‘I Didn’t Buy a Car to Be a Ford Technician’ Ranger Owner Demands Refund for $85K ‘Nightmare Lemon’
A Ford Ranger Wildtrak owner is demanding a refund. He claims his $85,000 “laptop on wheels” truck has become a “nightmare lemon,” plagued by flaws.
Adelaide resident Kai Keller says his 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak, which he purchased new for about $85,000, has been nothing but trouble, and Ford has been of no help. He recently shared his tale of woe with DailyMail.com.
Keller says his Ford Ranger Wildtrak has traveled only 23,000 kilometers (a little over 14,000 miles). It has already required five warranty visits. Among the vehicle’s maladies requiring attention are a replacement tail shaft, a Diesel Particulate Filter issue, and four separate oil leaks. One of the oil leaks occurred just 100km after mechanics fixed a previous leak.
He has reached out to Ford to request reimbursement of the vehicle’s purchase price. He doesn’t even want them to reimburse him for the approximately $12,000 he spent on accessories
“I haven’t really gotten very far with them,” Keller told the Daily Mail, adding, “There’s no point in asking for a replacement Ranger because I have no faith a new one would do what they say it would.”
He bought the Ford Ranger Wildkat go off-road, but he doubts it would survive
He complained that Ford falsely advertised the Ranger WildKat as great for off-road driving. Now, he is afraid to drive it anywhere.
“‘Hey, we’re outback, we’re four-wheel driving, blah blah blah,’ and that’s very much why I bought the car. I bought it to go on dirt roads. Even driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs, I doubt the car would make it, even on a sealed road.”
Now, he says, if he wants to go off-road with the Ranger, he will need to bring a satellite phone, have a satellite connection, and a scanner to read fault codes.
“Then you start becoming a technician for the car if something goes wrong,” he said.”I didn’t buy a car to be a Ford technician. I just bought the car to drive it, but it’s had too many issues in the short time I’ve owned it. You’re pretty much just driving a laptop on wheels.”
Keller said he bought a new car so he wouldn’t have all these issues. (Perhaps he should have bought a used one?) “We love to get out and about, we love to get outdoors, and this was the car that was supposed to help us do that,” he said.
Now, even if Ford gave him a new Ranger Wildtrak to replace his current “nightmare lemon,” he would put it on Carsales the following day.
Keller’s problems with a Ford Ranger Raptor echo those of another Aussie named Matthew Patruno. He also recently demanded a refund after spending nearly $85,000 on his vehicle. His dispute ended up in court.
