Ford Protect Gold Warranty Not Worth It.

[slim8110]

Hey guys, so I posted earlier here about a rattle on my 2013 st (250) when idling, turns out it was the water pump, which I had pretty much verified by my usual mechanic before I took it to ford. However apparently the warranty only covers Mechanical/Electrical FAILURES! So as the water pump has not failed they won’t cover it, so I had to pay £120 just to be told something I already knew. But that aside I’m astonished that in order for the warranty to be worth the money paid for it Ford need you to drive the car until something actually breaks, more than likely causing a lot more damage before they will fix it, at least under warranty. Has anyone else had a similar problem with these idiots, no doubt it’s some idiot in a suit that’s never seen an engine making the decisions, but I mean if a part is making a noise it shouldn’t be making, that must count as failure, surely? Or am I being unreasonable?

 

 

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[ashmicro]

Similar issue with my then-new Rover 220 GTi. PAS was leaking from the rack, dealer didn't want to know until it actually failed. I wrote to Rover Group, cc'd the dealer principal and made your point: fix it now for £Not Much or wait until the whole lot gives up. They agreed to fix it.

I think you can make a strong case here: if the water pump craps the bed, you might end up needing a new engine.

Good luck.

[isetta]

I agree that this is ridiculous. If it was a wheel bearing would they say they won't act until the wheel actually falls off? 

[StephenFord]

Wouldn't it be a shame if a hammer accidentally hit the part sharply causing it to fail?? LOL

[ashmicro]

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Wouldn't it be a shame if a hammer accidentally hit the part sharply causing it to fail?? LOL

Not helpful. Intentional damage could invalidate the whole warranty.

[StephenFord]

1 minute ago, ashmicro said:

Not helpful. Intentional damage could invalidate the whole warranty.

Wow, what a witty response, very funny! 🤣

[TomsFocus]

This is a fairly common thing with car warranties.  It's the same with the rusty coolant pipes on the 1.0 EcoBoost, they're not covered under warranty until they actually break...obviously it's too late by then!  Other manufacturers have the same systems though.  Of course warranties are a waste of money for most people, they're about making money for the manufacturer, it wouldn't work if more was being claimed back than the initial payment...

There are some instances where warranty works out well, but these are rare, things like full engines or gearboxes.  For anything else, you're better off to put the same amount of money into a savings account and only using it for car repairs when necessary.

As for wheel bearings, you'll probably find they're wear and tear so won't be covered by warranty anyway.

[isetta]

"For anything else, you're better off to put the same amount of money into a savings account and only using it for car repairs when necessary. "

same applies to things like Dental care monthly premiums. half the money goes in things like comissions or paying for the staff who administer the scheme to sit around in their offices drinking coffee and talking to eachother. and extended warranties on electrical goods.

[StephenFord]

...or central heating insurance. My father-in-law pays £150/year for that despite my protests. In 25 years of me not paying that, I have a potential £3750, more than enough to pay for the odd breakdown. Though I've had that outlook on 'insurance' all my life! Last year my mum was offered an 'extended warranty' on a kettle that cost £12, her reaction of laughing out loud took the assistant by surprise!

[isetta]

'Though I've had that outlook on 'insurance' all my life!' . I don't blame you. Most of my working life has been working for insurance companies so I know how they waste money. The premiums are much more than the statistical risk.  

If it's insurance for something that would cripple me financially long term then I believe in it, but otherwise not.  This is what I do believe having insurance for a)  buildings of my house,   b) household contents - but mainly because you then get personal liability cover chucked in - so if you carelessly step into the road and cause a crash and get sued for life changing injuries to someone (mega amount of money) then you need personal liability cover for that - some people say 'i don't have contents insurance because I haven't got anything worth stealing' - I then point out the importance of personal liability cover .  c) third party motor insurance  - although comp cover seems to be cheaper than third party only these days   d) travel insurance for medical costs - to pay for care and getting you back to UK if you have heart attack or car crash etc. 

So that's my little sermon on insurance 

[slim8110]

Thanks for the replies everyone, i have actually wrote to the ford protect administrator explaining the difference between mechanical failure and operational failure, but I doubt it will matter, they seem to be able to change the definition to whatever suits them.

I also told them the part will ***** itself before the warranty runs out and it will cost more in the long run, the head gasket will probably need replacing too. But again some suit behind a desk won’t have a clue anyway.

I would have thought the garage would have pushed a little harder too, it’s work and money for them, but they seemed very disinterested.

It’s hard to beat the little independent guy, no more warranty crap for me.


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[TomsFocus]

14 hours ago, isetta said:

b) household contents - but mainly because you then get personal liability cover chucked in - so if you carelessly step into the road and cause a crash and get sued for life changing injuries to someone (mega amount of money) then you need personal liability cover for that - some people say 'i don't have contents insurance because I haven't got anything worth stealing' - I then point out the importance of personal liability cover

I didn't even know that was a thing!  What happens if you haven't got any money anyway?  Surely you can't be sued if you're already poor and have no possessions of value?   I do have contents insurance as our landlord requires it to cover the semi-furnished parts of the flat that we don't own (although I still think his insurance should cover that myself) but wouldn't have a clue about personal liability.

