Dealership, question everything

[Bikeman315]

Every time my wife or I bring any of our 3 Fords in for service, we get the standard threat that if they don’t find a problem, we’ll be charged the diagnostic fee. Really? They’ve never heard of intermittent problems? I get so sick of fighting with the service department every time I have a problem.

For example, had an A/C issue in the wife’s Flex a few months ago. We also mentioned the radiator fan had been squeaking and at times quite loudly. The tech gave the standard “unable to duplicate” even though anyone standing 10 feet from the car could hear it every time you shut the car off. We demonstrated it to the service writer and she called the tech back. He actually tried not to hear it, with this nasty smirk on his face, and we wouldn’t have gotten it fixed if the service writer hadn’t pulled him to the hood and made him listen. The other service writer is an absolute jerk and would have agreed with the tech. He’s the one that talks to customers like they’re stupid. I might not be a professional mechanic but I know a lot more about cars than this asshat. This is the same guy that just told me I was SOL on my SHO with the bad sync update. He also refused to look at my brand new 2019 super duty that had a bad tire balance problem. He told my wife that Ford wouldn’t pay for them to look at new vehicles till they had 1000 miles on them and that trucks get flat spots from sitting on the lot. Mind you, this was June and my truck was manufactured the end of May. I had to take my brand new truck to a tire place and pay out of pocket for a balance. 3 out of 4 tires were grossly out of balance on a week old truck.

Every time we go to the service department now we tell the other guy to go away and only talk to the lady that actually gives a crap. Problem is, Ford service employees like her are the exception rather than the rule. Most act like the asshat.

I'm sorry but I have to ask.......why?

Why are you still going back to this service department? Why haven't you asked for a meeting with the owner/general manager and the service manager. Why are you allowing this to happen?

I've been where you are and I knows it's frustrating but you can do something. You need to be proactive, in a nice way, or nothing will improve.

Sponsored

 

[2018Creamsicle]

I'm sorry but I have to ask.......why?

Why are you still going back to this service department? Why haven't you asked for a meeting with the owner/general manager and the service manager. Why are you allowing this to happen?

I've been where you are and I knows it's frustrating but you can do something. You need to be proactive, in a nice way, or nothing will improve.

You think I haven’t? You think any Ford dealer around here is any better? We have to drive over an hour to the next nearest one. They are barely better and we have to fight with them too. My wife and I had a meeting with the dealer owner over the previous service manager’s outright hostility and downright incompetence with a major problem on our old Focus. You know what he said about the service manager who neglected to document 5 different dealer visits and outright lied to my wife? “He’s a yankee. They’re just like that,” being completely dismissive. No apology or anything, and this service manager had physically threatened me and my wife. I damn near punched the guy out. Ford didn’t give a flying f**k either. I talked to the customer service rep and the regional rep and wrote a 6 page letter to every executive I could find an address for. Guess what? Nothing from anyone. At least McDonald’s will give you a form letter when you bitch. Ford is completely out of touch with its customers.

Like I said, I could write a book about all the horrible experiences we’ve had with 10 different Fords at 5 different dealers over 15+ years. I know people who have had similar experiences with GM products, Nissan, etc. Fact of the matter is dealers are incompetent, rude, dishonest, predatory, and even criminal in some cases. That’s just the way it is, and i have just accepted that I have to fight for any service visit. Sometimes it’s just not worth the fight—like with the 40 bucks for getting tires balanced. My time is worth a hell of a lot more. That doesn’t mean I can’t bitch about it in a public forum. When it’s worth it, I will fight to the end of the earth.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

You think I haven’t? You think any Ford dealer around here is any better? We have to drive over an hour to the next nearest one. They are barely better and we have to fight with them too. My wife and I had a meeting with the dealer owner over the previous service manager’s outright hostility and downright incompetence with a major problem on our old Focus. You know what he said about the service manager who neglected to document 5 different dealer visits and outright lied to my wife? “He’s a yankee. They’re just like that,” being completely dismissive. No apology or anything, and this service manager had physically threatened me and my wife. I damn near punched the guy out. Ford didn’t give a flying f**k either. I talked to the customer service rep and the regional rep and wrote a 6 page letter to every executive I could find an address for. Guess what? Nothing from anyone. At least McDonald’s will give you a form letter when you bitch. Ford is completely out of touch with its customers.

Like I said, I could write a book about all the horrible experiences we’ve had with 10 different Fords at 5 different dealers over 15+ years. I know people who have had similar experiences with GM products, Nissan, etc. Fact of the matter is dealers are incompetent, rude, dishonest, predatory, and even criminal in some cases. That’s just the way it is, and i have just accepted that I have to fight for any service visit. Sometimes it’s just not worth the fight—like with the 40 bucks for getting tires balanced. My time is worth a hell of a lot more. That doesn’t mean I can’t bitch about it in a public forum. When it’s worth it, I will fight to the end of the earth.

Ugh, that treatment at the dealer sounds horrible. I have had good success with Ford corporate related to another issue so you might try your luck there. I also know that in Ontario at least there are third party arbitrators that require manufacturers to rectify issues otherwise they force them to settle with you. Might be worthwhile to look into.

Sponsored