Ford Service Sucks - Yet Again!

Man I swear I just need to open up my own shop!!!

Took my car to the local Ford Dealer (Ray Adams Ford in Belton) for a seemingly simple procedure.

Mount & balance 4 tires (New BFG KDW 225/50's) and a 4-wheel alignment. Pretty much bread & butter work.

2 full days later (yes I typed that correctly) I get my car back with the original tires "back" on it and it need of 4 new rims, 1 jack point cover, & a few small other things!

They called yesterday around 4pm (I dropped it off before 9am) and said they were having trouble getting the beads to pop out. Go into detail on how they took the tires on and off the rims like 8-10 times each. Drove the car around on seriously overinflated tires, etc, etc... (I immediately called them on that!)
They ended the call by saying they were sending them out to a specialty shop in the morning and would give me a cal when the did.

Today rolls around and by 1pm in the afternoon I still don't have my call back and give them a call. They said they couldn't get them to seat and were trying to put the old tires back on. Also the fact they never sent the tires out. They say my car will be ready in 30 minutes.

I go to the dealership at 5pm (after wife gets home) and my car is still in the shop. I go over and look at it before I go up to the front desk and notice all 4 rims and thoroughly trashed, 1 jack cover is broken through the middle, 2 of the old tires cut across the sidewalls, etc, etc, etc...

I immediately get the service writer to come look at it (the only cool guy that works there I think - the other 4 guys I talked to were downright rude & ignorant)

End of story is I am getting 4 new rims, jack point cover, the small problems fixed, but am out my car for at least 1 week waiting for the rims. At least it's sitting in my garage now instead of theirs!!!

I have yet to have a good experience at any Ford dealership in at least 10-12 attempts!
Out of those dozen or so a good 8 have been utterly pitiful!!
4 have even ended in someone getting fired or me needing replacement parts at their cost!!!

So who wants to help me float a loan. I'll start a nice shop for all of us and everyone here get's a fair price.

I so sick and tired of having to have other people touch my car! ARGH!!!!

oh man tell me about it! Ford dealerships are the worst but really it seems like nobody cares anymore. I took my SVT to a local body shop to get 3 small dents taken out of the drivers side rear quarter panel. I didn't think I was asking too much. Sure, that quarter panel needed to be repainted but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to get it to match. I go pick my car up Thursday of last week and as soon as I drive up I can tell the paint is definitely darker on that quarter panel as well as the drivers side rear door and my trunk! Not to mention the door that didn't match felt like sandpaper! Don't know what happened there.

Anyways, my car is in the shop getting a total re-spray (on their dime) right now and should be out tomorrow. It took alot of bitching but that is what it'd take to get the car back like it was.

Sorry for your loss man, I am seriously scared of Ford dealerships. There is not one time I have had my car there and they have not messed something up. And they never seem to be able to explain how those 5-10 miles got on my car after I brought it in to be worked on.

-neal

YEAH
I wait a week for a new dash install ,I was told only one day[recall]

Picked it up and guess what

It looked like HELL, wrinkled ,bulging

Now it has popped up like the old one in one MONTH

To make matters worse the "LIGHT was on

Ended up with a new Torque Converter and F----Up DASH

and out $750

Thats it for me,I glued the dash down with silicone [not good yet-I will keep trying]The car will rot into the ground before it goes back

I really can't complain about the service I've gotten at the local Manhattan, Kansas Ford dealer. They know me by name when I come in and I don't have any complaints about their service.

Another problem for a lot of us is that we need a courtesy van ride to work, and that forces us to patronize the dealers. The local independent mechanics won't take me to work or pick me up, so there's no way I can use them. And no, I don't have any co-workers who live close to where I live.

I also haven't had bad luck with the Topeka Ford/LM dealers, although they have more of a big city attitude. I think maybe small town dealers (regardless of brand) probably try harder to please their customers. My worst experience has been with a Mercedes/BMW dealer, they were downright arrogant.

