Don’t Rely on Your Scrapbooking Stash to Fix Your Truck
November 7, 2007 – 1:17 pm
So, my sweet, handy husband fixed the power window in our truck a month ago. It worked great and saved us over $262. Cost to us? Nothing.
Last Friday he drove over to the local Ford Dealer’s parts department to pick up a part for our other truck.
While in the PARKING LOT of the Ford Dealer the window broke. Again. I was on the phone with him when it happened.
Him “The window just broke.”
Me “What window? What do you mean it broke?”
Him “The passenger side window.”
Me “You’re kidding right?”
Him “Nope.”
Me - speechless. Thinking very bad thoughts about Ford at this point.
So yes, it was pretty unbelievable that he was able to rig the window in the first place using my scrapbooking supplies like he did, but it did work. For a month.
But the GREAT NEWS is that he was already at the Ford dealer so he was able to walk right in and order a new window regulator. It came in yesterday and he installed it last night. The piece that had broken in the original regulator looked slightly different than the new part; so here’s hoping that Ford realized their original design STUNK and they designed a stronger part.
Cost? $130.00
Even though we ended up having to pay for part, we have still saved $132 by installing it ourselves vs. having a mechanic do it.
Warning for all you Ford F-150 owners; this seems to be a common problem in the 2004 model. If you don’t have an extended warranty you might want to think about making sure you have some money in an emergency fund to cover the cost of replacing the window motor. The stash of scrapbooking supplies your wife has just isn’t going to cut it when it comes time to repair the truck.
5 Responses to “Don’t Rely on Your Scrapbooking Stash to Fix Your Truck”
We like to joke around in the office:
FORD = Found On the Road Dead
FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily
I have a 9 yr old Ford, that was almost totaled once, and it has been reliable; except for some minor repairs.
By Pinyo on Nov 7, 2007
Pinyo,
Ha ha! Yep. The first one is new to me, but I’ve heard the 2nd one before. And our truck is starting to live up to that…
By Momof3 on Nov 8, 2007
I’ve always stuck with Japanese cars…they seem to be much more reliable.
Although, I’ve had problems with my Honda Accord..the dash light went out unexpectedly. Turns out it was a known manufacturer’s defect that was subsequently repaired free of charge….so yeah, it’s not just Ford that has occasional issues.
-R
By Money Blue Book on Nov 9, 2007
Money Blue Book,
We had a Civic before that I LOVED, but that was when way back when we only had 1 kid. Since then we’ve grown, and I’m not sure about Japanese trucks. Do they even make big, roomy trucks? hmmm….
But I agree, Japanese cars are the most reliable.
By Momof3 on Nov 10, 2007
I drive a 2001 Focus… I can’t complain too much, as it still runs great after 140 km, but the few problems I did have were stupid ones. Plastic bits breaking where there should have been steel, fuel pump recalls and the wiper fluid pump burning out.
I do find it disappointing that the only way an American auto manufacturer can compete is by replacing metal components with cheap brittle plastic. My car’s been in the shop 5-6 times for issues with these cheap-ass parts, by now I’m sure Ford has spent more on labor fixing the defects, than they would have spent putting in better quality components to begin with.
On the good side, I’ve learned a ton about auto maintenance and repair, not that I ever wanted to, but cheap problems beget cheap solutions. Now that my warranty has lapsed, I feel confident that I’ll be able to fix many little things on my own over the years, as I plan on driving this car until it falls apart.
By Bill on Dec 2, 2007