Having Ford install mods vs. local Performance shop

[Kabayo]

I'm going to be getting an upgraded transmission cooler installed for the coming track season and was thinking because I'm still in warranty and have the Ford ESP maybe it's better if I have upgrades like this installed by a willing dealer (if there are such). I know some performance shops locally that can do a great job. Folks with experience, work for Ford, have done this throw in on the subject. It will be likely there are other cooling mods to come.

Great if your Ford dealer has done this exact mod before. I would be concerned that no one has done this at the dealer and they assign the job to the lot boy who washes cars, LOL

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[Paul McWhiskey]

According to the dealership that I have patronized for the past 26 years, but no longer, warranty work is “where we make our money”.

Customer service wise there must have been some big changes because now they can’t hit their ass with both hands.

 

[Bluemustang]

This.
Especially with a car that will see 130mph in a turn.

My wife and I do the dealer maintenance route for her Explorer which isn't bad because they give us a loaner car for free but her car has been in the dealership for 2 months now. We've been chasing a noise that started around 50k miles. They replaced the front axles....still has the noise. Then they replaced the trans and cats....still has the noise. Now they tell us it has a misfire and needs to go to a special service center for further diagnosis. We called them yesterday for an update and they made no mention of a misfire and apparently are now waiting for a torque converter to arrive.
Personally, I have no confidence they have any clue what they're doing.

100%. I took the car in for an alignment one time. I gave them easily achievable specs, it's not that hard. They got that wrong. Numbers were off and the car was pulling. Then I find out my KONI shocks started making noise when they were silent before. They blamed it on my shocks. And, I've seen all the dashcams of Ford techs joyriding people's Mustangs and a few times they've crashed it. Since that bad alignment experience I've only taken it in ONCE for an oil change before a trip I was taking because I needed it in a pinch and my shop couldn't do it in time. AND I GAVE THEM my PuP 5W30 oil and filter to put in - on the damn driver's seat so it couldn't be missed. Guess what - they put in Motorcraft blend and another filter lol. My guess is they heard what I said and didn't want to do it.

The shop I go to does all my suspension stuff, tire mounting, alignments, and all other maintenance without any issues. I have a lot of aftermarket suspension parts and everything is always done right and exactly how I want it done. For alignments I hand them my specs and they hit it to a T 90% of the time. Some of this stuff I could do myself and some I do, some I don't... sometimes it's not worth the hassle and I give it to a professional instead.

It surprised me how hard it really is to find a shop that can do good work and one that can be trusted. If I need engine or transmission stuff done, I wouldn't hesitate to bring it to them. And they're good guys. A few of them road race and drag race and work on a variety of cars, both new and old. I've seen some cool classic cars come through. They work on buses, utility trucks... you name it. If it has wheels they can fix it.

 

[BIGG_RIBB]

I would go to a performance shop. I had my Ford Dealer install my Steeda suspension and they couldn't even finish the job due to some tool that they didn't have. I had to take it to the performance shop to complete thew work. I don't mind the dealership doing routine maintenance such as oil changes, but anything beyond that I will take to my performance shop. Additionally, my performance shop charges much less than the dealership does. Good luck!

 

[GTP]

Well I had the transmission main seal replaced by a local dealer last summer right after a HPDE. No beef and their tech recommended a bigger cooler for tracking. The belief that anyone who seems like they were at a road course will never get warranty work lives here like great Urban myths. fyi I've had other warranty work done with my rollbar, track tow rings and stickers on too, no hesitations.

That's because you took it to Ray Skillman, which is the most supportive dealer in town for modded cars. The service manager races wheel-to-wheel, and the transmission guy is as experienced on the 10r80 as they come.

If you want, we can add a second OEM cooler over at my house, like I just did. It dropped my temp by 15F on track. No charge, and could be a fun one-day project. And under $150 total in parts.

 

[gone_n_60]

What does your ESP say regarding modifications? That would be the first place I look as to repercussions.

FYI I'm still in factory warranty, ESP hasn't kicked in yet.

 

[robvas]

With all of my mods listed in my sig, my local dealer has covered every OEM warranty issue and every ESP warranty issue. Their GT500/GT350 tech is the only tech that works on my car there. He has a honking big Kenne-Bell blower on his personal Mustang. Plus, he likes wrenching on my car.

They told me that they will always cover warranty stuff that they don't have to have a regional tech manager look at. Even then, they said that their regional guy was fairly forgiving. Warranty support like mine is probably not the norm, I guess? It seems like it depends on your choice of dealer and who manages regional-level warranty decisions. As for corporate-level Ford warranty reviews, I have no idea. Never needed one. My dealer said that they have had more corporate-level approvals than denials, however. Good luck with your tranny cooler...

