Faulty Windscreen - Am I being unreasonable

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# 2059401 20-Jul-2018 15:45

Wheelbarrow01:

Coil:

I have had the same issue, I had a replacement screen in my BMW and it had a manufacturing fault. See haze in the screen and also had foggy patches.
I took it straight back to Smith and Smith and explained the issue and advised them it was a faulty screen. They agree'd and spoke to BMW who wanted to look at it.
Drove it straight to BMW from there and had them appraise them. They agree'd it is faulty.

Waited 3 days then Smith and Smith installed my new screen, they replaced the brittle damaged leaf shield for FREE and gave me new wiper arms and blades also for FREE as a "sorry this happened"!

Please call Smitha nd Smith head office, Explain your case. I feel personally this should have been followed up with MUCH earlier, I am surprised I did not see you state you cannot see anything in low light when headlights strike your screen.

My screen would go full hazey white and I had to pull over as I could not see.

I am busy as heck so if you'd like to chat I can give you a call.

Cheers

Thanks for all the info. I have just flicked an email off to Avon City Ford. It's my understanding that the replacement screen with the fault was ordered by and delivered to Smith & Smith through them, and they also did the instrument recalibration afterwards, so I am hoping that they can find some record of all that. I sent them the photos as well and asked for their help.

Yes, I do agree that I should have done something about it last winter when I first noticed the problem. I must say I haven't really noticed any issue at night with approaching vehicles BUT I have been complaining that quite a few approaching vehicles seem to have very bright/dazzling lights. It looks like I just failed to connect the dots in that regard - I just assumed these vehicles were using the new fangled and brighter lights, and it never occurred to me that the cause of the dazzling was also the windscreen.

Cool, You need to go to your local Smith and Smith, Walk in and ask to speak with the head tech or manager on duty.
Show them photos and how the screen is faulty. Make them agree on a personal level.
They will follow the RMA process for a faulty screen. Be very clear that this fault has been there since day one and that it is only visible in direct light.
Not much more you can do, If they do not honor you there open a DT case but I fear due to the time you put up with the faulty screen it maybe dismissed.

Sure you could plead ignorance and say you only drove the vehicle in the middle of the day and not into the sunset...

Even my new screen dazzles my eyes at night, But thats cause I need to clean off the leather sweat and human.. But i'm pretty useless..

muppet

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# 2059406 20-Jul-2018 15:55

2 people support this post

Buy a new car.

mclean

432 posts

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# 2059408 20-Jul-2018 16:00

Maybe I'm overly suspicious, but if no-one can produce the invoice proving purchase from Ford then I smell a rat. Maybe you already have an aftermarket screen.

McLean

mclean

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# 2059410 20-Jul-2018 16:05

muppet: Buy a new car.

Truck.

McLean

mattwnz

15283 posts

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# 2059413 20-Jul-2018 16:08

As an end consumer for an insurance repair, I do't think the consumer gets an invoice. The insurance company pays, so they should have the invoice. I have often wanted to know what the cost of a repair is when done as an insurance claim, but we never find out, as we only pay the excess. But I would expect that you or your insurance company will have records of the repair being carried out.

Stu

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# 2059414 20-Jul-2018 16:09

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mclean:
muppet: Buy a new car.
Truck.

Ute. The Ranger isn't a truck.

/me ducks

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

mattwnz

15283 posts

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# 2059417 20-Jul-2018 16:11

Coil:
They will follow the RMA process for a faulty screen. Be very clear that this fault has been there since day one and that it is only visible in direct light.
Not much more you can do, If they do not honor you there open a DT case but I fear due to the time you put up with the faulty screen it maybe dismissed.

Sure you could plead ignorance and say you only drove the vehicle in the middle of the day and not into the sunset...

Even my new screen dazzles my eyes at night, But thats cause I need to clean off the leather sweat and human.. But i'm pretty useless..

But they don't know if it was there from day one, it could have developed over time. I don't know if it even matters if it was there since day one or not, it doesn't mean that it isn't still a manufacturing defect. I have seen glass delaminate over time. Also they didn't know it was initially a problem with the windscreen, they thought it may have just been these new bright headlights. We do have the CGA for a reason.

Wheelbarrow01

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# 2059469 20-Jul-2018 16:57

It may very well have developed over time (although that seems unlikely), but the vision through the windscreen is fine 95-99% of the time. The first time I noticed it was last winter (some 6 months after replacement). We're talking about a specific set of environmental factors that are required for the issue to be noticeable: Winter's day, driving towards the sun low in the sky, late in the afternoon, on a cloudless day. If one of these environmental factors is different, then the issue is not detectable at all, notwithstanding the oncoming headlight dazzling at night - which up until now I was blaming on something else without connecting the dots.

