7000 Miles and 1st Problem :-( !!

[blackk3389]

The pandemic has a lot to do with it. Every corner of the workforce has been affected, from nurses and doctors in hospitals, to burger flippers at the local McNasty's, and technicians in the service dept in every dealership out there. I used to blame it on the free money the gov't was handing out but that stopped over a year ago. I can't explain why the workforce never came back in full force but they didn't and I don't think they ever will. This is our world now.

Also, ford has not fully recovered from the chip shortage and supply chain issues, it took nine months to get my second row heated seats in my explorer fixed.

So true, the labor pool is very shallow too! my dealer has NO transmission tech? i heard a guy bitching when i brought mine in for a oil change.

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[BlackandBlue]

Not to derail any further but I thought your comments were well thought out and were well presented. I just don’t like when threads devolve into political or societal discussions that have little or nothing to do with thr topic at hand. That’s how threads with good info and discussion get shut down. But personally I took no offense to anything you said. It’s just a discussion for a different type of forum (and not blaming you or anyone else in particular for the thread going sideways btw, it just tends to happen)

I don’t know how off topic comments on worker shortages are when this post wouldn’t even have been made if the dealer had the car and was fixing it.

The problem in my mind is very simple. Low wages. Wages have to rise but the ownership class is doing EVERYTHING(including trying to crash the economy) to keep that from happening. Wages are not the problem but most people don’t understand why inflation actually occurs.

Dealerships are charging $150 and hour and paying the people that actually do the work $25 an hour. At this point the dealership would rather turn customers away since that cost them nothing and high wages cost them money today.

OP, Ford has an obligation to fix your vehicle. If they cannot fix it or your vehicle is unsafe to drive they will need to compensate you. That can range from an extended warranty to paying your payments while the car is out of service. Even a buyback is not out of the question. Until people start holding Ford accountable for their dealerships behavior, this will go on. So get on the phone and demand compensation.

 

[TEAsGrabber]

I’d consider the ESP if you’re planning on keeping the car a while. I did mine last week (one week beyond my 1 year of taking delivery) and the pricing was still quite good. Prices are set to increase on Monday. I did PremiumCare 7 yrs, 60k miles with the key and lighting packages added and a $200 deductible. Was $900 for reference. For the lighting package is worth it since the OEM headlights and taillights on these cars are crazy expensive

LOL....I think you read my mind! I saw Zack's post about Ford increasing their ESP prices on Monday. My 12mo ownership is Nov. 3rd and I had been waiting to buy. I ended up using my Ford Pass points and bought a 7yr/100K + Lights for just over $950. $200 deductible. Probably will never hit the mileage mark, it was only like a $100 more than less mileage options.

I don't think Ford is as owner loyal as Mercedes as far as standing behind their product. Up until last year I have been driving nothing but Mercedes. I took my 2000 CL55 AMG in for a transmission problem in 2013 with 200K miles on it. It was a circuit board problem that put the car into limp mode and would not let the car start after I shut it off. Mercedes Benz USA covered everything including the tow and loaner car. Service manager said they didn't even question covering it. They said it was a known design flaw that allowed anything liquid spilled on the shifter console to short out the board. The repair was over $2200. I understand cars are over 100K parts etc and they fail, but I don't wanna come out of my pocket if I don't have to. The same warranty I just bought was offered to me when I bought my MACh1 for around $4K...... Zack and Grainger selling them @ cost+ $50 is a no brainer. I dig the car...... It's almost a special to me as my old Grabber Blue Maverick and I've been kicking myself for 20+ years for selling it! This one isn't going anywhere. Too many smiles per mile!!!

 

[TEAsGrabber]

I don’t know how off topic comments on worker shortages are when this post wouldn’t even have been made if the dealer had the car and was fixing it.

The problem in my mind is very simple. Low wages. Wages have to rise but the ownership class is doing EVERYTHING(including trying to crash the economy) to keep that from happening. Wages are not the problem but most people don’t understand why inflation actually occurs.

Dealerships are charging $150 and hour and paying the people that actually do the work $25 an hour. At this point the dealership would rather turn customers away since that cost them nothing and high wages cost them money today.

OP, Ford has an obligation to fix your vehicle. If they cannot fix it or your vehicle is unsafe to drive they will need to compensate you. That can range from an extended warranty to paying your payments while the car is out of service. Even a buyback is not out of the question. Until people start holding Ford accountable for their dealerships behavior, this will go on. So get on the phone and demand compensation.

I have to kinda disagree with you on this...... My father owned a very successful Ford dealership and Parts and Service were his cash cows! Used car sales were more profitable than new cars and the highest commissioned paid employees were the Service writers, depending on whether the work was flagged as warranty or non warranty.

I have a way different view about today's workforce. College is pushed in schools now as the only path to riches and there is no push for kids to pursue skilled labor careers. Shop classes no longer exist. Computer related job field is flooded and every skilled labor field is shorted.

