One Of A Kind Marauder

[svtguy]

I've heard of people having Marauders with unique or odd one of a kind features that came that way right from the factory. Well, several weeks after I brought mine home I realized that I had different head light reflectors. The inner headlight piece (whatever you call it) that's supposed to be black. One of them is black-passenger, and the drivers side is what looks to be the regular GM chrome/polished relector. It looks like I have a black eye. I've been calling it the cyclopse Marauder. Has anyone ever heard of something like that before? I'll try to get a picture of it up soon. The Windy City guys have seen it.

I've been trying to resolve this with the dealer and get them to replace it but they're giving me quite the runaround. They're telling me that what I have is what's known in the business as a 'misbuild'. And that they are only liable for misbuilt items 30 days or less after it leaves the lot.

After much back and forth, unanswered messages and unreturned phone calls, I'm wondering what to do and what if any advice someone could give. I would have got it taken care of sooner but I honestly didn't catch it right away. I'm not the most observant guy I guess. You might not notice it either unless I point it out to you.

Thanks, any feedback appreciated.

[TooManyFords]

Are you sure you are not seeing the reflection of the black part of the bulb in the back? Try swapping the bulbs left to right and see if the black eye follows the bulb. If so, just replace the bad bulb (which IS covered under warranty!)

John

[MENINBLK]

Are you sure you are not seeing the reflection of the black part of the bulb in the back? Try swapping the bulbs left to right and see if the black eye follows the bulb. If so, just replace the bad bulb (which IS covered under warranty!)

John

I think he is talking about the black FRAME around the inside in the front forward part of the headlamp.
The rear reflector is polished chrome, I think...

If you look at a Grand Marquis, the headlights look BRIGHT.
This is becuase of the shiny chrome frame.
When you look at the Marauder, the frame is BLACK.

Go directly to your Service Manager and tell him that this needs to be corrected,
misbuild or not, as long as your Marauder is under warranty, it isn't going to cost him a dime
to correct it, and he gets to keep you as a satisifed customer.
If he fights you again, then ask him why HE didn't catch it
when the Marauder was delivered to the dealership ?
See how he stumbles around that one...

[ctrcbob]

John,

I'm sure he is seeing those headlights correct.

As for it being a "misbuild", that probably happens more often than we think. I remember 20 years ago, I purchased a Buick LeSabre 4 Door Sedan. (You know, married, kids and all that). Well looking at it from behind, in the garage, it just looked lopsided. Measured all four corners (bumpers tips to floor) and I could see something was wrong. Took it to dealer and guess what? One of the front springs was a spring for the Station Wagons. Misbuild. Ordered the correct spring and the car no longer was lopsided.

[torinodan]

Do I have a turn signal light housing you would love. You call yours the cyclopse Marauder, I call mine the "8 ball". Yes, and it's in the corner pocket. Talk about a black eye.

[svtguy]

I think he is talking about the black FRAME around the inside in the front forward part of the headlamp.
The rear reflector is polished chrome, I think...

If you look at a Grand Marquis, the headlights look BRIGHT.
This is becuase of the shiny chrome frame.
When you look at the Marauder, the frame is BLACK.

Go directly to your Service Manager and tell him that this needs to be corrected,
misbuild or not, as long as your Marauder is under warranty, it isn't going to cost him a dime
to correct it, and he gets to keep you as a satisifed customer.
If he fights you again, then ask him why HE didn't catch it
when the Marauder was delivered to the dealership ?
See how he stumbles around that one...Exactly right its not the bulb its the frame. The discussion with the service manager went something like, "Since we didn't catch it right away when it came off the truck and the customer didn't see it within 30 days of ownership, then the factory will not be held liable. And since its not something that's actually broken it can't be covered under a warranty." Which means that for it to be fixed would mean the dealer would have to pay for it. And apparently they don't want to pay. Isn't that what it always boils down to. Even when the responsible party is at fault. He does admit that it should have been caught at the dealer but it wasn't. He goes on and says, "If people came back in a year later saying this or that was misbuilt then we'd be held for all kinds of repairs that were really the result of use or abuse so we have to put a 30 day limit on these things." Sounds like BS but I'm not sure what my next move is. I really hate having to get nasty with people just to get something done.

