I hear you bro. I had the same thing happen to me. I was pissed. Called svt and they said they couldnt do anything about it, not even give me any compensation for me getting jacked only because im 18, yet I bought the car. Bunch of BS!

 

02_smurf
Sorry to hear that the dealer is keeping the car overnight for the cold start problem.I have been reading some posts in here when the RLA6 was released and what occured to me is that this is an open forum and there are Ford service techs registered(which is great BTW)but I think that when people ask how to go about getting the update done there was mention of "just tell them a cold start and surging occurs in the morning" so I think that some dealers look at this site and see that comment so when someone brings their car in for the RLA6 they want proof that the actual car is indeed doing it.(keep in mind I could be wrong with the above comment but it was just a thought).

 

As addressed in the first "RLA 6" post, just tell the service writer that you talked to SVT and they said that the car needs the update, period.

As far as the loaner car issue;

Part of the warranty is that the owner of the car is provided a loaner vehicle when ever the SVT product is in for repair under warranty. Just because the dealership decides to subcontract their loaner car program to a car rental place is not YOUR problem, assuming that the car is titled, registered and insured in your name. I would take a stand at the dealership. They can give you a true "loaner" car (a car owned by the dealership). This would be covered by their insurance, which, obviously, is not to their benefit. However they chose to be an SVT dealer and they know what is required, i.e. loaner cars.

Ford is targeting a young market with the SVTF. If they had half a brain they would see this situation coming. I'm old now, but I can remember what is was to be **** on because of my age.... Make a stink, if you happen to know an attorney get them to write a nasty letter to Ford and your dealership. Warranties are a subject covered by federal and state law. Make them live up to what they promised.

Sorry for the rant.

 

Very strange. I am 20 and they got me one from Enterprise. At Enterprise you can get a rent car if you have insurance, but they just wont sell you the insurance from Enterprise, this is if you are under 21. I would ask them why cant they do that? Sorry to hear that. But its just for a day, the time will past fast.

 

now it depends on the Dealerships insurance company. they won't rent to anyone under the age of 21, UNLESS your car is in the shop and your name is on the Title. This is the case with MOST companies. Do some research.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yeah it blows now b/c I took my car in for warranty work. And I am 22 mind you and those a**es wouldn't even let me have a car. Said it was b/c of insurance. I showed myself but didn't help any.

 

I'm 19 and I feel the same way, if you can pay for a brand new car you are responsible enough for a loaner. I would also understand if this right can be waived by eratic payments.

 

tell them svt said you should get the update and that theres a TSB out on it #030404, i had to tell em all that because they were test to see if it really had cold start problems and stuff, but after i gave em the TSB they finally were gonna do it

 

On the "Loaner" thing, here in Michigan it is a state law that says you have to be at least 25 to rent and this falls under rental catagory.

I'm 22.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but here in California, they wouldnt give him a rental either. I dont know of any delaerships locally that offer their own rental cars. They all contract with a local renter (like Enterprise, Budget, etc). And they will not rent to people under 21 years of age. PLUS you have to have a major credit card! I learned this the hard way on my first visit to the service department!
And there is NOTHING that SVT or your dealer can do about this!

[ 02-25-2003, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: my2002svt ]

 

I took my car in today to Cal Worthington. To my supprise they were cool about it. I said TSB#030404, he looked it up and did it with no questions asked. But as for the loaner, he had to make sure I was 25 to get it. Guess it's 25 up here in alaska too.

 

I don't get it. Why?

It's an update so why would you have to prove you need it?

No one else has had that problem

 

Chevy Gladiator...

That does suck about the rental car, but that's BS. Call SVT and talk to them about your experience. Sounds like SVT is usually pretty good at straightening out dealerships like this.

 

now it depends on the Dealerships insurance company. they won't rent to anyone under the age of 21, UNLESS your car is in the shop and your name is on the Title. This is the case with MOST companies. Do some research.

