New Edge Owner

[CaliforniaKid]

Hi All, just purchase d a 2007 Ford Edge, SEL+ AWD in Blazing Copper Metallic for my wife. She had seen one at a local dealer and had to have one so Labor Day weekend we picked one up. Traded in a 2003 Sport Edition Toyota 4 Runner for it and have begun to wonder why. When we bought the Edge there were a couple dull spots on the rear doors that looked like they needed to be cleaned or buffed out so we took it back to discover they were in the paint not on it. Well, a week later we got the car back and the dealers paint and body shop had painted all four doors, the wrong color and generally did a terrible job. There are at least 30 defects in the paint from runs and sags to pimples, fisheyes and craters. Not to mention they ruined the two rear 18 inch chrome wheels in the back with overspray. My wife is so fed up she is afraid to let them try to fix it again thinking it will only get worse. We have stressed over this car so much we finally gave up and decided to live with it. When I got home last night, as I pulled into the garage, I noticed something looked wrong with the back end of her edge. The rear wheels appear to be splayed out as well as canted in at the top. I have never seen a car purposely set up this way and it sure looks like the inside of the tires would wear out in a hurry. I guess I'll take it back to the dealer again today and hope for the best. Has anyone else noticed this on their Edge?

[edgesenior]

Hi Cal Kid: There's NO way you or your wife should have to live with that mess.. You need to take it back get a loaner at their expense...And diffentantly asked to see the General Manager and have him aware of the shoddy work..This is NO way for him to run a dealership....Today...Just my advice...CALIFORNIA IS FULL OF ATTORNEY PEOPLE Don't hesitate to call one......... .....Sr..

[007]

Sounds like the dealer stuck you with a lemon...there is no excuse for it at all...it is people like that that give Ford a bad name....go in and give them hell....there are far worse things to stress over other than a hunk of metal, plastic and rubber...you DON'T have to go to the dealership you bought the car from...any Ford, Lincoln or Mercury dealership will honor any warranty work (at least, they are supposed to........)

Edited September 19, 2007 by 7

[07 MKX]

Oh man, I feel for you. Don't even think about accepting that paint job like it is. You deserve more than that. Get out your owners manual and start calling corporate and tell them what has happened and that you actually want a factory rep. to take a look at what the dealership has left you with. Drop it at the dealership and demand a loaner and say you will be back, when a factory rep comes to look at it. Stand your ground man. it's not Ford who messed you over here, but that dealership.

[svofan1]

Hi All, just purchase d a 2007 Ford Edge, SEL+ AWD in Blazing Copper Metallic for my wife. She had seen one at a local dealer and had to have one so Labor Day weekend we picked one up. Traded in a 2003 Sport Edition Toyota 4 Runner for it and have begun to wonder why. When we bought the Edge there were a couple dull spots on the rear doors that looked like they needed to be cleaned or buffed out so we took it back to discover they were in the paint not on it. Well, a week later we got the car back and the dealers paint and body shop had painted all four doors, the wrong color and generally did a terrible job. There are at least 30 defects in the paint from runs and sags to pimples, fisheyes and craters. Not to mention they ruined the two rear 18 inch chrome wheels in the back with overspray. My wife is so fed up she is afraid to let them try to fix it again thinking it will only get worse. We have stressed over this car so much we finally gave up and decided to live with it. When I got home last night, as I pulled into the garage, I noticed something looked wrong with the back end of her edge. The rear wheels appear to be splayed out as well as canted in at the top. I have never seen a car purposely set up this way and it sure looks like the inside of the tires would wear out in a hurry. I guess I'll take it back to the dealer again today and hope for the best. Has anyone else noticed this on their Edge?

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. Your beef is with the dealer and I think that FORD will be able to step in (maybe I am wrong). If your EDGE is not properly fix document,document and document again...specially pictures....talk to a general manager (document) and then go see a good attorney with all that godd DOCUMENTATION and PICTURES and them for loss of use, bad work etc. the attorney will be able to direct your efforts and what to demand from the dealership.

Good luck and let us all know how you do.