[Directedby]

Another MM member had a damaged headlight and the dealer replaced it with a Grand Marquis headlight, thinking they were the same.

Try another dealer. Any dealer with a brain will cover it under warranty.

Your dealer sounds like an a$$.

[torinodan]

Wow, not all dealerships are the same. The one I go to tried to talk me into replacing mine several times and said it was covered under warranty! But, I like my special Marauder so I still have it.

[RF Overlord]

He does admit that it should have been caught at the dealer but it wasn't. He goes on and says, "If people came back in a year later saying this or that was misbuilt then we'd be held for all kinds of repairs that were really the result of use or abuse so we have to put a 30 day limit on these things."

First off, if he ADMITS they should have caught it, then THEY are at fault and THEY should have to pay, not you.

Second: how is having the wrong headlight frame installed by the factory "abuse"?! WTF?!

Then ask him who this "we" is that put a 30-day limit on these things...Ford? or the dealer themselves?

This sound like a boat-load of BS to me...make LOTS of noise to the Ford regional rep...

[jgc61sr2002]

First off, if he ADMITS they should have caught it, then THEY are at fault and THEY should have to pay, not you.

Second: how is having the wrong headlight frame installed by the factory "abuse"?! WTF?!

Then ask him who this "we" is that put a 30-day limit on these things...Ford? or the dealer themselves?

This sound like a boat-load of BS to me...make LOTS of noise to the Ford regional rep...



What RF said.^^^^^^

[Shaft333]

I have seen SVT's car. I didn't notice it right away, not until after he pointed it out. But once I saw it, it's obvious that it's not right.

Did you try another dealership?

If you're in the DG area you can try the Joe Madden Ford on Ogden and Finley. I liked them. And their shop is open til midnight, which makes them friendly for us workin' folk!

Can some of the dealers on this forum explain why a dealer would refuse to warranty this? I know Ford would send the part back at the manufacturer of the part and have them fill out an 8-D explaining why they didn't have clearer markings that the part was not interchangeable.

[STLR FN]

Or have Marty make a call as your legal representation. That alone should get things done. Yes I'm evil.

[Bluerauder]

The inner headlight piece (whatever you call it) that's supposed to be black. One of them is black-passenger, and the drivers side is what looks to be the regular GM chrome/polished relector. It looks like I have a black eye.
I seem to recall another member who discovered a similar problem after doing some grill work about a year ago. :rolleyes: Did a search but couldn't find it under "headlight". :D Anyone else remember this discussion?? :dunno:

[01 Interceptor]

We have a member up here in the Emerald City Marauders that has this. We figure, he's a Marauder's Marauder since he only has one "eye patch." Arrrrgh!

[MENINBLK]

Exactly right its not the bulb its the frame. The discussion with the service manager went something like, "Since we didn't catch it right away when it came off the truck and the customer didn't see it within 30 days of ownership, then the factory will not be held liable. And since its not something that's actually broken it can't be covered under a warranty." Which means that for it to be fixed would mean the dealer would have to pay for it. And apparently they don't want to pay. Isn't that what it always boils down to. Even when the responsible party is at fault. He does admit that it should have been caught at the dealer but it wasn't. He goes on and says, "If people came back in a year later saying this or that was misbuilt then we'd be held for all kinds of repairs that were really the result of use or abuse so we have to put a 30 day limit on these things." Sounds like BS but I'm not sure what my next move is. I really hate having to get nasty with people just to get something done.

You need to call FORD Customer Service and tell them you want your vehicle corrected.
You didn't pay $30,000 for a vehicle built with the WRONG parts.
And ask them about this 30 day limit ???
You have a 3yr/36,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty.
Misbuilds are considered DEFECTS.

