As a loyal Ford consumer, with my recent 2015 Ford Edge lease making this my 3rd consecutive Ford lease, I am so disappointed by this car company I previously loved so much.
After test driving numerous Ford vehicles, and much deliberation with my husband about potentially buying out my previous 2013 Ford Explorer lease, I decided to sign a new lease of a silver 2015 Ford Edge. The day I made this decision, my car salesman left to have my car be prepped for me to drive it home that day. When he returned, he explained that my vehicle was one of several that had a recall in place for a potential water leak. Obviously, the threw me off and I was clearly concerned that I should revoke my decision and go another route. I was assured that the problem was somewhat normal and nothing to be alarmed about, as the issue was caught early and the fix was as simple as adding some missing rubber to the car. The car was "fixed" and prepped for me to drive off the lot only 3 days later.
Less than a month after driving it off the lot I began getting notifications about my power-track steering not working properly. The alert would flash several different warnings, however the car would still work seemingly fine, and turning the car off and starting it again resulted in the warning message disappearing. Approximately a month after this first warning occurred, I had the same thing happen sporadically 3-4 times. I assumed there was some small computer glitch and decided to take the car in when my new tags would be ready in the upcoming weeks.
I delivered my car to the servicing department of my local Ford on Friday, July 24th (1 day after paying $500+ for new state tags) and the information that was provided to me about what was wrong with my car was very minimal. Knowing now what a big deal this has become for not just my vehicle, but many others, I am truly offended that the staff was not more upfront and honest with me about my situation. I was told they did not know what the issue was or when the car would be fixed. I was provided minimal information with a lot of vague descriptions of "computer" malfunction and that the service manager was waiting for a different manager to inspect the vehicle, and blah blah blah. A week later I finally received a phone call from the service manager telling me that there was a recall (the same one they "fixed") on my vehicle that was not going to be fixed and Ford Corporate would be getting in touch with me within 2-3 business days.
I waited the 3 business days and was contacted by no one. I had to call my local Ford manager, who had to login to some sort of database to read a note on my account that the phone number listed for me had been disconnected. However, no one from Ford Corporate bothered to contact my local Ford or attempt to find a working phone number for me. Anyway, my local Ford manager said that he had updated the phone number I should expect a call later that day (Thursday) or on Friday. Friday - 5:00 rolls around and I haven't heard from anyone. I called my local ford that Saturday pretty frustrated, and was assured I would receive a phone call first thing Monday morning. When this of course did not happen, I proceeded to bother my local manager again. After he bothered Ford Corporate with a phone call every 30 minutes until I was contacted, I finally got a call.
The phone call began with the customer service representative going on the defense that this was not her case and she was just taking it on for someone that was out of town, or something similar. She proceeded to patronize me when I demonstrated my frustration saying "I know and I am TRYING to help". Customer service should let you be angry and justify your rightful frustration. Although I understand my frustration is misplaced, as it is not this woman's fault that my vehicle is having these issues, it's her job to make me feel that someone cares, understands exactly how frustrated I am and why, and is doing something about it. After hashing it out with this new woman, who was just another chain in the chain of people I must speak with to resolve this issue entirely, I was told I would be contacted by Friday AT THE LATEST by the reclaimed vehicle department. Amazingly, I had yet to receive a call by 3:00 that Friday. I called the Ford Corporate Customer Service representative to update her with this news, which she requested, and got a call back from her office, but from a different representative. This second representative explained that they the Reclaimed Vehicle Department did have until the end of the day, technically, so I should hear from them before 5:00. Of course, I did not get a call.
Today is Monday, and no one called me until, yet again, I put in a phone call to the Ford Corporate number I was given. Hooray, I thought! Finally, someone with all the answers who will take care of the last month of Ford hatred I've been filled with, and replace it with warm and fuzzy happy Ford feelings again. Well, finally I was given an "offer" for the reclaiming of my vehicle and some disappointing answers to my long list of questions. The "offer" that was discussed in no way compensates me for the month, and change, that I have been paying for my vehicle that has not been in my possession. I'll have to be out $500 again to purchase new tags for my new vehicle, while I wait for the state to provide a pro-rated return, which will still put me out money as I "had" the old tags for the last month. The fact that I've been paying $468 a month to drive a very damaged car that I was assured had been repaired, doesn't seem to matter to Ford. My loyalty to Ford does not guarantee their loyalty in return is the message I am getting loud and clear. Essentially, what has been offered to me, is I can sign a new lease of equal or greater value, and Ford will waive up $2,500 in upgrade fees. I cannot take the $2,500 and apply it to my remaining payments and I cannot be given a cut of this money to compensate for all of the frustration, time, and expenses that I have endured due to their damaged product.
At this point, I am so outraged, I feel like I should just cut my losses and get out. The customer service I have experienced has been so rotten and poor, that at this point I'd rather consider my losses as my punishment for choosing and investing with Ford, and find a different car company that won't let me down like this when something goes wrong. I have no faith that if the new Ford vehicle i pick out with their "offer" develops problems of its own, I will be compensated and helped out like a customer that matters. I am so disappointed that I honestly just felt the need to share my story and potentially justify the frustration and outrage my fellow Ford Edge consumers are feeling right now.
Thanks for listening...
Maddie Parker
