Instead of just introducing myself, I will give you a very long story to read if you feel like sleeping
I bought my black Wildtrak 3.2 in September 2016 brand new.
Slight rust started to appear on chassis when the vehicle was only a few months old but at that stage I did not think it would become such a major problem. In May 2018 I brought the issue to the attention of Ford UK by emailing them who then advised me to contact the dealership.
I used the chat facility on Think Ford’s website to highlight my problem and the chat advisor (Stephanie) ensured me that it would be passed on the relevant department and I would receive a call from the dealership to discuss the issue. Two working days later I have still not received a call so I emailed Ford Farnborough through their website on the 8th of May 2018. By Thursday 10th of May I was still waiting for a reply so I called the dealership. Ford Farnborough agreed the vehicle can come in for an assessment on Friday 11th of May 2018.
Point to note: Vehicle never been really been off road except a few dirt roads and never entered any salt water. The UK do throw salt on the roads during the winter to help melt the ice.
Here is some photos which I took myself prior to assessment.
My wife took the vehicle with 13000 miles on the odometer to the dealership on Friday 11th of May 2018 and spoke to Tim the body shop manager who proceeded to take photographs and informed her that the warranty claim will now be submitted to Ford UK and that it could take a “couple” of weeks for Ford UK to authorise the repair. He also showed my wife the body of another Ranger currently on the ramps with the same issue and told her the repair takes approx. 6 weeks to complete because the chassis gets sent to another company for cleaning and powder coating and that they will use the same method to repair my vehicle. I phoned Tim on the 24th of May to enquire if they have heard anything back yet from Ford UK where he informed me that the “guy” who normally submits warranty claims to Ford UK was on leave the previous week and is now “catching up” and will aim to submit the claim on the 25th of May 2018. For 2 weeks nothing happened to my claim because apparently there is only 1 person in the entire dealership that can submit warranty work to Ford UK!!?!? He also then said claims can take up to 4 weeks to be authorised and that they will contact me as soon as they hear anything back.
On the 7th of June 2018 I received a voicemail from Tim informing me Ford UK came back with a different repair method than what the dealership suggested and that the claim will be resubmitted (I assume Ford UK probably wanted to do a repair which did not involve taking the body off) This was the last communication I received from Tim the body shop manager.
I received a courtesy call approx 19th of June 2018 from a customer care agent informing me Ford UK has approved the warranty claim and that I should expect a call in within 2 weeks from the body shop to book the vehicle in for repair. This call never came so on 5 July 2018 I once again had to call Tim at Ford Farnborough because I have not had any communication from the dealership. Tim was not "available" and I was informed by another member of the body shop that they are busy and I have to give them a call in 4 weeks time to book the vehicle in for the repair.
I rang the dealership to book the vehicle in approx 4 weeks later but was told that the body shop will be moving to Basingstoke in early September and they can't book any vehicles in for repair at that moment in time. I asked if the vehicle can go into another dealership for the repair but Ford Farnborough informed that it is not at all possible unless I want to start the process again with a new dealership submitting work to Ford UK for the warranty repair. My wife visited the dealership on my behalf on the 4th of September 2018 to try and get a resolution to the issue face to face. She spoke to 2 engineers, she requested to speak to Tim, but he was not available as they've already moved to Basingstoke and she was told to speak the general manager. None of the other managers we willing to speak to her, she asked for the general manager or customer service manager, but she was not willing to come out of her office to speak to her. The customer service adviser tried to provide advice, but the dealership was not willing to deal with the issue, they tried to call the body shop team to speak to Tim and his team to get an understanding of the issue. After trying for 20 minutes the adviser got through to the body shop who was now located at Think Ford Basingstoke, Tim refused/was unavailable to talk on the phone and the adviser proceeded to speak to the second in charge at the body shop. My wife was promised a call before the end of the day from Tim the body shop manager to explain the situation. At 17:10 my wife rang the body shop again as yet again she did not receive the promised call. Tim was available and apologised and said he does not know why we were never contacted to keep us informed of the situation and that they just moved to Basingstoke and they are unable/unwilling to book the vehicle in at this time as it is approx 30 hours worth of work that needs to be completed.
I was unhappy with the amount of time that has already elapsed so on the evening of 4 September 2018 I started emailing Andrew Williams the commercial vehicle specialist at Think Ford Farnborough as he was the person who sold the vehicle to me. He promised to escalate the issue and pass the messages on but he was unable to help me as the work lies with the body shop. I proceeded to email Andrew numerous times during September as it seemed he was the only person at the dealership actually replying in a timely manner. Again, I received promises of escalation and call backs from Tim but never received any. I emailed Andrew Williams one last time to inform him that I have still not received any communication from Tim and that my next step would be to lodge a claim at Ford Uk and the motor ombudsman.
I decided enough is enough and contacted Ford UK again explaining my issue and that all communication between me and the dealership has ceased as the dealership refuses to communicate and make false promises. Fork UK promised me a case worker will be assigned to the case and that it will be looked into. I also submitted a claim to the motor ombudsman at the same time. Ford UK emailed me weekly to give me updates on the progress but it took Ford UK a week to get a response from the dealership. They had to escalate the case to the dealership manager before Ford UK even got a reply.
Fork UK dealt with the issue and informed that the vehicle will be going to Think Ford Newbury on the 25th of September for the repair. What happened to the story that it could not go to another dealership?? On the 25th of September the vehicle was dropped off at Ford Newbury and I was given a Ford Fiesta as a courtesy vehicle. I also requested that the recall work gets completed and a replacement seat cover fitted while the vehicle was at the dealership. I was ensured that they would take care of it and will call me as soon as my vehicle is ready for collection which they estimate will take 6 weeks. During the time my vehicle was at Ford Newbury Ford UK kept me up to date on the progress with weekly emails. On Thursday 18th of October I was informed the vehicle was ready for collection. I collected the vehicle on Friday 19th of October at 1400. All work was done satisfactory and in less time than the estimated 6 week duration. I received really good service from Ford Newbury and everything was handled well. I don’t know if it is only the case because Ford UK where in contact with them constantly or if they are actually a very rare good Ford dealership. After collection of the vehicle @ 1400 and being home by now, my wife received a voicemail from Tim @ 1705 informing her that he visited Ford Newbury today and that my vehicle is not yet ready but he estimates that it will be completed by next week. WTF?! I already collected the vehicle. I don’t know what Tim is playing at but he is the biggest liar I have ever came across.
Here is some photos of the repair:
They also scratched my bumper during the warranty work which I am currently fighting to get repaired. They must have taken it off and placed it paint face down.
Additional problems found after a few days: Driver side windshield defrost not working, heated mirrors not working, clunk from front end when turning sharply left mostly. It is going in on the 20 November to rectify the issues.
Summary:
Issue identified in May 2018, received numerous promises of repair and call backs but none materialised. Received abysmal service from Think Ford Farnborough. Lots of excuses and lies but no action. Bodyshop manager Tim refuse to take responsibility. It took 160 days or 22 weeks and 6 days or 43.84% of 2018 to resolve the issue since the vehicle went in for assessment. While I love my Ranger Ford customer service is just too bad when you experience an issue and that is why I will NEVER buy a Ford again.
Direct link to photos https://imgur.com/a/y2QNCAJ
