DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
Letter 159 – From Frustrated and Pained
Dear Suzanne,
My vehicle has to be the worst truck in the world and to be honest I’ve had enough.
When I purchased it, I thought I had something that would make life easier. A fun and reliable form of transportation can’t be bad, can it?
Instead all I got were problems and headaches. If that’s not enough, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity but would you believe my truck hindered me from taking advantage of it.
Let me start from the beginning.
I own a 2020 Ford F150 which I purchased brand new with zero miles.
Right now it’s sitting at 45,000 miles, but I can’t say they’ve all been good.
I mean, there were times when things were fine, but of course the bad memories stand out more.
The problems I’ve been battling with my truck have to do with the transmission.
The issue is that the transmission slips and sometimes feels like hard or stiff shifting when I switch gears.
At times it gets so bad that whenever I switch gears at certain speeds, the truck jerks and sputters and eventually dies off.
Now, imagine this happening on the highway with other vehicles on the road. Do you see the kind of risk that places me in?
Can’t a-Ford To Miss This Opportunity
The sad thing is that my truck problems don’t end there.
On to an incident that made me decide that I had had enough of this vehicle. One day I stumbled upon a contest being announced on the radio.
According to the information passed across, whoever answered certain questions first would win the contest. I sent my response almost immediately after they sent out the questions.
Fortunately, I was one of the first to respond. However, the radio guys said I and one other person were the fastest so they’d have to figure out how to settle who won.
They decided that the winner would be whoever arrived first at the radio station to claim the prize.
As soon as I heard this, I started my truck and was on my way there. But as luck would have it, the truck began its usual problems when I was almost at the radio station.
This time, it felt like the truck became sentient, like it knew what was at stake and did not want me to be the winner.
It just kept stuttering and jerking each time I switched gears until eventually I was close enough to park and run the rest of the way.
Unfortunately it was already too late as the other person had already arrived.
Transmission on a Mission To Ruin My Life
So all my effort was for naught as I had nothing to show for it. Do you know how frustrating and painful that is? To be so close to a life-changing amount of money only for it to slip by because of a defective vehicle.
The painful part is that I have complained about this several times to the dealership.
In fact, I took my car for repairs only last week, and today I’m about to return it to them because I’m still having issues with it.
That makes this the third visit in as many weeks. Even last week when I took it in, they claimed they had fixed it, only for the same issue to come up the following day.
I’m laying this out so it doesn’t seem like I’m just complaining without doing the needful.
In one of the repair attempts, the service guy tried reprogramming the transmission but that did not yield any results.
On another visit, they kept my truck for about three to four weeks. Even then, I got my car back the same way I handed it to them – defective.
Now I’m only looking for a way to dispose of it because I’m tired. If I can’t at least win the lottery, the least that could happen is having reliable transportation.
What do you suggest?
Frustrated and Pained
Get Compensated For Your 2020 Ford-F150
Dear Frustrated and Pained,
It’s really disheartening when you have a vehicle as defective as yours and it’s understandable that you feel the way you do.
I don’t think there’s anyone on earth that would keep the car after it caused them to miss a life changing amount of money.
This is why hiring a good lemon lawyer and making good use of the lemon law is important.
Considering you already meet the qualifications required, your attorney can go ahead with your lemon lawsuit. These qualifications include one of the following:
- You must have at least two visits to the dealership for the same issue while under the original warranty period,
- You must have three or more repair attempts done on your vehicle for different problems within the manufacturer’s warranty period,
- You also had to leave your truck at the dealership for over a month due to certain defects.
So keeping this in mind, you likely qualify as you already have two visits and about to have the third.
The lemon law offers you a way out of your lemon vehicle by providing you with different forms of compensation.
This allows consumers to hold the manufacturers accountable for selling you a defective truck.
The settlement you stand to get depends on the severity of the case and on how many visits you have to the dealership.
In these types of situations where the transmission is faulty, it’s not uncommon for the truck to get tagged as defective.
Settlement Options
Find additional details on the Ford Lemon Law buyback process here: how it operates, qualification standards, models included, persistent vehicle defects reported, and Lemon Law case examples.
As for the options of compensation available to you, there are:
Buyback Settlement
The buyback option is where you return the truck to the manufacturers and they give you back all the money you have spent on the vehicle.
The amount they refund to you includes the down payment, every monthly payment you’ve paid, taxes, and even interest.
Also, if you took out a loan on the truck, the automakers have to pay that off for you to the finance company.
There is something called the mileage offset which allows the automakers to fight back against the buyback settlement.
The mileage offset allows the manufacturers to charge you for the period you drove the vehicle with no issues.
They usually base this on the mileage you were at during your first visit to the dealership as stated on the first repair order.
Your attorney won’t allow you to give up your settlement without a fight.
They’ll negotiate for a waiver either in half or in full, allowing you to keep the full original amount awarded to you.
Cash And Keep Settlement
The second option is the cash and keep. With this option, you get to keep the vehicle and the warranty remains active.
The manufacturers give you money for the issues you faced with the truck.
Also, with the cash and keep offer, you get the choice of selling your vehicle at a later date without having to deem it a lemon to whoever buys it next.
Lemon Law Tips
In addition to these two settlements, if you had to pay for miscellaneous expenses such as Uber rides, and rental vehicles, or if there was a near-accident situation, your attorneys can request that the manufacturers pay for extra damages.
One good thing about all of this is that you purchased your vehicle in California and so you will not pay for the lawsuit out of pocket.
This is because all lemon law cases in California are taken on full contingency which makes it possible for you, as the client, to file a claim against the automakers at no cost to you.
The entire original settlement goes over to you while the manufacturers pays your attorney’s fees separately.
Also be sure to visit the dealership if you need any additional repairs. Every repair order makes your case that much stronger.
Just make sure you verify they put the correct issues you went in for and not something else that popped up when they were checking it out.
I hope you’re able to get into a new, reliable ride soon. If you have any questions or need any clarification, reach out to your attorney.
Best of luck!
Suzanne
PS. If you think your vehicle sucks and want to actually do something about it, you definitely can! Find out quickly if you have a case by visiting www.yourvehiclesucks.com right now. This website is owned by our partner law firm Quill & Arrow LLP, California’s #1 “settled” Lemon Law attorneys.
Free Legal Advice About Your 2020 Ford F-150 Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about CA Lemon Lawyer or how to file a claim in California, please write to help@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a CA Lemon Law Attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
Related Articles:
- My 2019 Ford F-150 Is A Burden
- My Custom 2020 Ford F-150 is a Big Mess
- 2020 Ford F-150 Transmission Problems Has Owner Losing Their Cool
Featured Image:
- 2019 Ford F150 ©Bull-Doser (Public Domain)