What sorts of things have they covered?

 

[robvas]

According to the dealership that I have patronized for the past 26 years, but no longer, warranty work is “where we make our money”.

First time I've ever heard that.

Most dealers/techs hate warranty work because it's usually reimbursed a lower rate plus there's paperwork involved vs just doing regular labor for customers.

 

[Biggsy]

According to the dealership that I have patronized for the past 26 years, but no longer, warranty work is “where we make our money”.

I found out last year that techs get paid less for warranty work. Everything in the universe made sense...well not everything but you get the point

Been dealing with a bad pilot bearing for 3 years and was denied warranty because they didn't feel like dropping the transmission. I had an email from Ford performance stating what needed to be done to resolve the issue. TOB went out so I have no choice to get it fixed now lol

As @NightmareMoon said ...I think the biggest thing is mechanics who are capable. Dont want to know what the bill would look like compared to a performance shop. Also one thing about smaller shops is that I know who has been in my car for the most part.

 

[WItoTX]

FYI I'm still in factory warranty, ESP hasn't kicked in yet.

What does the factory warranty say?

 

[mikengail]

What sorts of things have they covered?

Transmission and water pump/thermostat, so far. They even accommodated me with the tune. I had an aftermarket tune and they needed to flash an updated stock tune for the transmission repair. My tuner said that the stock tune would be OK for starting and idling. So, they flashed to the new stock tune, but didn't drive it or rev it up. I then downloaded it and sent it to my tuner. He used that tune as his base, instead of the old base. I went back to the shop and flashed to the updated tune from my tuner and everything worked great. The Tech knew the deal and helped me all the way.

The water pump, thermostat and hoses didn't have any tune implications at all.

I almost forgot that they replaced a lock nut on the upper connection of my right rear vertical link at no charge when I went there for an oil and transmission fluid change. They noticed that I had replaced my vertical links with Steeda units and the lock nut tang for the upper connection was broken on one of them so there was potential for the nut to vibrate loose. It wasn't loose at that time. I had just recently installed them. I hadn't noticed nor felt that broken tang when I installed the new vertical links. The tech was just curious and was checking them out when he noticed the broken lock nut. He said the torque of the nut was still right, but wanted to be on the safe side.

I tried all 3 local Ford dealership service departments when I first moved here in 2016. The guys I chose are the best that I've ever experienced. I wished their sales side was as accommodating. I live in a definite Sellers' market and it shows in the quotes that I receive from their Sales Department. I got a good deal on a Ford Edge Sport in 2018 from them, but this car and my wife's new Edge ST were purchased out of state. The Service Department doesn't care. They know that their sales side is too expensive. I give them outstanding reviews in all my surveys and on social media. I'm sure that helps as well. Plus, they're all just good people. I've gotten to know them well and we're all on a first-name basis. Just got lucky in this situation, I guess...

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

First time I've ever heard that.

Most dealers/techs hate warranty work because it's usually reimbursed a lower rate plus there's paperwork involved vs just doing regular labor for customers.

I was only repeating what I was told.

There will not be another opportunity for them to say it again.

 

[mavisky]

I found out last year that techs get paid less for warranty work. Everything in the universe made sense...well not everything but you get the point

Been dealing with a bad pilot bearing for 3 years and was denied warranty because they didn't feel like dropping the transmission. I had an email from Ford performance stating what needed to be done to resolve the issue. TOB went out so I have no choice to get it fixed now lol

As @NightmareMoon said ...I think the biggest thing is mechanics who are capable. Dont want to know what the bill would look like compared to a performance shop. Also one thing about smaller shops is that I know who has been in my car for the most part.

Techs 100% get paid less for warranty work and usually book fewer hours on a given repair than what they'd bill you for if they billed you directly for the same job. Used to be a service writer back in the day and doubt things have changed since then.

 

[gone_n_60]

What does the factory warranty say?

I think is says "fix whatever shit is broke for this guy, no charge"?

 

[ing3nious]

This.
Especially with a car that will see 130mph in a turn.

My wife and I do the dealer maintenance route for her Explorer which isn't bad because they give us a loaner car for free but her car has been in the dealership for 2 months now. We've been chasing a noise that started around 50k miles. They replaced the front axles....still has the noise. Then they replaced the trans and cats....still has the noise. Now they tell us it has a misfire and needs to go to a special service center for further diagnosis. We called them yesterday for an update and they made no mention of a misfire and apparently are now waiting for a torque converter to arrive.
Personally, I have no confidence they have any clue what they're doing.

Pretty sure that’s lemon worthy time at the dealer. Press it if you want a new car.

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