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Ford Class Action Suit with a Used Purchase

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kthomp66

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Last year, I financed a 2014 Ford Focus. It was used with 7300 miles on it, perfect condition. During the transaction, I was never made aware of the transmission factory recall. I was given a carfax, but failed to see the open recall, and the salesman failed to mention it. Roughly two months after purchase, I noticed the car shuttering which started the downward spiral of clutch fixes.
This past August, I received a letter from what I now understand to be a "ambulance chaser" lawyer. He said he has dealt with the class action suit against Ford for the Focus/Fiesta debacle. I agreed to take him on in the pre-arbitration or pre-litigation (?) stages, and agreed to pay zero (0) dollars for service unless a suitable settlement was made. I was finally contacted yesterday and was told the Ford attorney agreed to 7500 dollars for damages, 4K to be paid to me and 3.5K to my lawyer, totaling 7,500 dollars total for settlement. I was a little hesitant, and only agreed over the phone. I was emailed the final paperwork and decided to get a second opinion before finalizing. The lawyer is based in Michigan and I am Ohio.
I have several questions.
1. Am I legally bounded to this agreement? I am not exactly thrilled with the settlement agreement, and again, decided to get a second opinion. My second opinion was unsure if I should proceed on my own, but he also said they due to the Ford dealership not verbally disclosing the defect, I may be eligible for a suit under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act. The only paperwork I signed, as mentioned above and via email, was the pre-arbitration agreement and that I could cancel. I'm just afraid I will have to pay out 3.5K to an attorney I choose to not go with.
2. Given that I did not notice (which I will admit is my own fault) the open recall, but that it was also left unmentioned by my salesman, do I even have any kind of recourse available?
3. Given that my vehicle was purchased used, should I just take the aforementioned settlement and shut up?
My second opinion said I should hold off on signing anything, and all emails were forwarded. I should hear back my Monday, but I was hoping for some quicker advice.
4. For lemon law, is 3.5K about the going rate for a lawyer? I know most take 33 percent, but considering the payout is not nearly as adequate to say a bodily injury claim, I figured that it may be normal for a fixed, higher rate for this kind of thing.
Any feedback would be awesome.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Last year, I financed a 2014 Ford Focus. It was used with 7300 miles on it, perfect condition. During the transaction, I was never made aware of the transmission factory recall. I was given a carfax, but failed to see the open recall, and the salesman failed to mention it. Roughly two months after purchase, I noticed the car shuttering which started the downward spiral of clutch fixes.
This past August, I received a letter from what I now understand to be a "ambulance chaser" lawyer. He said he has dealt with the class action suit against Ford for the Focus/Fiesta debacle. I agreed to take him on in the pre-arbitration or pre-litigation (?) stages, and agreed to pay zero (0) dollars for service unless a suitable settlement was made. I was finally contacted yesterday and was told the Ford attorney agreed to 7500 dollars for damages, 4K to be paid to me and 3.5K to my lawyer, totaling 7,500 dollars total for settlement. I was a little hesitant, and only agreed over the phone. I was emailed the final paperwork and decided to get a second opinion before finalizing. The lawyer is based in Michigan and I am Ohio.
I have several questions.
1. Am I legally bounded to this agreement? I am not exactly thrilled with the settlement agreement, and again, decided to get a second opinion. My second opinion was unsure if I should proceed on my own, but he also said they due to the Ford dealership not verbally disclosing the defect, I may be eligible for a suit under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act. The only paperwork I signed, as mentioned above and via email, was the pre-arbitration agreement and that I could cancel. I'm just afraid I will have to pay out 3.5K to an attorney I choose to not go with.
2. Given that I did not notice (which I will admit is my own fault) the open recall, but that it was also left unmentioned by my salesman, do I even have any kind of recourse available?
3. Given that my vehicle was purchased used, should I just take the aforementioned settlement and shut up?
My second opinion said I should hold off on signing anything, and all emails were forwarded. I should hear back my Monday, but I was hoping for some quicker advice.
4. For lemon law, is 3.5K about the going rate for a lawyer? I know most take 33 percent, but considering the payout is not nearly as adequate to say a bodily injury claim, I figured that it may be normal for a fixed, higher rate for this kind of thing.
Any feedback would be awesome.
If the only problem with the car is your transmission, then 4k should be enough to get you a new transmission. What more do you think that you should receive?
 

