Warranty Questions...

[TheCount]

So I've had my Edge for almost a month, and for some reason only today decided to take a closer look at my "reciept".

 

Well there are a few issues I have with it.

 

First of all the warranty they sold us doesn't seem to be an authentic Ford Warranty. It's from "Warranty Solutions", and I'm worried because the contract seems to talk a whole lot about "mechanical failure" and while that's great, I'm as worried about the technological failures that might occur with a car this high tech. Am I better off canceling this (I paid $1,995) and going for a real Ford Extended Warranty? I would think so.

 

Second. There is something on the bill called Safe Key (Costs $595). I didn't request this, and the salesman made it sound almost free when he gave me the little tags for it. Said that if I ever got locked out of my car, they'd be able to get me in. At the time I assumed this was part of Sync, kind of like Chevy's OnStar where you can call OnStar and they can remotely open your doors. Well I'm not so sure that's the case, and I'm wondering if Sync does indeed offer a service similar to OnStar's which would make Safe Key redundant.

 

Lastly, they have something called Ford Tire & Wheel, which apparently covers my wheels and tires for 5 years. But all it really seems to do is cover flats or say if I hit a pot hole and damaged my tire and wheel. This cost $695 and covers the car for 5 years. Of the three things, I'm inclined to keep this one, does anyone have any experience with whether it's worth it?

 

I believe part of the confusion for this is that there were so many of us there, and the salesman talked with several people, including my parents who finished up the deal (I was preparing for my wedding the next day and my head was in a million place), until I showed up to sign the papers and then I rushed out of there again.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, I just called and they said they'd call me back. I think I'm just going to go in tomorrow and talk to them in person, but would be nice to have some ammo.

 

Thanks!

[JOEHIO]

Hey Count,

Get the hell out of the Warranty Solutions, and get into a Ford Certified program. Took the Ford / Lincoln Premium Care on my wife's MKS when we got it, for a total of 7 years/ 100,000 miles. If I remember correctly, I think it ran close to $2,000. It is bumper to bumper, with $100 deducable, well worth it, as I have used it on my 06 Explorer, was a smart choice with that car too.

Heck, all the electronics on cars today can get VERY expensive in repairs. We took the tire and rim package too. When presented to us, it was quoted as $750. I said no thanks, and next thing I knew, he brought the price down to $500, so I took it, figured 1 blown rim might run that much.

Joe

[akirby]

You have been RIPPED OFF. There's no other way to put it. This is why you have to read the paperwork closely. Since you signed the paperwork you may not have any recourse.

 

The warranty is genuine but there are many reports of things not being covered.

 

Safe key is a total waste. I don't know what it does but I know it doesn't work like OnStar and you don't need it. If you have a keypad then you can open the door anytime and you can never lock your keys in the car. If you don't have a keypad you can buy one for $70.

 

Tire and Wheel is just a road hazard warranty. It costs about $15 per tire, max.

 

Tell them if they don't refund those last 2 items and replace the Warranty Solutions with a Ford ESP warranty for the same price that you'll report them to the BBB and call Ford. It's worth a shot.

[revOevoM]

Hate to rub it in, but...

 

For the troubles I had the first week I had the Edge, my salesguy told me that the owner of the dealership (who I met, nice guy) called Ford and caused some waves. I have no idea what he might have said or to whom. In any respect, I was suprised to find a 60mo/75,000mi Premium Care w/ Roadside warranty added to my Edge. $100 deductible. I have the paperwork.

 

While I have a lease and can only take advantage of this if I end up purchasing, it's nice to know it's there.

[richy]

CAVEAT EMPTOR....Unfortunately you've signed a legal document. They are under no obligation to release you from the last 2 items, which is nothing but pure profit for them. Hopefully you will be able to switch from the one warranty to the other, but your chances of negotiating a better price on it isn't great...try your best to obviously. I had priced out an alternative warranty that the business manager "assured" me was as good as the Ford one. I checked with a service writer who had been there 17 years and she said it wasn't nearly as good since it required out of town authorization for any work or loaner cars which often added delays to the process whereas the Ford warranty could be authorized on the spot. I went with the Ford one. I wish you well. I would try to make an appointment with the dealer principle himself and appeal to him with your marriage situation. Good luck bud!

[TheCount]

CAVEAT EMPTOR....Unfortunately you've signed a legal document. They are under no obligation to release you from the last 2 items, which is nothing but pure profit for them. Hopefully you will be able to switch from the one warranty to the other, but your chances of negotiating a better price on it isn't great...try your best to obviously. I had priced out an alternative warranty that the business manager "assured" me was as good as the Ford one. I checked with a service writer who had been there 17 years and she said it wasn't nearly as good since it required out of town authorization for any work or loaner cars which often added delays to the process whereas the Ford warranty could be authorized on the spot. I went with the Ford one. I wish you well. I would try to make an appointment with the dealer principle himself and appeal to him with your marriage situation. Good luck bud!

 

Guess we'll find out. I know for sure the Safe Key is refundable, I think I'll keep the tire and wheel even though I'm sure they charged me an inflated price. The one that worries me is the Warranty Solutions, since nothing is said about canceling it on the paper work but I think in NY you always have the right to cancel a purchased warranty for a pro-rated refund at the very least.

 

I'll update with what I find out at the dealership today, what pisses me off is they never even asked me about the safe key or the ford tire and wheel. They did ask me about the warranty, but I was led to believe it was an actual Ford warranty and not some third party nonsense.

 

You're certainly right I should have read it more closely though.