I hear you, it's just hard to find good help. Two months after I bought my car (13,000 miles in Aug 2001) I took it to a local shop to have my gforce's swapped out for winter tires and I get the car back with the rims scratched all up. It looks like they had too much fun with the air gun, and my family's been going to this place for about 10 years. My Ford Dealer (Sessler Ford in Libertyville, IL) has been pretty good, though, but after the dash recall, I'm getting a rattle from the direction of the defroster grill for about 5 minutes after startup when it's cold out. Plus, when I bought the car the previous owner had the Canadian daytimes hooked up, but it caused one of the highbeams to not work. They had it for 2 days and finally their solution was to disable the drl's, which was ok, but I was upset that they couldn't solve the problem otherwise. They have been pretty curteous and call quickly, and I get a rental when I have it there thanks to my extended warranty (although enterprise sticks you with the "insurance fee").

Is there any way to show Ford the complaints floating around CEG? And if someone did see it would it change anything?

Originally posted by mcciavarella:
Is there any way to show Ford the complaints floating around CEG? And if someone did see it would it change anything?

There is a "Customer Service" number to call regarding such complaints. I have called them 3 times in the last month regarding the crappy stealership that has my car.

The problem is that they are on the dealers side and not yours. They listen to what you say intently waiting for you to say sometime to acknowledge you did sometime wrong or incriminate yourself. They then enter all of this information into a computer so when you call again the next representative can pull you on their screen and pick up where the last one left off.

They will listen to you but they never, ever offer any sort of response. They just listen and "make a note on your account." They just want you to get frustrated and leave them alone.

Sad but true.

why in the world would you go to the dealer for tires & alignment? Most of them farm this work out to a tire shop. Even if you bought the tires online or used, most tire shops will mount/balance & align them for you. Unfortunately, I think you need to accept some responsibility for a bad decision. BTW, I have had great service from my dealer, Willowbrook Ford. Great customer service, and when a problem comes up that they can't resolve by end of day, they provide a loaner.

I am a mechanic, but unfortunately this doesn't matter when it comes to Ford recalls. I wanted them to just give me the harness so I could put it in, but they HAD to do it. So after getting the wire harness recall serviced at my local Ford dealer, I go pick it up, and then about 6 or so hours later, the power steering hose blows!!!!!! I look at it, and they did not attach a holddown bracket for the hose, and it was RUBBING on the serpentine belt. So with no power steering I drive it back to FORD dealer IN A FURY! Then to top it all off, the service manager tryed to say it was coincidence!!!!! At this point I was looking for my boxing gloves, and after wipping out my ASE Certification card from my wallet, and threatening to call Ford service regional rep. I'm telling him how can it be coincidence that for the past six years every new belt I've put on worked for years!! After about an hour of runnin around in circles, I FINALLY got some cooperation from them. I told them I wanted METICULOUS repair, and that I wanted them to put on a NEW serp belt (since the old one was oil soaked), and the reluctantly agreed. NEVER again will I deal with that place. Hopefully, there are no more recalls that need to be serviced on my Tour, as I may have to just fix them myself from now on. Ford Service sucks

Will you be my mechanic?

Originally posted by ibub:
Unfortunately, I think you need to accept some responsibility for a bad decision.

I don't get it? I see your point about going to a tire shop for the work (which I would've done, my car goes to a Mazda dealer for work, not Ford) but how could this be blamed on him? Even the most incompitent(sp?) Ford house (which is to say all of them) should've been able to mount/balance some tires.

Originally posted by ibub:
1. why in the world would you go to the dealer for tires & alignment?
2. Even if you bought the tires online or used, most tire shops will mount/balance & align them for you.
3. Unfortunately, I think you need to accept some responsibility for a bad decision.

1. They have the new state of the art alignment rack, their prices were great, and it's very close. (I had to bring the kids & they gave me a ride home) I also live on the outskirts of town so nothing better is remotely close! Obviously there are a lot of things you haven't considered about this.

2. Bought them from tirerack. Where else? Not ALL shops can mount aluminum rims and Z rated tires! Matter of fact the number is fairly small comparatively.

3. So it's my fault they screwed up my rims and other stuff up? What kind of a jack ass are you or is it just plain ignorance?

That's just a horsesh^t response!

This is a simple job with the right equipment! I've done it hundreds of times myself when I was a mechanic.
Now it's my bad decision because I took it to a shop that "supposedly" is staffed with ASE certified technicians & specifically told me they had the right equipment to do my rims & tires (yes I specifically asked) vs "Joe-Bob's radiator shack" with tire busters designed for steel wheels only!