[CaliforniaKid]

What has made the situation worse is that the dealer we bought the car from, did not have it in stock and got it from another dealer. So everytime something comes up they are more interested in finding someone to blame, rather than fix it. We went to the dealer on September 1, 2007 to see what they had. Wife was set on the copper color. They did not have one but could get us one in a couple of hours and told us to come back at 5:30 PM. WE did, it was there and we drove it. Had already left a $2000.00 deposit. Drove nice but the steering wheel was not centered and I got them to write us a due bill to fix. Looked at the paint and it had what looked like msomne spray adhesive on it and we were assured it would clean off. They told us they would take care of that when we brought it in for the alignment. Wife called the following Tuesday to make an appointment, Monday was a holiday, and she took it in Wednesday. They fixed the steering wheel pronto, but when they tried to clean the paint, discoverd the problems were in the paint, not on it. They did get my wife a rental car, which they paid for, and told us they would keep us advised on what was happening. I called Wednesday night and they could'nt tell me anything. I called again Thursday afternoon and still no news but I did find out the car was still sitting there and they were not doing anything. The reason they were'nt doing anything was because they could not figure out who to blame. The dealer they got the car from or ford. The dealer they got the car from, had only had it a day, had not even gotten to prep the car and of course since they did not sell it did not want to cover cost of repair. Ford was'nt going to admit to anything etc. My dealer was almost insinuating I had ruined the paint with their, well it could'nt have happened here, or there, or in transport, ..... etc. I finally got ticked off and called the service manager, who would not pick up the phone on two different calls to him. SO I really got mad and called the owner, who doesnt get on the phone either. But his customer service representative does. I run through the story with her and tell her they need to do something, it's been there two days while they try to figure out who to blame. I told her this is pretty ridiculous for my wife and I to spend $39,500.00 on a car, including tax, and have to ride around in a $18.00 a day rental car with manual windows. She said she would look into it and call me right back. An hour later the Sales manager called me, for the service manager, and gave me more of the who to blame crap and the cust. service girl called to tell me it was out getting and estimate on the paint. I told her I was concerned about getting the rear car doors repainted and had some bad experiences before and did not think the paint would match or be as good a quality. To try and make this story shorter, bottom line they had a local body shop paint the rear doors. It will be perfect she says, guy has been painting cars for 20 years etc. The following Monday cust.serv. calls and I can pick up the car. My wife was in Sacramento so guess who has to drive the damn rental back up. I leave work early and turn the rental in and get a ride to the dealer and the look on everyones face tells me this can't be good. The car is not there. Cust. serv. saw a fisheye and sent it back. Rental co. picks me up and I get the same rental car back. Tuesday at 3:00 I get a call, car is finished for sure and I can pick it up. I leave work early, drive the 70 miles from work and in the fading sunlight the car does'nt look bad. I compare the paint on the rear doors to the front and it matches. I take the car and go. Next day I drive it to work and get to looking at it and discover why the doors match. He painted all four!.. The more I look, the worse it gets. There are 3 runs, a sag, and at least 25 other blemishes inh the paint. The more you look, the more you find. I call cust serv back and of course they are willing to let their guy try again. My wife gets home and she is not. I tell wife we have three options, let them try again, let me try to polish out what I can and live with it, or take it to our local body shop and see what they can do. Well I spent about 6 hours Saturday, polishing crap out and it does look alot better, but I have not tackled the runs, and pimples. Wife is really afraid if it gets painted again it will only get worse, but have not told the dealer that yet. Meanwhile I come home from work Tuesday this week and notice the rear wheels. Wife takes into dealer yesterday, I had two Dr. appts, I could not cancel, and tells service writer about the wheels toed out and leaning in at the top. He says they are set that way to help cornering and because we have a tow package. My wife, bless her heart, tells him that is pure bullshit and he better get the service manager. I join my wife at the dealership, after my appts. and around noon the car is done. Wheels are aligned, straight up and down as well as toe out cured. She has even talked them into getting her a set of new rear tires, which of course they have to order and will be here for her to have put on Saturday. AS far as the paint goes, we are probably stuck with that. Wife is still afraid to let them or anyone else try again. If we take it back, we'll juust lose the car for another week and have to hope it comes out better. My suggestion for those buying a new car of any kind, is don't let a dealer trade to get you one, because then neither dealer wants to assume responsibility. And number two, if it ain't perfect, don't buy it till it is. And if it never is...don't buy it.

[007]

One-- You should not accept that kind of paint job on the car....at this point, demand either a full refund, or a new car.