Anyway, I have just had a pretty swift response from the Avon City Ford parts manager whom I emailed less than an hour ago:

"We have sold hundreds of these screens & have never had this issue before. Fords warranty coverage is pretty clear cut, it is 12 months or 20,000 kms (whatever comes first) it also does not cover any labour component. I will put your case to the warranty advisor at Ford NZ & see if I can make any headway for you. I will be back in touch with their response".

The car has only done 15,000km since fitment so that part is fine. I deliberately did not mention the CGA in my email to Avon City Ford - I want to see if they can/will do anything on the photo evidence I have presented without me citing CGA principles of fit for purpose, merchantable quality etc. If anything, I'd hope they would be concerned about the safety of their vehicles/parts more than anything else. It's worth noting this is my 3rd Ranger so it's fair to say I've spent some money with Ford over the years, even if they were bought at a different dealership to the one that supplied the windscreen.

In regard to whether my insurance company has the invoice, they have already told me that they don't, and that kind of makes sense. Whilst they will have an invoice from Smith & Smith for the windscreen supply and work undertaken to fit it, that does not prove the sale of the windscreen from Ford to Smith & Smith, which is the key component in this case.

dafman

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# 2059510 20-Jul-2018 17:48

Wheelbarrow01:

If anything, I'd hope they would be concerned about the safety of their vehicles/parts more than anything else.

I wouldn't hold your breath on this one. This is the company that stripped out safety features from the US Mustang before releasing on the Aus/NZ market, giving the car a woeful 2-star safety rating.

Not to mention the well-known long standing dual clutch issues with the Focus

And then there was the fire risk with the Ranger ... link here

mattwnz

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# 2059601 20-Jul-2018 19:22

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IANAL .If this was me, I would have mentioned the CGA initially, due to it being out of warranty, and so you don't end up wasting time. Also they are probably used to dealing with businesses and fleet cars etc, rather than retail consumers. The thing is that goods the consumers buy for personal use must be durable and last a reasonable period of time, and be free from manufacture ring defects etc.eg A consumer wouldn't expect to replace a windscreen every year from normal use, it would only need to be replaced if damaged. Also a normal sales agreement is withthe windscreen repair company and the consumer, so they should be helping you deal with it, rather than you having to deal with the manufacturer. Under the CGA, the retailer can't tell you to contact the manufacturer, unless you want them to deal with it. It is your choice. Also if the retailer can't find the invoice from their supplier, that is their problem to solve, but it is irrelevant IMO to getting the problem resolved, as the sale is between the retailer and the consumer.

Geektastic

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# 2059714 20-Jul-2018 23:40

Stu:

mclean:
muppet: Buy a new car.
Truck.

Ute. The Ranger isn't a truck.

/me ducks

Pick-up truck?

networkn

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# 2059725 21-Jul-2018 00:10

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This is pretty straightforward. Whilst you have probably made things a little more difficult by not raising it initially, legally you are completely covered. Wait for the response from Fords Warranty advisor which I suspect will have it covered pretty promptly, but if you don't get a suitable response I would write something like this:

To whom it may concern

On x date have raised the issue of my windscreen to x at Ford Dealership x which I have clearly demonstrated is faulty. I am very disappointed in Fords response, and it leads me to now need to remind you of your obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act, which clearly states an item supplied must be fit for purpose and defect free for a reasonable period of time, which clearly this windscreen is neither.

Please arrange for the immediate replacement of this windscreen, with Ford genuine replacement parts, including qualified labour, at no cost to me within 5 working days, or I will be forced to take this matter to the disputes tribunal, and I am completely confident this is a manafacturing issue and could not have in any way be caused by me.

Send it to the Service Manager of Your dealership, GM for Ford NZ, and copy the consumer's institute people.

That will be the end of it 99%.

Do not accept any liability, nor any offer to share the costs. The issue is NOT yours, it's theirs.

In business, I always remember what someone smarter than me told me. A happy customer tells 3 people, an unhappy customer tells 10.

In all honesty, sometimes I wonder what people are thinking. Ford should have covered this pretty much after an initial check of the car and the Windscreen to ensure it was genuine.

TonyR1973

199 posts

Master Geek

# 2060107 21-Jul-2018 18:24

sxz:

CGA applies (as long as it's a consumer vehicle, and not work vehicle).

Don't be so sure. The CGA states:

CGA

consumer means a person who—

(a) acquires from a supplier goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic, or household use or consumption;.

A utility is a commercial vehicle.