Ford Dealers are Terrible

[analogman]

I agree with everything you said 100% ! Even down to the 400Z. Having a Miata presently I have really come to appreciate the cornering ability of a lighter car (2300 lb). The power is not there like the Coyote however you can wind out the first three gears in town without being in jail.
As I said not a drag strip car with a 0-60 at or just under 6.0 but will put a smile on your face on most back roads. So will stick with it until something else presents itself in the next couple of years. There is also a chance for a supercharger on the Miata but that is for another time.. The Miata has proven over the past several decades to be very reliable and very easy to work on. The only downside is the size as you do not drive a Miata you wear it...

The Miata, and Miata, any year, is a blast! They’re so much fun! As you said, it puts a smile on your face.

That’s all that matters - does a car make you happy to drive? The ‘numbers’ don’t matter one bit (unless you’re into tracking and tenths of a second mean something). So many people are hung up on the ‘numbers’ and rattle off 0-60 times like they’re the only thing that counts.

How about how the car just feels to drive? To me, the ‘seat of pants’ feel is what matters. I don’t care about the ‘numbers’. 0-60 in 6 sec is more than plenty fast to have a ball in street driving.

I wanted a small ‘sports car’ too to go along with the Mustang. I’ve had two Miata’s in the past (1990 and 1999), loved them both, and looked hard at the current car. Love the retractable hardtop. But, at my size (6 ft 200 lbs) I just fit in the Miata. It’s not uncomfortable, but not much room to move around on a longer trip. I got a BRZ instead, it’s about 1/3 more room. But the Miata is more fun.

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[W0rkH0rse]

Really ready to throw the towel in on this car and I actually like the car... the Ford dealers in my area are a royal PITA to work with! I shouldn’t have to drive 20 miles to even find a decent one.

I’m thinking at this point I might need to locate a Roush, Steeda, or specialty dealer I hopes they’ll take better care.

Appointments are to just meet w/an advisor, work is a week or 2 out, oh and they want to take the car now, have it sit and not give you a loaner or another piece of transportation! Makes no sense to me!!

I changed my Ford dealership because their service went downhill. The sales rep I worked with for years dismissed my wife when she went to buy a car. Their service department did not tighten the oil filter from an oil change. The online reservation system did not work, or they used it selectively. I told them I was taking my business elsewhere. The sales rep followed up to try an get me back, but it was too late.

I hear from friends with BMWs, Lexus, Mercedes, etc. and their experiences are amazing. When I had a Mercedes, my wife always took it to the dealership for service because of how well she was treated.

I support you looking at other dealers. If a dealer loses enough business, they will either change or close.

 

[ice445]

You're absolutely right. Any dealer, any brand, and any car, can be a major pain.

You're right again that many manufacturers are doing away with dipsticks. But for me that's become a deal-breaker. No dipstick = no sale to me.

But based on my experiences and those of friends, it seems owning a late-model German car comes with a much higher cost of ownership.

I've also bought only one new BMW, a Z3 in 2000. The car had so many problems, and the dealer was so unwilling to resolve them, that I had to file a Lemon Law suit against BMW to force them to buy the car back (which they eventually did, but only when the judgement went against them).

One of my friends used to be obsessed with owning BMWs (because he liked to brag about owning a 'Beemer'). Even he's sworn off of them after getting ripped off thousands of dollars for routine maintenance and minor repairs that would have been much cheaper with a Japanese or American car.

Starting about 20 years ago, all the German manufacturers embarked on a plan to intentionally make their cars harder to work on, to force owners to bring them to the dealer. Then charge higher prices for parts and labor. It was their way of increasing both dealer and company profits. Case studies have been written on how BMW changed the model from a periodic capital purchase of a BMW, to an ongoing expense to maintain a 'BMW lifestyle'. Part of the strategy was to make it so expensive to maintain a car more than a few years old, that customers would keep coming back and getting a new one every few years (on lease of course, because that's more profit for the company).

I don't have my self-esteem tied up with what I drive, so it wasn't worth it for me to have a vacuum cleaner hose going directly from my bank account to the Porsche or BMW dealer.

All cars have their issues. Nothing is built like the VW's of the 1960's that ran forever with minimal, easy, owner-done maintenance. Ford's aren't going to win any prizes for build quality either. But at least an American car is vastly less expensive to maintain than any German one.

The Japanese and Korean companies still offer the easiest and most reasonable maintenance and repair costs. If it ever becomes possible to buy the new Nizzan Z (400Z) for sticker and not get hosed with a usurious ADM, I'd probably sell my Mustang and go for it.

But right now, and for the past year and probably for the next year or two, will be an absolutely terrible time to buy any car, new or used. So much has been written about supply chain problems and how it's probably not going to get any better for a while. Unless you really need a car immediately, waiting is the way to go to avoid getting skinned alive.

IMO Nissan has gone downhill in the last 20 years. Ever since they got wrapped up with Renault. Terrible designs, terrible service, just terrible in general. They're trying to improve to be fair, but I still wouldn't touch them. The Koreans also got better, but then they had the Theta 2 engine explodey issue that's still happening to this day.

 

[analogman]

IMO Nissan has gone downhill in the last 20 years. Ever since they got wrapped up with Renault. Terrible designs, terrible service, just terrible in general. They're trying to improve to be fair, but I still wouldn't touch them. The Koreans also got better, but then they had the Theta 2 engine explodey issue that's still happening to this day.

I think you’re right, especially when it comes to dealing with Nissan dealers. Something about Nissan dealers, they’ve been the absolute sleaziest to deal with.

A few years ago I tried to buy a 370Z. I tried half a dozen dealers in 3 states. I couldn’t find a straightforward one. They all just had to play games. Lots of bait-and-switch with pricing. They couldn’t help themselves. So I bought a BRZ instead.

I can only imagine how much worse they are now, between pandemic supply shortages, and having the hot new Z to sell.

The last Nissan products I had were the Infiniti G37 (had two of them). That was a fabulous car. Well-built, reliable, great balance of comfort and performance. Never should have sold it.

 

[airjonny]

I wish they’d sell Mustang’s with Lincoln dealers or have their own sub brand where they can sell Mustangs and Mach E’s (Maybe broncos?). Maybe they’d have a better buying/service experience for people.

 

[Shadow277]

It’s never cheaper if anything they will find a way to add more time

Positive assumptions! lol

 

[BlackstangGT]

Back when I was heavily involved with Talons and Eclipses, we used to call the dealer Satan.
Because all they did was evil toward the customer. I quickly learned to find specialty shops to do the work that was over my head and to not let a dealer touch my car. And yes the dealer staff hooned the customer cars anytime they could.

 

[stars_fan]

FYI I got charged $800+ for a “service”appointment at Porsche which was nothing more than an oil change and “checklist”. Never went back. They can keep the Starbucks and donuts.

That was my Ducati expeirence. I went in for the initial 600 mile service and they wheeled it back out later and said $425 please.

 

[VIPR01]

Dealers are front loading $$$ with the EV forecast, big ticket fixes will be few & far between in a few years-think about the numbers on oil changes, and coolant “flush” services that will be non-existent in a few years. Try dating an oil filter or cabin air filter with a permanent marker sometime with todays date & see if they change it - might be a disturbing eye opener for some. I had a different mfg on my kids beater bring me a dirty cabin air filter the day after I swapped it out, guessing they keep one laying around to show people non-mechanically inclined so they bite for labor swapping a cabin air filter…. I wouldn’t let any dealer touch any of my cars that matter!

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