I'm never buying another Ford. I used to be a staunch "Buy American"

consumer. As American car companies market share continued to plummet, I

continued to feel that it is my patriotic duty to buy American.

Well, I finally woke up and realized that everyone else is right, and that I

was naive.

Last week the O/D light came on in my Ford Explorer. I drove it right home

and got the manual out to see what the problem was. "Transmission problem"

was what the manual indicated, as well as several websites I reviewed.

I didn't worry at first, since I figured this would be covered under

warranty. My Explorer is just under 5 years old and just under 60K miles.

Surely there would at least be a 60K power train warranty. No one would buy

a vehicle if they knew the transmission would only last 59K miles.

Well, the dealer told me a new tranmission was needed (5th and 2nd gears

were worn down), that it would cost $3500, and that it is not covered by

warranty. And to add insult to injury he charged me $90 to tell me the

transmission was bad (something I obviously knew) - isn't this similar to

stealing?

I then asked him what trade in value I could get (not that I really would

buy another poor quality Ford, but I wanted to explore all options). $5500

is the most they could give. I laughed - since I had taken very good care of

the vehicle. It told me that they didn't want the vehicle either - so much

for them really standing behind their product. They know the quality is

poor.

Obviously I was quite irritated. I asked what caused this. None of the

possibilities applied since I took good care of the vehicle and had it

serviced according to the maintenance manual. In fact, the dealer (Cover

Ford in Austin) did the 30K checkup. I spent $1K on that (and probably got

ripped off).

I took it to a transmission specialist and had it fixed for under $2500. He

informed me that he sees a lot of issus like this with Explorers - probably

a poor design and poor quality. Also, judging by various websites there are

indeed lots of complains like this.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ford knew of the poor design - since the warranty

that came with the vehicle was only 3 yr/36K even for powertrain. If Ford

had good quality, why couldn't they step up to the plate and offer 60K or

even 100K power train warranty. They must have known the poor quality. In my

mind, this is deceptive practice - and I kick myself for not recognizing

this as a red flag.

Well, for the 2008 Explorer I see Ford is offering 60K powertrain warranty.

So they must have made some improvements (which further underscores their

recognition of the poor quality in earlier years). But it's still a far cry

from 100K that some vehicles come with. You also have to wonder what other

quality issues are lurking.

I think the choice is now clear to me. In the future I will be considering

something like a Honda Pilot. Ford deserves the trend of lower market share.

Consumers are very wise, and the quality the provide is reflected in their

declining sales and marketshare.

Please don't make the same mistake I made. The foreign competition provides

much better quality and customer service.