The plot sickens...

[Jim Warman]

errrrr, I meant thickens.... http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN0237812120070503

 

I hope this link works...

[DwayneGorniak]

Maybe it will be a blessing Jim. Maybe, just maybe, Ford might make something of their own that will put faith back into those true blue customers that have shyed away. And maybe, just maybe, we might see something that we can actually get our arms into or even see the ground in some spots from the top of the engine compartment. Ya I know, I'm drinking too much again. I better have a few more.

[SteveS]

As usual, the attorneys wil be the real winners.

[G. Bedford]

http://www.dealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1448

[Jim Warman]

Whooo-eee..

 

This has the possibility of getting interesting.

And the excrement could really hit the rotational, free flowing ventilation device.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif

 

It would be interesting to see how many dealers get caught using the diesel cert of a tech they no longer employ.... or how many techs with diesel cert managed to be performing several "golden" labour ops on different VINs at the exact same time....

 

As a denizen of TDS (indeed, I was even banned from there for a short time - oh, the shame of it all.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif ) you start to see the pattern..... inadequate diagnosis... repeat repair after repeat repair..... Even on the Canadian corporate message board, we are guarranteed of seeing posts made by diesel techs that appear to have slept through all of their training....

 

If Navistars demand bears fruit, I'm sure that the bean counters will put stuff under a microscope...

 

This is starting to read like one of my loving brides soapers....

[Keith Browning]

...in case the link stops working in the future...

 

(you guys may post articles as long as you do it like this)

 

Quote:

Dealer Magazine | July 2007

Another Problem for Ford Dealers

by : Rich Sox

 

Just when you thought things were tough enough for Ford dealers, Ford’s warranty dispute with Navistar over the 6.0 liter diesel engine is spilling over onto Ford dealers. We are representing eight Ford dealers in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas who have been sent a subpoena by Navistar requesting thousands of pages of warranty documents.

 

For those of you who are not aware of this dispute, Ford has sued Navistar for failing to reimburse Ford for warranty payments made to dealers for work done on the troubled 6.0 liter diesel engine built by Navistar and put in the F250 and larger trucks. Ford has sought a whopping $800 million in warranty payment reimbursement from Navistar.

 

What’s the big deal with Ford dealers being asked to produce documents, you ask? To answer that question one need only look as far as the counterclaim filed by Navistar in response to Ford’s complaint. Navistar claims that Ford’s request for reimbursement is made in bad faith because 1) Ford dealers did work on the engine that was unnecessary in order to fix the problem; 2) Ford dealers claimed to have done work on the engine that was not actually done; and 3) Ford dealers did not follow proper repair procedures. Thus, whether they like it or not, Ford dealers’ warranty practices are being put on trial in this lawsuit.

 

Our main concern is that if the judge in the Ford v. Navistar case makes a finding that Navistar does not have to reimburse Ford for the warranty payments made to dealers due to the dealers’ inappropriate handling of the work on the 6.0 liter diesel engine, who do you think Ford will turn to for reimbursement of the $800 million? You got it, the dealers. If dealers produce the year’s worth of warranty documents that Navistar is seeking, Ford will have access to warranty records that go well beyond the limitations provided for in many state motor vehicle franchise laws. Massive chargebacks could follow!

 

Of course, we have to be careful how we object to these subpoenas. It would not go over very well with the judge to argue that the warranty records shouldn’t be produced because dealers may have done something wrong. So, we have thus far objected to the subpoenas on other very important grounds. First, dealers should never produce dealership documents to a third party that contain customer information without insuring that confidentiality protections are in place. In the Ford v. Navistar case, we were surprised to learn that no confidentiality agreement is in place and, thus, we have told Navistar that no documents can be produced by our Ford dealers until, at a minimum, such protections are in place. Dealers should never expose themselves to Federal and state claims of mishandling customer information.

 

Another very significant problem with the subpoenas is that Ford has much of the information Navistar is seeking from the dealers. However, Ford’s deadline to produce those documents has not arrived as of yet. Thus, we have told Navistar that it is totally inappropriate to inconvenience dealers before they see what Ford has available in the way of warranty records.

 

Last, but not least, Navistar’s request for documents from dealers involves thousands of pages of material. The time and expense involved in gathering those documents is immense. We have objected to Navistar’s subpoenas based on the fact that the number of documents requested is so voluminous that it is unfair to ask the dealers to produce them all. We have also made it clear that whatever documents are ultimately produced, Navistar will have to reimburse the dealers for the time and expense of gathering those documents.

 

Thus far, 24 dealers in California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas have received these lovely little presents from Navistar. We believe that if Navistar can make hay with any documents ultimately produced by these 24 dealers, Navistar may send out a second wave of subpoenas. If you are in receipt of a Navistar subpoena now or in the future, whatever you do don’t put your head in the sand and hope everything will be all right. You should retain experienced franchise counsel to object to the subpoena and protect your dealership. Absolutely nothing good can come out of producing warranty records to Navistar in their dispute with Ford.

 

[Keith Browning]

And this is one GOOD reason to finally get everyones head out of their asses and start doing things the way they should be done. This encompasses training, work ethics, job performance and the way we treat each other, from the top of Ford Motor Company all the way down to the tech in the service bay.

[DwayneGorniak]

Wow! How true Keith. I hope they don't get any of my R.o's. My stories start off something like this: Eight inch lift kit, 37" mudders, Edge juice three stage chip onboard, four inch exhaust, K&N engine duster and propane injection.

 

DI performance diagnostics: I list all my my DTC's and diagnostics.

 

Inspect and determine engine damage: pistons are melted and have really big fuckin holes in them. Heads are warped .008" and turbo is ceased due to being at at maximum boost for for it's entire life.

 

Repair: Replaced all faulty parts because service manager told me to.

 

 

That my friends is called covering my own ass. I have been in other dealerships that used to warranty the shit of this crap and keep turning a blind eye to it. And still am. But when the truck breaks down at another dealership within a very short period of time and all this crap is reported to tech hotline, dealerships get caught. Or if the truck was at another dealership before yours and they reported it. You never know exactly what the last dealership or tech told Hotline. I have seen it happen at one of the last dealerships I worked at and the outcome is always an expensive charge back. Needless to say they were always under audit.

 

Sorry to get a little off subject keith, but my point is that R.O's like this could be really bad in court.

 

However, never ever take the reposnibnility of this kind of crap on your own shoulders. It can bite you really hard. At least with credibility, you will always be able to land a new job.