Ford Dealers are Terrible

[offroadkarter]

that’s what I know. Only bad thing is the only car I like from BMW is the m3. The next bad thing about that is it’s the only car I can afford to buy used. So doubt the warranty and service would be a thing... I’m going to take a look though. I know Acura is coming out with a performance vehicle next year but they don’t like to deal so I don’t know...

If you got a CPO M3 you'd still get a loaner during work. Hell, even during recalls. My 2001 330i went in for the Takata airbag recall earlier this year, I was given a brand new 330i loaner car and kept it for 2 days.

I will say from knowing two people that work/worked at a BMW dealer both in sales and in service, its not the flawless white glove treatment they depict behind the scenes. You still have the chance of incompetent techs working on your car (one of the techs who worked on my car at that dealer before I owned it put the vapor barriers back on with duct tape after a window regulator job).

But I've certainly been given the run around by Ford dealers, the dealer I bought from broke trim clips on my shift boot, put a ding in my dash trim, and left nuts out while doing the evaporator job. The dealer my father and I use out here in PA, he just took his 2016 F150 in for a 100,000 mile service yesterday which included a spark plug change and now the truck is misfiring. He also paid for a state inspection and they never put the new sticker in. Needless to say he's going back today to look for someones ass to kick.



Edit: I will say, on the note of loaners. I know anytime I've wanted a loaner from a Ford dealer that request had to be weeks in advance and if they had nothing to loan out, tough shit. Meanwhile the BMW dealer my friend works at, if they run out of loaners, they'll get you a rental car from Enterprise which you pick up and drop off at the dealership.

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[Soulja4187]

man this was funny as hell! Just hope your car doesn’t come back with high miles either. I am dealing with the EXACT same scenario right now! Exact same! What state are you in? how are they fixing the paint chip?

The body shop did an amazing job, I cant tell where it was but what I can 100% tell you that they didnt use touch up paint. I'm in south Florida.

 

[DarthMalice]

BBB auto line is a third party complaint line you can use when you think an auto company should be covering something they are not. Even though my a/c was under warranty the recurring nature of it and Ford’s approach gave me cause to file. BBB auto line agreed and pressed Ford on it. I got a statement from Ford that the repair was not only covered but it would be for 75k after warranty. Similar situation with my Armada. Brake issue covered after warranty even though there was no recall. It is easy to file...call them...get packet...mail it back.

 

[DRB]

Never having been in the car business I guess i don't understand what is the "theory of the case" among dealers that deliver poor service. The dealership where I bought my first Mustang in twenty-five years has since sold me two more because I was happy with their service department - and that was after having a less-than-entirely-salutory experience with their sales and finance department on my first purchase (nothing huge, but one of those "miscommunications" that leaves one with the suspicion that they were trying to play a shell game).

I'm hesitant to recommend businesses because I understand that people have different expectations and may have different experiences with different personnel - I won't say "this place is good" as quickly as I'll say "this is what this place did for me" - but I've sent a couple of other buyers their way over the last eight years as well.

And I believe the place does Roush, though I'm not sure how frequently.
.

 

[Jmtoast]

yeah how are guys finding these Roush dealers?

Do a dealer lookup on Roush's website. I have Roush car so I prefer a Roush dealer for warranty work on Roush added shit. My girl had a Ford SUV and she literally can not find a good dealer for service and she's just outside Detroit, lol. Lives in Ford country with dealers everywhere and not one is decent near her. She takes her's to a local mechanic for repairs out of warranty.

 

[OLdchuck]

I think the area helps or hurts with certain brands and service. I lived a good portion of my life in Florida and found that during the past 20 years when tons of population moved into the state that service went from OK to bad in numerous areas. In the large population areas they don't seen to care as they can rely on new customers and not in just service for vehicles but most businesses. But, I have found that less with the premium brands. For instance, when there is only one dealership within 100 miles you depend more on returning customers as most of those brands do not sell as many new vehicles. Do a search and see how many cars Porsche sells compared to Ford. Porsche got its' reputation on the 911 then the Boxster in the late 90's pulled the sales up to keep the company afloat. During this time, the company had to survive on returning customers and great service. Move ahead almost 20 years and now Porsche with VW's financial backing produces far more SUV's than the two seater traditional Porsches however still only a fraction of the cars' produced by Ford. Even with the SUV's Porsche is a minor player in the automotive game and must rely on dealer service to sell cars.
However, as I said before their dealers are few and far between and they charge an extremely high price for basic service which Porsche mandates to keep the warranty in effect. An oil change is $400 and a routine four year service is $1500-2,000. Yes, it includes plugs, brake flushing and numerous other items which Porsche requires and they must be Porsche approved parts.. So again, the service is fantastic but you have to pay to play.......

 

[Fuse]

After my recent bad experience with out of warranty work at my local dealer, it has me weary of buying another Ford vehicle. I love mustangs and I am very interested in the new bronco but the negative experience with the service department has steered me away. I wish I took a picture but the dealer had a print out on the wall saying they aren't responsible for any damages that occur while they work on the car. Who puts things like that and is that a thing? All the other dealerships near me are like 30min or more away. Lesson learned I guess.

