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We own two Ford Territory's. The first is an 05 TS and we have owned it for 13 years and had always had it serviced at Ford (not every year but always at Ford). This car had the ball joints done in the Ford recall. The car has just failed a wof due to the ball joints yet again. The car has only travelled 120,000km's and I feel this is unacceptable. I approached Ford but they are refusing to come to the party. We also have an issue with another known problem with the Ford Territory and that is with the heater. A very small plastic part that toggles hot and cold air breaks leaving you with cold air only. However the part is a major to get to and involves removing the whole dashboard and therefore Ford won't do it for less than $2000. So when we bought out second Territory and had the AA Inspection done on it, we asked them to check the heater which proved to be the case again with another heater only blowing cold air on the passenger side. A deal was negotiated with the dealer where we went halves in the cost of repair and we paid an extra $1000 on the purchase price to have the heater fixed. So we are left with one Territory still with no heater and no wof and an ongoing ball joint issue that Ford won't take responsibility for. We have proven our loyalty as a customer but are not at all happy with Ford's response. Any suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated, with thanks.

Hi there,
If you intend to use the CGA (consumer guarantees act) as a basis for claim, it may well only be resolved in a dispute tribunal hearing. In cases where there is no recent purchase involved, the question asked is one of "is it reasonable for a vehicle of 13 years old and a mileage of 120,000km, considering the price paid, to have the problem it has?" The answer to this will determine whether there would be a need to take it to a tribunal.
More information can be found here: https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/consumer-law-and-your-rights/consumer-guarantees-act/consumer-guarantees-for-products/