 

Originally posted by SlickShoes:
That does suck about the rental car, but that's BS. Call SVT and talk to them about your experience. Sounds like SVT is usually pretty good at straightening out dealerships like this.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The rental car thing has nothing to do with the dealership/Ford/SVT. At all of the car rental places I've dealt with, you have to be at least 21 years old to rent a car. He's 18.

 

yeah, 18.... thats why i'm not already on the phone with svt, because i don't think that i could get one anyways.... grrr... the worst part is that my dad's 1971 mach 1 just sits in the driveway, and he won't let me take that.

edit: and the reason they want to hold it over is to make sure that i'm not making it up i guess, thats all i can think of. evil service guys not wanting to look something up and do it, they want to make sure they have to before they do it.

[ 02-25-2003, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: 02_smurf ]

 

Either one of a few things should be true:

1. This should be listed when purchasing the SVT so it wouldn't come as a surprise.

2. They should give him a loaner from the dealership, which might not actually be technically a rental.

3. They should give him a reasonable amount of cab fare, or drive him about as needed, since they promised.

Clearly, number one wasn't done, but it would have been the best, so this never came up. Or number two, if that is feasible. But if it was me, I would call SVT and give them a bit of guff and see if number three isn't doable.

Louis

 

well, i called the customer service manager earlier today, and he said he was going to try and figure something out. well, its now 10:53, and he never even called back. I'm not even worried about the car loaner as much as the fact that the a-hole never even bothered to call me back. When i go to pick it up after school tommorrow, the dealer manager is going to get a nice long talk to and i am going to make a large stink b/c this is pure bs. I'm also going to email svt and tell them of my dissapointment in them. I have lost all respect for this service department, and all respect for ford in general. It makes me sad that i've been a loyal customer of ford for the past 5 years, and they bend me over and give me the boot.

 

Im 20 and I feel the same way. Two things I was told when I bought the car, 1. "you get a rental when its in for service." Not true if youre not 21. 2. "The SVT is limited production and will never have promotional offers." A rebate and 0% sounds like a promotional offer to me. As for some of the other topics covered in here one that got my attention is when he said the service writers never call you back, it is very true, they promise it back in a day and they keep it for 3 and dont bother to tell you why there doing it unless you go out of youre way to contact them. I understand that things happen where it takes longer then expected but at least keep the owner of the car in the loop. I guess thats my 2 cents.

 

02_smurf -- I recommend instead of emailing SVT, send snail mail. Most companies still don't regard email as seriously as they do snail mail.

 

Originally posted by RoushTec:
On the "Loaner" thing, here in Michigan it is a state law that says you have to be at least 25 to rent and this falls under rental catagory.

I'm 22.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I never had a problem getting a loaner from a dealership and I'm 24. I had a 00 Cougar that I had in for service a few times and always got a loaner.

I think it depends on the dealership.

 

THe diff is in the terminology.

Loaner means the dealership owns the vehicle that they are giving you, and can give it to you if you are 18 if their insurance carrier allows it.

If they don't have 'loaner' cars of their own they may say they are going to give you a loaner, but they contract out to a rental car company.
Thus you are getting a rental car.

Having worked for Hertz, Enterprise and now ARAC.
I can tell you that the people you should be pissed at are the people trying to give you a loaner or rental car. The rental car companies have their policies for drivers under 21. The service advisor should know this, but will play dumb in the hopes that when Hertz or Enterprise says no dice you get pissed at the rental car company.

My current company ARAC which is only in the western U.S. will rent 18-20 year olds no charge as long as the dealership, insurance co etc... is footing the bill.

 

I have the erratic idle and cold start high idle on my car and after reading this i'm worried about taking it into the dealer. I also have the AEM cold air on my car and who knows what they're gonna say about that. If you get any problems at the dealer where you bought the car, i would suggest chewing out the sales, and or service manager about it, and then go to another dealer and try to get it done there. I'm also 19 and hope i can get a rental car when i take mine in next week.