Can I return my car - consumer act?

ah75

Got a phone call today with reference to my letter - meeting now set for Thurs at lunchtime - will be an interesting discussion.

ah75

pgilc1 wrote: »

...I would just be careful as the dealership have now offered you an exchange for an identical car and you have declined...

True - and they have every right under the law to remedy, exchange or refund - and while you can specify a preference the result is ultimately entirely up to them.

My concern is that I have no confidence in Ford's KeyFree system and ability to successfully diagnose any problems with it. Apart from this problem there have also been various trim issues - so quality of build is also a factor. I also have no confidence in the dealerships abilities to resolve intermittent problems. So all-in-all, a like-for-like replacement which has the same remaining residuals and warranty does not improve my situation should they palm someone else's problems off on me. Let's face it - they'll sell my car on!

The KeyFree system, especially on Ford where you have such a large fob, is pointless as you have to always leave it on a seat while driving, or in a convenient pocket. With no backup system for when there are failures my desire for it diminishes further. I want a metal key - they belong in the ignition and have never caused an issue. KeyFree solutions are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist, and creating more in the process - in my experience.

neilmcl

pgilc1 wrote: »

Whilst i can understand why you dont want the same system again on another car, there are probably thousands of people out there with the same system with no issues.

I would just be careful as the dealership have now offered you an exchange for an identical car and you have declined.

If this gets to court the judge will look at BOTH sides of the issue and the fact the dealership has in fact offered to exchange the car to another identical one will stack in their favour.

I tend to agree. The dealership has made a fair offer (eventually).

ah75

Heh - you guys must work in the car sales industry! :rotfl: Just kidding.

While others may consider it a comparable offer legally, it wouldn't be satisfactory to me - it doesn't consider anything about the past year's troubles (especially the most recent dent) and the fact that I haven't had use of it for more than a whole month cumulatively.

Let's wait and see how the meeting goes on Thursday with the Sales and General managers - I will happily listen to what they have to say and can put my point across. I'm sure we can work something out that's suitable for both parties.

fivetide

Is there really no alternative for the Ford Keyless (i.e. a way to put a key in)?

I'm sure the Mrs' Nissan Note has a little cover on the ignition which you can lift and put in a key should the remote fail. Mind, it isn't a push button, it's a twist thing that is very similar to... a key! Genius.

5t.

Gordon_Hose

Have a read on this thread: http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/6507-keyless-entry-and-start/

Apparently there is an emergency key inside the fob??

ah75

No there is no alternative. There is a metal key within the key fob, but it only opens the doors, but in doing so if the key is unrecognised (because the keyfree is malfunctioning) it sets the alarm off. This happens regularly. Sometimes setting the alarm off is the only way for the system to reset when you then lock it again - so a good solution if you're stranded like I have been a few times. This doesn't work every time though, as I've also found out - may be specifically related to whatever intermittent fault I have.

They recommend holding the fob right by where the ignition key would normally go but this doesn't help on mine - as the system is malfunctioning. This only helps if there's a battery/interference issue. Personally - I think mine is due to faulty/loose wiring somewhere - which they have repeatedly checked out.

There is no cover to remove - I read in the car Manual that there are covers on some models, sadly not on mine (despite being a key-like hole as if to say "you're so close, but sorry, keys don't do anything here as it's all about the immobiliser in the fob!". You can see the scrape marks around mine where I desperately tried to get off the cover before I realised it doesn't have one.

Nice ideas - was trying all that about a year ago sadly.