Advice? addressing bad Ford dealer service

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I just wanted to hear a few suggestions about how to deal with an issue I'm having with a Ford dealer. Here's what's happened so far - I'm supposed to go in tomorrow to pick up the truck and haven't paid for the work yet:

1. I'm in northern NY for the summer and made an appointment with a Ford dealer for a L/O/F and tire rotation, and to check on an occasional harsh downshift issue I've noticed. Truck is still under factory power train warranty and is driven pretty normally. The only towing I do is occasional with a couple of jet skis.
2. Drop the truck off at dealer, give them my keys. They misconstrue the "occasional harsh downshift" as me requesting a transmission service. I inform the service advisor before I left that the transmission was serviced (along with a new filter) as part of warranty service performed just 5,000 miles ago at another Ford dealer. Service advisor says he'll call me to update me on progress and when the truck is ready.
3. I hear nothing for 6 days. Granted, 3 of those days were the 4th of July holiday weekend. I am now without a car to get back to this dealer, an hour away from my location, and have to find someone to drive me there.
4. I call the dealer and they say the truck is done and ready for pickup. When I ask what was done and what it cost, I'm transferred to another person (probably a cashier) and they say $450. This is for the L/O/F and rotation (with full synthetic oil I didn't request), transmission service (which I didn't request), transmission programming (which I thought it needed), and diagnostic time. I told them this truck is still under the power train warranty and told the service advisor that a transmission service had just been performed. They were "going to talk to the warranty department" and "get right back to me".
5. I call the dealer 4 hours later and am connected to a different person. He says the transmission work wasn't covered by the warranty. I tell him to look up the OASIS report and current warranty status and ask him why not, and why I'm being billed for a transmission service if one was just performed 5,000 miles ago. He will "talk to the warranty department" and call me in the morning. He also mentioned something about "the tech found some metal in the pan" which I found a bit disconcerting, if a transmission service had just recently been performed. How does a transmission service and software update fix that possible issue?

So, that's where I am. I think I'm being fed a line of garbage and getting the "tourist tax" from this dealer. I expected to pay for the L/O/F and tire rotation and have this transmission/drivability issue covered by the factory power train warranty. Any advice dealing with this less-than-confidence-inspiring Ford dealer would be appreciated!
 
Be firm with them, only pay for what you requested. Confront them about the metal in the pan...since you are under warranty, and THEY brought it up, I believe that issue should be addressed with more than the fluid change they performed. If they have any issues with this let them know you will be calling Ford corporate about the WHOLE issue you had with them, and the trouble they put you through. A similar situation happened to me at my local Honda dealer. I went in to have a transmission update installed in the cars computer and to have the fluid drained/refilled. They came back like two hours later and had only performed the update...I wasn't too happy since this should only take a couple minutes. Walked out 10 minutes later with free everything =)
 
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your ansering your own questions sir.. you told them a tranny service was just performed.. they did another.. how exactly does this translate to you paying for a second service 5k down the road ?? you didnt request a sythetic oil change ? does your truck call for it ? did you request a change at all ?

In your shoes i would go in and ask if the problems you mentioned were resolved ? test drive it.. after that ask to speak with the service manager and address the bill.. Push comes to shove if work was done that you didnt authorize/agree to pay for you shouldnt be charged.. even the smallest mom and pop shops in town know that..

Offer to pay for what you requested to be done, stick yo your guns on your warranty..
 
hmmm... "occasional hard downshift" That's familiar. It happens to me occasionally on my Ford Truck. I just figured its my karma. Besides. Its a Ford. If the transmission still actually shifts gears, be thankful. So many Ford transmissions don't.

I guess I'm a fatalist. If you can't demonstrate the problem in at the service entrance, its like it never happened. With luck(?) it will eventually break in some definitive way and you can get it fixed.

There's no excuse for the misunderstanding that turns a ninety dollar synthetic oil change (I'm guessing you have a 5.0L 8 quart sump) into $450 extravaganza. If nothing else, a transmission service shouldn't cost that much. So yeah, you were ripped off, almost certainly deliberately.

P.S. I should say that I'm happy with the truck, the intermittent failure of the key transponder notwithstanding.
 
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Did you sign a work order/estimate? If so, only pay the amount on that original estimate. If they did not get authorization from you for any additional work/costs, then they need to eat it.
 
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Sorry to say terminaldegree that you've been $tealerized!

