I also have a new Ford Fiesta, Chassis no. WFOJXXGAJJ8Y74307 in black. Regrettably I too am experiencing the same problem with the paintwork on both the near and off-side wheel arches.
I have a history in the motor industry and worked for nearly 7 years at a senior level in the customer care teams for both Mercedes Benz UK and Volkswagen UK before deciding to start my own business in France, where I now live.
I purchased this car in November 2008 and within 2 weeks had suffered a water ingress problem, which left the carpets sodden. It took 2 weeks for the dealer to identify the cause and repair the problem. Shortly after the car was returned, during a routine clean, I noticed this problem of missing paint on both wheel arches. Having been trained in dealing with paint issues at both Mercedes and Volkswagen, I quickly identified that these were stone chips. This is not normally covered under the terms and conditions of the warranty as it is considered to be caused by external influences and not as a result of a defect.
However, the rest of the paint work is excellent, with no other stone chips and therefore I was concerned as to why the stone chips are confined solely to this area of the car. In general if there is a manufacturing defect in the paint, it is either too soft or not thick enough, both of which a paint expect can test for. However, I believe that the design of the vehicle is such that stones leaving the front tyres are thown up in such a trajectory that they strike this area of the car, which is almost at 90 degree angle to the rest of the body work and cause this damage. therefore I believe that this is a design flaw and the vehicle is almost in a sense self harming itself. I find it unacceptable that a car should be designed in such a way that it inflicts damage on itself.
Just before Christmas 2008, I took my fiesta into my dealer, MALBET AUTOS, in AGEN, FRANCE to complain about the problem, only to be met by blank faces and advised that this had not been seen before. When I insisted that I was not happy one of the service team advised me that there was a regional technical manager that visited from time to time and they would get this technical manager to look at my car when he was next there.
By February, I still had not heard back from Malbet Autos, so I decided to pay them another visit to raise the problem again. This time I put it to the Service Operative that the paint damage were stone chips as a result of a design fault. Again this was denied and they told me that they had not seen any other vehicle with the same problem. However, upon leaving I spotted another Ford Fiesta on the forecourt, also with the exact same stone chips. For my records, I have taken photos of this vehicle along with its chassis number.
This vehicle has now become more popular and I have started to notice more and more about. This is fortunate for me, because as of May 2009, I have started to spot more and more fiesta's with the same problem. I have now started to take photos to keep as evidence of the problem occurring on a mass scale.
I returned to Malbet Autos, Agen, France again last week, armed with the photos I have taken, desperate to get some sense and a solution to the problem. Initially, I was met by the same response and that this was not a fault. However a gentleman from another Department at Malbet confirmed that he had seen this before and was sure that if I took the car to their approved body shop that it would be repaired under warranty. At last, somebody with sense!
I then, as requested took my car to MAC SUD CARROSSERIE, also in AGEN, FRANCE. When I arrived there was a green Fiesta in the car park, which on inspection had the same problem, therefore I promptly took some photos. I then spoke to incredibly helpful guy and explained my problem and showed him my car. He confirmed that he had seen this problem and had already re-painted a red Fiesta sent to him via Malbet Autos. I then mentioned that the Green model had the same problem, which when he looked at confirmed and admitted that it was actually in for something else and they had not noticed before I pointed it out.
He then phoned Malbet Autos, explained the problem to them before booking the car in to have the wheel arches re-painted, under warranty on the 1 July 2009. I was pleased that this would be resolved, however immediately asked him that if nothing else was done, this would happen again. The gentleman at Mac Sud Carrosserie, admitted that in his opinion it was a design flaw and that it would occur again. He then advised me Ford produce the Galaxy and S-max with a special protective covering that fits over the rear wheel arches and that he would try to get hold of some and modify them to fit my Fiesta and therefore protect the paint. This I thought is a good idea, however, I am not happy to have this fitted unless it is a modification that has been designed and approved by Ford Head Office solely for the use on the Fiesta.
Upon returning home that evening, I decided to see if I could find any further information or people experiencing this problem on the internet. This is how I found this site and the 2 matching problems above. I am now in a position, where I will have to use my experience of how this industry works, my contacts in the industry, the internet and any other unhappy FORD FIESTA owners to get FORD MOTOR COMPANY to listen, accept there is a problem and come up with a viable and long term solution. I therefore urge anybody who owns a Fiesta and has the same problem to add to this complaints board and shore with me your details so that on mass we can make the FORD MOTOR COMPANY listen to our concerns and problems. I can be contacted on pedro@leclozet.com and speak fluent English, French and Portuguese as well as having some Italian and to a lesser extent German.
I currently have no other option than to advise FORD MALBUT in AGEN that I am not happy for them to solely re-paint my wheel arches and that I will not accept the car back until the FORD MOTOR COMANY of EUROPE has approached me with a viable solution that I am happy with.
Let this and the above 2 complaints be a warning to anybody considering purchasing a new Ford Fiesta!
To add to the 2 first complaints I have also attached photos of my car showing what I believe to be a manufacturing defect where the design of the car is such that it inflicts damage to its bodywork and FORD have not allowed for any additional protection as they do in the GALAXY or S-MAX or indeed as do many other manufacturers. Please remember that if the paint protection is removed from the body of the car, it may be more susceptible to problems arising from environmental pollution or weather. |
Date
283 days ago by 
230 days ago by 