I'm glad you found a good dealer. I wish I could. Though in 2 more months it's a moot point as my warranty runs out. BTW - That's the only time I take my car anywhere. Warranty work or a job that requires special equipment. Like I stated; if I had the money I'd have my own shop!

Demon before you come to my dealership I want you to know that a tech and I will put them on. We do not have the latest stuff. I don't know if you should come all the way out here. I will feel bad if I couldn't get to it. I know I could mount your tires on your wheels, but still I don't want you to drive all this way if nothing happens. What exactly wheels/tires did you get? Were these guys at Ray Adams tools or something? I don't find it the slightest bit hard to mess up wheels mounting tires. If you take things nice and slow usually everything comes out good. I had my 17" Cobra R's for my mustang mounted and balanced where I work, and they are even chrome. All I did was use a nice Terry cloth so I didn't scuff it up at all. Maybe you should fork over some dough and head out to KC Trends. They deal with those expensive wheels all the time.

Originally posted by DemonSVT:

Originally posted by ibub:
1. why in the world would you go to the dealer for tires & alignment?
2. Even if you bought the tires online or used, most tire shops will mount/balance & align them for you.
3. Unfortunately, I think you need to accept some responsibility for a bad decision.

1. They have the new state of the art alignment rack, their prices were great, and it's very close. (I had to bring the kids & they gave me a ride home) I also live on the outskirts of town so nothing better is remotely close! Obviously there are a lot of things you haven't considered about this.

2. Bought them from tirerack. Where else? Not ALL shops can mount aluminum rims and Z rated tires! Matter of fact the number is fairly small comparatively.

3. So it's my fault they screwed up my rims and other stuff up? What kind of a jack ass are you or is it just plain ignorance? That's just a horsesh^t response!

This is a simple job with the right equipment! I've done it hundreds of times myself when I was a mechanic.
Now it's my bad decision because I took it to a shop that "supposedly" is staffed with ASE certified technicians & specifically told me they had the right equipment to do my rims & tires (yes I specifically asked) vs "Joe-Bob's radiator shack" with tire busters designed for steel wheels only!

I'm glad you found a good dealer. I wish I could. Though in 2 more months it's a moot point as my warranty runs out. BTW - That's the only time I take my car anywhere. Warranty work or a job that requires special equipment. Like I stated; if I had the money I'd have my own shop!

So, you want to get into name calling? You didn't state in your original post that you "grilled" them about capability & equipment. Tire Rack will give you a list of local shops they work with that would have been able to install the tires you bought, and would have shipped them right to that shop. Many new car dealers don't actually have tire busting equipment, but rather farm that work out to a local tire shop they work with, same thing with glass and electronics (stereos, alarms etc). They won't tell you they do this, they just do it. I also do much of my own work and am very careful about where my car goes for the stuff I can't handle. Sorry things went badly for you, and you're obviously venting your frustration here, but you made the general statement that all Ford service sucks, and I felt that since I did find a good house, I had to defend my guys. Peace?

9 Ford shops out of 10 are places I wouldn't trust them to put a set of Lego's together properly...

I'm happy that you have found a good shop. You are definintely the minority. I've been through close to 10 shops with 2 SHO's and now a Contour SVT and I can say that NONE have been worth a damn. My experiences with Chevrolet haven't been much better. Try taking a Corvette into the same place where a Geo Metro gets serviced and not break out into a cold sweat!

I've been screaming for years that Corvettes should also be able to be serviced at Cadillac dealers...

Ford points to the dealers and say there's nothing they can do, their hands are tied, blah f***ing blah. The dealers come up with every BS excuse under the sun for the blatant trashing of cars, part-swappers that haven't any business working on a lawn mower, etc., etc. In the end, they do their damndest to pawn any mistakes off on the customer on his/her own time and dime. How do I know? I took my Countour in to a shop in Tulsa (Tulsa Auto Collection) to get a motor mount fixed. The problem was that the mount never was bolted down properly from day one. It came from the factory missing a nut on one of the bolts!!! I get it fixed and talk to the mechanic about it. This is when the only mod I had on the car was the intake. The guy flat-out stated that whoever installed the intake must have removed the damn nut!!! I bare-faced called the mech. an idiot because:

1) I was the guy that did it and I KNOW the difference between a bolt for a motor mount and a bolt fastening the air box down and

2) The bolt showed NO signs of wear, rust or anything. It was a FRESH bolt, which tells anyone over a room temperature IQ that a nut had never been placed on the bolt!!!

