Should I or shouldn't I? (buy an automatic 2010 Fusion SEL)

[405hp]

Hey peeps, I've come across a good deal on a 2010 Fusion SEL, I think one that's a bit too good to pass up on, but I am hesitant to go through with it after all the horror stories Google seems to be able to pull up on the auto trannies in these cars.

 

This car has 70K miles, and I am assuming it's a 2.5l i4 (but it very well could be a V6). I am test driving it tomorrow morning. I don't really care which engine it is, the 4cyl is adequate enough; to me all cars are slow anyway, I have my GSXR 750 track bike for going fast!

 

The price is about 40% below market value, but it's never been in an accident. Of course, my gut is telling me that something could be seriously wrong with the car, and that I must be cautious.

 

It's a private sale, company car, from a guy who's getting a new company car, and who did mostly highway mileage with it.

 

I've attached one of the pics of the ad... where, believe it or not, you see the car at an auto-x event!

 

I intend to get the VIN # from the seller and go to the Ford dealership to ask for a printout of all service records to see if it's been in the shop for transmission issues.

 

What are some things I should pay careful attention to when I go drive the car tomorrow?

 

Would you recommend that I buy a used, out-of-warranty, automatic 2010 Fusion given the track records for the transmissions?

 

Would transmission repairs, TSBs, reflashes, etc., be paid for out of my pocket now that the car is out of warranty?

 

I've rented a few Fusions and find them to be great cars with lots of desireable features, and I look forward to sell my 07 Civic and drive something nicer.

[FusionDiffusion]

Well, first of all that's not the picture of the actual car (pictured is a 2010 Fusion Sport, not a 2.5L SEL). It's from Car & Driver: http://www.caranddri...rt-photo-246518

 

Definitely get the VIN so you can get a CARFAX and OASIS report on it. I think you have reason to be suspicious. If you're worried about the transmission, make sure you do a good test drive with it before you buy.

 

What are some things I should pay careful attention to when I go drive the car tomorrow?

 

First look for body damage and new parts under the hood. Check the fluids and underside of the oil cap for milkshake. Make sure you stick your head in and under everything to check for obvious signs of damage/accident. Look at how the doors and sunroof fit because accidents often bend them slightly. How do the tires look (will you need new ones soon or not)? When you drive notice how the transmission shifts, especially the first shifts from a cold start (where most of the complaints are). Check the brakes for smoothness and pedal travel. Also do some WOT runs to see how the transmission deals with shifting under a load. Run the A/C and blower on high, check the heat, and listen for strange noises.

 

Would you recommend that I buy a used, out-of-warranty, automatic 2010 Fusion given the track records for the transmissions?

 

Yes, if the history checks out, the transmission shifts okay, and it's not been beat up or neglected. Look for pride of ownership. Some guys treat company cars like rentals (ahem, abuse).

 

Would transmission repairs, TSBs, reflashes, etc., be paid for out of my pocket now that the car is out of warranty?

 

Yes.

Edited September 21, 2012 by FusionDiffusion

[405hp]

Thanks, that is useful. Had no idea about the Oasis report; I am unsure if they do them here in Canada, but sure hope so.

 

I ran the VIN # on CarProof (Canadian equivalent of CarFax) and it came back squeaky clean.

 

I willl inquire about the Oasis report at the Ford dealer tomorrow morning.

 

Wish me luck!

[motorcyclist]

Also it would be a good idea to have a reputable mechanic check it out before buying.

[drolds1]

How is this guy able to sell a car that doesn't belong to him? Did he buy it from his employer first or is he selling it on their behalf? Did your check show his company as the title holder? I assume Canada has similar automobile titling laws as in the U.S.

[dffr1]

Just ordered a different car for my company vehicle - the buyout on my POS 10 fusion was just over $9,000 with 82K. I would not consider buying ANY fusion even if it was discounted 75% - remember they have discounted them because they are not selling - used cars today are bringing top dollar.

 

My advise RUN Forest RUN

 

My biggest concern is driving my family in a car with chronic throttle bodies - that just die on the highway - then you need to come to a complete stop and restart.... My families safety is not worth the discount....

[MTLFusion2010]

I will take a slightly different track:

My Fusion was a mixed bag. When thing went well, it was a pleasure to drive and live with. However, it had a slightly disproportunate number of issues for a new car. And I would accept this except for the poor manner in which Ford treats its customers.

Had I gotten this car second hand at a considerable discount, I may have considered myself lucky.

I guess it all boils down to having the car properly inspected and assess the amount of money you may need to put in if anything breaks.

If you plan on relying on Ford for maintaining your car, DONT.

If you have your own competent, reliable shop to take care of your car, go ahead.

