In the past I have been a loyal FORD customer owning owning or leasing 5 new vehicles. I am writing about a problem that has kept me from buying or reccomending someone to a Ford product for the last 15 years. I leased, then purchased a new 1996 Cobra convertible. After less than 36,000 mi. (parts warranty period at the time) the rear sway bar broke in half. Upon closer inspection, black paint (the color of the sway bar) was visible at least a 1/3rd of the way into the break. Conclussion: defective part and failure due to a pre-existing crack. Through the local SVT dealer and the service dept. A repair claim was submitted, but denied technically because my warranty "clock" (36/36) had expired by by less than 90 days. Even when confronted by the fact that the part had a pre-existing defect, Ford would not warranty the work. At the time, I corresponded and wrote to every department at Ford with a plea for a common sense decision for repairs, but received no positive response. So the upshot to this story is the following: because FORD did not do the "right thing" and honor the replacement of the part and forge a positive customer service experience, it has cost them my continued business, loyalty, and most importantly, my BAD word of mouth over the past 15 years and for the future for less than the part replacement at a "then" cost of less than $200. I still have a piece of the "defective" sway bar as a constant reminder. Yo' ford, penny wise, pound foolish!
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