Putco/Ford Rear LED Taillight Assembly didn't work

[amschind]

So I bought this light bar to round out a purchase from the Ford shop to get the 20% discount.....was on the fence on it regardless, but said "why not?". It was a mistake for a few reasons:
1) Ford DOES NOT SORT accessories by your selected trim, even if the VIN is entered in their website, leading to....
2) I wrongly assumed #1, and when I finally went to install the part, found that the LED light bar's plug and play wiring harness is specific to the LED taillight connectors on the Lariat+ trims but won't work on the XL/XLT (I have any XLT), leading to.....
3) Putco offers zero support for this product beyond "Call Ford", leading to....
4) the whole thing is a $400 piece of trash for me.

I also bought a stainless steel B pillar cover from the Ford Accessories store which didn't fit my Supercrew, leading to about $600 donated to Ford for parts that were ultimately tossed. I think that the learning experience for me is that the Ford Accessories site DOES NOT do a good job of guaranteeing fitment even when they have a VIN, and that going through a third party e-tailer or the manufacturer is a better idea.

Anyway, learn from my mistakes.

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[fordtruckman2003]

Just resell the parts that don't fit

 

[amschind]

Is there a market for that kind of thing?

 

[HammaMan]

That's a straight shot to the balls. Take it up with your card issuer if ford won't do what needs done.

 

[Blue]

That's a straight shot to the balls. Take it up with your card issuer if ford won't do what needs done.

That will never happen, special order something from almost anywhere its yours and no returns, its not the dealers fault.

 

[GrandpaD]

Why not try to exchange it? In a search of Ford Accessories-

Halogen (XLT 300A, 301A, 302A) $439
https://accessories.ford.com/products/tailgate-light-bar-asy-halogen-led-1

LED (Lariat+ 500A, 501A, 502A, 600A, 601A, 700A) $439
https://accessories.ford.com/products/f-150-2021-2022-asy-halogen-led-tailgate-light-bar

I should add both say they are not compatible with trucks that have the 17T Tow Technology Package.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

Is there a market for that kind of thing?

Reselling stuff is how eBay came along.

Just saying if you bought something and you can't return it, someone out there would possibly want to buy it. At least then you can make some of the money back even if selling for a little loss.

 

[HammaMan]

That will never happen, special order something from almost anywhere its yours and no returns, its not the dealers fault.

He ordered something using his vin for compatibility, it's very much not on his shoulders.

 

[amschind]

I may try to summon up the courage to call Ford and ask. Getting them to track down and mail me the Raptor Torsen was like pulling teeth.....they were nice but I spent a good 30 minutes on multiple phone calls to get that part mailed.

If I'm going to whine about it on a forum, I probably owe them the favor of giving them a chance.

And yes, I get the comments about ebay, I have sold stuff but I'm not a pro seller. My last experience selling was really negative, and I've been scammed as a buyer before (though I did manage to track that fella down). I would send it to somebody on this forum for the cost of shipping before I sold something that expensive on ebay.....it's just not worth the hassle of dealing with a return.

 

[HammaMan]

I may try to summon up the courage to call Ford and ask. Getting them to track down and mail me the Raptor Torsen was like pulling teeth.....they were nice but I spent a good 30 minutes on multiple phone calls to get that part mailed.

If I'm going to whine about it on a forum, I probably owe them the favor of giving them a chance.

And yes, I get the comments about ebay, I have sold stuff but I'm not a pro seller. My last experience selling was really negative, and I've been scammed as a buyer before (though I did manage to track that fella down). I would send it to somebody on this forum for the cost of shipping before I sold something that expensive on ebay.....it's just not worth the hassle of dealing with a return.

their parts site is such a mess. Half of the time it will error out and it will never give you the actual part number, just the generic center number that's universal across all vehicles. It's pretty sad they're as big as they are and can't even manage to give you the exact part for your vin.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

If the website lets you buy an incompatible accessory when you put your VIN in, that's their fault. Call them and complain.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

Bought from Ford accessories website today and this is what it says... Contact Ford and not the dealer.

What do I do if I need to return a part?
Contact our Customer Resource Center by clicking "Chat Now" to speak with one of our reps or give us a call at 844-589-0060, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., ET. Please do NOT take the part back to the dealership as they will NOT be able to accept it.

 

[amschind]

I bought it direct from the accessories.ford.com website. There was never any dealer involved.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I bought it direct from the accessories.ford.com website. There was never any dealer involved.

That quote is directly from accessories.ford.com, I just ordered wheel liners this morning. Call them and sort out your return.

 

[amschind]

That quote is directly from accessories.ford.com, I just ordered wheel liners this morning. Call them and sort out your return.

Got it. I thought there was a misunderstanding where some folks thought I had purchased it through a dealer parts department. The parts folks have been GREAT, even for tracking down weird hybrid specific parts with new wholly made up names, and that's likely the route I'll go in the future unless I have a verified part number to use.

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