sKyZ

In mid March 2018, I noticed the paint bubbling on the front of the hood on my triple yellow 2015 Mustang GT PP 50 year package. It was about the size of a dime, right above the passenger side head light. I contacted Cloninger Ford of Hickory (North Carolina) and explained the issue to the representative. I was told that the issue was a paint issue (not a corrosion issue) and would not be covered.

At this point, I grew concerned because the vehicle had less than 30,000 miles, is garage kept, and I am insanely **** about cleaning, detailing, and keeping my Mustang looking and running perfectly. I plan to pass it down to my daughter and am trying to preserve the factory paint to the best of my ability. My father did body work and painting for Porsche, so I have a bit of knowledge with what I'm doing.

I contacted Ford corporate and was told that it's a corrosion issue that should be covered and they contacted Cloninger Ford of Hickory to schedule the repair.

On March 19th, 2018, with 28,925 miles, my car arrived at Cloninger Ford of Hickory. The transmission was inspected due to a clunking noise when releasing the clutch in first gear at low RPMs/parking lot speeds. I did not receive any type of answer on what was causing this issue, if it was resolved, or any further information. The vehicle still makes this noise and can still be reproduced. They performed the door handle recall and they were informed about the passenger side puddle light image deforming, which was resolved. At this time, a new hood was ordered and the work was scheduled to be performed at Custom Body Works Inc. in Hickory, NC.

I was given a loaner vehicle and they took my car to have the new hood that they ordered painted and placed on my vehicle. I was called by Cloninger Ford of Hickory and picked up my Mustang on April 7th, 2018. It was raining outside and my vehicle was in the parking lot of their dealership. There was black and gray wet sanding/compound residue running down the front fenders and bumper of my car, the hood was not aligned properly (closer to the passenger side and a larger gap on the driver side), the color did not match, there was a crack in the clear coat near where the original corrosion appeared (front passenger side headlight), the hood vent on the passenger side was not installed properly and was raised higher than the driver side. The vent also rattled when the car was driven above 40MPH. Also, on the driver side vent, there was a one inch line that appeared to be an indentation in the paint.

I went back inside the dealership, they contacted the third party body shop that they contracted the body work out to (Custom Body Works Inc.) and I was told that it would be fixed.

On April 9th, 2018 with ~29,500 miles on my Ford Mustang was brought back to Cloninger Ford of Hickory for the hood to be repainted. After a few days, I was called and told that the work was complete. The vehicle was returned with multiple imperfections in the paint, fish eyes, scratches, bubbles, and the under side of the hood did not match the outside or the inside of the engine bay. We brought my Mustang in to their service center, marked several areas with blue markers, and they took pictures of it to send to Ford corporate to be approved to be fixed.

A few days later, the car was send back to Custom Body Works Inc. and they attempted to fix the issues. It was returned with two spots in the center of the hood where they completely sanded through the clear coat and appear dull. At this point, the new hood has several layers of paint on it, it has been worked on three times, and the vents have even more paint on them than the hood due to being the original vents. I contacted Ford Corporate on April 16th, 2018 and explained the issue with the hood. They reached out to three managers at Cloninger Ford of Hickory and I was told to go speak with either Barry Wilson, John Cloninger, or Jeffrey Shepard.

When I arrived at the dealership, I spoke with Jeffrey Shepard and they attempted to upsell me on a 2018 Mustang or a 2017 GT350 that they had in the show room. I was offered $25,000 for my Mustang and was told that a 2018 would be $300/mo more than I currently pay. No thanks. I declined the offer and left, feeling extremely insulted and let down by the quality that Ford was providing to me.

I called Ford corporate when I arrived home and was told that they would contact me the next day.

On April 17th, 2018 (National Mustang Day) I received a call from Ford Corporate that my warranty claim is now complete and that any further issues must be resolved between me and Custom Body Works Inc. (The body shop that they [Ford/Cloninger] chose to use). I was also told that due to the repeated conflict that the warranty on my Mustang is now marked as void and any further warranty claim requests will not be processed or acknowledged by Ford.

At this point, I have lost all faith in Ford or Cloninger Ford ever making this right. I have owned several Mustangs and have been a Mustang enthusiast for over two decades. I find it incredibly insulting that Ford would call a customer and try to return a vehicle in such bad shape after a warranty repair.

Below, I have included several pictures displaying the imperfections and issues that have been outlined in my story above.


Sanded through clear coat: https://imgur.com/8jpQaQb


Another picture of where the clear coat is gone: https://imgur.com/3z2xMJv


Misaligned front of hood where it meets bumper: https://imgur.com/9ejf7lW


Flat spot/indent in paint: https://imgur.com/YFUbN55


Tags marking fish eyes, scratches, imperfections and other issues at the service center inside of Cloninger Ford of Hickory: https://imgur.com/3JS3BrX


Passenger side alignment of hood: https://imgur.com/ONbOWmz


Passenger side of hood from above: https://imgur.com/h0sHuNG


Driver side hood alignment: https://imgur.com/nBtgSQY


Driver side hood alignment from above: https://imgur.com/SGg9rS6

SpectreH

Wow...that would be enough for me to ditch Ford completely.

shaneyusa

I would be a very unhappy camper. The hood corrosion has been known issue for many years. I think you need to talk to the person on the phone's manager and move up the chain. Otherwise my next step would to be looking for a very good lawyer to force them to make this right. It is Ford's issue and they need to stand behind there products.

