When is enough enough? (Buyback)

[Highway 11]

So I'm a fairly rational person most days. But when I get emotional, I tend to spiral a bit.

My wife was the reason I finally got this truck. I'd been driving a beat up Escape for years. I'd spent months looking at videos and order guides, test driving, staring at dealership lots when I drove by, but refusing to pull the trigger on an order because it didn't make sense from any rational point of view. Why would I drop thousands on a truck when I could put it into an index fund now, make a bunch of money and buy a truck someday?

Then two of my peers were killed on the job and I realized I might never get to experience someday. My wife gave me a gentle push, and I went and bought the truck. I guess things going wrong felt a lot worse because of the road I took to get here.

So today she got to be the rational half of the marriage for a change, and we went through the numbers and the features list. The hit was still pretty bad even with the generous trade-in and great interest rate, and once we put the feature lists side by side for the truck I was looking at, I gave up a lot. No FX4, no locking differential, no bed utility package, no folding console table thing, no trailer brake controller... well you get the idea.

Then we went through the issues above and we broke them down bit by bit:

- The GWM was traced back to a software issue affecting all 2023 Fords, not just mine.
- The low battery issue wasn't unique to my truck and was solved with a new battery.
- The battery issue was causing the phantom warnings, window bounce, and GWM issues.
- The GWM was replaced by the dealer's initiative to prevent further problems.

Really, the only issues that were unique to the truck were the front bumper and damage (which was from the dealership PDI and corrected immediately) and the front brake rotors.

The transmission seems to have settled down after a night of being parked and my service advisor is taking this seriously. I'll hold judgement for now.

I went for a drive, got the truck washed, and decided I still like it.

Thanks for putting up with my spiral.

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TL;DR - Normally rational guy spirals emotionally and forgets to look at the bigger picture.

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[Shane150]

I used to emotionally spiral out of control and make a rash decision! Fortunately, with age I have learned to step back and look inside the box from outside. This has almost always turned to my favour so step back a bit and give yourself a breather before making any decision.

 

[Popplemer]

I think everyone is human enough to be guilty of letting their emotions take the wheel from time to time. See what course of action the dealer is willing to take with regard to your transmission and enjoy your truck!

 

[Snakebitten]

So I'm a fairly rational person most days. But when I get emotional, I tend to spiral a bit.

My wife was the reason I finally got this truck. I'd been driving a beat up Escape for years. I'd spent months looking at videos and order guides, test driving, staring at dealership lots when I drove by, but refusing to pull the trigger on an order because it didn't make sense from any rational point of view. Why would I drop thousands on a truck when I could put it into an index fund now, make a bunch of money and buy a truck someday?

Then two of my peers were killed on the job and I realized I might never get to experience someday. My wife gave me a gentle push, and I went and bought the truck. I guess things going wrong felt a lot worse because of the road I took to get here.

So today she got to be the rational half of the marriage for a change, and we went through the numbers and the features list. The hit was still pretty bad even with the generous trade-in and great interest rate, and once we put the feature lists side by side for the truck I was looking at, I gave up a lot. No FX4, no locking differential, no bed utility package, no folding console table thing, no trailer brake controller... well you get the idea.

Then we went through the issues above and we broke them down bit by bit:

- The GWM was traced back to a software issue affecting all 2023 Fords, not just mine.
- The low battery issue wasn't unique to my truck and was solved with a new battery.
- The battery issue was causing the phantom warnings, window bounce, and GWM issues.
- The GWM was replaced by the dealer's initiative to prevent further problems.

Really, the only issues that were unique to the truck were the front bumper and damage (which was from the dealership PDI and corrected immediately) and the front brake rotors.

The transmission seems to have settled down after a night of being parked and my service advisor is taking this seriously. I'll hold judgement for now.

I went for a drive, got the truck washed, and decided I still like it.

Thanks for putting up with my spiral.

----

TL;DR - Normally rational guy spirals emotionally and forgets to look at the bigger picture.

A really sound argument for NOT reading the forum(s) too much.

I know. You'd think I would be the last person to give that advice. ?
But I am blessed with a filter that I think comes with getting old?

It's a truck.
Perspective

 

[Thor’s Stormboost]

I had plenty of issues with my 2021 that felt more personal due to the fact that the most expensive vehicle I have ever purchased. Before that was a 2017 Tacoma TRDOR that I leased (MSRP was $41k), and then a civic Si, which I traded in for an xlt at about $56k msrp. I had the midfender piece misaligned, which eventually got fixed along with a pretty bad dealership technician shredding the side of the truck in addition to software and transmission issues. None of which were ever really fixed. I did my research on the forum, kept reading people's experiences about how to avoid the rough shifts, the software inconsistencies, etc and ordered a 2023 the exact way I wanted it. Hope my experience helps you as well!

 

[Highway 11]

Got my truck back today. My dealer went above and beyond and managed to get it in earlier than I was expecting. The PCM was updated and a test drive showed the F clutch in the 10R80 was sticking. From Google that makes sense as it engages when upshifting from 3rd... I was having a noticeable delay from 3rd to 4th and a firm engagement from 4th to 3rd.

They did the break-in procedure on the clutch and it's shifting fine now. A little firm but I'm sure it'll smooth out as the transmission learns.

 

[Popplemer]

Glad it worked out. Don't be bashful, if the dealer did a great job give them some good press!

 

[Highway 11]

... and we're back. Checked Forscan last night for some HVAC oddity and found my humidity sensor or the circuit to it is dead.

Fun times.

 

[rdr854]

Not sure how it is in Canada but in the US most states buyback laws stipulate that it must be out of service for a specified number of days (usually 30) or the dealer has had 3 attempts to repair the same problem. Once the manufacturer is put on notice, they typically get one more chance to fix it and if still not fixed then the buyback becomes a reality. Some states also stipulate how much the manufacturer can deduct for mileage etc.

Finally some have asked if the truck can be swapped and a substitution of collateral done with the lender. This is a giant headache and most dealers won’t touch it.

I have had good luck with collateral swaps before and likely that will be what happens with my current car loan on my new SUV that is being a problem child. In both circumstances, the collateral swaps for the loan was the dealership‘s idea - which I like since it does not involve a new credit check Or loan application.

 

[Mt.F150..]

Buying new vehicles these days is a crap shoot

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