I Give UP

[MATBird]

Re: I Give UP

Tom: Jaguar now belongs to Tata Motors out of India. Sold by Ford, but I'd still stay away, for a while. I do believe it's being built in the same factories though.

[Ol'Dave]

Re: I Give UP

So sorry to hear of this all happening to you at the same time. BUT, all vehicles, especially high end unique ones have their own little idio-secrets. We have bought 4 Retro's. 1st 02EB, then 04Merlot, 02NM, and recently 02IY. Plus have 3 older ones. Needless to say we love em. No matter what. Of all, only the 04 has ever had issues. A/C water Valve and then a Blend Actuator. I'm am POSITIVE that is the only prob with yours. Trans.. again the 04, the additive (damn little bottle) did the trick. The boot... hehe.... get inventive my friend, repair it yourself from the underside of the console. COPS, no biggie.. FREE repair for 100,000 miles, just gotta through the code. So, if you look at them separately...it's nothing more than any vehicle would experience.

I would not blame "What FORD put inside is ugly". I'd not suggest a ferry ride to another Island for a different FORD dealer/service, cause once they plug in your VIN, same stuff will show up that the other dealer did. Possibly check around your area for a private shop that handles high end vehivcles, or one with LINCOLN knowledge...........remember these are Lincoln LS's, not Ford's.

And one other note. Your opener kinda a threw me. We bought ours for US. Not to pass down the family line. If they want what we have when we're gone, they can fight over them or sell em.............. Just enjoy them,that is what they are for. Hopefully all will work out for you. Take a breath, deal with the issues independently of each other. Then make an informed decision, whether is is time to find a new love or not. Oh and by the by, Jag is now from India...TATA Motors. Maybe the shipping destination fee will be less from there vs the Mainland. :-)

[V8 Cat]

Re: I Give UP

. and by the by, Jag is now from India...TATA Motors. Maybe the shipping destination fee will be less from there vs the Mainland. :-)

Dave,
You do know the Jags are still made In England?

[jerzeebird]

Re: I Give UP

Sorry you are having so many problems. My 04 now has 30,000 miles with my only problem being the a/c. Ford couldn't fix it after two attempts. Took it to my Lincoln dealer and they had it fixed in no time. Have you tried a Lincoln dealer?

[Gobird]

Re: I Give UP

All I can say is my 02, owned from new, has over 70,000 and no problems like this. I have driven Fords all my life without any major problems. My next new car this year will be another Ford product.

[lasuvidaboy]

Re: I Give UP

It seems like our TBirds start to have various problems based on age as well as miles. 48,000 miles is very low for a 6-year-old vehicle and should not have ANY issues w/that many miles but as I wrote-age can also be an issue. Some of these cars can be garage queens and still have many of these problems yet others w/far higher mileage cruise along w/few issues. Last year was the most expensive year for my TBird w/the clockspring going out in early 2010 followed by replacing all the COPS as well as a new battery. A few months later the water pump went costing $900.00 to repair due to the location of the pump. I called another Ford dealer and they quoted the same amount-very high labor cost for a reasonably priced part due to it's location. I did have $200.00 is 'Ford Credit' which off-set the price a little. I finished the year off w/a new set of Michelin Pilots. The tires were at least on sale at the dealer and cost less than Discount Tire Center. I spent around $3400.00 (including the tires) on the car in 2010. It does have 80k miles on it (still looks brand-new) and did'nt have ANY problems (new Michelins tires at 40k miles) for the first 70k miles which I consider pretty darn reliable. I baby it and it has been serviced and repaired by the same dealer for over 8-years and I trust my service rep to do the right thing. That said I still LOVE LOVE LOVE the car. I received two compliments this week while driving around w/the top down-how many 9-year-old cars get that in L.A.?? It's paid for so even w/repairs it is still far less expensive than buying or leasing a brand-new vehicle which would never be as unique or gorgeous as our TBirds.

[Ol'Dave]

Re: I Give UP

Dave,
You do know the Jags are still made In England?

hehe.... maybe a trip around the Horn, vs just the Pond, then Rail, then Boat again to the Isle's.

[MerlotBlue]

Re: I Give UP

Not sure I see the issues as you do.

None sound like a big worry to me......... but I do understand how once you get to a place where you no longer trust a car to be reliable or worry that it's just gonna keep bleeding you for cash..... it's time to get rid of it.

Sounds like you're at that point.

Sorry to hear it.

Seems like getting a car that is reliable has been a hit or miss situation with the T-Bird and those of us who own 'em.

We have a T-Bird Blue '02 that now has 60,000 miles and the only issue I've ever had to deal with was a bubbling piece of windshield chrome. No Cops issues and no mechanical or electrical problems at all.
We've been lucky though and I acknowledge that. Borla Babe has the very same car right down to the color of the paint and her stories alone scared me for what we might see.