kthomp66

Junior Member
I cannot have the original transmission replaced unless that's the fix Ford issues. If i have an after market transmission, the extended 150,000 mile warranty is voided. The lawyer called the settlement "damages," and Ford is being made to but back the effected vehicles if purchased new. Mine was not. This is and may be a reoccurring problem that involves rental cars
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I cannot have the original transmission replaced unless that's the fix Ford issues. If i have an after market transmission, the extended 150,000 mile warranty is voided. The lawyer called the settlement "damages," and Ford is being made to but back the effected vehicles if purchased new. Mine was not. This is and may be a reoccurring problem that involves rental cars
I can't find anything about a buyback program. I can't find the specific recall for the clutch issue either (although it is obvious there is a huge issue with the dual clutch transmission). Do you have the specific recall number available?



I would not sign anything yet if it includes a release of liability for Ford.

I have seen snippets where Ford has increased the warranty to 100,000 miles for the dual clutch trans.
 

kthomp66

Junior Member
I don't believe there is an actual "buy back program," but when legal action is taken on new purchases, i've seen many cases where ford bought back the lemon and gave a discounted rate for the new purchase. There's a facebook page (obviously not credible) where folks discuss their win/loss with the claims.
The recall number is 14M02. It's still listed as unfixed and open. They also extended the warranty a couple of months ago to 150K miles. There's a deductible of $100 after 86K miles for the fix.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
The extended warranty extends to subsequent owners


It has this exception (offhand I can't say what is referring to and don't have the time to research it)
NOTE: This program DOES NOT apply to vehicles that qualify for repairs under New Vehicle Limited Warranty Powertrain coverage or Emissions Warranty coverage. Repairs for vehicles covered by New Vehicle Limited Warranty or Emissions Warranty should be claimed following Warranty & Policy Manual guidelines. Refer to TSB 15-0017 for repairs covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty or Emissions Warranty.


You need to be cautious of accepting any agreement that would relieve ford of any warranty obligations. If the $4000 is the sum total of Fords liability ($7500 total) it may mean you have an unsaleable non-working car and $4000 in your pocket in the future.

If your aftermarket warranty covers the transmission you might come out ahead but given the history of
Third party car warranties I would research the policy extremely well before counting on that as your saviour.

i did read where apparently some ford dealerships are offering a defacto buyback (part of the deal is you do end up. In a new Ford (along with its payments)) (alluded to being under Fords urging) to avert a large scale recall or buyback.



Personally I can't suggest what would be your best direction. It's early in the litigation process to guess what the outcome might be. Due to that, there is no way to compare your current offer to what may come from the class action suits.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Is this a recall or a TSB? They are different...
I believe "none of the above" would be accurate. It appears to be a "customer satisfaction program" number. Basically it looks like an internal memo issued with the intent to address a concern. In this case it is simply an extension of the warranty on the specific matter (transmission control module).



TO: All U.S. Ford and Lincoln Dealers
SUBJECT: Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02

February 20, 2015
Certain 2011 through 2015 Model Year Fiesta and 2012 through 2015 Model Year Focus Vehicles Equipped with a DPS6 Automatic Transmission
Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage
REF: Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 15-0017 – No Start And/Or Transmission Engagement Or Loss Of Power With DTCs U0100, U0101 And/Or U1013
PROGRAM TERMS
Ford is extending the warranty coverage on the DPS6 Automatic Transmission Control Module (TCM) to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle, whichever occurs first. This extended warranty coverage will address intermittent symptoms of loss of transmission engagement while driving, no-start, or a lack of power. If a vehicle has already exceeded either the time or mileage limits, this coverage will last through September 30, 2015. Coverage is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.
 

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