 

 

(null)

[dffr1]

r the poor manner in which Ford treats its customers.

 

I concur - My experience with a couple Ford Stealers has been the worse EVER. EVERY time the car hits the shop they find $1,000 worth of work that is not needed - AND ignore the real issues. EVERY time they wanted to replace the tires, pads and calipers - then turn the rotors.

Since I was not paying for the unneeded work myself I am still bitter and hate to see them consistently rip off the leasing / fleet management company. If I was selfish - it is nice to always have new rubber on the car. At 82K I am on my fourth or fifth set of tires and while the steering is the best it has been the tires started cupping badly after the first thousand miles...

[MTLFusion2010]

EVERY time the car hits the shop they find $1,000 worth of work that is not needed - AND ignore the real issues.

 

If it were just that I would probably blame the dealership, my feeling is that dealers follow a systematic approach that is almost certainly been handed down to them/forced upon them by Ford, where they refuse to acknowledge a real issue while the car is under warranty.

I drove in the car with a sick sounding engine and they want to convince me this is normal, all other shops said something is wrong but wanted to keep the car to diagnose it, which is a luxury I could not afford.

I had cracked wheel nuts and the dealer was unable to do anything about them unless he took the lug nuts off, took a picture, sent it to Ford for approval to replace under warranty.

Before I had my degas kit replaced, I took the car several times in for the sloshing sound and the SM only reluctantly, and upon my relentless insistence, admitted that this is not normal. Once Ford issued the replacement degas kit,the dealer immediately took my appointment for a replacement.

This is why I believe the issue is beyond dealers, and extends to the corporate policy. And this is why this car will be my first, and last Ford product ever.

[Waldo]

If it were just that I would probably blame the dealership, my feeling is that dealers follow a systematic approach that is almost certainly been handed down to them/forced upon them by Ford, where they refuse to acknowledge a real issue while the car is under warranty.

I drove in the car with a sick sounding engine and they want to convince me this is normal, all other shops said something is wrong but wanted to keep the car to diagnose it, which is a luxury I could not afford.

I had cracked wheel nuts and the dealer was unable to do anything about them unless he took the lug nuts off, took a picture, sent it to Ford for approval to replace under warranty.

Before I had my degas kit replaced, I took the car several times in for the sloshing sound and the SM only reluctantly, and upon my relentless insistence, admitted that this is not normal. Once Ford issued the replacement degas kit,the dealer immediately took my appointment for a replacement.

This is why I believe the issue is beyond dealers, and extends to the corporate policy. And this is why this car will be my first, and last Ford product ever.

 

I don't think your conclusion is true at all. Ford provides training opportunities to their dealers, but if the dealer's choose not to participate or not to send all their personnel, there's not much Ford can do about it. Ford does have policies regarding warranty approvals that can vary by dealer. Basically if they see one dealer making a bunch of bogus or incorrect diagnosis, they will start requiring that particular dealer to be more stringent and they will review the claims more carefully. That in turn leads the service writers at that dealer to be more strict and give the attitude that you have noticed. But it's not Ford company policy to systematically ignore customer complaints, it's purely down to your individual dealer.

[MTLFusion2010]

I don't think your conclusion is true at all. Ford provides training opportunities to their dealers, but if the dealer's choose not to participate or not to send all their personnel, there's not much Ford can do about it. Ford does have policies regarding warranty approvals that can vary by dealer. Basically if they see one dealer making a bunch of bogus or incorrect diagnosis, they will start requiring that particular dealer to be more stringent and they will review the claims more carefully. That in turn leads the service writers at that dealer to be more strict and give the attitude that you have noticed. But it's not Ford company policy to systematically ignore customer complaints, it's purely down to your individual dealer.

 

Excuse me for coming across with some bitterness, but my perception (and I stress these are just perceptions) comes from having dealt with two of the three Ford dealerships in my vicinity, and found nothing but frustration.

In my experience, the issue was not a case of the SM being strict. After all, a valid warranty repair is a benefit to them since this is a job they are being paid for as opposed to no job at all. However, when the SM comes up with excuses a 5 year old will not buy to try to convince you that when the I4 2.5L engine in my car which sounds like a diesel engine from the eighties is "normal" when no other Fusion on his lot sounds like it, you cant but wonder about his motive.

Before that, when the sloshing sound was strong in my car, the dealer initially refused to admit that it was not normal. But when Ford offered the solution (degas kit), they were extremely quick to call and offer me the repair under warranty. I interpret this as: Initially they new Ford will not pay them for this work that Ford did not admit to be a problem and once Ford did, they were quick to do the work.

