23rd Jan 2006, 10:25

I could not agree more!

When I bought my 1993 Ford Festiva used it was still under warranty at 17,000 miles. There were noises/rattles coming from the dash, so when I took it in to the Ford dealer for an oil change I inquired.

FIRST thing out of the mechanic's mouth was that rattles were NOT covered after 12 months/12,000 miles. FIRST THING. He did not even offer any recommendations since it "was not his problem anymore".

I had never experienced such horrific customer service in my life, and I have owned many different types of cars and interacted with many different dealers.

Luckily the Festiva proved to be amazingly reliable (it was NOT built by Ford) and ALL its servicing was done at a private shop not affiliated with Ford.

As with all American cars, you better hope you get a good one, otherwise you're in a lot of trouble because the dealers/manufacturers do NOT back their products.

23rd Jan 2006, 15:05

Ford has been using this transmission for years. It's the one part of the car that's already proven as reliable. I believe this car was abused.

23rd Jan 2006, 17:53

Dude, your car had 17,000 miles, and was therefore out of warranty, so what do you want. It hit 12,000 miles already, so the 12 month part is void. ALL dealers are like that, honestly, its like some of you people were born last week.

17th Mar 2006, 16:05

Ford service departments are some of the highest rated in overall customer satisfaction in the country. Compare there reviews with GM or Chrysler service departments, and you'll find Ford overall better than those two. On a related note it is usally the customers fault when the car has a lot of trouble like that with low miles, usually it only happens with sports cars like the Mustang, boy what a cowincidence that is.

4th Jun 2006, 08:56

Comparing the reliability of a festiva to a mustang is just stupid.

And I agree, this car was probably abused during its warranty period and the owner is now seeing how stupid that was.

28th Dec 2006, 09:38

What some people are failing to realize is that, you don't have to be a 16 year old with a newly printed license to abuse a car. What YOU would consider normal driving, I may consider abuse. The average driver would not know how to treat a car of this calibre, if they were given an owners manual. Oh wait, they were given one, my bad. :)

Those of you who paid too much for your cars, that's what you get for wanting the car RIGHT NOW!! Why not treat it like something special?

I have driven both an '05 and an '06 mustang, numerous times, and have ZERO problems with them, and everyone who I know, who owns one, have had nothing, but good things to say about them.

Anyone else who is "bashing" ford just for the sake of bashing them, please keep your comments to yourself.

22nd Jan 2007, 20:20

OK seriously you don't compare a Festiva to a mustang. Who ever bought that should be slapped in the face. Those are so cheap you might as well ride a bike.

23rd Jan 2007, 08:57

Well, if you people had actually read my comment you would see it referred to the Festiva in reference to FORD service and reliability, NOT comparing it to a Mustang.

And if you think the Festiva is some tin piece of crap, you have obviously never owned one. One of the best cars ever made.

29th Jan 2007, 11:39

OK I have several friends that own the new 2005/2006 Mustangs and they have never had a single problem with them. They drive sensibly and responsibly and they don't try to blame Ford for their problems and breakdowns. What do you think, it's a car people. A car's condition doesn't improve the more you drive it! And especially if you drive your car like you're in the indy 500. Oh and for all those out there that think that Ford dealers are terrible I have something to say. In '98 we were looking at buying a new heavy SUV to tow our boat. We were considering either a suburban or an expidition, now you may think that chevy has a great reputation, but the dealer told us that we had to buy the truck in 10 minutes if we wanted it because he had someone else coming to look at it. he was asking an outrageous price on a used '96 suburban and he tried to push us into a deal, so we said no thanks. At Ford they offered us the eddie baur package, extended warranty, and a free inspection for less than the chevy! And we still have that truck, we have never had any major problems so you tell me if anybody else is better than Ford.

29th Jan 2007, 12:21

This is a Mustang we're talking about, right? You know, the car Carrol Shelby, Saleen, and others have modified because it is essentially a SPORTS CAR.

If a Mustang can't stand up to the "rigors' of what it was designed for, it just proves it's another lame Ford product.

And, yes, a car's condition does improve the more you drive it.

As for your Ford story, it just proves the Ford truck wasn't selling well and they had to do anything to get you to buy one.

After all, there IS a reason Ford just posted its greatest loss ever.

29th Jan 2007, 12:24

I noticed that many negative responses to vehicles are based on customer service. Sure it's annoying when you have something rattling around in the dash somewhere, but I think with a correct response - or a willingness to please, a dealership can turn a negative review into a positive. Most people who purchase a car do their due diligence, so if something unforeseen happens it's up to the dealer remedy the situation to keep the customer happy.

It would be nice if there was a section dedicated to individual dealership reviews.

29th Jan 2007, 16:22

<<It would be nice if there was a section dedicated to individual dealership reviews.>.

No, given this site reviews cars from around the world it would be essentially meaningless to most readers. For example, the Ford Focus is sold in at least 20 different countries.

25th Aug 2007, 13:41

It does sound like you abused your ride man. I'll admit I've had my problems out of Ford and I don't really like them, but all my problems have been in later mileage. I prefer Dodge above any other car company, but Ford does make decent stuff; they just can't take abuse, no car can. It's like people who whine about sub-par braking systems while they're tailgating the person in front of them then slamming on the brakes at the last second, they are not made for that!! Like your tranny isn't meant to be slammed into gear. Even race cars get a lot of work done on them between races, because they know they are abusing them, and no car is meant to be treated as such.