Are all Ford dealerships inhabited by stupid and greedy

[Cordero1]

My local dealership is along the same line. Most are idiots. If there is a good tech at the place I have yet to meet him/her. Went in a few years for some parts for the clutch. Tech asks me if thats for a auto or manual. Other time around I went in. Told him I needed some parts for my 5.0. Next question was "Is that the v6?". Took my 10k f150 in due to the paint bubbling up on the roof & was told Id have to pay out of pocket. It was my fault for buying out of town. Took it in for a noise it was making at light acceleration. They told me they couldnt find it even though I pointed it out. Then they started to tell me it was normal for my turbos to make that noise...It was a 5.0. When I bought the current 5.0, I got an antifreeze leak at 200 miles. I was very pissed that I had to take it there. Had no choice. Took them 3 days to replace a cracked radiator. Left the engine bay covered in antifreeze, belts, pullies, k member full of it. Took 3 days for it to drip out. Called the dealer from which I bought the car from & canceled my maintanence plan. Told them no way I was having them morons do my oil. They didnt even top off the reseviour when they did the radiator. The sales team, techs, slip writer, all in the same rude idiotic boat.

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[1958cyclist]

This has the feel of a LOT of customer service issues I've been hearing about lately. I'm not so sure dealers are to blame. It's just that employers are starved for good help in general. The organizational side of businesses like dealers seem to be taking the biggest hit. Everyone has software to map out procedure but the software can't think for you. We all seem to be cursed by people entering and interpreting data...and they are all cursed with constant upgrades and learning curves. No one can answer a simple question unless a program or app tells them what to do!

I think you touched upon an issue that has invaded many a human interaction of late...critical thinking skills...or lack thereof. There are many reasons for this erosion, with social media being a looming one. I was in commercial sales for almost 30 years, and like many, when I experience an empathic, reasonable and someone at least attempting to understand your point of view, it's certainly a rarity. And even if one doesn't agree exactly with your point of view, fake it until the exchange has concluded.

 

[TeeLew]

Yes. It is a preventative maintenance item. Have you ever seen how nasty a fuel injector can get? We saw them fail pretty frequently, especially direct injectors.

We all now realize you are also one of these vultures. Thanks for that, but there's no need to remind us every other post.

 

[noGreta!]

It is truly terrible out there.

The Houston area service departments are abysmal. Visit or glance at the back area of where the work is performed and marvel at the collection of buffoons staring at their phones while leaning on customers' vehicles, spare parts and tools resting on car roofs, detailing personnel practically racing vehicles back and forth and of course good luck getting even a simple oil change without the neck-tattoo, Midas reject they hired to do it, spilling oil everywhere, overfilling or worse.

All that, to be faced at the end of the ordeal with the friendly service clerk that knows more about the Kardashians than cars trying to explain why you need an extended warranty for your vehicle.

I just wish that this plunge to idiocracy and corruption was limited to car dealerships. It is not. Customer service is gone.

 

[Rental18GT]

We all now realize you are also one of these vultures. Thanks for that, but there's no need to remind us every other post.

You clearly do not know me, at all. I've been writing service for years in my area and tons of people bring me their cars because they trust me. Where people have failed you is they don't explain or build any value in what they're selling. If you believe there is zero benefit to that service, you are ignorant. I've built lasting friendships and relationships with people off of what I do. It couldn't be better, honestly. I make a $2 spiff off of selling those types of services, I'm not going to live or die because of them.

 

[TeeLew]

Nor do I want to...

 

[dogteam7]

I guess I’ve just been lucky in that I’ve own fuel injected vehicles since 1990. Most of them have far exceeded 100k miles. My 2007 Expedition had 330k miles when I sold it……and not one of those vehicles ever had a fuel injector service or injector failure. And I’m that guy that always buys the cheapest gas available. What have I done to deserve such favor from the engine Gods?

 

[ice445]

I guess I’ve just been lucky in that I’ve own fuel injected vehicles since 1990. Most of them have far exceeded 100k miles. My 2007 Expedition had 330k miles when I sold it……and not one of those vehicles ever had a fuel injector service or injector failure. And I’m that guy that always buys the cheapest gas available. What have I done to deserve such favor from the engine Gods?

I've never seen injector cleaner do anything on a port injected vehicle, personally.

 

[oneheadlite]

...yea, it is a prerequisite for employment. Also, no morals.

Just like sales folk @ a Harley dealer; except.....
.....they demand you appreciate the fact that they allowed you to buy a bike.....

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

Just like sales folk @ a Harley dealer; except.....
.....they demand you appreciate the fact that they allowed you to buy a bike.....

