My Mom passed in 2015 and she left two 2002 thunderbirds. I need some help if there is anyone out there with a good heart and character. I sure could use help on what to do for repairs in the future. Been going to a Lincoln dealership with one of then and the other needs a new transmission.
REV:
I've told me story a couple of times in this site - the one about the dealership that was supposed to repair on thing and then totally messed up a number of things, joyroad in my 2002 while it was supposedly being worked on and piled on 330 miles... well, one thing that I would suggest, just from my own, personal experience, is to find a dealership in which they have a repair-person who has been actually trained in repairing TBirds issued for the most recent re-issue - the series that from 2002-2005.
These cars have some design things that stump somebody who wasn't actually trained to do repairs when these cars were originally issued - this is what I was told by the person that NOW does work on my car, a 2002, also. I originally agreed to have the dealership that sold me the car to do a very minor adjustment on the
hardtop latch - something they supposedly were going to allow the garage to complete and should have taken but 15 minutes. Then, all of the tech's in the garage were younger, nobody stepped up stating that they knew how to complete the adjustment so to save some bucks, the used section of this dealership thought that they would save some bucks and the manager decided to adjust it himself - then some of the other salesmen stepped up and started helping him and when they were completed adjusting the latch on the
hardtop, not only were both sides now maladjusted and not latching, but then the rough was pouring in water on both sides because the men put so much force on the
hardtop they completely destroyed the water drainage gaskets around all of the windows, including above the windshield. To repair that, they kept my car the entire summer, from when I purchased it in May, 2019 to nearly September, 2019, claiming that they were simply waiting for mixed up
part orders - assuring me that it was locked up in the storage section of the lot, and then in covered areas when it rained - well, nothing happened except the used salesman joyriding in it during the summer, piling 330 miles on it and me watching when I came to pick it up and he was removing personal items and shop
parts in new boxes from it. He had become so comfortable in my car, that he completely reset all of the stations on both FM settings on my
radio!
When I pulled the car off the lot and into the COSTCO parking lot down the block, I inspected the car and this is when I checked my trip-meter, the one of the 2 that I had reset and it now had 330 miles on it! I looked around the car and the back bumper and rear quarter panel was sitting nearly 1/2" of adjustment and then I saw the nearly 1" crack in the driver's side taillight - anyway, you can read those details on another posting.
But, what I pieced together, and checked with the person that actually completed
part of the gaskets while they had it - I lost all of that time, while it sat and was being driven around during the entire summer by somebody else and they person that initially worked on it completely screwed it up because he thought that since he sold the car, was the manager, he should be able to repair it, too - and they claimed to think, THINK that they knew what they were doing and were simply blaming the failure of properly repaired things being impossible to complete because of the age of the car - and this is what the used car dealer on the Ford dealership lot told me after it completely failed and was a mess - then it was this excuse that he was simply trying to "help" me even though it was a repair that was promised to be made before I purchased the car.
For instance, they claimed that
parts were simply NOT available, but, that wasn't true, because
parts were available, but not discounted
parts like the ones that they get as a Ford Dealership. They refused to replace with aftermarket
parts and sometimes
parts that were produced by FORD, were new with the FORD label on them, but not sold at discount by Ford. I found my dealership and it was actually closer to me than the dealership from where I purchased it - then, the repairs had to be made by the collision section of the Ford dealership, and since my family had been going to this dealership since it opened decades ago, they were honest with me and told me where their limitations are and what they feel comfortable with repairing - and they actually have a man that was repairing, had just became a cert. technician right when these T-Birds were released.
Since he's been there since they were released he knows about design quirks (flaws) and how to repair them properly. I now have most everything completed back in the collision shop because the newest TBirds are so uniquely designed that they really get repaired properly when their is somebody that is specifically trained on working on these cars.
I no longer have
hardtop leaks. My
hardtop latches and it noise free, too! When the back quarterpanel and rear taillight were broken, they were willing to use aftermarket
parts, too, even though it is, also, a Ford dealership - just like the bozos that initially screwed everything up with their dishonest claims about completely screwed up FORD design flaws being the problem with failure of repairs that they promised then attempted to explain away as 'good intentions' when all they ended up doing in stealing my car, deceiving me and then forcing me to go through the process of reporting them to the state oversight board to be reimbursed for the repairs - although I was screwed out of the lost time and the 330 miles that I think I should have been reimbursed for!
Honesty, working with somebody you know, too, in an ideal situation - but what really put the cherry on the top of my actual repair was that the man was a technician when they were originally released and learned all of these little tricks about the nuances of our babies. Even though he hadn't seen one in years, he had no problem in picking up where he left off. I was lucky when I brought it home to my local Ford dealer at the end of the summer after the Toledo Ford dealer fiasco happened.
But, I actually asked them how they did so well with my car (after having such a protractibly long and terrible experience with the dealership that bought it from - and they both, the manager and repairman, chimed in explaining that it had to do with the fact that the technician had all of those years of history with working with them from the day that they were released and being able to keep up on all of the updated repair reports and design modifications after each new line of models (years and half years) were released.
All of those things that he learned over the years, as they were released and placed in the
repair manual is available to the technicians, yet nowaday, with they way that people zip through things, sitting down, researching and reading details like that - well, people simply aren't very fond of studying something. I did research on repairs right on this sight, and sent a couple of crucial links to the manager of the technician and he shared them with him - and between his knowledge and a couple of tips from this sight - my cars leaking problem was completely cured. Yes, I did the research myself and shared the knowledge with them - it took some time and work on my
part, too, but this site is so handy, and I figured that if I wanted it fixed completely and correctly, that it was worth my time to read over references on this forum. Also be willing to do some footwork on your own with researching any design quirks for your specific engine style - there are so many design nuances, so be careful that you get the correct details about each of your mother's TBirds, too, to make sure that you are getting the correct details. I did this research and it really helped along with having an EXPERIENCED technician.
Always reset your 2nd trip meter and then flip it back so that the other trip meter is the one that is visible - keep an eye on how many miles they put on your car for repairs that might end up taking more than a day or two - you just never know what they might be doing with your TBird when you're sitting at home thinking that it's locked up, secure and simply waiting for multiple
part orders!
Do you have pictures of them, yet? What colors are they? Do you have the hardtops and everything that goes with them, too? I own a 2002 Whisper White with a black interior. All of the stickers with numbers are still on it and visible, too, matching, all, I believe!
