Cape Town - The misery continues, say Ford Kuga owners, as dealerships have failed to provide courtesy vehicles to several of them on time.
After recalling more than 4500 Kuga Ecoboost 1.6-litre models earlier in January, owners have expressed their frustration at having to wait up to seven days to receive courtesy cars.
In the interim, they've had to spend money, for which they haven’t budgeted, on making alternative arrangements to get to work.
Belhar resident Natasha Filander’s car was recalled two weeks ago and, when her husband took it to the Goodwood Ford dealership, they were told that it would take 48 hours to get a courtesy car, but it never came.
Filander said her husband had spent R400 a day for four days using an e-hailing service to get to and from work.
Filander spent R77 a day to take her two children to crèche.
The family has since got their Kuga back and Filander said she plans to request that the dealership reimburse her.
Venting anger
Many people took to the Ford SA Facebook page to vent their anger over the apparent delays.
On a post by the manufacturer requesting people to contact the customer service, Dewald Barnard wrote:
“Into my fifth day of waiting for my courtesy car and still nothing. The cherry on the top is the pre-owned dealer at my local Ford branch tells me that Ford is not accepting any Kugas for trade-in.”
Ford SA spokesperson Alisea Chetty said: “Our first priority continues to be our customers, and we are fully committed to ensuring that the safety recall process we announced on 16 January works for our customers.
“We would appreciate your support in referring any customers who have concerns relating to their Kuga 1.6-litre, to contact Ford Customer Service directly at 0860 011 022 or e-mail [email protected]”.