So when was your purchase date... Are you beyond the 3 years? If not how can Ford just end a warranty because you filed a claim. That is a bunch of bull. Ford needs look into this deeper and reprimand that dealer. You should find a different dealer.

houtex

So.. lemme get this right.

Dealer said no problem, too bad.

Ford then admitted there's a problem, and told dealer to fix it, and thereby assuming responsibility for the issue at that point.

Ford did not fix the problem (due to their agents not fixing the problem) multiple times.

Ford's agents attempted to sell you a car rather than fix the problem at some point, which is admitting they cannot fix the problem correctly, and therefore admitting incompetence in both choosing a contractor to do Ford quality work, and then not choosing a different one or holding the contractor to the high standard that Ford themselves have actually laid out and every Dealership (and their agents) should be held to.

Ford now considers the matter closed where it clearly is not.

And all of it complete with documentation. Which you have, yes?

---

If I've gotten all that right... that sounds like a court date to me. There certainly has to be a lawyer willing to take this case up to get the thousands of dolllars Ford will pay out, pro bono (because you'll get court costs and lawyers fees, of course)... and get your car fixed *elsewhere* and still be under warranty for the full duration of said warranty.

Or you can give up.

The choice is yours.

Now, Ford themselves did not do this. The dealership did. Sure, the part corroded, but that is mass manufacturing for you (albeit, it's quite well known that Ford and Aluminum alloys don't really get along paint wise.) But Ford told them to make it happen, get it fixed, and they did not. Ford needs to go after the dealership, but you need to get it fixed anywhere else but those two places mentioned, and Ford needs to just shell out the money.

But that's me, the not-lawyer, spewing things I don't know about. I'm sure I'm horribly wrong, and I apologize profusely for my uppityness.

I wish you good luck in any event for a more positive outcome, and that right soon!

Oh, yes, welcome to the forums!

wanted33

I would absolutely livid. What I can't understand is why Cloninger keep sending your car back to the same incompetent body shop. And then because of no fault of yours Ford cancels your warranty. That's just bad business from start to finish. I suggest you start with a Better Business Bureau complaint, because that's free. While that's in the process contact a good lawyer for some legal advise. Some lawyers even have free consultations. Good luck.

BTW, I live just a little southeast (Concord) of Cloninger's store in Salisbury, and have been looking at a new 2018 LB GT to purchase. But, that ain't gonna happen now. I don't need even the chance of that kind of bullchit.

Rather B.Blown

Same here, but I'm assuming they probably have some sort of contract with them, and it probably works out for them because many people these days don't really pay attention to detail like they used to on their cars. Body shops these days seem to get away with some really ****ty work, and many people just really don't even notice or care.

The warranty thing just blows my mind. Are they saying the entire warranty is gone? The 5/60 powertrain warranty too? What if it spits a rod out the side of the block at 40K miles? You're just SOL? Eff that, I'm calling a lawyer.

colt breaker

Well, the "funny" thing is that they never responded to your concern about the transmission noise. I had my 2015 GT in three times for the same noise. Mine acted like this: Slowing down from 40 mph or more, downshift into into second, keep clutch pedal in while anticipating making a turn off the maine road, engine RPM drops to idle as I enter the turn. Let up on clutch pedal slowly and CLUNK! It sounded like all the driveline backlash was taken up forcefully all at once. Also in parking lots, such as creeping along searching for a parking spot, clunk, clunk.

They claimed to call Ford Hotline. I harped on them because the last time they left it at, "we need to drive a similar car with similar mileage to know if this is "normal." That was last year. So, this year I asked if they were going to keep telling me that, without ever being able to find a car in their inventory with similar mileage. I told them I either wanted it documented that the noise is normal by Ford standards, or I want it fixed. They had my car for a week, and finally wrote on the work order that they found a similar car, drove it in a similar way to make the noise, and determined that the clunking is a normal "characteristic" of this transmission.

In less than 19,000 miles, my car has had:

Hood, nose, fenders not aligned (repairs at bodyshop OK'd for warranty)
Brake rotor/wheel bearing (before car was sold new)
Warranty wheel alignment (cupping front tires)
Door latch recall
Left front strut (making banging noise)
Left and right axle seals (leaking)
Clutch (flywheel side friction surface completely disintegrated, covered under warrantee because of no signs of abuse)
Heater fan speed fluctuating rapidly (not resolved)

In 200,000 miles of owning a Honda, I did not have this volume of issues...
Sorry to hear about your paint job, but maybe a different, reputable body shop can fix you up?
Good luck!