[brucesmays]

My dealership tried some similar tactics with me when i traded off my 07 Sport Trac and 07 Edge on my 2010 Sport Trac Adrenalin. They tried to charge me $1800 for some off brand extended warranty, which i declined. Then they tried to sell me an $899 protection package for one year of car washes and fabric protector. I turned it down also, since my truck had leather interior. After i took delivery, i went to the internet and searched for Ford ESP prptection. i submitted an inquiry to FD-Warranty.com, which is Ford of Greenfield, MA. They quoted me a 7 year/100,000 mile Ford ESP PremiunCARE plan with a $100 deductible price of $1089. i took that printout back to my dealership and asked them to match it, which they did.

Edited November 5, 2010 by brucesmays

[jeff_h]

My dealership tried some similar tactics with me when i traded off my 07 Sport Trac and 07 Edge on my 2010 Sport Trac Adrenalin. They tried to charge me $1800 for some off brand extended warranty, which i declined. Then they tried to sell me an $899 protection package for one year of car washes and fabric protector. I turned it down also, since my truck had leather interior. After i took delivery, i went to the internet and searched for Ford ESP prptection. i submitted an inquiry to FD-Warranty.com, which is Ford of Greenfield, MA. They quoted me a 7 year/100,000 mile Ford ESP PremiunCARE plan with a $100 deductible price of $1089. i took that printout back to my dealership and asked them to match it, which they did.

 

I bought 2 extended warranties from myfordwarranty.com which is a Ford & Honda dealer in Rhode Island, it is a Ford Warranty and I saved $600 (on each car) from what my local dealer wanted (ordered online and got the confirmation papers in the mail about 7 days later). I believe these add-ons are where local dealers make a lot of profit because the purchaser is enamored with their new car and most consider all that paperwork mumbo-jumbo such a hassle and just sign so they can drive away with their new car -- but then if they look more closely they see that they've been more generous to their dealer than they thought.

Edited November 6, 2010 by jeff_h

[TheCount]

Okay so I went in, and the manager was there but not the finance guy that helped us with that stuff. The manager basically tried to talk us into keeping the warranty because she said A) they sell it at cost (which is BS) and It's better than the Ford ESP (Which I'm sure Ford would be happy to hear their dealer telling a customer).

 

I'm doing the research though on which may be better, and right now still leaning towards the Ford ESP. It's cheaper, for a longer period and frankly I don't know how much I trust a dealership that slipped some of those other things into the paper work to raise their profits.

 

I'm definitely canceling the Safe Key stuff, do you guys think the Ford Tire & Wheel is worth it? I'm sure they marked it up, maybe there's an aftermarket option?

 

They basically said we have to have everything in writing, that we are canceling, so gonna type that up.

Edited November 8, 2010 by TheCount

[akirby]

I'm definitely canceling the Safe Key stuff, do you guys think the Ford Tire & Wheel is worth it? I'm sure they marked it up, maybe there's an aftermarket option?

 

Look at it this way - you're probably not going to damage a wheel such that it needs to be replaced. Tires are no more than $200 each. You'd have to damage 4 tires and get replacements just to break even which would be almost one per year. Unless you're prone to catastrophic tire failure at least once a year then no, it's not worth it.

 

They make more on the non Ford extended warranty I'm sure which is why they push it. But from a customer standpoint the Ford ESP is almost bulletproof since it's administered by Ford with no middle man. Just find a Ford dealer and you're done.

 

Then again you could insure yourself and potentially save a lot of money over the long run - as long as you can afford to pay for an occasional large repair out of pocket.

[fathead]

I personally would cancel it all. Although I am not sure that the Ford ESP is a bad thing to have, I am certain you can get a much better deal online. Any new ford dealer can sell ESP, and many will sell it very close to cost. I picked my 6yr/100K ESP for $910 at Flood Ford, but there are several other dealers offering similar prices.

[claas900]

The wheel and tire thing is a joke. If you get a flat or damage a rim it is because you hit something,they wont cover that. Its like putting a dent on your car then asking warranty to cover it. This is the way I understand it.

[Waldo]

I'm definitely canceling the Safe Key stuff, do you guys think the Ford Tire & Wheel is worth it? I'm sure they marked it up, maybe there's an aftermarket option?

 

Seems like money thrown away to me. I'm sure it will pro-rate your tires based on wear so you'll still have to pay out-of-pocket if something happens anyway.

 

A quick search found a couple similar programs for about $50 per wheel/tire, which is still too much in my opinion.

[akirby]

The wheel and tire thing is a joke. If you get a flat or damage a rim it is because you hit something,they wont cover that. Its like putting a dent on your car then asking warranty to cover it. This is the way I understand it.

 

Actually this program (if it is the Ford ESP tire and wheel coverage) WILL cover that type of damage. It's more like an insurance policy than a warranty. It's still priced way too high though.

[akirby]

Seems like money thrown away to me. I'm sure it will pro-rate your tires based on wear so you'll still have to pay out-of-pocket if something happens anyway.

 

A quick search found a couple similar programs for about $50 per wheel/tire, which is still too much in my opinion.

 

Believe it or not the Ford ESP program will do a free replacement as long as you have at least 3/32" tread.

[MrHappy]

I personally would cancel it all. Although I am not sure that the Ford ESP is a bad thing to have, I am certain you can get a much better deal online. Any new ford dealer can sell ESP, and many will sell it very close to cost. I picked my 6yr/100K ESP for $910 at Flood Ford, but there are several other dealers offering similar prices.

 

Can you give me a few details on that? Was that a PremiumCare ESP and what was your deductible? Which yr/model of Edge? That seems like a great price! Been trying to get dealer cost info on the PremiumCare w/ 100 deduct for 6 yr/75k or 85k warranties.