[isetta]

Personal liability:

having no money does not stop someone sueing you. It might put them off making the effort but it is not a bar to them doing it. So they could still get a court award made against you, and if you have not got any money to pay it, the debt may hang over you until you do have some money years later.  Also in UK law they have 3 years to make a claim against you for personal injury and 6 yrs if you damage their property. Which makes it important to keep copies of insurance documents for years as you don't know when a claim might be made. Tomorrow someone could make a claim against me for something that allegedly happened 5 yrs 11 months ago that I did not even know I had apparently done. Courts can extend the time limits if circumstances are reasonable eg it took years to track down the culprit.

The more you look into this kind of stuff the more you realise it is important to have personal liability cover and to keep the documents as evidence for years. If it's injury and the injured party needs medical care for the next 30 years and loss of earnings etc it's over a million quid.

There have been cases where pedestrians have been sued for stepping into the road (on their phone or headphones on etc) and causing an accident, I recall one where a cyclist died  and the pedestrian was sued.

It sounds like I am going on a bit and preaching- but it is something you could be paying for for the rest of your life if you don't have the insurance cover.

 

[slim8110]

Soooooo..... guys update!!! Left my car down today to have the water pump replaced which I was prepared to pay for because it needs done, just received a call from the garage!!

ITS NOT THE DAMN WATERPUMP!!!!

It’s something internal, and guess what the Ford garage I left it with won’t investigate because they don’t have to correct tools!!!! WHAT!!!!

So I’ve just lifted the car ( with 29 miles more on the clock than when I left it) and have booked it into another Ford garage. Unfortunately it won’t be seen for another 2 weeks!! They wouldn’t tell me what they think is wrong and apparently the mechanic looking at the car was conveniently away on a job!!

I rang ford customer service and that was completely useless, every question I asked was replied with “I’m sorry, we don’t have that on our system”

On the plus side I got my £120 back for the miss diagnosis. And quite possibly I could be eating my words!! Maybe just maybe the warranty isn’t such a bad thing!! I can’t see how they can wriggle out of not standing over an internal engine problem. I just wish I knew what it might be.

If anyone has any ideas as to what might be wrong please let me know, I have 2 young kids and want them to be safe in the car.

All I can tell you is the noise sounds similar to a belt tensioner rattle, noticeable more when the engine is up to temperature, idling and it’s coming from the same side the water pump is on and sounds down low.

Tune in again soon for another episode of WTF!!!![emoji23]


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[StephenFord]

7 minutes ago, slim8110 said:

.

Tune in again soon for another episode of WTF!!!!


 

Looking forward to it LOL

[slim8110]

Sooooo..... left my car back in on Monday 1st July for a proper inspection. The techs have diagnosed the problem to be a component in the timing system which has failed allowing the chain to move more than it should, so they are replacing everything in there with fords blessing under the warranty. Which is great news, all I have to do now is sit back and enjoy my courtesy car!!! But Noooooooo...... garage don’t have any left to give me, and Ford won’t give me one because the labour time required to fix my car is 5.1hrs and not the 8hrs required to qualify. but it’s ok, it’s not like the kids are off school and our family holiday visiting various parts of Ireland starts on Monday and my car won’t be ready until the end of next week!! It’s all brilliant. I just love warranties, main dealerships and vehicle manufacturers. Always have that little extra personal touch for their customers. What’s that I hear you say, stop complaining your getting your car fixed for nothing??? Sure... and hiring a car for 9 days is free!![emoji35][emoji35][emoji35][emoji35][emoji35]


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[Mini74]

On 7/4/2019 at 5:02 PM, slim8110 said:

Sooooo..... left my car back in on Monday 1st July for a proper inspection. The techs have diagnosed the problem to be a component in the timing system which has failed allowing the chain to move more than it should, so they are replacing everything in there with fords blessing under the warranty. Which is great news, all I have to do now is sit back and enjoy my courtesy car!!! But Noooooooo...... garage don’t have any left to give me, and Ford won’t give me one because the labour time required to fix my car is 5.1hrs and not the 8hrs required to qualify. but it’s ok, it’s not like the kids are off school and our family holiday visiting various parts of Ireland starts on Monday and my car won’t be ready until the end of next week!! It’s all brilliant. I just love warranties, main dealerships and vehicle manufacturers. Always have that little extra personal touch for their customers. What’s that I hear you say, stop complaining your getting your car fixed for nothing??? Sure... and hiring a car for 9 days is free!!


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Hi there, when you took your car to your ford dealer did they say they would charge you £125, for a diagnostic check?

I’m so confused I can’t read anywhere in the print that I have to pay for a check first

[denis the menace]

After reading these helpful comments re extending my goldwarranty on my focus ecoboost I have decided to spend the money on chocolate and beer instead. 

| have always thought warranties are a con.