The '04 has been reliable ....... but faced some small problems I haven't seen in the '02. I lost a COP two years ago and when it started shifting REALLY HARD into reverse along with some intermittent slipping between gear shift changes on light acceleration it was time to do the extended warranty thing. It'll be 3 more years before I have to worry about this car but if problems arise between now and the end of the warranty......

I agree with Leroy....... if an extension of the warranty is either unavailable or too highly priced to be worth it.....

The car is...... HISTORY!!

You're probably making the right move, IMO.

While I expect it might not be a bad idea to at least ask how much an extended warranty would cost first........ if the car is no longer something you trust to provide more smiles than frowns it's time to get rid of it even if there is an available warranty at a reasonable price.

All bias of the forum aside?

There are just so many alternative choices available today. Too many to stick with a car that no longer inspires confidence.

[MerlotBlue]

Re: I Give UP

All I can say is my 02, owned from new, has over 70,000 and no problems like this. I have driven Fords all my life without any major problems. My next new car this year will be another Ford product.

Hit or miss.......you got a "hit"!!!

We lucked out too.

Our '02 has but a few less miles than yours and I can say without fear of contradicting myself later...........it's one of the VERY BEST and MOST RELIABLE CARS WE'VE EVER PURCHASED!!!

Reading this forum is like most things in life......... the negative stories are scary enough that it takes 10 positive stories to offset 'em.

Guess we need 8 more about now.

[jerrym3]

Re: I Give UP

Repeatedly, the answer to defects seems to be "get the extended warranty", but nobody seems to want to ask the big questions.

"Why, FORD, do I need an extended warranty? Is it because your product design/quality is suspect?"

We all spent a sizeable amount for a product, and then we have to insure ourselves against poor quality?

Something's not right.

Anything mechanical gets beat up with age, but why do things go bad at an early age?

[00mustng]

Re: I Give UP

....my '02 sits in the corner of the garage now because at 126000 km. the steering rack is leaking and it needs new valve cover gaskets...for a huge amount of labour, disinterest from dealerships and the fact that the steering racks are no longer available....on a daily driver but pampered car....I've moved on to another Ford....a 22year old Mustang 5.0 convertible that is simple and honest and entertaining...that requires no dealership intervention!....sad but true.....

[Wheats]

Re: I Give UP

Tom,
Aloha,I'm in Kalaheo
If you really like the car i would get the minimum fixed needed in order to get an extended warranty and after the warranty have the rest completed.
I would go on line and get a FMCO warranty and look for coupons that can save you additional money thats how i got mine.I realize we are stuck with one dealer and for this reason i've done some of the work myself and use the warranty if it's beyond my ability to fix.Look at it this way it is a fun car to drive even on our roads.
Best of luck.

Aloha
Ken

[MATBird]

Re: I Give UP

Tom,
Aloha,I'm in Kalaheo
If you really like the car i would get the minimum fixed needed in order to get an extended warranty and after the warranty have the rest completed.
I would go on line and get a FMCO warranty and look for coupons that can save you additional money thats how i got mine.I realize we are stuck with one dealer and for this reason i've done some of the work myself and use the warranty if it's beyond my ability to fix.Look at it this way it is a fun car to drive even on our roads.
Best of luck.

Aloha
Ken

Caution though; if his problems were diagnosed by a Ford dealer prior to buying an extended warranmty, I doubt they will be covered.
Somewhere in our history of posts I seem to remember a member getting that response from a dealer. So he bought the warranty and had to pay the repair as well, anyway. Can anyone confirm this? Maybe Lou,(lmartin) who sells the warranties

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: I Give UP

I can appreciate the frustration you and others may feel. I still like my 2 Thunderbirds. When it comes to those vehicles or my daily driver Volkswagen Passat; the cars are paid for and it's cheaper to repair them than to buy a new vehicle. So I'll keep them going.

[CalTbird]

Re: I Give UP

I don't think your problems are that big. It's normal... Buy the basic MB and you don't have any issues for 250 000 mls, buy an AMG special hi dollar model and you get all kind of head aches! I had couple of them, and that's the way it it with any "limited edition car".
Go to some Hot Rod garage, or custom car builder, they'll fix all that.
GOP problem will come back unless you move coils out of current location. It's stupid engineering. When mine fails I'll place them at inner fender with regular plug wires to the plugs. I'll use European 4-cyl Ford coils $ 45/each. Not neat looking but that way they won't get heat nor vibration. They'll out last me!
Tranny problem may be the linkage or programming. Again, Hot Rod boys will sort it out.
Many have bought these cars as "investment". Good luck! Better stop storing and babying them and start enjoying. The value will never go high, they built way too many of them.
I like mine and do what ever mods I feel like. Hell with the "keep it original" :) I just got it certified to be EU legal w rear fog light, side blinkers and different lights.
PS. I found an other additional problem driving in Europe - beautiful women are harassing me daily :)