I used to work for Alan Mually @ The Boeing Airplane Company. He was my 3rd level manager and career mentor up until 2006 when he left Boeing and took over @ FoMoCo. One of his first initiatives at Ford was to get kids in HS interested in designing....building and engineering cars! Grants....scholarships etc. were offered and after a few years the lack of support and participation killed those programs. So Ford started giving their support to Technical and Trade Schools. Public schools just had no interest in trade careers. Sad....because there's really good $$$$ out there to be made. I know plenty of millionaires out there that own independent repair and body shops.

 

[MAGS1]

I have to kinda disagree with you on this...... My father owned a very successful Ford dealership and Parts and Service were his cash cows! Used car sales were more profitable than new cars and the highest commissioned paid employees were the Service writers, depending on whether the work was flagged as warranty or non warranty.

I have a way different view about today's workforce. College is pushed in schools now as the only path to riches and there is no push for kids to pursue skilled labor careers. Shop classes no longer exist. Computer related job field is flooded and every skilled labor field is shorted.

I used to work for Alan Mually @ The Boeing Airplane Company. He was my 3rd level manager and career mentor up until 2006 when he left Boeing and took over @ FoMoCo. One of his first initiatives at Ford was to get kids in HS interested in designing....building and engineering cars! Grants....scholarships etc. were offered and after a few years the lack of support and participation killed those programs. So Ford started giving their support to Technical and Trade Schools. Public schools just had no interest in trade careers. Sad....because there's really good $$$$ out there to be made. I know plenty of millionaires out there that own independent repair and body shops.

Couldn’t agree more. College isn’t for everyone and you can make a very good living in the trades. People skilled in the trades will always be needed. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc can’t be done by computer. Unless the robots take over. I’m which case we’re all screwed.

 

[MAGS1]

LOL....I think you read my mind! I saw Zack's post about Ford increasing their ESP prices on Monday. My 12mo ownership is Nov. 3rd and I had been waiting to buy. I ended up using my Ford Pass points and bought a 7yr/100K + Lights for just over $950. $200 deductible. Probably will never hit the mileage mark, it was only like a $100 more than less mileage options.

I don't think Ford is as owner loyal as Mercedes as far as standing behind their product. Up until last year I have been driving nothing but Mercedes. I took my 2000 CL55 AMG in for a transmission problem in 2013 with 200K miles on it. It was a circuit board problem that put the car into limp mode and would not let the car start after I shut it off. Mercedes Benz USA covered everything including the tow and loaner car. Service manager said they didn't even question covering it. They said it was a known design flaw that allowed anything liquid spilled on the shifter console to short out the board. The repair was over $2200. I understand cars are over 100K parts etc and they fail, but I don't wanna come out of my pocket if I don't have to. The same warranty I just bought was offered to me when I bought my MACh1 for around $4K...... Zack and Grainger selling them @ cost+ $50 is a no brainer. I dig the car...... It's almost a special to me as my old Grabber Blue Maverick and I've been kicking myself for 20+ years for selling it! This one isn't going anywhere. Too many smiles per mile!!!

Luckily I’ve not had any issues with warranty work. Hopefully it stays that way. I think some of it depends on the dealer and how they pitch it to the mothership too. My wife’s GMC had an issue that was fixed once under warranty. It happened again about a year after the bumper to bumper expired it happened again (partly because the fix that GM sent to all the dealers didn’t work long term). Dealer pushed it through to GM since the initial fix didn’t work and they also covered it no questions asked. So, I think if you have a good dealer that will pitch it properly to HQ, you have a better shot. But it’s no guarantee either.

Im usually not a big extended warranty person as I make sure I have enough to cover a major issue or just buy a new car outright if the old car isn’t worth fixing. That said, I plan to keep my GT a while and figure for $900 that’s cheap insurance and I can hang onto my cash for other fun things (*cough* GT500 *cough* , still haven’t gotten my wife on board though).

 

[Garfy]

I don’t know how off topic comments on worker shortages are when this post wouldn’t even have been made if the dealer had the car and was fixing it.

The problem in my mind is very simple. Low wages. Wages have to rise but the ownership class is doing EVERYTHING(including trying to crash the economy) to keep that from happening. Wages are not the problem but most people don’t understand why inflation actually occurs.

Dealerships are charging $150 and hour and paying the people that actually do the work $25 an hour. At this point the dealership would rather turn customers away since that cost them nothing and high wages cost them money today.

OP, Ford has an obligation to fix your vehicle. If they cannot fix it or your vehicle is unsafe to drive they will need to compensate you. That can range from an extended warranty to paying your payments while the car is out of service. Even a buyback is not out of the question. Until people start holding Ford accountable for their dealerships behavior, this will go on. So get on the phone and demand compensation.

As a 44+ years Master Tech (retired now) I can say that pay is one of the major issues in the automotive repair industry. When I left a few years ago, I was at $30 per hour, but it's "flag time" pay, not actually $30 for every hour you're at work. Most auto shops pay in this manner. Secondly, you have to have your own tools (I had over $35,000 which included diagnostic scanners, etc.). Most workers in the construction trade made more than I did and they got paid "by the hour", not by flag time, not to mention their "tools of the trade" they had to buy/own were hundreds of times less than what I had to invest in. That probably accounts for the major shortage of qualified technicians today.

