Confidence Not Warranted

I have been reading about warranties on new American cars with great interest, due to my experience with my last two new cars. Quality simply cannot be warranted into cars, and a warranty is only as good as the dealer and factory are willing to make it. My experience with both of my Fords has been very bad, and I do not believe an extended warranty means a better car. I want to drive a car, not talk to a lawyer.

I bought a Ford truck in 1974 and I still have it after about 250,000 miles. It works well, but the warranty period was hell. When I needed a car in 1983, it was so easy to buy, I wondered why I hadn’t done it earlier. I soon found out. It isn’t the cost of the car--it’s the aggravation of dealing with the dealer and the factory on warranty repair, the three trips to fix each problem, the insults and the inability to contact the factory. Ford customer service will not deal with a customer. They give no names, make no promises, deny any problems and send you a form letter from a computer.

Furthermore, the dealer personnel cannot fix a real problem. Every repair that Ford made under warranty I have had to fix again at my own expense. The dealer will truly insult you and dare you to do something about it. I got the car fixed on my own, an additional expense not mentioned by Ford.

I am now trying to buy another new car. American manufacturers have taught me well; I will buy Japanese. I don’t need a car with a long warranty. I do need a car that’s built so it doesn’t need a warranty.

BORIS DOBROTIN

Sierra Madre