Sure enough, on the report it was stated that the owner's aftermarket modifications could have caused the bolt to have been misplaced, etc. Under the threat of bringing in an attourney and suing for libel and slander, I had the shop manager change the report, because God forbid if I ever have to bring the car in for something else, I'd most likely have a tech look at this and try to void parts of my warranty to save Ford a couple of measly dollars...

Point is, I know there are thousands of other totally disgusted Ford owners out there considering other cars from other manufacturers simply for the SOLE reason of the dealer screw-ups that is almost a trademark of Ford dealerships. If Ford had ANY intelligence whatsoever in this matter, they would wake the hell up and realize that it's PRECISELY this type of dumb-a$$ activity that is draining them of future car sales. I don't care what anyone says, crap like this WILL EFFECT A COMPANIES BOTTOM LINE. Ford needs to wake up to this fact and do something about it, instead of letting the dealer's totally wreck what little reputation that Ford has left. Like it or not, dealerships are most likely the ONLY REPRESENTATIVES of Ford that a customer will ever deal with, unless they've the intestinal fortitude of going through the loop with the joke that passes itself of as Ford customer service. Someone said it right when they said they are definintely batting for the dealerships instead of the customer...

I don't care if Ford makes a 500HP AWD 2800lb. 4-door sedan under $25,000, I'll never buy it because of the service I'd have to put up with. They have PERMANENTLY lost me as a future customer, which is a damn shame because I really like the new Cobra and I've always had a crush on the Lightning.

I just can't stand the thought of putting a $30k+ automobile in the same hands that have close to a .900 batting average of f***ing any and everything up that they get their hands on. Cars need maintenance; it's a fact. From a Ferrari down to a Yugo, there will be something that will need dealership attention from time to time.

This is why Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Infinity or Lexus will be getting my dollars next time around. I know their dealer service (as I've friends or family with at least one of the above manufactured cars). I LOVE my Contour SVT to death, but God-almighty, the trips to the dealer for maintenance are like preparing for a Supreme Court hearing. I bring my video camera and shoot the interior, exterior and engine bay, while paying special attention to my rims. I MAKE SURE that the service manager sees me doing this. I write down the mileage on my car and I make sure they see this as well. I tell them I will be checking the wheel-wells for any beaded rubber (sure sign they been doing burn-outs). I tell them the precise problem I've been having and before they DO ANYTHING corrective, to call me first. In short, shops HATE when I bring my car in, but I've no choice anymore, given the piss-poor service I've consistently received.

I'll gladly quit my job and become a full-time consultant for Ford on their service and dealership practices if they will pay me 3% yearly of the lost business I can prove from dealership screw-ups and activities in their shops. At that rate, I could retire a multi-millionare within 2-3 years. I'm serious as a heart-attack, too. If anyone from Ford reads this, hit me up, as things need IMMEDIATE improvement and I'd love to help Ford out while lining my pockets with tons of cash...

I never take my car to big dealers. I need an allignment REALLY bad (having the wheel at the 11:00 position makes the car go straight) but the only place I could get in was Valley Ford, no chance in hell am I going to take my car there. I went in to buy a light bulb there and the parts guy basically told me that I could go there when I get a "real car", which makes absolutely NO sense because you know what this dude drives? 1988 Ford Tempo. Yeah, I told them that they'd never get my business again. The ONLY and I mean ONLY Ford dealer that will get my business is Burns Motor Co. in Hawley, MN. It's owned by a man that's about 80 years old, and they care ALOT about customer satisfaction. You can even get a chair and go out to the shop and watch them, which was REALLY fun (funny, too) when they put in my alternator, the dude had to get to it from under the car, and he couldn't use powertools to get it out. The dealer is VERY reasonably priced, too. $45 an hour for labor, where Lunde Lincoln/Mercury and Valley Ford are charging about twice that.

