Right to Repair Bill Proposed! LOVELY!

[Black Mamba]

This may be enough of a reason

Posted yesterday:

I bought a new SPF from Keith Craft last week, SPF chassis 2895. SPF sold the roller to dealer Jim Creel in January 2009, Jim sold the roller to Keith two or three months ago, and Keith put in a small block 427 and tranny. I love the car. The engine performance in particular is breathtaking. I bought the car new, with less than 80 miles, all of which Keith put on the car after engine installation, making sure everything was perfect. Keith is a real talent and has been a delight to work with. Did I mention? The engine is bad ass (Dyno'ed 580 horsepower, 590 torque).

The outside driver's side mirror was mounted by SPF improperly. From the driver's seat, it reflects the pavement, and even when I loosen the screw and move the mirror up as far as it will go, it still aims too low. Not a big deal, but I figured, after paying $55,000 for a new car, I should get a mirror that works. It needs to be remounted to be functional. And, while this is a small issue, I want the comfort of knowing that SPF will take care of defects in the roller that it built.

So, I called SPF Friday of last week, spoke with Michael, said I had a minor warranty problem, described the mirror issue, and asked what I needed to do to get it resolved. Michael said I had no warranty, that SPF extends a twelve month warranty, and that it begins to run from the date the car is delivered to the dealer (in this case, January 2009), not the date the car is sold to the customer. I told him that seemed wrong and asked: So if you sell a car to a dealer who has it in inventory for twelve months and then sells it to a buyer, are you saying the buyer has no warranty? He said, Yes.

The seems absolutely wrong to me. If Ford sells a car to a dealer, who then later sells it to a customer, the warranty runs from the date of the sale to the customer, not from the date of the Ford sale to the dealer. Michael's position also seems inconsistent with the SPF written warranty that I received with this car, which says: "This warranty begins on the date that the vehicle is delivered to buyer or put into service by the seller as a demonstrator."

Again, I like the car. And the mirror is small ball stuff. But this is a bad start to a new relationship. I did my due diligence. All indications are that SPF has a good reputation. But Michael's position on the warranty issue is wrong. I want to like these people, to trust them, and to have confidence that they will stand behind their product and work. This puts a bad taste in mouth at the start of what I hope will be a long relationship.

Has anyone else tussled with SPF on this issue? Is SPF right and I am just missing something? Should I just forget about my relationship with SPF, pay for any repairs/adjustments for defects in the roller, and move on?

[DanEC]

Is your SPF blue? I saw a blue one in Keith Crafts shop on the lift when I was there about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Your rigt they are nice people.

[SunDude]

From a consumer point of view, it's hard to see anything wrong with right-to-repair laws. Basically what they achieve is to give consumers more choice and therefore lower prices on auto repairs. How? By giving independent mechanics shops access to the motor vehicle data they need to properly diagnose and fix problems with today's modern cars.

From an automaker or dealer point of view, right-to-repair is a competitive threat to their income and profits as customers can easily go somewhere other than the dealer's service department for repair work. They also worry that some of the technical data from their vehicles could get into the hands of competitors, and claim that independent shops don't have the training or equipment to properly fix their cars even with the technical data.


Rare Iron, do you really think this signals a dramatic new incursion on your freedom? Does anyone think that the auto industry has been free from government intervention up until now?

[torre44]

I have convex mirror on drivers side , maybe that would help you.

Posted yesterday:

I bought a new SPF from Keith Craft last week, SPF chassis 2895. SPF sold the roller to dealer Jim Creel in January 2009, Jim sold the roller to Keith two or three months ago, and Keith put in a small block 427 and tranny. I love the car. The engine performance in particular is breathtaking. I bought the car new, with less than 80 miles, all of which Keith put on the car after engine installation, making sure everything was perfect. Keith is a real talent and has been a delight to work with. Did I mention? The engine is bad ass (Dyno'ed 580 horsepower, 590 torque).

The outside driver's side mirror was mounted by SPF improperly. From the driver's seat, it reflects the pavement, and even when I loosen the screw and move the mirror up as far as it will go, it still aims too low. Not a big deal, but I figured, after paying $55,000 for a new car, I should get a mirror that works. It needs to be remounted to be functional. And, while this is a small issue, I want the comfort of knowing that SPF will take care of defects in the roller that it built.

So, I called SPF Friday of last week, spoke with Michael, said I had a minor warranty problem, described the mirror issue, and asked what I needed to do to get it resolved. Michael said I had no warranty, that SPF extends a twelve month warranty, and that it begins to run from the date the car is delivered to the dealer (in this case, January 2009), not the date the car is sold to the customer. I told him that seemed wrong and asked: So if you sell a car to a dealer who has it in inventory for twelve months and then sells it to a buyer, are you saying the buyer has no warranty? He said, Yes.

The seems absolutely wrong to me. If Ford sells a car to a dealer, who then later sells it to a customer, the warranty runs from the date of the sale to the customer, not from the date of the Ford sale to the dealer. Michael's position also seems inconsistent with the SPF written warranty that I received with this car, which says: "This warranty begins on the date that the vehicle is delivered to buyer or put into service by the seller as a demonstrator."

Again, I like the car. And the mirror is small ball stuff. But this is a bad start to a new relationship. I did my due diligence. All indications are that SPF has a good reputation. But Michael's position on the warranty issue is wrong. I want to like these people, to trust them, and to have confidence that they will stand behind their product and work. This puts a bad taste in mouth at the start of what I hope will be a long relationship.

Has anyone else tussled with SPF on this issue? Is SPF right and I am just missing something? Should I just forget about my relationship with SPF, pay for any repairs/adjustments for defects in the roller, and move on?[/quote]