Auto Parts: Radiator Expected Life, routine oil changes, oe replacement

Question
Dear Mike,

I have a 2001 Ford F150 pickup and in April of 2008 with approximately 94K miles on the truck I had a new radiator installed at a local Ford dealership. As a part of that service they also flushed the system, replaced the hoses and the thermostat. Yesterday, 3/5/2010 the pickup started to overheat and lost power. I had the truck towed to the same dealership and have been told I now need another new radiator, flushing and thermostat. The truck currently has 121K miles and since the radiator was first replaced I have had a 100K mile service, a coil replaced and routine oil changes all by the same dealership. To my knowledge nothing has been done to the radiator. Given the original radiator lasted 7 years and 94K miles it seem unreasonable to me that after only 2 yrs. and 27K miles that the radiator would need replaced. The dealers explanation is "that sometimes happens". Naturally, the warranty for the radiator has expired as it was 1 yr. / 12K miles. Am I being unreasonable believing this is much too soon for the radiator to need replaced? And if not, given the expiration of the warranty could I expect the dealership to cut me some kind of break on the cost of the replacement? I do expect to ask the dealership to see the radiator.

Thanks,
Mike
Corona, CA

Answer
    That sucks.  Ford OE replacement parts are generally warranted for life.  Certainly more than 1 year/12,000 miles.  If they sold you an aftermarket radiator, which is what I'm guessing they did, then that might be an accurate warranty period.  However, most radiator brands that I deal with offer at least 2 years, and some of them offer as much as 5 years.  I hope you still have the receipt for the original repair.  If the radiator is listed by a Ford part number, then you need to raise hell with them, and with Ford if the dealer won't do anything for you.  If the part number listed is not a Ford part number, then you need to make them tell you what brand it is, and contact the manufacturer for satisfaction.  The radiator trade is big business, and they will be as motivated as Ford is to make you happy with their product.  Remember: the dealership is a privately owned auto repair business and will try to screw you over to whatever extent they can get away with.  Service managers don't get any commission for warranty repairs and aren't very motivated to make them happen.  The owner of the place is, though; he needs to keep Ford happy so they'll continue to supply him with product.