It's unfortunate that the "trades" aren't pushed much in schools but I myself have steered people away from the auto repair field as the industry needs to catch up to the other trades and industries in compensation for the employees. Especially those of us in the diagnostic areas working on electronics and computer systems who have to regularly get training for new tech systems introduced each year. It's kind of like a medical doctor who has to keep his education up; the real difference is that we can "kill" the patient by making a mistake but it's fixable by replacing the module, etc. that we messed up on... medical doctors don't have that luxury as once their patient dies, it's pretty much a done deal in most circumstances.

 

[Buldawg76]

Another 45 year retired master tech here and I can backup what @Garfy stated as true and accurate. I retired in 2013 after being a caddy/olds master tech, ASE master certified tech and the most I got paid flat rate was 17 per hour and there were no service schools or additional training that GM had for me to enroll in, I had completed all training. How flat rate works as an example is the repair job states it pay 2 hours labor, so of you can fix it in 1 hour you get paid for 2 hours and make money in the extra hour saved being able to work on next car inline. But if it takes you 4 hours to fix you only get paid 2 hours so now you are two hours behind the curve. Warranty time is impossible to beat on any vehicle for any job period so with warranty you are always behind the eight-ball playing catch up. Main reason I retired is I could not make enough money to be able to afford the cars I was fixing for a living.

Then add in cost of tools, I have close to 100,000 in tools bought over the 45 years career, with the majority bought back in the 70 and 80s when prices were still very reasonable as compared to today. It's a highly skilled field today to be able to diagnose and repair newer cars as compared to just 10 years ago.

I had talked with some doctor friends I have made thru the years and the saying I always hear from them on the difference between an auto tech and a doctor was they worked on their patients while the engine was still running versus us being able to shut if off to do repair's.

My local dealer is 4-6 week out for scheduling as well. Fortunately, I have all my tools and a shop, experience to do my own work so my dealer will likely never see vehicle unless covered warranty failure occurs and even then, I know service manager very well so likely can work out allowing me to do work and dealer gets to turn in repair RO to get paid for work and parts.

BD

 

[Wb350]

FIND ANOTHER DEALER.

 

[Sean22]

What has changed fundamentally in our society that now it takes a month for the dealer to look at your car?

'Supply chain' issues

 

[kellyreno]

Driving on the interstate last night cruising @ 80 and my gauge cluster lit up like a Christmas tree. All kinds of bells and whistles as well. "Service AdvanceTrac..... Per-Collision INOP......Hill Hold INOP.....ABS light on..... etc!" Showed up @ dealership this am and they can't look at it til first week in Nov.

Is everybody missing the point ,this guy has to wait a month for dealer service.

 

[Buldawg76]

Is everybody missing the point ,this guy has to wait a month for dealer service.

Its 4 to 6 weeks wait at my local dealer, pretty much the norm these days.

BD

 

[MAGS1]

Is everybody missing the point ,this guy has to wait a month for dealer service.

I think there’s a lot of variables at play. A lot depends on location, size of the dealer, how many other dealers are in the area, etc. I can get an appointment next day for just about anything (except transmission work, the trans tech is only available so many days per week) at the dealer closest to me. But, it’s a large dealership that has a lot of techs and service bays. It also helps that there’s at least a half dozen or more Ford dealers within a 20 minute drive of me and even more if you widen that to 30-45 minutes. Not to mention there’s several Lincoln dealers around too.

But the Chicago area is quite large, so we’re fortunate to have a lot of options. Smaller areas of the country probably have much fewer options, so if OP’s dealer is only one of just a couple in the area, it will likely be harder to get into.

Could also be that the dealer is one of the better ones around so everyone goes there regardless of other options in the area. That happens sometimes too.

It very well could be that dealer doesn’t employ enough techs too. We just don’t know all the details and OP might not either.

 

[kellyreno]

I think there’s a lot of variables at play. A lot depends on location, size of the dealer, how many other dealers are in the area, etc. I can get an appointment next day for just about anything (except transmission work, the trans tech is only available so many days per week) at the dealer closest to me. But, it’s a large dealership that has a lot of techs and service bays. It also helps that there’s at least a half dozen or more Ford dealers within a 20 minute drive of me and even more if you widen that to 30-45 minutes. Not to mention there’s several Lincoln dealers around too.

But the Chicago area is quite large, so we’re fortunate to have a lot of options. Smaller areas of the country probably have much fewer options, so if OP’s dealer is only one of just a couple in the area, it will likely be harder to get into.

Could also be that the dealer is one of the better ones around so everyone goes there regardless of other options in the area. That happens sometimes too.

It very well could be that dealer doesn’t employ enough techs too. We just don’t know all the details and OP might not either.

All good points. If the "Service Engine Soon" light comes on. "Drive in a moderate fashion and contact dealer as soon as possible". 4 weeks!! Perhaps park the car?

 

[MAGS1]

All good points. If the "Service Engine Soon" light comes on. "Drive in a moderate fashion and contact dealer as soon as possible". 4 weeks!! Perhaps park the car?

No I get it. Hopefully at that point they can try to work with you and it get it in quicker. Some independent shops are able to do warranty work as well. May be an option for some folks as well

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