Should I trust my dealer? Any recommendations of trusted mechanics around SF / Bay Area?

[illanxr]

I wanted to share with you my experience with my dealer (won't post publicly the name) and ask for your advice about what should I do: change dealer, find a trusted mechanic around SF / Bay Area, or any other option.

I purchased my car in December, a 2018 GT Premium A10 PP1 w/Magneride. The seller was finishing their lease, and instead of transferring it, we did the purchase through the dealer. They didn't make any profit of the sale, and they made it happen really quickly and effectively, so I felt really grateful.

However, I started to become a little bit uneasy with some things that happened after the purchase:

1. They tried to sell me a MPP for $4,000 valid up to 60,000 miles. I shared with them that I was planning to get a Ford PremiumCare up to 100,000 miles, 8 years, for around $2,000 in FloodFordEsp, and that I was willing to pay a little bit more to them, just to have the "peace of mind" and to build the relationship. The finance manager told me that that didn't exist, and that the PremiumCare was not going to work. I insisted and even showed them the quote, but he replied that "that won't cover you"
2. When they were doing the pre-purchase inspection, I told them that while test driving the car it felt that it was not properly aligned. They told me that everything was good. After 2 weeks, I had to bring the car in for an alignment (the steering wheel was like 5-10 degrees turned), which of course I had to pay for
3. I brought the car in for servicing for 33,000 miles. They suggested doing the engine air filter (it is due at 30,000 miles). I told them that the previous owner had done it with ~25,000 miles, but that, unfortunately, I didn't have the records [the car had been serviced with them, though]. They went ahead and did the air filter, but when I got the records from the previous owner 2 weeks after, I checked that he had done in fact the air filter
4. Finally, and this is the situation that made me write this thread: the car ran out of factory bumper to bumper warranty with 36,000 miles (luckily I got the Ford PremiumCare plan). I brought the car in for a squeaky noise coming from the rear passenger side. They checked the car and they told me that the noise caused by the rear driver side MagneRide strut, which was leaking. I was surprised, but I thought that maybe my noise perception is not that good. Unfortunately, the struts are not covered by the extended warranty, so I had to pay the almost $1,200 out of my pocket. After I got the car back, while driving out of the parking lot... the noise was still there, nothing had changed. I contacted the service advisor, and he told me to bring it back in to go on a test drive. I brought it back in, and I went on a test drive with the mechanic (who heard the noise after driving for literally 10 seconds). I asked him if he had not heard that noise before, and he told me that they had not done a test drive : just lifted the car and seen the strut leaking. Which is really weird, because the car had 15 more miles when I got it out than when I brought it in. I am still waiting for them to be available to check the noise again, but I am not sure if I want to bring the car back in...

I know this is a lot, but I wanted to share the full situation. Now, I wanted to get your views on this. What should I do?

• Should I find a trusted mechanic for my everyday servicing, and only bring it to the dealer for warranty work? If so, do you have any recommendations of trusted mechanics around SF / Bay Area? I read some posts about Advanced Auto Electric in San Ramon, Campbell Ford Performance... I am considering those, but I was wondering if there is anything closer to sF
  I brought the car to Werkshop in South San Francisco to do a vinyl work, and they seemed trustworthy, but I don't think they are specialized in Mustangs
  I just plan to upgrade with some Ford Performance parts (X pipe, lowering springs, Ford Performance calibration... that's pretty much it) and do everyday servicing. I am concerned about bringing the car to a trusted mechanic and that, if there is warranty work needed later, the dealer will blame the mechanic
• Should I try to talk to the general manager? I already talked to him once regarding the issue with the sale and the warranty, so I feel that I have already given them one extra chance
• Should I find another Ford dealer in the Bay Area? Also happy to hear recommendations. I read some posts with good reviews about Walnut Creek Ford. It will be more inconvenient, since I live in SF, but it is what it is...

Thank you very much for your help! Also, excited to join any drives around the area (I missed the 3/6 one that was posted earlier this month)

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[Heggs550]

This is exactly why dealerships are nicknamed "stealerships". This is pretty common practice for dealerships and most franchise/chain repair shops. Best advice I can give you is do your best to to any work yourself and maintain records in the event of a warranty issue when you need to bring it in.

I've had nothing but similar bad experiences at dealerships over the years. Most recently just a few months ago with a local Ford dealership. Was buying my girlfriend a 2019 Convertible and the finance manager, per usual, was trying to sell us an alarm system...I said are you sure it doesn't already have an alarm? Yup. Looked him right in the eye and said are you 100% sure it doesn't have an alarm? He did the same back and said yes. I didn't believe him for several reasons, so I declined even after several more attempts to force it on us and discount it more. Fast forward to the next day I was able to pull up the window sticker and not only does it have a factory alarm like all others, but it specifically has the enhanced security package.

No dealership is your friend. If they did the right thing and didn't look for ways to nickel and dime everyone they could, they wouldn't be able to afford that big fancy building. Plain and simple.