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Originally Posted by Jeroen There isn’t much of the road to be seen in the pictures. See my earlier comments. Why should the driver get the benefit of doubt to the driver when there is such clear evidence, the shattered rim, that points to a very different cause? |
I give the benefit of the doubt to the customer because I've personally experienced how tough these alloys are, as I stated in my first response in this thread:
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Originally Posted by arunphilip This is the strange part. Those alloys are tough. Really tough. Courtesy of Bangalore roads, I've put them through a lot (e.g. coming off a flyover at ~70 km/h and hitting a large pothole), and they were absolutely fine. So I'm puzzled at what happened to cracked it, and at the same time, it also points to the forces involved. |
A slightly contrived example: if you went to a doctor complaining of a persistent cough, but the doctor saw you coughing due to a dusty sweater you wore just that day, would you accept his response of "
Oh, its due to the dust on your sweater, now move along"?
There is a tendency in Indian ASCs to do a lot of hand-waving and blame the customer, since its easier, cheaper and saves them work. I'm pretty sure the number of clutches and suspensions replaced under warranty would be minuscule, since these tend to often be blamed on driving practices (in reality its probably a mixed bag). And that's the reason I'm suspicious of the company first.
I'd just say Ford needs to release some evidence to support their stance which will then shift the burden of proof onto the customer. Until then, I'd side with the customer.
Having said that, I believe the OP does have to give us some more detail of what communication he/she initiated with Ford in the first place, since we've only seen the response. There are valid questions being asked about whether the OP's mail to Ford was itself titled tyre burst (which puts a different complexion on things, and ties in with your statements), or if they reported the axle failure (which is what was communicated to GTO).
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Originally Posted by Jeroen I do believe Ford’s answer could have been formulated in a much better way. |
Absolutely yes, Ford haven't helped themselves by saying they'll cover the non-insurance costs of the repair - is this a tacit admission of guilt, or just being nice and playing it safe due to social media? (On a side note, they're damned if they do, damned if they don't!)
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Originally Posted by autospeaker I am bit circumspect about the Ford's quality now. On top of it, Ford's cold response to the whole issue is not encouraging at all. Do I really need to worry about this incident? Do I need to rethink on my decision? |
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Originally Posted by Doge If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be worried as such. It is quite difficult to gauge what has actually happened and how from here. |
I think Doge summed it up perfectly in his broader response - don't worry. I'd also add, its unlikely you'll get significantly better responses from any another manufacturer. So pick any known devil, but be prepared to fight them if they try and hoodwink you!
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Originally Posted by GTO Why is the onus on the owner? It should be on FORD. |
Agreed. We also have to look at who stands to gain/lose, as exemplified by the lovely phrase '
Cui bono?'.
- A customer has little to gain by complaining about a manufacturer, since all they want is a working car that they paid for.
- The exception will be the case of a customer who has made a driving error, but is trying to pass the cost of that back to the manufacturer.
- A manufacturer has a lot to lose if it is proven that a failure has caused an accident.
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Originally Posted by black_rider The onus is definitely on the manufacturer, no doubts about that. He who has great power, also has great responsibility. |
Bear in mind that the bit about 'power/responsibility' also applies to us just as well - we should not be misled by selective presentation of facts from either party, which results in us supporting the wrong party.
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Originally Posted by Doge just that the OP could clear a few things out and provide a little more clarity so that discussions are relevant. A few more pictures wouldn't exactly be traumatising. |
Priceless, this made me laugh out loud!