Why I hate Ford Service!

[Black Light]

I called my local dealership to arrange to have my foglight repaired. They said they need me to bring it in so they can take a look at it.

When I brought it in I parked it in a regular customer parking spot because I wasn't planning on leaving it there. The service desk person refused to look at my truck there and told me to drive it inside.

So I did and some crazy looking guy told me I must give him the keys after I showed him everything he needs to see (milage, etc.) I refused. He said it was a fire hazard to leave it sitting without keys in it. I replied that I have too many valuable things in the truck to leave it open with the keys in it (I usually completely emtpy the truck before every service where I need to leave the keys) and that the truck is there for only a few minutes. After I told him that I have to be at work (I work 10 mins from the dealership) in about 20-30 mins, he said that that will not happen (almost laughing at me). He got really mad at me for "implying that their car dealership is full of thieves." I locked the truck, said that "if a fire starts just wave at me or something" , and just walked away to the service desk person ignoring the idiot's screams.

Service desk person then walked out to the truck and looked at the cracked fog light. It was clear that the crack was from the inside and that no rock known to man can damage it like that from the inside. He had to get like 3 senior-level looking people to look at it who all looked very confused like they never seen one of these break. Gimme a break! I told them that this is common knowledge how sh!tty the L foglights are. They said that Ford has not told them about this being a problem. I told them that I can bring several posts from various internet forums to back up my statements. They just looked crazy at me...

Finally, I got the service desk person to agree to research this problem.

Next I showed how my exhaust tips are hanging down like they are about to fall off. They also seemed to me a little too wobly. The service desk person measured the clearance (which was 2.5" at the very tips) and said he will do research on them as well.

I also mentioned that I'm getting 9-10mpg and I have never seen anything over 12mpg even during strictly highway driving. I asked to find out if it would be possible to take a look at my computer setting because I think that the air/fuel mixture may be messed up. Again I got a crazy look from the service desk person...

I was told to call after lunch to find out the results of their research. Here's what I found out when I called:

1. Most likely Ford will not cover my fog light crack and that I will have to pay for it out of my own pocket. They did agree to have a Ford rep take a look at it (who happens to come visit their dealership no more often than once a month).

2. "Typical exhaust tip clearance on SVT vehicles" is 1.5 to 2.5" according to some Ford guy they called and that was verified by measuring the clearance on four SVT vehicles they had on the lot (notice "SVT vehicles" and not L's). They cannot adjust the clearance. It's impossible. They can however check to see if the exhaust is about to fall off or some parts are missing.

3. There's nothing they can do to improve my fuel economy. They can't adjust air/fuel mixture settings. They can however inspect it and tell me how bad it is.

I asked to schedule my appointment for the morning of whenever their Ford rep guy comes which is a mystery even to them. The service desk person kept on trying to get me off the phone when I tried to finalize service agreements.

Wow! Great service! NOT!

 

[Ghostrider]

Which is EXACTLY why my next "truck" will probably be a BMW M3....

I've had it with Ford nickel and diming me on this truck and I've had it with them not wanting to back their product, even in a bone stock situation. Yeah, an M3 is about 20K more, but they will mod it for me, and still give me a full warranty.

"Say hello to my little friend....:

 

[95Lightning2]

No, no, no. Just by a truck or car out of warranty. Save a lot of money up front, fix the truck yourself when needed or find a good mechanic and stick with them, and you can do whatever you want to the truck and don't have to worry about voiding the warranty.

 

[Ghostrider]

95Lightning2 - I appreciate the effort, but I'm no mechanic (computer nerd) and have no desire to buy used, and no desire to put myself at the mercy of a mechanic, (been screwed over too many times).

Fords treatement of me (3 time F150 owner since the new body style was introduced in '97) has really turned me off to Ford. I don't need to be "cross examined" when I take the truck in for regular service.

BTW, Chrysler is just as bad if not worse. I own a PT Cruiser as well and they all but accused me of "tampering" when the fog lights filled with water and had to be replaced.

Again, thank you for the efforts, but I'm over it....

 

[DB]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I guess I'm lucky in that I haven't had any problems with my local Ford service department. Just had the intercooler and wiper recall done and everything was very smooth.

 

[Speedin Bob]

>>>>>>warzone material



Bob

 

[Kerrdogg]

Blacklight,

Is the dealership you are going to a Blue Oval certified dealer or a SVT dealer?

Is there another dealership maybe more qualified in your area to take the truck to?

The foglight issue is not a major concern, we replace them all the time, it usually does require a digital image though that needs to be approved by FoMoCo. Try adding a guppy or goldfish into the water and ask them how the heck that got in there .

Here is all I can say about all car dealerships service departments in general (yes, even BMW) after working in them for the last 12 years.

Most service writers are complete idiots when it comes to cars.

Think about their job for a minute though. They make their money by earning a percentage of what it costs to repair the vehicle, in other words they want to sell you something (15K service for $350, anybody??) and warranty concerns are the least of their worries. They also are the first person an irrate customer comes into contact with, kinda like working the return counter at Kmart, no thanks. All I am saying is to treat them with a little respect, remember that they know zero about your vehicle even though you know of 1,200 other L owners that have the same problem as you, and make sure your concerns are real and not just nit picking because you are upset. If you are capable of correcting the adjustment on your tailpipes do it yourself, at least you should get the results you were after.

As far as your fuel mileage concern goes the Ford service department is limited to what they can test on your vehicle but there are field experts out there that travel from dealership to dealership trying to solve complex concerns. I would personally suggest finding a dyno in your area and monitor air fuel ratios in normal driving conditions. Did you buy the truck new? If not check and see if it has a chip installed, you never know.

Finally as far as Ford Reps go, good luck. I have tried to meet with our area rep on several occasiosn and either just miss her or get the "That's just technical for me to handle" reply, nice huh? Fords helpline is not the best either. I have gotten calls from them concerning a customer at our dealership. The tech puts me on a three way phone conversation with a customer that is irrate and then asks why a certain part is on back order. My first reply is usually, "Well you work at Ford, can't you tell me?" (They hate that ) In other words nobody knows what is really going on and the customer ends up knowing or trusting Ford less than when they started out.

Find a dealership that cares, there are some out there (I know because I work at one), and good luck.

 

[SpeedRules2]

I agree!!! Ford has the worst service departments.
In the three years that I owned my 99 F-150 the air went out twice, the power steering pump completely blew up, one of the tires blew out for no reason, and fourth gear was going out at 25,000 miles. My service department wouldn't fix the tranny, wouldn't cover the tire, and were just in general rude to me most of the time. Then I also had a 99 Taurus. The service department couldn't flush my transmission and service it!!!! Can you believe that????? The customer base that they have built up is going to go away if they don't get their acts together. Later Jeremy