 

[NeedForGreen]

After my recent bad experience with out of warranty work at my local dealer, it has me weary of buying another Ford vehicle. I love mustangs and I am very interested in the new bronco but the negative experience with the service department has steered me away. I wish I took a picture but the dealer had a print out on the wall saying they aren't responsible for any damages that occur while they work on the car. Who puts things like that and is that a thing? All the other dealerships near me are like 30min or more away. Lesson learned I guess.

Unfortunately its not just a Ford thing. I've purchased many, many cars from different dealers over the years and they all have had issues. Poor service, lack of communication, trying to scam, etc.
A well known popular Honda dealer was the worst. They tried to tell I needed certain things done on a used car I bought from them like change the engine air filter. They claimed it was dirty. I just changed it 2 days prior. It was brand new. They also caused damage. Another Honda dealer refused to fix things under warranty. IMO Honda dealers are worse than Ford. Its hard to find a reliable service department anywhere these days.

 

[racingandfishing]

After my recent bad experience with out of warranty work at my local dealer, it has me weary of buying another Ford vehicle. I love mustangs and I am very interested in the new bronco but the negative experience with the service department has steered me away. I wish I took a picture but the dealer had a print out on the wall saying they aren't responsible for any damages that occur while they work on the car. Who puts things like that and is that a thing? All the other dealerships near me are like 30min or more away. Lesson learned I guess.

This ^^^ Mustang fan all my life and my wife wants a new Bronco as well, but not sure I can stomach another Ford vehicle and their service departments that treat you like an adversary trying to screw them and not a customer. Thinking they are bonus-ed by Ford on refused warranty claims and how much they save them. Can't imagine how frustrating it would be to by a Shelby or a GT500 owner and be treated this way as it seems they don't care how much you spend and treat everyone equally as bad.

By comparison, the Chevy service dept. on the same property is outstanding and treats you like you bought a $100,000 'vette no matter what you drive.

As far as the Bronco itself, I am cautious on a first year run of a totally new model. I made that mistake on my 2015 Mustang.

 

[Fuse]

Unfortunately its not just a Ford thing. I've purchased many, many cars from different dealers over the years and they all have had issues. Poor service, lack of communication, trying to scam, etc.
A well known popular Honda dealer was the worst. They tried to tell I needed certain things done on a used car I bought from them like change the engine air filter. They claimed it was dirty. I just changed it 2 days prior. It was brand new. They also caused damage. Another Honda dealer refused to fix things under warranty. IMO Honda dealers are worse than Ford. Its hard to find a reliable service department anywhere these days.

That is super... One of the pains of owning a vehicle I guess. One in my opinion that doesn't need to be there.

Eventually I hope to find a good dealer, which seems to be in short supply these days.

 

[OLdchuck]

If my vehicle was out of warranty I would NEVER take to a Ford or any dealer. There are usually plenty of good indie mechanics who are conscientious about their work and cheaper than a dealer. I agree that you should not have to have a $90,000+ car to expect good honest service..
On another note, I would never buy a first year vehicle Bronco or not..

 

[HolubS]

I have purchased every new car I have owned from a small town Ford dealer about 30 miles away from where I now live. I drive by the big local Ford dealer because they have a reputation for screwing people. My dealer knows me by name when I walk in the dealership, and he depends upon repeat business to stay in business. Always get a loaner car if the repair isn't quick. The local big Ford dealer doesn't care, the next person will buy if you don't. My local dealer reminds me of the old movie "Used Cars" with Kurt Russell.

 

[TheSnowmanMafia]

I took my Audi and my Mustang in for service the same week a few months ago here was my experience.

Audi: They handed me an 80k dollar A6 3.0T loaner and told me to have fun, they'd call me the next day when my car was ready. The waiting room had a full on Audi branded Starbucks cafe inside it, comfortable chairs, TVs, lots of lighting. Great.

Ford: I show up at 3PM with my appointment confirmation in hand and they tell me "Sir... we CLOSE at 3pm....." and then I had to sit there and argue with them that I had an appointment and they need to honor it. Begrudgingly they did... then when it was done they had to take it back into the shop because they rotated my FACTORY STAGGERED WHEELS to the wrong axles. Amazing. If this sh*t wasn't free because of my Fordpass points I'd not go there... Also the waiting room was 3 chairs in a dark corner with no windows and the TV had one working speaker.

 

[OLdchuck]

Holub, You are fortunate to find a dealer that you can trust. If I found one like that I may start looking at Ford's again.
Snowman, That is how it is at Porsche. I would imagine since VW backs both that is fairly common for their dealerships.
Given a fairly inexpensive procedure I would go to an indie mechanic and have him do the simple stuff even if I had to pay a bit for it instead of becoming frustrated by shoddy dealer work.

 

[Jmtoast]

Holub, You are fortunate to find a dealer that you can trust. If I found one like that I may start looking at Ford's again.
Snowman, That is how it is at Porsche. I would imagine since VW backs both that is fairly common for their dealerships.
Given a fairly inexpensive procedure I would go to an indie mechanic and have him do the simple stuff even if I had to pay a bit for it instead of becoming frustrated by shoddy dealer work.

Yes, Volkswagen dealers are very good, Audi included in that VW group, and the service department is a ghost town in regards to the amount of cars being serviced..

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