[ffcars]

With Fisker refusing to communicate with their dealers and no one answering the phone, they may have left owners no choice. I think the dealers have some responsibility too. My dealer is telling me that any service is coming out of my pocket. The last I checked, they are still a franchised dealer, sold me the car, and have been telling me all along not to worry(until now).

I've left a message for the largest consumer protection lawyer in Atlanta. I'll let you know what he has to say.

Bill

 

[smoothoperator]

With Fisker refusing to communicate with their dealers and no one answering the phone, they may have left owners no choice. I think the dealers have some responsibility too. My dealer is telling me that any service is coming out of my pocket. The last I checked, they are still a franchised dealer, sold me the car, and have been telling me all along not to worry(until now).

I've left a message for the largest consumer protection lawyer in Atlanta. I'll let you know what he has to say.

Bill

Please just sell your car and move on. We don't need anymore lawsuits; many of us are trying to work with dealers to try to figure out a solution. Will you still take 55k for your car?

 

[ffcars]

Please just sell your car and move on. We don't need anymore lawsuits many of us are trying to work with dealers to try to figure out a solution.

I would love to sell it. But who will buy it for anything remotely close to a decent price with no warranty and no company to supply parts?

I called Fisker of Atlanta this week and talked with the sales manager. Greg's a nice guy and would love to help, but what can he do? I told him I want out of the car and his suggestion was to find an unsuspecting dealer to trade the car. Well, the BMW and Audi dealer told me they weren't interested in the trade in, no matter the price. One Audi dealer was interested in $70k in Friday, but now won't touch it.

The car is dropping each day. If I can't get better news from Fisker or able to find a user at $70-$75k by next week, I may try another avenue.

I don't want to sue, but what choice will I have? And please don't say take a bigger loss. That's something I'm unwilling to do.

I wish we could just take our chances, but that's not an option. My wife needs a reliable car to haul our kids to school, etc. we have no room for another car, so the Fisker has to go since it could be a paperweight at any time because of the lack parts support.

Bill

 

[ffcars]

Will you still take 55k for your car?

You have me confused for another person. I would never take even close to $55k.

Bill

 

[Karma 2012]

Bill,

Yes, please let me know what the lawyer recommend. I would be interested to see if the owners have any right at all. I believe this is all new to owners and dealers. I have had good experience with Atlanta dealer. It would be interesting to see how they handle the customers in this situation.

 

[smoothoperator]

My advice is to wait it out for a bit. I think a lawsuit at this point is premature. I am sure dealers will get some news soon. I just don't think filing a lawsuit at this point is a good idea. Lets wait 4 weeks or so and see what happens.

 

[ffcars]

Bill,

Yes, please let me know what the lawyer recommend. I would be interested to see if the owners have any right at all. I believe this is all new to owners and dealers. I have had good experience with Atlanta dealer. It would be interesting to see how they handle the customers in this situation.

Will do.

I'm also trying to contact a friend at the FTC to discuss the magnuson-moss warranty act. He's out until Monday.

Atlanta Fisker has been great to date. But Monday Greg confirmed that any service needed would be out of pocket.

I have asked Jamin two-three weeks ago to take our car on trade, but he dropped the ball and never called back. At the time he was talking in the $70k range. This week Greg said any dealer I find to take a trade will probably be offering $65k. But i haven't found a dealer willing to even talk about a trade this week. This is a big change. On Friday I had a dealer willing to talk, now they are not interested for all the obvious reasons.

Bill

 

[ffcars]

My advice is to wait it out for a bit. I think a lawsuit at this point is premature. I am sure dealers will get some news soon. I just don't think filing a lawsuit at this point is a good idea. Lets wait 4 weeks or so and see what happens.

I wish I could wait, but I'm being pressured to replace the car "without a warranty and parts support". Mothers have an odd way of insisting their children have a way to get to and from school without worrying if the vehicle will be able to complete the task.

So without Fisker of Atlanta standing behind the car they sold us, we're out. Before they were great and I would not have worried about getting a loaner if something went south. But now they won't stand behind the car they sold so if something goes out, we will have no way of repairing it and also have to find alternative transportation.

