Blue Sky Ahead?

There were days I wondered if anyone at Ford was really listening. Calls made. Cases opened. Social media posts posted. Beach Ford kept advocating for us.

Nearly a month passed with very little to report.

Today, it appears a decision has finally been made from our end.

Spoiler Alert: Ford did NOT swoop in and offer to fully replace the engine under warranty. Though, honestly, that was never my expectation. (more on that later)

Catie at Beach Ford, did find a few more thousand dollars in goodwill assistance with a Regional Ford Rep, bringing our out-of-pocket cost down within about $200 of the best independent estimate I’ve received for a remanufactured engine installation.

So, that is what we are going to do.

I will spare you the full pro/con list I made in getting to this point, but, when all is said and done, letting Beach Ford do the work is the win.

Would I have preferred Ford Motor Company to cover the entire repair?

Absolutely. Duh.

Do I appreciate that they continued looking for ways to help?

I do. I really do.

This isn’t exactly the ending I hoped for, but it does feel like we’ve finally reached the point where I can stop wondering and start moving forward once a check is written.

One thing about which this whole experience has reminded me is just how fortunate we are to have these kinds of issues. Right?

First World problems, I think. I remind myself that an RV is a luxury, not a necessity. Nobody must own one.

We chose this because of the memories it creates, and the places it takes us, and the people we meet along the way.

Every hobby has its costs.

A boat is just a hole in the water you throw money into.

Golfers spend thousands on clubs, greens fees, and trips.

Bowlers buy equipment, pay league dues, and travel to tournaments.

Gardeners, cyclists, SCUBA divers, woodworkers, pilots, photographers, fishermen, ham radio operators all know that the hobbies they love come with a price tag.

I certainly wish this lesson hadn’t arrived in the form of a failed engine, but it’s part of the deal, I guess.

The journeys, the sunsets, the campfires, the mornings with a cup of coffee beside a lake. Those are the dividends that make the costs worthwhile.

Someday this repair bill will be forgotten, but I hope the memories we’ve made and the ones still waiting for us down the road will be worth the investment.

Easy come, easy go. Right?

A Thought About Warranties

Throughout this process I’ve spent more time thinking about warranties than I ever imagined I would.

Ford’s powertrain warranty is straightforward:

Whichever comes fisrt – 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Our Transit has made it past the five years.

It never made it to 60,000 miles.

When the engine failed, it had traveled only about 48,000 miles.

Intellectually, I understand the warranty had expired.

Still, something about that never sat quite right with me.

The Warranty Cliff

Imagine buying a vehicle on June 4th.

Five years later, on June 3rd, your engine is covered 100%.

Two days after that…

Zero. Zip. Nada.

Nothing changed about the engine.

Nothing changed about the mileage.

Nothing changed about how it was used or maintained.

The calendar simply turned to another page.

What If It Worked Differently?

I started wondering what it would look like if warranties faded away instead of falling off a cliff.

Think about almost anything else we own.

Things don’t become worthless on their birthday.

Everything depreciates gradually.

What if warranty responsibility did the same?

If Ford’s warranty represents 100% responsibility at 60 months, can’t that responsibility gradually decline over the next five years?

Math seems simple.

Five years is 60 months.

Spread that value over another 60 months and the warranty “value” decreases by about 1.67% each month.

Instead of:

Month 60 = 100%

Month 61 = 0%

Could it look more like this:

Month 60 = 100%

Month 72 = 80%

Month 84 = 60%

Month 96 = 40%

Month 108 = 20%

Month 120 = 0%

Nobody at Ford uses this formula, of course.

I made it up while trying to answer a simple question:

When does a warranty really stop being worth anything?

Our Situation

The first title for our RV was issued on June 4, 2018.

When the engine failed this summer, it was a little more than three years beyond the time limit.

Using my little thought experiment, Ford’s responsibility wouldn’t still be 100%.

But it shouldn’t be zero either.

I think it should land somewhere around 38%.

Is that the right number?

I have no idea.

But it seems more reasonable than pretending the engine was fully Ford’s responsibility one day and entirely mine the next.

Then There’s the Mileage

Here’s the part I keep coming back to.

The engine didn’t fail at 120,000 miles.

It didn’t fail at 160,000 miles.

It failed at about 48,000 miles.

To me, that’s the bigger story.

A modern engine should have had a WHOLE lot more life left in it. A commercial engine, no less, one which is put in police cars and ambulances.

How do we agree with a manufacturer on the reasonable expected lifespan for any major purchase like a new vehicle?

There has to be a better way.

Where I Land Today

I think everyone involved did what they could within the system in which they work.

Beach Ford never stopped advocating.

Ford eventually increased its goodwill assistance and moved enough that the difference between their repair and my best independent option is now only about $200.

By my math they got us to about 30% off the original repair quotation.

Could they have done more?

I think so. At least about 8%.

Would it have been a tremendous public relations story if Ford had stepped up completely on an engine that failed at 48,000 miles?

Absolutely. In my little world. Both of my followers would have rejoiced.

Instead, I guess we found some middle ground.

Maybe that’s the best outcome that was realistically available.

Blue Skies Ahead

The waiting has been the hardest part.

Now the waiting for this phase is over.

That’s where we are.

I’ll take the checkbook to Beach Ford and we’ll get it done.

 For the first time in weeks, I can finally feel a little sunshine breaking through.

And honestly…

That feels pretty good.

Tomorrow the adventure continues.