Extended Warranty Issues on a Used Car Involving 2 Dealerships.

[Fyrelle]

Hello.

About 3 months ago I bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle from a Toyota dealership. I purchased an extended warranty that covers virtually everything since I would have otherwise bought the car 'As-Is'. I did test drive it, and it seemed fine, but I wanted to be safe.

Recently my car started going in to 'Fail-safe Mode'. It would suddenly only drive maybe 20 miles an hour. I have recently found out that this seems to be a big issue with this particular car. It apparently needs a new throttle bottle. Ford cannot have this to me until sometime in mid-December at earlier because it is on back order, they simply do not have the man power to keep up with the demand do to layoffs. Long story short, Toyota is covering this problem. However, they will only allow me a 5 day car rental total. When we talked to them about this being extenuating circumstances, they said yes we bought the car from them, and the policy...but this isn't their problem, it's Fords. Meanwhile, I'm making car payments and paying for full coverage for a car I cannot drive. We've also talked to Ford about this, and basically they're saying there is nothing they can do either, and that I did not buy the car from them, and that I need to discuss my problem with Toyota. My entire family has been very loyal to this particular dealership, and not a single one of us has made a late payment yet...and we've referred others to them who have actually bought cars...so you'd think they'd try a little harder. This is the first time we've really needed something from them and they are acting more like we're an annoyance and shouldn't be bothering them when we call.

I need advice on what my options really are. If anyone could help I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[mightymoose]

The extended warranty you purchased was from the Toyota dealer so you need to be dealing with them. You can contact Ford on your own to see what you might be able to do about locating the part you need. There may be a dealer somewhere out there with the part sitting on the shelf.

You might want to see if your own insurance company might pick this up to assist you. It is hard to say just what your options are without knowing what is written in the warranty, but a backordered part is certainly beyond the control of the dealer. They aren't telling you that the warranty won't cover the problem, they are just saying it will take awhile.

Under these circumstances, it wouldn't hurt to talk to them about the payments... they might be willing to suspend the payments until the car is repaired so that you can afford a rental in the mean time. It might seem laughable, but you never know when someone will cut you a break.

The best I can imagine you getting is discounted rental prices for the next couple months. In the end, if you are out money that you feel you should be reimbursed for due to the warranty, you can always let a judge hear your argument.

 

[Fyrelle]

Thanks mighty. =)