I think I'm not alone. I bet many lawsuits will be filed very soon. Consumers paid for a car with a warranty, now they aren't getting what they paid for. It's called "breach of contract" at the least.

Bill

 

[Lormax]

I totally understand your concern, and your wife's concern. Try to give it until the end of the month. Lots of rumors of meetings, what they are talking about, etc, are going on right now. We may be hearing something very soon, especially regarding dealers and the parts.

Of course, if you just can't wait, I totally understand that as well. If the car is running though, there isn't much to lose. We all know a lawsuit won't fix the problem overnight either.

 

[rustyd1212]

I totally understand your concern, and your wife's concern. Try to give it until the end of the month. Lots of rumors of meetings, what they are talking about, etc, are going on right now. We may be hearing something very soon, especially regarding dealers and the parts.

Of course, if you just can't wait, I totally understand that as well. If the car is running though, there isn't much to lose. We all know a lawsuit won't fix the problem overnight either.

FWIW....the service info site is back up and running. Whether anyone is there? Who knows.

Also, the Dealers don't warranty the car. manufacturers do.
Just like when you by a flat screen TV and the warranty card says not to take it back where you bought it.
If the dealer was the one that warranted the car, you could not go to another dealer and get warranty repairs.

 

[8AVGMPG]

not that this really matters but anybody that was not laid off last week is on furlough this week & waiting for the call to come back in. *except for top execs but its not like they'll be answering the phone calls anyways.

 

[pythagoras]

ffCars this is hard on all of us but I really don't envy the pressure your wife puts on you to live in a risk free world. That doesn't exist. Wish I could buy a time machine for you to send her back and be a frontier woman fighting indians on the plain. Maybe she would learn some perspective.

 

[ffcars]

Also, the Dealers don't warranty the car. manufacturers do.
Just like when you by a flat screen TV and the warranty card says not to take it back where you bought it.
If the dealer was the one that warranted the car, you could not go to another dealer and get warranty repairs.

Many states, like NC, DE, MD, MA etc require a dealer, distributor, and manufacturer to have a bond. This bond may be the only recourse some owners have. But you would need to act quickly because if the bond goes over the covered amount you would not get any help.

If I lived in a state to required manufacturer/distributor bonds I would be calling the DMV to file a formal complaint ASAP. Refusing warranty support is a cause for filing a complaint in some of these states.

At the very least, most states have a motor vehicle board that might consider cancelling any licenses associtated with fisker if they aren't honoring warranty claims or offering parts support.

I think the DOT requires manufacturers to supply parts for 10 years after the production date. Any manufacturer who doesn't comply may be no long be in compliance with DOT laws. I'm not sure how it affects cars sitting on dealer floors, but I could ask my DOT lawyer if anyone wants to know.

The EPA is just as important. Without parts, they are not able to comply with EPA warranty rules in regards to emissions equipment. This might be a violation. I'm not sure, but this might make selling new cars a problem for dealers if the EPA chooses to look into this.

In the past, the EPA and DOT(NHTSA), has on occation gone beyond fining the company for violations. They have been known to go after managers, owners, CEOs for fines. I suppose if someone can be held accountable, bankruptcy may not be enough protection. Again, I'm not sure about this, but it would be great if the people who failed to honor their contact with us (warranty), have to hurt like the investors and owners of these cars.

There are so many issues here. For fisker and its top management to just stop all support and contact is not just bad business; it may be illegal under several federal and state laws.

Bill

 

[ffcars]

ffCars this is hard on all of us but I really don't envy the pressure your wife puts on you to live in a risk free world. That doesn't exist. Wish I could buy a time machine for you to send her back and be a frontier woman fighting indians on the plain. Maybe she would learn some perspective.

We're in a high risk business and have no trouble sleeping at night. A car is not something that a person should consider a "risk" when we were sold a car with a a warranty and told many things that lead us to believe that we weren't risking anything more than normal depreciation.

Are you married? Do you have kids? If so, I would think you might understand that this isn't about risk.

