Ellen
Las Vegas,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, July 14, 2005
We purchased a used 2000 Ford Focus in April of 2004 for our son, with 56,000 miles on it. In the 14 months we've owned it, the engine has been replaced 4 times!! The first time the engine went out (at 60,000 miles), the extended warranty took care of it. The new engine then went out at 1200 miles, the 3rd engine before the mechanics even got it out of the service bay and the 4th engine went out about a month ago. Ford has taken care of it each time - however, we want to sell the car, still have a significant balance on the loan and would not be able to sell the car in good conscience to anyone else. Our feeling is that the car is now severely devalued. We've spoken to Ford twice and of course they will not do anything based on the year of the car and the mileage. Engines do not blow like this and of course the dealer has told us that Ford will not let the mechanics take the engines apart to find out what exactly the problem is. At this point - all we feel we can do is hire a lawyer and hope for the best.
John
Chardon,#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 20, 2005
progressive ripoffreport.com netflix upgrade new dial up Robert Kiyosaki I have had all the above problems and then some... I had the brake recall, a recall for the fuel pump (caused a low idle and frequent stalling), and i'm sure a few others. both springs on the front suspension broke within a year of eachother, all this on about a two year old car. On both occasions the springs were replaced for free from ford due to a "special action notice", which to me equates to, "if the lawsuits cost less than a recall, we'll take our chances". the doors make a horrible loud squeak when opened, and using graphite as the dealer instructed doesn't help. The icing on the cake was last summer when I was just sitting in my garage doing an oil change and a light bulb change, and when I got behind the wheel, I noticed a haze of smoke in the car, and when I turned the key and removed it, the car remained running! talk about frightening, I thought I was gonna burn my house down. Anyways, after I survived that, It turned out to be a short that burnt up ALL my wiring in a spot on the floor board. Well, even WITH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY I purchased on the vehicle, it was not covered. Yes, it covers any electrical problems, but not "rust or corrosion". Well they showed me a small light bulb connector that costs a quarter, and yes it had "corrosion" on it. Soo, maybe a better question why is there corrosion on the INSIDE OF MY TRUNK AFTER TWO YEARS, AND WHY THE HeLL DO I HAVE FUSES FOR? Wel according to those incedibly intelligent men who do ford's dirty work, fuses are to "keep you car from catching on fire". Well the quotes went up hundreds of dollars day by day until they replaced the whole wiring harness at a cost of nearly two thousand dollars!!! henry must be rolling over in his grave... And to the previous writer who was in favor of their focus, im glad you're having no problems... but there was no need to replace your brakes even if you left your emergency brake on during a tire change... i think you need to file a ripoffreport on your mechanic! come to think of it, ford tried to claim i needed new brake pads because they would "fall off and need replacement" upon changing of the rotors... which is incredible rediculous and untrue...
Elisa
Jensen Beach,#4REBUTTAL Individual responds
Fri, September 17, 2004
I purchased a 2000 Ford Focus with 11,000 miles. I owe alot of money on my car loan and have had over 25 repairs/recalls. Ford is the rip off. They do not care. My engine fell out in a mall parking lot right after my warranty expired. Ford said "SORRY".
Juliet
Birmingham,#5Consumer Comment
Thu, August 05, 2004
I have to defend the 2000 Ford Focus as I have had one since June 2001 when I took over another person's payments, and that car has worked like a dream for me, up until last week. I did get stuck at Walmart, having to call AAA for what turned out to be a drained battery, but I took it to a Ford dealer and they fixed it the next day at a very reasonable cost. $60 for the battery. I HAVE had to have the brakes replaced twice but not because they failed on me. One time may well have been my fault for leaving the emergency brake on after getting a tire changed. So I still can't complain about the car. My experience has been terrific and I was NOT a Ford fan at all prior to owning this one. I had always driven cars my husband could work on, specifically 1960s and 70s cars. The car I was driving before I got the Focus was a 1967 Buick Wildcat. So I was very suspicious of this "newfangled" car but I really needed a reliable car that any shop could work on, so I got the Focus. I am very sorry for all your troubles with your Focus, and I did receive 2 recall notices, but mine has been an excellent car and I have to say so, cause in my case, at least, Ford definitely did things right.