Will Ford reimburse for parts if you replace yourself? (Warranty)

[Explorer Ed]

I have a 2014 Explorer XLT. When it warmed up I was starting to hear a rattling noise with the window down. It eventually got a little louder and it didn't take as long of a warm up period for the noise to appear.
Because I don't like taking my car to a dealer unless I really have to I starting looking around to see if I could find the rattle. The weird part was it had to be in gear (or drive) for it to make noise. I pin pointed the noise to under the hood and noticed the belt tensioner bouncing around every so often. I looked closely at it and thought it would be pretty easy to replace since it only had 3 bolts. I checked out Rock Auto and they had the OEM replacement from Ford at close to 50% off what the dealer was asking.
I bought it and put it on in about 45 minutes. I started it up, let it warm up and it appears rock solid and my noise is gone.

Would Ford reimburse me for the cost of the part if I returned it to them or is it a lost cause to even try?
It's no big deal if they didn't but thought I would ask if anybody ever tried something like this and was successful.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Explorer Ed.
I'm not sure if the dealer will reimburse you for the part or not. First, I guess, is that they would have to be convinced that the part was actually faulty. In most repairs, it is Ford that gives the dealer the 'go ahead' to replace a warranty covered part so it may not be just up to them to make the decision. No harm in trying though. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Peter

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Is the vehicle still under 3 year 36,000 mile warranty? If so, ford will not reimburse you for the part because the vehicle was not taken to a dealer for warranty work. Only exception to this is for emergency repairs (i.e. you are in the middle of the dessert on a Sunday and a part fails and you take vehicle to Joe bobs mechanic shop on the side of the road because there is not a dealer nearby). And since the failed part wasn't something that disabled the vehicle, ford would not participate in a refund unfortunately

 

[blwnsmoke]

X2 - you are out of luck. On top of that, you replaced with an aftermarket part that that hurts you as well.

Rockauto wasn't 50% cheaper because it would have been free through Ford.

 

[sheltonfilms]

I have a 2014 Explorer XLT. When it warmed up I was starting to hear a rattling noise with the window down. It eventually got a little louder and it didn't take as long of a warm up period for the noise to appear.
Because I don't like taking my car to a dealer unless I really have to I starting looking around to see if I could find the rattle. The weird part was it had to be in gear (or drive) for it to make noise. I pin pointed the noise to under the hood and noticed the belt tensioner bouncing around every so often. I looked closely at it and thought it would be pretty easy to replace since it only had 3 bolts. I checked out Rock Auto and they had the OEM replacement from Ford at close to 50% off what the dealer was asking.
I bought it and put it on in about 45 minutes. I started it up, let it warm up and it appears rock solid and my noise is gone.

Would Ford reimburse me for the cost of the part if I returned it to them or is it a lost cause to even try?
It's no big deal if they didn't but thought I would ask if anybody ever tried something like this and was successful.

Actually you probably saved yourself some money doing it this way. First you would have to call the dealer and get an appointment. All they would do is take the vehicle in and diagnose it themselves because they think everybody's diagnosis is crap (some are though). They will probably lollygag on figuring it out so expect an hour to an hour and a half.

Then they will come back and say "yeah it's the tensioner, but we don't have the part in stock and will have to order it. We'll call you when we get it in."

A week later they will call you and say "hey we got the part in". So you bring it in and you think "oh this is gonna be a quick fix" but the dealers really don't care about you waiting and take another hour to hour and half doing a 15 minute job.

Also you got the guy with the dang key ring around his pant belt loops walking by your car and hoovering over your fenders putting scratches in your paint, because dealerships don't enforce an anti-mutilation policy.

So 1 hour driving the car there and back the first time.
1-1.5 for diagnosis.
Another hour for driving there and back again.
1-1.5 to fix it.

5 hours to get a warranty item fixed and you may have damage to your car.

So for $60 bucks including shipping from Rock Auto for a Motorcraft part, you saved your self 5 hours of your life (minus the 15-20 fixing it) and the heartache of someone damaging your vehicle while in their possession.

Average income from 2008 census was about $15 an hour. So you paid 60 for part and $3.75 in your labor time. Assuming your income is $31,313 (average).

If you took it to ford it would have cost 5 x $15= $75 worth of your time.

You saved yourself $11.25 in time, plus cost of gas, plus possible damage to car, and you know what was done to vehicle.

I think you came out ok.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Actually you probably saved yourself some money doing it this way. First you would have to call the dealer and get an appointment. All they would do is take the vehicle in and diagnose it themselves because they think everybody's diagnosis is crap (some are though). They will probably lollygag on figuring it out so expect an hour to an hour and a half.

Then they will come back and say "yeah it's the tensioner, but we don't have the part in stock and will have to order it. We'll call you when we get it in."

A week later they will call you and say "hey we got the part in". So you bring it in and you think "oh this is gonna be a quick fix" but the dealers really don't care about you waiting and take another hour to hour and half doing a 15 minute job.

Also you got the guy with the dang key ring around his pant belt loops walking by your car and hoovering over your fenders putting scratches in your paint, because dealerships don't enforce an anti-mutilation policy.

So 1 hour driving the car there and back the first time.
1-1.5 for diagnosis.
Another hour for driving there and back again.
1-1.5 to fix it.