So you don't feel like having fisker honor their obligation? fine. But I'm just stating the obvious.... Someone's going to be filing a lawsuit, I am just wondering who will be first and when it will happen.

Bill

Bill

 

[Eric Karma]

We're in a high risk business and have no trouble sleeping at night. A car is not something that a person should consider a "risk" when we were sold a car with a a warranty and told many things that lead us to believe that we weren't risking anything more than normal depreciation.

Are you married? Do you have kids? If so, I would think you might understand that this isn't about risk.

So you don't feel like having fisker honor their obligation? fine. But I'm just stating the obvious.... Someone's going to be filing a lawsuit, I am just wondering who will be first and when it will happen.

Bill

Bill

Bill, take life one day at a time and don't worry about "what if's." Your car runs fine, right? The warranty service may return, and you would have worried for nothing, or sold your car a a huge loss for nothing. If your car stops working, then you can seek legal help. Taking action now will only hinder any hope for resolution; similar to Brian (the video critic) spreading bad press about the Karma publically since day 1, while complaining that Fisker is no longer financially capable of updating his car's software.

P.S. Buying a car from a startup car company that has yet to make a profit is an obvious risk, is it not? I am married with a 5 and 4 year old.

 

[Lormax]

FWIW....the service info site is back up and running. Whether anyone is there? Who knows.

The service site, the one that service managers and writers used, I believe is still up. We did try to pull up info on a car that serviced at another dealer that ended up with us at OC, but couldn't find any info. It's as if the servers the program was supposed to talk to weren't there. We were only able to bring up service work that our dealer did.

The techinfo site that the technicians used is still unaccessible. No wiring diagrams, no Diagnostic Trouble Code support, no Bulletin info, no Labor Times, no Parts Catalog.

 

[txam99]

FA should take that remaining $30,000,000 cash they have on hand & return it to the owners to make us whole.....i know, i know, they owe lots of people, suppliers, the gov't, dealers, & many more, but i agree with ffcars, we were sold a car with a long warranty that my dealer (a ferrari dealer to boot) made me feel very comfortable with, assured me they would be there for me, & they are no longer even a dealer.....as much as i love my car, i would have never bought one without that assurance.

 

[ffcars]

Bill, take life one day at a time and don't worry about "what if's." Your car runs fine, right? The warranty service may return, and you would have worried for nothing, or sold your car a a huge loss for nothing. If your car stops working, then you can seek legal help. Taking action now will only hinder any hope for resolution; similar to Brian (the video critic) spreading bad press about the Karma publically since day 1, while complaining that Fisker is no longer financially capable of updating his car's software.

The car runs fine. It has black screens on occasion and is due a service which I'm told won't be covered.

I don't want to hinder any resolution. I don't feel it's fair to call out Brian, but I do think he didn't help. Or maybe he did. Who knows. I know for certain that having a battery die on consumer reports testing hurt more than his videos.

Anyway, I am of the opinion that Fisker is not seeking a resolution that will satisfy owners and dealers or they wouldn't have gone dark.

If someone can prove to me that fisker has not left us holding the bill, go for it. It seems like no one has been able to talk to anyone at fisker because apparently no ones left. According to the tweets, the person in charge seems to be more worried about the NCAA basketball games.

Bill

 

[ffcars]

, but i agree with ffcars, we were sold a car with a long warranty that my dealer (a ferrari dealer to boot) made me feel very comfortable with, assured me they would be there for me, & they are no longer even a dealer.....as much as i love my car, i would have never bought one without that assurance.

EXACTLY.

Our dealer is also a cadillac, Subaru dealer. He also has interest in the local Lamborghini, Aston Martin, lotus dealership. So I felt comfortable buying a car they represented.

Had the fisker been sold by "Joe's Used Cars & Fisker's," I would have not bought.

Bill

 

[pythagoras]

I agree ffcars that the executive management and board members should have their feet held to the fire, and if necessary pay personally for shutting down the company in such a sloppy way without any warranty or service reserve for owners. However, in the slim hope they're still working towards some sort of resurrection deal I agree with Eric Karma that's counterproductive to be in a hurry to start this particular fight now. They are fighting battles on too many fronts already.