I have my cars serviced at a local independent garage. My Contour started loosing power. I took it to the local independent garage. They found the problem and installed a new coil pack. The cost for diagnosis, parts, and labor were less than $50.

I tried using Ford Service. I have caught them hot rodding my car when I return to pick it up.

They apologize but for them to hot rod my car when I trust them with it is inexcusable. If they would hot rod my car I wonder what else they would do. They are not the kind of people I like to deal with.

I take my car to dealerships for warranty work only. I do not trust the dealership service department but because warranty repairs are free I guess it is worth the risk.

I am going to send a copy of the complaints in this thread to any one and everyone at Ford.

Originally posted by Beowulf:
Will you be my mechanic?

Possibly some type of Cyber-mechanic perhaps?

Hey, maybe your onto something? I'd never have to get my hands dirty again!

By the way, Whenever I need tire or alignment work done (which my shop is not tooled up to do), I always use local tireshops, because they will at least let me stand right there so I can babysit them through the whole process. That way, I can walk under the car and make sure the guy is doing it right! FORD would NEVER let me even go 'back there' into their sacred work area due to insurance regulations (They must use a different insurance company than tire shops). Another good reason to babysit them is because untrained retards always try to jack the car up on the ground effects (WARPING THEM). I swear, I seen one guy start doing that to mine, and good thing I was there to stop him before they got ruined!

I get my oil-et all done at Campbell Ford here in Ottawa. They are the cheapest for this type of stuff in town, and they openly tell you that you are welcome in the service bay, and to feel free to ask any questions.

They also did my steering rack The car had a few greasy fingerprints on the rims when I picked it up, but nothing that couldn't be washed off. The service advisor was couteous, pleasant, and very explicit about what was being done, and a couple of things to look out for. And the car never handled better

My experience with another local dealer, Donnelly's was much less pleasant. I went in for an alignment on my old T-Bird SC, and they told me I needed a bunch of suspension work (bushings, et al) and that it NEEDED to be done to make the car safe. This was THREE DAYS after I had had the car safetied. They said the right lower control arm was bad (it was replaced as part of the 3-day old safety check!), and that my left upper control arm was bad. I called them on it, told them to give me my car, then I went home and re-torqued the control-arm bolt the tech had loosened to make it seem like I had a sloppy suspension.

I guess there are some good and some bad shops. I still prefer to do my own work, because it's cheaper, and I know if I have done it right.

"FORD would NEVER let me even go 'back there' into their sacred work area"

Dealers are independent franchises, NOT Ford Motor Co.. I had my share of bad and good dealers, if they give you problems, then complain to Dearborn. If it's out of warranty, then it's a dealer problem. Even Import car dealers have their share of *&^%$#@'s

I'm NOT saying you don't have valid complaints, just take it out on dealer, not the whole industry.

Also: "I have caught them (Ford Dealer) hot rodding my car..."

Who is to say that an independent shop won't "hot rod" a car?? I've heard of horror stories with gas stations and repair shops, too. It's a matter of finding one you trust. It so happens I trust my Ford dealer near me. (Doesn't mean I trust 'em all!)

Originally posted by 2000v6SE:
"FORD would NEVER let me even go 'back there' into their sacred work area"

Dealers are independent franchises, NOT "FORD" or Ford Motor Co., like everyone is saying....

I think most of us understand this, but Ford absolutely needs to step up to the plate and realize the consistent and damaging black-eye they are receiving due to dealer service. It's the SOLE and ONLY thing that has driven me away from ever purchasing a Ford again. Independently-owned franchises or not, Ford as a publicly traded entity is LOSING market share (my next car purchases until I'm in the grave)from myself and others like me due to THIS EXACT REASON. If something is causing people to go to your competition for products and service, an intelligent businessman that wants to stay in business FINDS out WHY and DOES SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Period. Otherwise, welcome to the world of falling stock prices as well as stagnant and sliding sales...

IMHO, this is one of Ford's core problems and issues with dealerships. It's the "not my job" mentality of Ford pushing the ownership of quality of service onto the dealerships and the dealerships having little to no oversight and responsibility of their level of service (apart from a BS customer survey that you may occasionally get). All the present measures that I'm aware of to ensure proper service are simply fluff.

