Diminished Value
 

Guys,

I am getting ready for my BBB Autoline arbitration hearing, and I wondered how I can prove diminished value??

I have had an oil leak on my truck, which has continued after 5 trips to the dealer. They cannot seem to pinpoint the source, it is the top of the motor, the back of the motor, the front of the motor, etc....

So I filed the BBB paperwork, and Ford offered to "give" me a new truck, with mileage charges. I drive my truck a lot, so the charges would have been astronomical based on a service life of 100,000 miles. I mean there own ads show a service life of 250,000 miles. So I said no, I will take arbitration, and ask for a new truck since in Fords own paperwork , and the BBB rules for Louisiana, no mileage is charged for replacement trucks.

I have my RO's which indicate leaks and repair attempts, a total of 5. I have pictures after each visit starting on the 2nd visit to match to the RO's. The final piece of the pie for lemon law and BBB is showing that there is diminished value.

The truck still leaks a spot the size of a dollar bill every night. So I figure that if I disclose a mechanical issue when trying to sell the truck no one in there right mind would purchase, but how do I prove that in the arbitration format.

Any help or comments would be appreciated.

By the way I have a 2005 F250 CC XLT with the 6.0 and Torqueshift tranny.

Proving diminished value would require evidence - from Kelly Blue Book or someone, showing how a 'salvage title' or 'lemon law truck' is worth XXXX less than one without such a condition. I'd look at Edmunds or KBB online and see if you can run comparison price quotes with and without a 'lemon law' or 'salvage' title. Does the NADA blue book make this distinction?

The Federal tax rate for mileage is 48 cents/mile - are they charging far more than that for the mileage you've put on your current leaky truck?

Steve

The first thing that comes to mind is if someone does a Carfax or Oasis report and sees that it was in many times for oil leaks. That would diminish the value..

I realize that that an OASIS would indicate all of the issues, but typically, if I tried to sell this on my own, the buyer most likely would not have access to an OASIS.

A carfax would not show warranty issues I don't think.

On Edmunds, and Kelly you can state the condition of the vehicle. Which would equate to lowered value. That is a good I idea. I could have one report that shows excellent conditions value, and the poor. Since the truck is not fixed, and who knows if they can fix it.

The Federal tax rate is for depreciation, insurance, maintenance, and fuel.

I am getting an average of 16 mpg, so fuel is .162 per mile. Maintenance is .035 per mile, insurance is .0305 per mile. This totals roughly, .23 per mile.

So if you take the .23 per mile off, that would leave you with .25 per mile.

Ford wanted approx .343 per mile.

As long as they have the VIN they could get an oasis. Just like users on this site. Granted not everyone knows about Oasis reports.

I am getting ready for my BBB Autoline arbitration hearing, and I wondered how I can prove diminished value??

I have had an oil leak on my truck, which has continued after 5 trips to the dealer. They cannot seem to pinpoint the source, it is the top of the motor, the back of the motor, the front of the motor, etc....

So I filed the BBB paperwork, and Ford offered to "give" me a new truck, with mileage charges. I drive my truck a lot, so the charges would have been astronomical based on a service life of 100,000 miles. I mean there own ads show a service life of 250,000 miles. So I said no, I will take arbitration, and ask for a new truck since in Fords own paperwork , and the BBB rules for Louisiana, no mileage is charged for replacement trucks.

I have my RO's which indicate leaks and repair attempts, a total of 5. I have pictures after each visit starting on the 2nd visit to match to the RO's. The final piece of the pie for lemon law and BBB is showing that there is diminished value.

The truck still leaks a spot the size of a dollar bill every night. So I figure that if I disclose a mechanical issue when trying to sell the truck no one in there right mind would purchase, but how do I prove that in the arbitration format.

Any help or comments would be appreciated.

How many miles on the truck now? And what was Ford going to charge you for mileage fees- per mile? Your biggest hurdle to overcome is that Ford offered to buy the truck back, less mileage, and you declined. After all, the real "diminished value" figure is the actual depreciation of the truck itself.

Be careful about mentioning what Ford advertises as a service life for the truck- I've never seen an ad that puts a mileage figure on it.

edit: I'm still not understanding what Ford offered. I've never seen them figure a fractional number- it's usually a set rounded number/mile deprectiation factor.

So let me get this straight. Ford wants to give you a new truck and you will have to pay for the mileage you have on your truck. About how much do they want you to pay?
As I see it you want your truck fixed with nothing out of pocket and minimal time spent taking your truck in for repairs. Thats reasonable. Ford won't fix the truck, I say won't because they could just drop in a new motor and it would be fixed. Obviously they don't want to put the time into ripping it apart to fix it.
So they say we'll get you a new truck and you pay us for the mileage on your old one!
They get your old truck to fix and resell so they prob won't lose much money..
Aren't they supposed to bite the bullet??? Because they won't fix it you get penalized, I wouldn't pay them a dime. I would charge them for all the time and aggravation you had to go through because they wouldn't do their job.

Or am I missing something.?


Dick

Sir you are not missing a thing.

That is why I refused there offer. The offer they made me was actually worse than just taking the truck in and trading it.

I met with engineer, and he wanted to replace an o ring at the front of the engine. It seems to be leaking at the front, the top, and the back. I said I have already presented the truck enough times for it to be a lemon. So I will pass until my hearing.

When I met with the engineer I was wearing my Snadusky Ford Plant/UAW jacket my grandfather gave me. I told them I just wanted a new truck. That I have been a FOrd guy my entire life, but they may not retain me as a customer for much longer.

I was willing to actually pay mileage, so I counteroffered them and they said no.

So I will be going to arbitration.

I have a copy of a press release which indicates teh service life is 250,000 miles with proper maintenance. I was going to post the web link, and it is no longer on the FOrd website... That I find incredible. If you send me your email I will send the pdf file to you.

The diminished value is the value that the truck has lost due to Ford being unable/unwilling to repair the oil leak.

I can't sell the truck to someone with the oil leak. If I didn't disclose the issues the truck has had when the person asked, would that not be dishonest/misleading at highly unethical?

Here is the link:


http://media.ford.com/newsroom/featu...?release=21403


In it they say, "The 6.0 Power Stroke diesel now has a service life of 250,000 miles, with proper maintenance.

"Customers buy the Power Stroke diesel knowing that it's there for the long haul," said Doug Scott, Ford Truck Group marketing manager. "At 100,000 miles, they expect that it's just getting broken in."

FYI...my CarFax for my recently purchased 2003 F250 SD SC SWB truck showed "Vehicle Serviced". Turns out that it was warranty work performed by a FORD dealer. I compared it to my Oasis report and the two match.

biz
:-tap

Thanks for correcting me.

That is an important thing to know. I can use that for the ability of other people to determine that the truck was service multiple times for the same thing.

You are the man!! :-X22