Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General I need some help (Dealer messed up my car)

cliff notes: Dealer didn't connect my battery right after they did some work. My car died in the middle of the road. I want to get the guy who did the work in as much trouble as I can.

Ok I am REALLY REALLY PISSED right now. I'm gonna call the dealer soon but I want to know how to get the ******* in a LOT OF TROUBLE so help me peoople! I just got my dash replaced and picked up the car yesterday. Well I'm driving home today and my transmission starts acting all crazy. Anyway I got stopped at a red light and I turned off my engine to see if restarting it will help. I turn the key and it doesn't start. I immediately hit the hazards but they don't turn on either. Now I'm freaking out because the light is green now. After I'm sure nobody is gonna hit me I got out and opened the hood and realize the damn idiots put the - wire back on the battery WITHOUT RETIGHTING IT. So I made it home as it was only 2 minutes to my house but I am furious right now and want to get that guy in a whole lot of ****. I'm gonna go back out to check on the transmission. I have less than 1000 miles left on the warranty so if there's another problem I need to get it fixed right away. I know a lot of people on here have had lots of problems with dealers so let me know how to deal with this!

CHILL !!!!
Forget about it.
If you NEVER want to go to that dealer again, then raise a stink.
I would just casually mention the problem to the service manager next time you are in,, like it was really no big deal, (for YOU) but some "lil' ol' lady might not be so lucky...
And then forget about it.

Ok tranny seems ok for now but let me explain what was happening before. As I was driving I got out of a school zone so I start accelerating. well, I got up to about 35 just fine and then all of a sudden it tries to shift into 2nd. For some reason it couldn't actually make it into second but the RPM flew up to about 4k, felt like it was tring to catch on the gear (car jerked severely) instantly the RPM dropped to 3k then started to periodically fly back to 4k about 2 times a second. This went on as long as I had my foot on the accelerator as far as I can tell since I let off quickly.

Another thing I noticed is that the new dash is not comepletely even in places. The edge right before the air vent is not straight it has many bumps on that edge. The mechanic also got my windshield dirty and did not bother cleaning it up. I want to mention everything that they did wrong when I talk to the dealer.

Not only this but the last time I had my car in the dealer I told them that my brake rotor was warped and that I wanted a new one under warranty. The guy refused and told me I needed new pads instead which I pointed out to him was wrong because it was obvious the pads were fine. He finally agreed to do the rotor but only if I get new pads so I finally let him. I also told him my one of my fogs were out and I wanted to know if it was covered under warranty (I checked the warranty manual and it did not mention lights in any way) he told me that it was not and that they would charge me 40 bucks to change the light! I said I'll do it myself and the next day when I went to put a new bulb in I saw that they had taken out the light and left my harness hanging there.

If anyone is still reading please help me out so I can make sure that these *******s get what they deserve. Also does anyone know if there can be any serious damage from what I mentioned?

Not sure if this is correct, but I believe that the computer needs to go through a re-learn period after the batter has been disconnected which would affect both your engine and transmission.

Send a letter to the dealership, a copy to the service advisor, and another to Ford itself. Word it professionally, and explain the precarious position the car put you in (nearly caused an accident on the highway), and how you want this matter resolved.

You'll get some people in trouble, and probably get some oil changes for free or something.

And in addition to that you need to call the customer service #800 number. I don't have a manual for my car nut I think that the 800 # is in the front. Remeber- do this and write the letter and send the copies. By doing this someone will get in trouble, and it will affect the dealerships rating. They are very proud of those ratings- usually because they are very high- reason being that no one ever calls the 800# to complain!
Rememebr- this goes both ways- when you finallly find a service center that does you right- let it be known in the same manner.