sboucher

I have had all the minor glitches you would expect with a new Australian built car, broken lid clips, warped glovebox, broken cable on rear seat. But Im not sure how I should feel about finding a rusty hole in the body of my Territory.

When the tailgate is opened, a hole forming rust around it's outside is evident in the body. The hole is about 10mm in dia. and about level where the rear seat belt for the seven seater is affixed.

Now it's pretty clear a robot has drill has been out of whack when drilling this hole, the point that worrys me is how many other mistakes did this robot make that can not be at first easily seen? What to do?

 

johnydep

Call the Ford hot-line.

What is the build date of your Terri, and what model did you get?

jnr

Robots don't drill holes
All holes are pressed in Geelong
Take it back to your dealer it (the rust) shouldn't be there

Bassman

I also noticed you mentioned all this in a letter to wheels magazine, which is in this months copy. Just to address your point, you say you find it dissapointing that Australian cars all suffer from build quality issues, I would say that the vast majority of Territory owners have no problems like yours, so I dont think its fair to say you expect it. Yes its inevitable that we are going to have a small percentage of rejects go through, but the path i would have chosen would not be to so publicly complain about the faults but praise the fact that the service you got from your dealer was so good to rectify these issues. I think that good after sales service can far outway the few small glitches our Australian cars might have, something Ford really should listen to. Your letter has probably just caused us to have to look at about another 1000 or so of those ugly Klugers on the road.

Curls

With the greatest of respect these are NOT minor glitches I would expect on any car and are not common on even a minor percentage of Territory's. If your car was delivered with these faults then the Factory and dealer QC can be deservedly & strongly criticised for not discoverying and fixing them BEFORE you were given the car. If they occurred during your ownership then this is another matter and warranty will take care of them. Look at the latest JD Powers survey and where Mercedes Benz has fallen to by its responding owners, so quality and its perceived levels are not brand/country specific or a given for any brand.

Paulv

sboucher - given the history of some past posters to these forums I have to say I'm not 100% convinced of your post.
NO-ONE else has reported broken lid clips.
NO-ONE else has reported a warped glovebox (although there were 1 or 2 people with catch problems)
NO-ONE else has reported a faulty cable on the back seat
NO-ONE else has reported a rusty randomly drilled hole in their Terri

To me there's 2 ways to take this
a) You're leading us on. ie show us a photo
b) You've got a genuinely dodgy one-off car with a number of issues that should all be brought IMMEDIATELY to the attention of your dealer as soon as you spot them.

The skeptic alarm in me is ringing loud. Why is it that you have this hole in your Terri, which a dealer would normally fix ASAP, and yet you're posting to all the Ford forums and Wheels as well that you've got the dogiest car in the world? If your fault is real then I think you're overdoing it. Compared to your problems there are other cars out there (including Fords) with SUBSTANTIALLY more serious problems than yours.

I still think I smell a rat.

new2ford

OMG not another Toyota Fifth Columnist! We've had some run ins on www.fordforums.com.au with that crowd of bad losers. See the posts on the pretty substantial gearbox problem with the Kluger and Toyota's appalling after-sales attitudes - will anyone write to Wheels about that? (For details see: http://www.productreview.com.au/show...d=1502#REVIEWS)

Fact is the Territory's extremely well built. There must be many owners like me who've had not one single problem whatsoever. But like any brand of car there will be some that slip through with a glitch that a manufacturer with a good after-sales attitude (like Ford but unlike Toyota) will rectify.

I'm appalled to hear that such a letter was published in Wheels. I hope they air the majority viewpoint too. The Territory deserves lashings of praise - the best thing to happen in the Australian car market in decades. And proof that Australians can build to high quality also. Please keep things in perpective.

sboucher

I am not bagging the car - but when I part with over $40,000, i would expect a hole that has been there since production to be picked up somewhere along the line. I looked at Klugger's as well before I purchased the Territory, but I find them butt ugly. I love my Territory, but as I said, when I spend $40,000 i expect not to have my new car in the bodyworks having repairs made.

In retrospect, and with prior knowledge of how brand sensitive people who drive Ford's are, this forum may not have been the best place to look for help.

radtek

I too have a rust spot (about the size of a 50 cent piece) in the same place as yours but luckily no hole.

I am appalled at some of the replies that you have had, no one should be bagged for spending $40k and having problems with their Territory.

The onus should be on Ford to rectify any problems that you have and keep improving their much better than AU Falcon days quality control.

new2ford

No brand loyalty here - wouldn't normally buy a Ford, just know a great car when I see one. This forum is an excellent place to raise problems for discussion. I guess some of us Australians get a little upset when someone puts down an Australian made product in a national magazine when all the evidence so far shows that it holds its own with any imported rival. And it is better designed than most of those imports. I hope Ford attended to your problem promptly and properly. Thank your lucky stars you don't have a Kluger with a problem and have to deal with Toyota.