When I worked at a Buick Dealer we had issues with the 85 -87 Regals.
The Cornering lamp mouldings came in 3 flavors...
Polished
Matte
Argent

The Polished was for the Regal and Regal Limited.
The Matte was for the Regal T-Type, and Grand National.
The Argent was for the Regal Custom.

Lots of times the customers didn't know they had the WRONG mouldings
until we had to change the light bulb.
We would always warranty the moulding with the bulb just to satisfy the customer.
At back then there was just a 12/12 Bumper to Bumper warranty.

[HwyCruiser]

Another MM member had a damaged headlight and the dealer replaced it with a Grand Marquis headlight, thinking they were the same.

Try another dealer. Any dealer with a brain will cover it under warranty.

Your dealer sounds like an a$$.

I was thinking of something along the same lines. I they replaced it due to condensation problems before or after the sale someone might have "cheated" and used a GM headlight.

[wsmylie]

I gotta go with RF on this one svtguy.... why should you have to be left holding the bag on a factory mess up the should have been caught at the plant through the so-called "quality control" program?? After it arrived at the dealership his new car inventory and inspection "experts" should have noticed it too and had it fixed. If this is the dealership you bought it from and who gladly took your money you shouldn't let them off the hook without making them correct the problem. Maybe you need to "take the gloves off" with them a bit and get a little loud about the load of B.S. the service mgr guy is trying to hand you.
First off, if he ADMITS they should have caught it, then THEY are at fault and THEY should have to pay, not you.

Second: how is having the wrong headlight frame installed by the factory "abuse"?! WTF?!

Then ask him who this "we" is that put a 30-day limit on these things...Ford? or the dealer themselves?

This sound like a boat-load of BS to me...make LOTS of noise to the Ford regional rep...

[rookie1]

Sometimes it helps to get the svc mgr alone and tell him "It doesn't matter to me what you write on the warranty form" That line alone has gotten me great service from my local dealer even though I didn't buy the car there.
I do get all my oil changes and routine maintenance done there though and I think that might make them more willing to make me happy.
Before I took it in to get the rear bumper looked at I called the service manager and asked him if he wanted to fart around with it since I didn't purchase it there and he mentioned the fact that he gets all my service work. Turns out the body guy had to fabricate 2 brackets for the outer corners of the bumper cover and it snugged it up about 3/8 inch. This was a deal where it took about 5 hours but I used the magic phrase about not caring what the warranty write up said.

All else fails find an SVT dealer, they like our rides and have always been willing to help.

[Mike Poore]

I won't say it's the case here; but sometimes new cars come to dealerships with broken pieces-parts, which could have hapened. If the lamp housing was broken when the car was delivered and the dealer simply put a GM housing in it, not knowing the difference, that would explain it. For instance, when our good friend Royal ran my VIN, we learned that my windshield had been replaced. Ask him to run your VIN and see if this could be the case in this instance. To me, it seems more likely than the assembly line having the wrong units stacked up. :twocents:

[svtguy]

Thanks for all the input guys. It helps a lot. The service manager I've been dealing with is from the same dealership I bought it. Before I took it to him I went to a dealer closer to home so I wouldn't have to take the longer drive. And the first shop told me the same thing the second guy did. "Not a warranty claim. Take it back where you bought it because they'll have to pay." At this point it looks like I'll be going back to the same dealer to give him another shot at doing what's right. And if I have to go midieival on his a$$ or worse yet, I could get ghetto on him, then that's what I'll have to do. I'll keep you posted.

[twolow]

...and if I have to go midieival on his a$$ or worse yet, I could get ghetto on him, then that's what I'll have to do.
Just don't do what your avatar is doing or your MM might get seized :P

[chrish]

satisfaction or NOT?

[dwasson]

I worked at a Buick dealer in the late 70s and early 80s. We got a 80 Skylark (X body) in one time that was Buick on one side and Oldsmobile on the other.