I heard Ferrari is like that too. I heard you need to beg to be allowed to buy one.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

I spent 45 minutes on the phone the other day looking for a Ford dealership that was willing and able to do a trans pan drop, filter replacement and refill on my Mustang, with the understanding that under no circumstances is a flush machine to be hooked up to my car. One dealership was completely unable to quote me a price for that, so instead quoted me the price for a transmission pan gasket replacement. Over $600. I laughed in his ear.
Service writers have become automatons who depend solely on what they can manage to find in the computer, whether it's actually right or not. But they much rather default to the normal sales pitch of giving me what they give everyone else, which is a flush and fill with no filter replacement. Not happening.

I finally found a dealership with a service writer who was willing to go the extra mile and look into it for me, and called me back with a price of $400. I'm debating this option, or finding an indie shop that will (and can) do it without being totally befuddled by what I'm asking for.

Can I possibly be the only Mustang owner in existence that wants a pan drop, filter replacement and refill? I can't believe how hard it has gotten to get what you want at a dealership. It's become equally difficult to have faith that they do anything right, or show any respect for your property. If dealerships are so hard-up for customers, they might want to look at the quality of the work they're delivering, starting at the service writer's desk, and ending in the tech's bay. $150 per hour? Earn it.

 

[ice445]

I spent 45 minutes on the phone the other day looking for a Ford dealership that was willing and able to do a trans pan drop, filter replacement and refill on my Mustang, with the understanding that under no circumstances is a flush machine to be hooked up to my car. One dealership was completely unable to quote me a price for that, so instead quoted me the price for a transmission pan gasket replacement. Over $600. I laughed in his ear.
Service writers have become automatons who depend solely on what they can manage to find in the computer, whether it's actually right or not. But they much rather default to the normal sales pitch of giving me what they give everyone else, which is a flush and fill with no filter replacement. Not happening.

I finally found a dealership with a service writer who was willing to go the extra mile and look into it for me, and called me back with a price of $400. I'm debating this option, or finding an indie shop that will (and can) do it without being totally befuddled by what I'm asking for.

Can I possibly be the only Mustang owner in existence that wants a pan drop, filter replacement and refill? I can't believe how hard it has gotten to get what you want at a dealership. It's become equally difficult to have faith that they do anything right, or show any respect for your property. If dealerships are so hard-up for customers, they might want to look at the quality of the work they're delivering, starting at the service writer's desk, and ending in the tech's bay. $150 per hour? Earn it.

I don't think you can replace the filter on the 10R80 without extensive disassembly, so it would really just be a fluid exchange. I don't think dealers have had the "flush" machines for many years. Most of them just have a simple pump that feeds fluid into the trans through a cooler line and then they let the trans pump return the old fluid to the machine until it's coming back out brand new. Since it's only using the internal trans pump to perform the work, pressures are low and there's no "flushing" going on that can cause issues.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

I don't think you can replace the filter on the 10R80 without extensive disassembly, so it would really just be a fluid exchange. I don't think dealers have had the "flush" machines for many years. Most of them just have a simple pump that feeds fluid into the trans through a cooler line and then they let the trans pump return the old fluid to the machine until it's coming back out brand new. Since it's only using the internal trans pump to perform the work, pressures are low and there's no "flushing" going on that can cause issues.

 

[Bikeman315]

I heard Ferrari is like that too. I heard you need to beg to be allowed to buy one.

This is true and the reason Jay Leno doesn’t own one.

https://www.hotcars.com/this-is-why-jay-leno-doesnt-own-a-single-ferrari/

 

[TeeLew]

I heard Ferrari is like that too. I heard you need to beg to be allowed to buy one.

It's more than that. You can only buy the base Ferraris if you're a 'normal' customer. That involves a very long waitlist. If, however, you want to race in Ferrari Challenge or do their F1 Cliente program, then you jump to the front of the line on a 'normal' Ferrari, but it also allows access to their line of 'Especial' models. If you race at a higher level yet, say GT3 or higher, then you jump up in the line of the 'Especial' buyers, who are generally fabulously wealthy (rich with a B, not an M). If you're at the very top echelon, they automatically sign you up for the next Especial as soon as it's planned. You buy it before you even know it exists.

The Ferrari sales path is essentially taken from the guy on the County Fair Midway when you were a kid that would give shitty prizes for throwing a dart at a target. If you played again, you could get a slightly less shitty prize. If you played it 50 times in row, you could get what you want, but at 5x the cost.

Who am I to argue. It clearly works.

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