After declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving Magna who actually built the Ocean without Fisker EVs to build, and allegedly cannibalizing pre-production cars for spare parts, Fisker now wants to stick owners with the labor bills for recall work, and that just isn’t fair. Worse still, it might be illegal, which would only add to the automaker’s growing troubles, all while infuriating owners who have every right to be furious.
Specifically, the recalls in question are one for water pump failure that can effectively kill all forward motion of the vehicle, and another for door handle failure. Neither of these problems seem ideal, and one seems like it could be genuinely life-threatening should it happen on a busy freeway.
Recalls fixed with software updates will remain free, but the bankrupt automaker claims it’s so broke that any recalls requiring physical fixes may have to be partially covered by owners. I shit you not, here’s what Fisker’s website says (with added highlight/bold emphasis by The Autopian):
Regarding the recalls that require physical inspections and potential repairs, Fisker will provide the necessary parts at no cost to you. However, due to Fisker’s current financial situation under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Fisker is only able to cover the cost of the parts required to address these issues.
Please note that the labor costs associated with the inspection and repair process will need to be covered by you, the vehicle owner. We understand that this may be an additional burden, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Our priority remains your safety and the continued reliability of your vehicle, and we are working diligently to make the process as smooth as possible despite the current challenges.
I’m sorry, what? In the grand scheme of car ownership, it’s not a historical norm for owners to pay for any part of safety recall work. Far from it. In fact, sticking owners with the labor bill for recall work might actually be flat-out illegal considering the vehicles in question are newer than 15 years old.
Here’s what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has to say about your consumer rights as the owner of a recalled car:
Once a safety-defect determination is made, the law gives the manufacturer three options for correcting the defect: repair, replacement, or refund. In the case of a vehicle recall, the manufacturer may choose to repair the vehicle at no charge; replace the vehicle with an identical or similar vehicle; or refund the purchase price in full, minus a reasonable allowance for depreciation.
Well, let’s see here, Fisker won’t be replacing vehicles with identical or similar models because production has wrapped, it likely won’t be refunding purchase prices minus depreciation if it really is that broke, so logistically, it had better fully repair vehicles at no charge to owners, right? The behavior we’re seeing seems unacceptable and disrespectful to anyone who owns a Fisker Ocean.
As it stands, we’ll just have to wait and see how NHTSA reacts to Fisker’s bold move. It could take time for this to be sorted out and for owners to be restituted, which still leaves owners in a financial pickle, not to mention anger, sadness, betrayal, and all manner of negative emotions. Please understand that no owner of a late-model vehicle should be forced to pay for recall repairs, but at the same time, nobody should be left driving an unsafe car that ought to be fixed for free. Regardless of whether owners pay for labor or don’t book their Ocean crossovers in for recall work, either is a valid decision depending on each owner’s situation.
(Photo credits: Fisker)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Carmax Allegedly Offering $13,500 For Fisker Oceans, Here’s Why Owners Are Saying To Take The Money
-
Bankrupt Fisker Just Had To Recall All Its Cars And It’s Not To Fix Software
-
Why This Company Bought The Last Fisker Oceans For About $14,000 Each
-
Fisker Bankruptcy Shows It Owes Millions To Adobe, Google, And NBC Universal
-
The People Who Actually Build Fiskers Don’t Expect To Make Them Anymore
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
Can’t say I’m surprised. If I was buying one of these, I would assume that there wouldn’t be any real warranty and I’d have to pay to get stuff fixed myself.
Sure it might technically be illegal. So the government can give them a fine which they also won’t be able to pay for. It would be pointless.
Now don’t you be givin the government any ideas!
Man I feel bad for the 4 people who got suckered into buying one of these..
Someone please prompt a Henrik Fisker recall. He should be reprogrammed and repurposed as a pig farmer in Allerød.
Funny, the configurator on their website is still live but when you go to “search inventory”, it goes blank.
I really wanted a pear. What a bummer
I beleive the appropriate phrase to use here is like getting blood from a stone. The buyer should always beware. Given Fiskers history I’m astounded they sold any of their product to anyone other than gamblers, wealthy collectors, or the fabulously naive and gullible.
“Yeah he keeps striking out, but that just means he’s due!”
In techbro, real estate investor, financier speak, a highly successful entrepreneur whose ventures everyone should invest in.
Paying for recall work? Don’t give Musk any ideas…
I’m still confused about who bought these
One word: Clawbacks
Henrik and Geeta should be forced to foot the bill. Seriously.