Two--If you paid $40,000 for an Edge, you got ripped off....a Lincoln MKX, yes...an Edge, no.

Three--This goes back to number one....do not keep this car....no one, not even the old fart from Feenix AZ should have to accept a brand new vehicle with a sh*tty paint job...contact you local T.V. consumer advocate reporter....one thing a dealer hates is lots of negative publicity on the local news....If you have to, throw up a picket in front of the dealership, with a sign that says they sell lemons, don't buy here, they aren't consumer friendly, etc. Bring the war to the media...that's one of the ways we got out of Viet Nam.....

Edited September 20, 2007 by 7

[Good_Hands]

edgesenior and 007 said it all.

 

This is unacceptable. Forget the dealership. Call Ford HQ and every newspaper/TV station consumer advocate you can find.

 

And last but certainly not least, I know there has to be at least one attorney that would love this case.

[07 MKX]

And last but certainly not least, I know there has to be at least one attorney that would love this case.

 

 

Call Howard, Fine and Howard.

[CaliforniaKid]

Thanks to everyone for your advise and suggestions. You have given my wife and I alot to think about. We are not trying to rip anybody off or get over on the dealer and just want what is fair or what we paid for. At this point the only thing that would make us 100% happy is a new car, but realistically I do not believe anyone will give us a new car because of the paint. I have owned a number of new Fords over the years. 84 Escort Wagon, 87 Bronco, 90 Mercury Cougar, 94 Mustang GT w/5 speed, 96 Mustang GT w/5 speed, 99 F150 with the 5.4, 2001 Saleen S281 and now the Edge and I may certainly have to question our loyalty to Ford. I will contact my lawyer today and see what our options are, but at this point I think litigation may be a bit premature. The dealer is offering to try and fix it so there is no lack of cooperation on their part. I do not realistically think a judge would award us anything while the dealer is still willing to try. If we are afraid to let them try again then legally that puts it back on us. The person I blame the most is me. I bought it and should have known better. As someone mentioned earlier it's just plastic steel and rubber, nothing to stress over. Where I work I have more than enough stress and launching a campaign against this dealership would be extremely costly, loss of work etc. and stressful not to mention I would be burning a bridge I may have to recross later. While yes it's true any Ford dealership will do warranty work on a Ford, reality is if you did not buy from them you go straight to the back of the line. And thats as it should be, I suppose. As far as getting ripped off on the price, we paid MSRP. I don't normally do that but they treated us well on our trade and the damn things are hard to find. MSRP is $36,805.00 I believe fully loaded, with tax your up to $39,500.00. Again, thanks for all your suggestions.

[edgesenior]

Hi Cal Kid...Good to see things are a bit better...BUT still not 100%...I did take note of one item and wish to remark...You said the dealer didn't want to and the other dealer didn't want to...Say when dealer# 2 takes the car from dealer# 1, IT just became HIS car...Dealer # 1 didn't get the $.....Sr.

[CaliforniaKid]

I agree SR. I have been telling dealer #2 from day one that I bought the car from them, not dealer #1. I have never understood why they kept wanting to involve dealer #1 unless they are hoping for some reimbursement. But I would think Ford would be footing the bill. Wednesday when we took the car in for the rear wheel alignment they came over and made a point of telling us they had notified dealer #1 of the rear wheel situation. I can't even guess why unless they are hoping to get a better trade for someone else in the future. I'm sure I won't be the one to benefit. Maybe some legal eagles can give us a clue?

[edgesenior]

Kid ...I left a note on your profile....Asking how the saga was going....I hope it will get better...............Sr.

[CaliforniaKid]

