Auto Advocate v Ford Motor Company of Australia

Chalk another one up for the good guys

In early February 2019, Lisa (not her real name) approached me regarding a concern with her 2013 Ford Focus

Lisa had purchased the vehicle privately in 2017 but had done her checks to make sure that the vehicle she was buying was good value and didn’t have any outstanding recalls.

The vehicle, with 60,000 kilometres on the odometer had been serviced by a Ford dealership since new.

Some 12 months after purchase, the transmission started to cause some problems. She took it to her local Ford dealership and after running diagnostics on it, the dealer approached Ford for goodwill. They replaced a speed sensor and all was well for a while.

The transmission started faulting again in December 2018. The car was taken to another Ford dealership which again ran diagnostics and determined that there were no fault codes. 

In early 2019, while in traffic the transmission failed again – limp home mode and not really driveable. The vehicle was taken to the first dealer who determined that the transmission would need to be replaced

And the cost to do this replacement? How does $9375 sound?

Lisa came to me for advice and assistance.

I approached Ford Motor Company of Australia asking them to repair the transmission at no cost to Lisa.

No

I asked them to consider Australian Consumer Law as it related to the quality and longevity of their product

No

Eventually, after 3 months of backwards and forwards, Lisa and I decided to lodge an action with QCAT (Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal) on the basis that I believed the Australian Consumer Law covered the serviceability of the vehicle’s transmission.

And just yesterday (3^rd July 2019) we engaged in a mediation session to determine whether this matter needed to go to court.

I’m pleased to say that the representative of Ford Motor Company of Australia saw some sense and offered to settle the matter by supplying the transmission for Lisa and for her to pay the labour for the exchange.

So, Ford Motor Company of Australia contributed $7975 whilst Lisa will pay the labour of $1400.

This resolution, in my opinion, is fair and reasonable and what should have been offered by Ford in the first place.

In all the matters that I’ve represented customers in, the outcomes have always been in my customer’s favour.

I’ve had over forty years’ experience dealing with this type of situation and generally know which buttons to push and levers to pull.

Generally, car makers will deny an out of warranty claim and deny it again and deny it again.

With a knowledgeable advocate in your corner, there’s a better than even chance that I’ll be able to achieve a good outcome

Here are a few in the last couple of years. As you’ll see I’ve had significant wins on most. The only action lost, was a lack of service history from the customer.

And that’s important – if you have a good service history for your vehicle, whether it’s with a dealer or an independent workshop, then there’s every chance that we’ll have a win. If you have a poor history or you’re missing vital services (i.e. transmission service) then it does get a lot harder if not impossible

If you think you have a situation where you’re being treated unfairly by a manufacturer, call me on 0418 748 498 or email me at bo********@ca*********.au

I generally charge a retainer to start your case and then it’s no win, no fee. If I win for you, I charge 15% of the total of what the dealer has quoted you and in the unlikely case that we (you and I ) don’t have a win, there’s no extra charge.

I’m Bob Aldons, Automotive Advocate – I Fight for Fair

Australian Consumer Law – It’s Up to You