Again, remember my statement that the DEALERSHIP is most likely the only point of contact that a customer EVER has with Ford. Why can't Ford see this and lay down more stringent measures on service quality, issue penalties against repeat offender dealerships, put in place a QOS (Quality of Service) rep structure that has employees randomly visit shops and converse with customers? Heck, why not take a service manager off of the dealership payroll, put him on Ford's and have him report DIRECTLY to a QOS management structure on any issues? Have his pay/commissions based on shop performance and I GUARANTEE you'll see results, as long as he's got the authority to lay down the law.

Most dealerships prove daily that they need to be babysat by someone that can spank them hard when they get out of line, in terms of service. The above may be extreme, but if it was my company and my money on the line, I'd damn-sure make changes fast before any more customers head somewhere else other than Ford for their next car.

Ford does make some really good automobiles (and this is coming from a die-hard GM fan, though I'm almost manufacturer-neutral anymore). The new Cobra is flat-out awesome. The Lightning, GREAT! I still like the Taurus for daily driving use and their trucks, while not to my aestetic taste, are pretty damn tough.

Why risk a great product set with a$$-clown service!?!?!?!?!?

If anything, the below quote needs to be hung on the wall of EVERY Ford service department:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
-Aristotle

There are two things companies live and die by, everything else is icing on the cake:

1) Quality of Product
2) Quality of Service on that Product

They aren't mutually exclusive at all. Ford desperately needs to figure this out.

To some degree the "franchise" line is bull. Ford has the right to take over any and all parts of a franchise if they feel it is necessay. As long as the money is rolling in Ford looks the other way about complaints.

Originally posted by 2000v6SE:
"FORD would NEVER let me even go 'back there' into their sacred work area"

Dealers are independent franchises, NOT Ford Motor Co.. I had my share of bad and good dealers, if they give you problems, then complain to Dearborn. If it's out of warranty, then it's a dealer problem. Even Import car dealers have their share of *&^%$#@'s

I'm NOT saying you don't have valid complaints, just take it out on dealer, not the whole industry.

Also: "I have caught them (Ford Dealer) hot rodding my car..."

Who is to say that an independent shop won't "hot rod" a car?? I've heard of horror stories with gas stations and repair shops, too. It's a matter of finding one you trust. It so happens I trust my Ford dealer near me. (Doesn't mean I trust 'em all!)

There are good and bad dealership service departments I am sure. I will always think of my car being hot rodded when I think of Ford service department. That was quite a few years ago but I will never forget it. That is why I now intentionally buy only used cars with no warranty is because I want to avoid Ford service departments. I hope this does not happen often. I am not critisizing all Ford Service. I am sure there are good and bad service departments. The hot rodding happened in the Ford Dealership lot. That seems bad that the employee did this without fear of being caught.

The last time I took my car in for recall work to a different dealership the service was excellent.

Originally posted by Josch:

Originally posted by Beowulf:
Will you be my mechanic?

Possibly some type of Cyber-mechanic perhaps?

Hey, maybe your onto something? I'd never have to get my hands dirty again!

Yes, the infamous dirty mechanic fingernails...why do you think I took a desk job?

Does anyone else here hold their breath on the way home from the Ford (or any) service center, wondering what is focked up with the car?

Not really, I've never had a problem with my stealer, alway got me the parts I needed and car always has ran better when I picked it up. LOL but I do go to Mandan (which is right across the river) the one in bismarck sux...they overcharge for everything.

Originally posted by Beowulf:
Yes, the infamous dirty mechanic fingernails...why do you think I took a desk job?

I'm not far behind you!
I'm currently taking classes at a training center in the evenings to study for the A+ cert, Cisco systems cert, and MCSE certifications. In 6 months to a year, I should be able to terminate my current job and look for the clean fingered one

Originally posted by Josch:

Originally posted by Beowulf:
Yes, the infamous dirty mechanic fingernails...why do you think I took a desk job?

I'm not far behind you!
I'm currently taking classes at a training center in the evenings to study for the A+ cert, Cisco systems cert, and MCSE certifications. In 6 months to a year, I should be able to terminate my current job and look for the clean fingered one

Good luck to you!

