not going to argue about it now"

I then walked out as I was getting seroiusly pissed and plan to call the service manager tomorrow.

Now do I have a leg to stand on? Are Ford full of sh*te or is the handbrake a "servicable" item? I would have thought a degree or reasonable tolerance would be the way to go ie. if your handbrake dosnt work every 3000kms then it needs replacing under warranty, if it goes out of whack every 50,000kms then this reasonable and is a service adjustment?

And all this after I just decided against selling the car as I love it too much despite some of the problems it has had (brake shudder, coolant leak - all the typical BA crap). Why are Ford so eager to lose customers - why argue about a handbrake that would take some mechanic 5 seconds to fix and lose a customer forever????????

Beats me.

[scooter]

I had to go to 3 dealers before I was happy and you might have to do the same unfortunately. I shouldnt have to but it seems a fact of life. Maybe some of your NSW counterparts may give you suggestions of a good dealer.

I had Handbrake Probs earlier on but my car is covered by "Fleet Systems" so I dont pay - I look at the invoices though and Im sure that all handbrake replaced parts were warranty items.

Scoot

[ms700]

It mostly depends why the handbrake has stopped working in the first place.

If the shoes have worn out, or the cable stretched, due to use, you must pay.

If the handbrake is no longer working due to a component failure, it is covered under warranty.

The dealership shoud have said "we will investigate why the handbrake is no longer working, and if it is a result of general wear and tear, we will contact you, if it is a component failure, we will replace it free of charge"

[JB]

[Honest Gaza]

  Merlin said:

Hi guys need some quick advice:

I dropped my BA XR6 off today at Power Ford as the brakes are shuddering once again (3 machines so far), however this isn't my problem. The car has 25,000kms and about 3000kms after the cars 15000km service the handbrake stopped working (apparantly a common problem with the BA and AU?)

My "AUII" has certainly needed regular adjustments to the handbrake in the 4 years I have had it. Every time I took it for a 15k service, it needed adjustment.

It has now done less approx 10k since the last service and is close to non-existent even with the handbrake fully on ( almost through to the back seat ).

Have not had problems with the Turbo's handbrake so far....nearly 30k.