Well SR. I just had to let you know. We just got back from the dealership with our two new rear tires and it only took 6 hours! Of course that's counting a 30 minute drive each way.....twice! We left home at 7:30 this morning and arrive at the dealership a little after 8:00. 2-1/2 hours later they had the two tires back on. I know tire mounting and balancing is akin to rocket scientology so I was not too surprised. We left with high hopes, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and then the clouds rolled in...literally. We had stopped a few miles from home and were going to the grocery store when I noticed how good the new tires looked and was noticing that there was quite a bit more tread on the new ones than the others that only had 800 miles on them. As I continued to look and admire the new skins, it stuck me something was wrong. I checked tire size and...almost got ya there did'nt I...yes they were all four the same size and manufacturer, but one of them was different than the others. The tread on the left rear looked different. And for good reason, wait for it...they had put the tire on inside out! I know that sounds funny but the Continental tires have an "inside" marked on one side and yes, that side is supposed to be mounted in. The tread on the inside of the tire is actually a little different from the tread on the outside of the tire. I am ready to explode and tell my wife that's it I'll pay our local tire company to swap it around rather than go back to....let's see we call them dealer #2 don't we? I had four tires put on my 06 300C the otherday and all four did'nt take 45 minutes! My wife said no damnit their gonna fix something right and back we go. I call to let the service writer know we are on our way back and we will not wait 2-1/2 hours for them to fix one damn tire! It only took them 45 minutes to turn the tire around, I'm sure a record for them, but while we waited our sales man came over and appologized and proceeded to tell us how the service department has gone through a lot of people and they are trying to fix the lousy service customers are getting. He told us he has lost a lot of customers because of their service department. A few minutes later the service writer comes over and appologizes and tells us all his good people are off on weekends. I told him I sure was glad he scheduled us on a Saturday! He then said I hear you guys have been having a lot of problems with this vehicle and asked if we really want to get rid of it do we have gap insurance? He basically told us to go out and wreck it. Then he told us Ford has the highest number of lemon buybacks of any manufacturer. By now I'm ready to shoot this guy! And then his last attempt at trying to cheer us up he said well most people have problems with their cars at the end of the cars life, you guys are just doing it backwards, either that or it's just gonna get worse I say. On the way home from Swanson Fahrney Ford in Selma California, I reflected upon the days events. It's not very often I can say I have had such an enjoyable time, conversing with those of differing view points and sharing witty anecdotes. Ah the comraderie of those who love cars and the ones paid to destroy them. Yes, I would love to give Swanson Fahrney Ford more of my business but I enjoy myself so much there it may be some time before my heart rate returns to normal and it is again safe for me to do so.

[edgesenior]

Kid: I'm hoping you are keeping all this on paper.. It has got to make the best horror story since Frankenstien..I'm not knowing why you went to Selma..As memory serves Selma is 50/50 between Fresno and Visilia on Hwy 99..Oh Boy! I'm betting your wife is spitting bullets..Go to the testing forum and look up a goof-off test I did..There is a link there for just what you need to improve your position in the (loosely speaking) "service department" So they actually suggested you wreck the car so it could get re-painted..or where they hopeful of a total?.....I'm thinking on this...I suspect your wife may be on the right track..wear those buggers down with constant returns until they do something to just get you to go away..Unfortunate it has to cost you so much in wasted time to play with these boneheads...It may be attorney time down there in the Selma area...Maybe Ding-Dong Family Ford needs to take this one on the chin....I'm so sorry for you...The Edge I have is a wonderful car..I got 25K on it and have only had one little two bit fix..A defective tire pressure sensor..

I sure hope this works out for you......keep us informed on the continuing saga....I better get rolling for that crazy woman finds out I'm on the page and starts on me.......... ..........Sr.............ps...you can leave me a personal message I don't think she can read those................Sr.

[CobraJet428]

??????????

Edited September 26, 2007 by CobraJet428

[scoopo]

I've been watching this thread.

Dude, this sounds like my usual luck.

Get out! Get out now!!

Demand a new Edge and let Ford deal with that one on their own dime. They do have a pretty good stack of them.

This is freakin ridiculous, man. Totally, without question, unacceptable! Period.

[CaliforniaKid]

Well my last post disapeared into cyberspace and I suppose thats just as well. Thinking back it was pretty much the ravings of a lunatic. I have decided to demand a new car. If I get one my wife will fall in love with it and all will be good and if I don't she'll never know I tried and will still be happy. She loves the car and I am the only one that will never drive it or have anything to do with it. So thank you all for allowing me to rant.

[RaggedyEdge]

Cal Kid. Hi From a womans POV. Yep! New Car. Keep it cool. That Ford Dealer is a Yuk! Keep the thing cool. NO SHOUTING. You are the one in the right.. Annie

[CobraJet428]

!!!!!!

Edited September 26, 2007 by CobraJet428

[edgesenior]

Kid: Saw your 6A post...Say that's 4A California time...I'm hoping your not up fretting about that car....Good plan...Let that clunker dealer take that one on the chin..... ......Sr