Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Dealer Mishap

Well, I took my car into the dealer on Tuesday for new front pads and rotors - it was grinding really badly. I got my car back and it felt a bit funny. It didn't seem to brake as well. Last night, I was driving on the highway and had to come to a stop because of traffic up ahead. Apparently, my car didn't want to stop like it used to. I ended up swerving into the emergency lane and finally coming to a stop even with the car that was ahead of me. I went back to the dealer and apparently they put stock contour parts on my SVT. I don't know if that's what made the difference, but either way it's upsetting. What else is upsetting is that he was going to try to charge me the difference in price!

Get the mishap/mistake in writing. Also have them bleed the brakes again.

Not to sound ignorant, but in this case I am..... What exactly is bleeding the brakes?

Removing any air pockets that may be in the lines. Really only necessary if you have fairly old brake fluid or if air was introduced into the lines during the brake job.

Last time I took my car in for service my dealer didn't put my air filter housing back together right! Fortunately I checked and fixed it before anything bad happened. I wouldn't mind paying higher prices to maintain my car at the dealer IF they knew what they were doing! You gotta watch those people!

Will they automatically bleed the brakes or is that something that needs to be requested?

Depends if they open your bleeder screws or not. They dont like to open then, very hard sometimes if they are frozen on, plus it takes extra time.

If you request they do it and they do make sure your pedal doesnt fell spongy when you leave, that means they didnt do it right and there is air somewhere in the lines.

speaking of dealer's screwing up....

I had a fuse blow (one of the big ones) and my lights and radio went out, so i took it to the dealership. They said they'd look at it, takes them an hour and they come back saying they have to order a shifter solinoid. Special order, we will call you when it comes in. 3 days later i get a call saying it came in, so i take my car in around 10am. They start on it and at noon i am still sitting there. They come out and tell me they are having some problems, and it will be another hour or so. So at 1:30 i ask how its going and they tell me they found it was a blown fuse and they send it out. Then the lady up front wanted to charge me for all the labor they put into it. I told her i wasn't paying and she got angry, then i made a scene jelly springer style and she caved. Its funny how they should have checked that FIRST, it would have been a 15 minute fix the first time they looked at it, and cheaper too. Atleast I didn't have to pay for it, but they didn't reconnect the overdrive button and i haven't gotten around to putting it back yet. I really don't want to take it back again and tell them to fix that. LOL

I think dealers generally know what they are doing. Just try to screw you, or Uncle William Clay, over. Had my coolent bottle replaced every 4 months or so when I first bought the car, switched dealers after my warranty was up (approx 20k ago), and haven't switched her out since. Idiots... Can't believe they put you through all that for a stupid fuse.