5 hours to get a warranty item fixed and you may have damage to your car.

So for $60 bucks including shipping from Rock Auto for a Motorcraft part, you saved your self 5 hours of your life (minus the 15-20 fixing it) and the heartache of someone damaging your vehicle while in their possession.

Average income from 2008 census was about $15 an hour. So you paid 60 for part and $3.75 in your labor time. Assuming your income is $31,313 (average).

If you took it to ford it would have cost 5 x $15= $75 worth of your time.

You saved yourself $11.25 in time, plus cost of gas, plus possible damage to car, and you know what was done to vehicle.

I think you came out ok.

Or you have a reputable dealer who provides great service with technicians that know what they are doing.. My dealer if they do not have it in stock gets their parts the next day from the warehouse (Ford has warehouses setup regionally) unless of course it is back ordered which has not been MY experience.

This was the case with the GPSM that was replaced and the Transfer case seal on my F350.

And having an ESP, I will just thank Ford now for the convertible mustang I got for one rental and the $60,000 Expedition Limited I got for the other rental all at no charge.

So my time to drive there, drop off and get right in a free rental is fantastic and I will take that over replacing a part out of my own pocket any day.

On a side note - got to love it when replies make it sound like every visit is a waste of people's time and a horrible experience.

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

There are over 3500 ford dealers in the US right now. Granted some may not be as reputable as others. Some are much better than others. I see this every day ( I do work at a dealer)

Just like any other business I suggest reading reviews and other people's experiences with a particular dealer. But in this particular case, the ideal solution would be to take the vehicle to dealer for the warranty claim (in order not to incur any expenses)

 

[Explorer Ed]

Thanks for everyone's input!
I really didn't expect to get reimbursed but figured I'd ask that by some remote chance somebody had worked the system in their favor. (yes, the Explorer is under warranty)
I'm not a big fan of my local dealerships and for the price of the part and the ease of putting it in I thought I was saving time which equals money by doing it myself.
Sheltonfilms thinks the way I do and I really liked his answer but blwnsmoke is correct. There are tons of satisfied customers that take their vehicles in for repair and have great experiences. I know plenty that do as well so by no means is it a negative to do so.
If I can find a warranty center to send the part to, I will try and see if Ford will reimburse me. I used a Ford Motorcraft part to replace the defective one with so I'll send it to them in the OEM bag to them.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Thanks for everyone's input!
I really didn't expect to get reimbursed but figured I'd ask that by some remote chance somebody had worked the system in their favor. (yes, the Explorer is under warranty)
I'm not a big fan of my local dealerships and for the price of the part and the ease of putting it in I thought I was saving time which equals money by doing it myself.
Sheltonfilms thinks the way I do and I really liked his answer but blwnsmoke is correct. There are tons of satisfied customers that take their vehicles in for repair and have great experiences. I know plenty that do as well so by no means is it a negative to do so.
If I can find a warranty center to send the part to, I will try and see if Ford will reimburse me. I used a Ford Motorcraft part to replace the defective one with so I'll send it to them in the OEM bag to them.

Sometimes time is more important over $$ so I can understand why you did it. Also, keep in mind that there are Ford dealers that sells parts much cheaper online then the ones you visit in person. I use White Lake Autonation which sells 10% above cost (I bet it is cheaper then Rock Auto) but then you pay shipping. They are great for the larger more expensive purchases. There is also a Ford vendor on here that sells parts much cheaper then the dealer's part counter. But you have to be in the situation where you can afford to wait a few days to receive the part.

Also, Ford does offer a 2 year unlimited mile warranty on all Ford OEM parts when you pay for them out of pocket. They will also cover your mechanics labor if it fails within that time period once you have initially purchased out of pocket.

So if it fails again and you need it replaced, they will foot the bill within the next 2 years... keep your receipts.

 

[sheltonfilms]

And having an ESP, I will just thank Ford now for the convertible mustang I got for one rental and the $60,000 Expedition Limited I got for the other rental all at no charge.

So my time to drive there, drop off and get right in a free rental is fantastic and I will take that over replacing a part out of my own pocket any day.

Can you really say "free" rental when you have to pay extra for the ESP?

 

[blwnsmoke]

Can you really say "free" rental when you have to pay extra for the ESP?

Yes I can. My rentals have far exceeded the cost of the 1st day option I chose (only takes 3 visits). The ESP is for parts/labor. Yes I dished out under $100 for the 1st day option which has more then paid for itself and add on top the convenience factor.

And to add that I would have to pay for a rental if I didn't have the ESP so either way I would have been out of pocket for it.

 

[613GT500]

Can you really say "free" rental when you have to pay extra for the ESP?

Rental/Loaners in most cases are at the discretion of the dealership and not Ford.
With that being said, the dealership I bought my EX from provides loanders "at no cost" for any type of work that requires more than 1 hour (simply so the customer can go out and about if required).

 

[blwnsmoke]

Rental/Loaners in most cases are at the discretion of the dealership and not Ford.
With that being said, the dealership I bought my EX from provides loanders "at no cost" for any type of work that requires more than 1 hour (simply so the customer can go out and about if required).

I have a dealer that does that too (not the one I go to now). They have their own fleet of fusions and focus cars somewhere around 15 of them to loan out for free. You must reserve one though ahead of time.