Due to a combination of inaccessible colors and poor short term memory, I can let you know that I did in fact try to upvote this twice.
How about we make conman Henrik Fisker financially responsible for any issues that arise with his orphan vehicles and see if he tries this shit again?
I dunno know about y’all, but I can’t wait for this scumbag to start his next car company.
Surely the third time will really be the charm
IIRC this was his third, the first was a modification and custom shop, that went broke, the second was the Karma hybrid, also bankrupt and now this bankruptcy.
It was his 4th – 1) Fisker Coachbuild, 2) Fisker Automotive, 3) VLF (Villareal-Lutz-Fisker) Automotive, 4) Fisker Inc
Wait, why is he a scumbag? I mean, I kinda admire someone trying to start their own car company.
That really, truly, deeply, grossly glosses over how Henrik has “started his own car company.” I know remember you seemed to like it, but the Ocean was bad, unsafe, scam-levels of equipment vaguely called a “car.” It was never good. It was pre-alpha, never a saleable item. It wasn’t a swing for the fences worthy of praise and admiration: it was a rummage around in investors’ pockets to end up with a mansion.
It’s like saying you admire someone starting their own business, but then ignoring the fact that their business was to make sure other rubes got stuck holding the bag when the shit hit the fan. Maybe there was briefly a product, but that’s immaterial, really.
Wait, it’s not like that. It is that.
Honestly, the Ocean I drove was legit a decent car, and FAR from the worst EV I’ve ever driven. I got a late production model, though, but I dug it!
I get that leaving owners with cars that had significant software issues isn’t cool, though Fisker wasn’t the only company selling cars before they were ready for production.
Of course, I get the frustration; I haven’t ready anything that indicates bad intentions and thus that the term “scumbag” is appropriate, but I’m not exactly following the company that closely, so maybe I’m wrong.
My issue with him is that each time his companies go under, he walks away a multi millionaire. If you’re making millions while your company implodes and then even trying to stick the owners with the repair bills, it’s not exactly indicative of the highest moral caliber. I don’t know enough about him to apply scumbag necessarily, but I would certainly have a really hard time ever trusting him enough to buy a car from anything he’s involved in.
Honestly, that’s more than a little overly-harsh. They rushed it out the door with incomplete/partially-baked software. Probably because they were running out of cash. As-sold it’s a piece of junk that shouldn’t have been allowed on the market, but it was probably a few months of dev work away from being a pretty decent car.
But I think it’s reasonable to argue that selling a car in that state, especially with a good chance of no warranty support and no full software fixes were going to be possible afterwards, makes him a scumbag.
As a CEO, reports have shown that he’s been incredibly hands off and let his wife run most of the company. It seems that he comes up with the design, the vision, and then lets other folks take the fall when it comes to the company going tits up. It’s not the sign of a competent CEO nor a decent human being.
My employees can’t eat and buyers are stuck with paperweights? Oh well!
Given the used prices on Fisker Oceans recently, I bet some of these owners may be entitled to some serious financial compensation. Maybe even $500 if they ask really nicely!
I saw a Fisker Ocean in the flesh for the first time yesterday. Actually kind of low-key looking thing. Would have liked to have chatted w/the owner.
I do have that liberty, one of my clients has one. He seems to love it. He was behind me once leaving the office and we both turned onto the double lane street and he ripped it past me once out there, it was quite fast.
Was it parked outside a suicide booth?
Tough crowd
In the case of a vehicle recall, the manufacturer may choose to repair the vehicle at no charge; replace the vehicle with an identical or similar vehicle; or refund the purchase price in full, minus a reasonable allowance for depreciation.
Hmmm, maybe Fisker can claim these vehicles have depreciated 100%, so a full refund will cost nothing. Genius, I say!
Your purchase of the Fisker Ocean is a sunk cost. If you make enough waves, you may be able to get them to float the cost of repairs. I have a feeling many of these owners are already under water due to the rapid depreciation. The least Fisker can do is make their vehicles ship shape.
At the risk of sounding like a wet blanket, the company is dead in the water; without a bailout, the parts are the most they can do, even if it is just a drop in the bucket.
So The Ocean Breaths Salty after all then
The ocean breathes salty, won’t you carry it in
Please pay for this recall with your dough
And maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll both get towed,
Well I don’t know I don’t know but I hope so
Well flats are flats and Fisk and is Fisk
Tell me what you bought and I’ll tell you what you missed
When the Ocean could, go drive
You p***ed?
You p***ed?
(Best comment thread of the day…..)