Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
Unfortunately, it WAS. 
Either a brand new one, or a junkyard one ... Made in China.
~~~
The car has been in the shop since 6/29 and the Insurance company stopped paying the 80% of the car rental today bcause their $500 limit was reached; I turned in the car Friday....
The problem, it seems is that while the car is 95% finished and ready to go, NOBODY can find a replacement bumper skin, to prep, shoot and hang.
The body shop has been heroic in its efforts to find one.
Ford Motor Company of USA and even Canada don't have any that they are willing to sell, and won't even let one go on an "emergency" basis.
So far, a used one can't even be located in a junkyard, either, so the car continues to sit (fortunately, under a carport, that they have --- safe from bird bombs and sunbaking)..
What a clusterfork.
I have paid premiums since 1987 to this Insurance company and now look what happens.
When this is all over, it is time to go to a broker or multiline Insurance agent and start reading different auto insurance policies to see if any afford decent coverage in their policies at a reasonable price.
I have had some training in the law so to a point I can actually understand contract language like that.
Though it may be a waste of time, probably every company screws the customers with regards to parts and rental allowances like this one did to me.
(I cannot imagine the parts procurement problems 5-7 years from now on this car, which now is only a year old with 15,000 miles on it.)  |
I have a LOT of experience repairing Mercurys like yours I did work at The largest reconditioner of Fords Lincolns and Mercurys in the world for 5 yrs-til 08- as a bodyman-the Manheim DFW auto auction,(Also fixed many many Mercedes for Park place Merc) they have the biggest contract-or had with Ford/hertz -Hertz owned by Ford. I suspect the shop guy you are dealing with is co-ordinating with the game playing-do it every day and had the routine planned even before disassembling your car-thats how they/and insurance co tag team unwitting customers..
I tend to get radical at insurance company monkey buisness-and If I were in your position right now I would have already contacted one of the local news programs wh has the -whats bothering you- guy and dished up as much bad exposure on a nitely news segment of the shop misconduct and that insurance companys as I possibly could. And Ford too for not getting you the parts for THEIR baby.
We got boxes and boxes every day of new FMC bumper covers and I really cannot see them not being able to supply you with the parts needed even though 2010 is the end of the road for the big RWD platform (The platform by the way was paid for in the first Regan Term)--Yes the actual platform your car is riding on is the same as a late 70s ltd with newer suspension upgrades/parts. From my understanding Ford in particular has its own urethane bumper cover recycling system-production facility and i never heard of anything being produced in china. And YES they will be putting new covers on at that sweat shop for YRS still to come-as long as hertz is still supplying the cars to their customers.
So Jim google ford dealers in the DFW area and call some in the central metroplex and see if we have them here, I dont know which dealer-or if Ford had a direct pipeline pumping in from a warehouse, try Payton Wright ford in Grapevine,Tx.