All in all, it appears to me that Ford keeps their dealers on a very short leash, short enough to severely impact the the customer's experience with Ford products.

[Waldo]

Ford wishes they could keep their dealers on a short leash, but due to lots of legal requirements, they actually have much less control then they would like. I interpret your situation as the dealer techs were not skilled enough to be able to perform a proper diagnosis. They knew Ford would not reimburse them for incorrect diagnosis (likely because they already have a history for this), so they figured they would just rather not take the risk. Once Ford publishes a known fix, they are happy to do it because it no longer requires them to use any skill. It's the responsibility of the dealers to hire and train their techs, Ford can only provide the training if the dealers pay for their people to go.

 

You've experienced only 2 out of the 2000+ Ford dealerships, so it's not fair to assume that your experiences will be the same as everyone else or are representative of Ford in general.

[Jo7hs2]

Ford wishes they could keep their dealers on a short leash, but due to lots of legal requirements, they actually have much less control then they would like. I interpret your situation as the dealer techs were not skilled enough to be able to perform a proper diagnosis. They knew Ford would not reimburse them for incorrect diagnosis (likely because they already have a history for this), so they figured they would just rather not take the risk. Once Ford publishes a known fix, they are happy to do it because it no longer requires them to use any skill. It's the responsibility of the dealers to hire and train their techs, Ford can only provide the training if the dealers pay for their people to go.

 

You've experienced only 2 out of the 2000+ Ford dealerships, so it's not fair to assume that your experiences will be the same as everyone else or are representative of Ford in general.

 

I absolutely agree. The difference between a good dealership and a bad one is profound. Most places I've lived I have had the misfortune of picking the bad dealer first, because they were closer. As a brief example, the dealership I purchased my car from was a terrible servicing dealer. Poor (no) communication, slow diagnosis, stupid answers, and suspicious explanations. I recently took my car to a President's Award winning dealership, and the difference was immediately noticeable. Clean, organized service department. More than one service representative. Quick diagnosis, within two days. Called me, didn't have to call them. Service manager and shop foreman test drove vehicle. Full discussion (in technical detail) with staff about problems, what they did, what they found, and what they could and could not do.

 

After dealing with my 6F35 issues, I'm inclined to agree that Ford has very little control (beyond repair reimbursement) over dealer service departments. They actively wanted to know detailed information about problems I had with the dealers. In fact, they cared far more about those issues than the actual mechanical issues...presumably because the mechanical issues are something they feel they can control.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Jo7hs2

[MTLFusion2010]

I absolutely agree. The difference between a good dealership and a bad one is profound. Most places I've lived I have had the misfortune of picking the bad dealer first, because they were closer. As a brief example, the dealership I purchased my car from was a terrible servicing dealer. Poor (no) communication, slow diagnosis, stupid answers, and suspicious explanations. I recently took my car to a President's Award winning dealership, and the difference was immediately noticeable. Clean, organized service department. More than one service representative. Quick diagnosis, within two days. Called me, didn't have to call them. Service manager and shop foreman test drove vehicle. Full discussion (in technical detail) with staff about problems, what they did, what they found, and what they could and could not do.

 

After dealing with my 6F35 issues, I'm inclined to agree that Ford has very little control (beyond repair reimbursement) over dealer service departments. They actively wanted to know detailed information about problems I had with the dealers. In fact, they cared far more about those issues than the actual mechanical issues...presumably because the mechanical issues are something they feel they can control.

Ford wishes they could keep their dealers on a short leash, but due to lots of legal requirements, they actually have much less control then they would like. I interpret your situation as the dealer techs were not skilled enough to be able to perform a proper diagnosis. They knew Ford would not reimburse them for incorrect diagnosis (likely because they already have a history for this), so they figured they would just rather not take the risk. Once Ford publishes a known fix, they are happy to do it because it no longer requires them to use any skill. It's the responsibility of the dealers to hire and train their techs, Ford can only provide the training if the dealers pay for their people to go.

 

You've experienced only 2 out of the 2000+ Ford dealerships, so it's not fair to assume that your experiences will be the same as everyone else or are representative of Ford in general.

 

 

You fault me for making a judgement on 2000+ dealers based on my experience with 2. From my end, I made a judgement based on 2 out of 3 (I cannot possibly try all 2000+ Ford dealer until I find a competent one).

 

Still, I submit, what you say makes sense.

 

However, a car company that cares about customers, would require their dealers to show higher levels of competence. I very much doubt Toyota dealers can get away with this level of incompetence, I do not know much about the automotive world, but I would assume that a Toyota dealer not offering satisfactory service to Toyota buyers will not sell Toyotas for long.

Edited September 27, 2012 by MTLFusion2010