Thanks

Ah, Ford Dealerships!!

Can you stand one more story?

I took my 2001 Explorer Sport Trac into the dealership to have the tires replaced due to them being recalled. (I also have a Mercury Mystique which is why I read these forums) I get my Sport Trac back, well, my wifes Sport Trac, and of course I want to wash it because the dealership leaves the blue soap on the new tires which look like crap. While washing the rims, I see large, deep scratches in the aluminum rims. I go back to the dealership, and speak to four different people in the service department who direct me to the service manager. He, it turns out, is involved in a screaming match on the phone with yet another unsatisified customer. (big surprise) But, I sit and wait patiently for 1 1/2 hours to speak to this guy. He finally gets off the phone, and with a ton of attitude says, "What is it you need!" So, I nicely explain the situation to which he replys, "Anyone in here can help you with that, you didn't have to wait to for me." This is the point where I go off the deep end. Here comes that good stuff. I start screming at this Ahole at the top of my lungs, pointing out each and every person who I have spoken to and telling him exactly what each and everyone of them has told me. After humbling this idiot, I tell him that all of that is beside the point at hand, and get down to the business of the scratched rims on a vehicle that only has 2k on it, and oh by the way, remind him of the fact that I bought the vehicle at this dealership and remind him of the boasts the salesperson made about the service department. (I know, anything to sell a car) He then starts telling me that his service department did not cause the damage and basiclly to pound sand. Then, Dean Sellers himself (owner of the Dean Sellers dealership I was in at the time) happens to meander into the shop area. So, at the top of my lungs again I shout, "Hey, you with the suit, you carry any weight around here." To which Mr. Sellers walks over to me, and starts discussing the problem. I could see the service managers eys buldge out when I was yelling at his boss, and I could see him start sweating when Mr. Sellers got down on his knees, in his suit and tie, and tryied to polish the ruts out of the rims.

I received four new rims. As it should be. And I will never, ever, take my vehicle back to that dealership or purchase another vehicle from them. And I ensured they knew it, Ford Motor knew it, and everyone else that I could tell knew it, hence my story!

Maybe that's why I'm Cranky!

What is it with Ford Dealers scratching rims. I have heard this many times, and it has happened to me??

I'll second that! I've taken my SVT to the local FLM Dealership (Warner Robins Ford) three times and everytime they've screwed something up. The first time, they scratched one of my rims really bad. It looked like they took it off, laid it face first on the ground, and used it for a hockey puck. The second time, there were a lot of mysterious miles on my car. About 20 to be a little more exact. On top of that, it smelled like smoke! I've never smoked, nor has anyone else in that car! This last time took the cake though. I took it in to have that heater blower recall fixed. They kept it a week. When I finally got it back, my CD book that was under the passenger seat was gone. About 30 CDs. My Oakleys that were in the glovebox were gone. And to top it all, my CD changer in the trunk was gone! They stole everything that wasn't welded to the car!! Of course, I raised hell for hours, and days, but they finally told me that it wasn't their problem. I'll never go there again. Now I go to another dealership, Brannen Ford in Perry. They are a very small town type dealership, and they are great. Plus my friend works there and takes care of my stuff. But the small dealerships are definitely better!

Whatcha gonna do with those old rims? Are they servicable?
(hint hint)

I will never buy another Ford product for one reason: THE SERVICE. It is FAR from quality. Yeah, there are some really good dealers, but out of the four dealers in New Orleans...um three are good. Don't know about the fourth because I have NO intention of bringing my car back to them. But yeah, I don't breathe when I know I have to deal with Ford. There are a few issues that I need to take up with the dealer that changed my wire harness (as in no Cruise Control and my horn relay is screwed up). So far, I have decided I will just deal with no CC, and change the damn horn fuse every week. There is just TOO much anxiety for me knowing I have to deal with them.

I agree about printing some of these up and sending copies to Ford and possibly your senators. I think there needs to be a hell of a lot more protection for car buyers, especially buyers of pre-owened or leased vehicles. You have no idea what the previous owners fixed or didn't fix when it comes to recalls and warranties. Not to mention, you may not have notice of outstanding recalls when you buy the used the cars. Just a thought.

Every time one of these threads finally dies a slow death it somehow gains a new life.