I would call this $tealership back and ask to speak to the
service manger or general manager, be polite, but business like and very firm (serious) and inform them that you have been charged for services you did NOT request and will not be paying for them. Furthermore you were informed by the "tech" that he found "metal" in the transmission pan....so ask them what does this mean exactly. It's pretty clear that this is NOT normal and would indicate a pending failure. Have them charge back all work you did not want done. I would wait until you can visit your home dealers and have them look further into the metal shavings in the transmission pan.

I tend to think that this place WAS ripping you off because you were not likely to be coming back anytime soon. Most of all get your money back! I would also tell the $tealer manager that you might feel the need to contact Ford Corporate if they do not address your concerns in a satisfactory manner. ASAP.
 
Originally Posted By: jimbrewer

There's no excuse for the misunderstanding that turns a ninety dollar synthetic oil change (I'm guessing you have a 5.0L 8 quart sump) into $450 extravaganza. If nothing else, a transmission service shouldn't cost that much. So yeah, you were ripped off, almost certainly deliberately.


That's a good reminder to check that part of the receipt. I only have the 4.6, so it only needs 6 quarts. Have to make sure they didn't overfill it by a quart or two, thinking it's a 5.4 or 5.0.

Yeah, I like this truck kind of a lot, but my two service experiences have ranged from not great ("you need a power steering flush and new air filter" which had nothing to do with a transmission leak) to horrendous (this visit).

To answer another post in this thread, no I didn't sign anything to authorize any work. Everything was verbal.
 
@terminaldegree:

I would NOT, if at all possible, LET THEM TOUCH YOUR VEHICLE AGAIN!

Check the dipstick, as long as it isn't grossly overfilled
LEAVE IT ALONE...I would also check the transmission dipstick as well to make sure that the proper amount of fluid is there too.

Bottom line is get all the money back they wrongly charged you.
Don't go to the service writer, but the service manager or
general manager. If they don't charge back what you ask, tell them you will be contacting Ford Corporate to discuss how you were dealt with at their [censored] STORE!
 
every time I take my car to the ford dealer i get a survey either in the mail, or my email with a week or so.

The last time i was in, was for an AC issue. I told the service writer (who just happened to be the service dept. manager) what steps I had already taken, and what pressure readings i had seen. I got a response of "well I don't know what those reading are supposed to be" what he typed into the computer was "Customer states that ac sometimes doesn't work" the only words in that sentence that i said were "ac", and "work", as in "it does work, just not getting very cold."

I got the feeling of being brushed off.
So when that Customer satisfaction survey came, I made DARN sure to spell out the ENTIRE incident to them.
 
Did you get a written copy of the work order ?

Lots of [censored] bag grease bag mechanics purposely upsell even if you don't want stuff done to your truck. Read my TireKingdom thread about upselling.
 
LT4 Vette,

No, I did not receive a written copy of a work order. This very small Ford dealer's service area was somewhat like walking into a cross between an independent garage and a barn. No "service drive", no typing my issues into a computer system while I was there, and no printout of a work order and signing an authorization.
 
Get in touch with the service manager and explain what happened and then general manager of the dealership if the service manager/operations overseer, is not willing to offer any assistance.
 
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Originally Posted By: jimbrewer


There's no excuse for the misunderstanding that turns a ninety dollar synthetic oil change (I'm guessing you have a 5.0L 8 quart sump) into $450 extravaganza. If nothing else, a transmission service shouldn't cost that much. So yeah, you were ripped off, almost certainly deliberately.


Actually, that price is about right. The transmission service on these is very expensive because they require a special heated flush machine that only Ford dealers have. The transmission has a thermostat in it, so the fluid must be heated to 170°+ or it won't circulate through the transmission.

However, that doesn't take away from the fact that the OP should not be charged for said service if he didn't authorize it.
 
Do NOT pay anything you did not agree on and don't sign anything. If they give you a problem getting back your car make a report!
Call your attorney! I personally would also slam them online with the truth
stealers are good at this game this is what most of them live for but someone who plays back is someone who gets a refund. Keep it legal and play the game problem is once you start its too much fun to stop.
On the other hand there is a slight chance that they were being honest and doing everything they thought was right.
 
Hmmm. Basically they are holding your truck hostage.

I would NOT pay for anything that I did not sign for.

And would you pay if they installed new spark plugs, air filter and muffler bearings ????
 
Where in NNY and which dealer is this? I'm a transplant to the area and have found this sort of service to be the norm up here. These small dealers don't have competition and are complacent because of their local monopoly.

Don't pay a dime. Call Ford. Don't stop until you talk to the warranty rep for the region.

When it's all set and done, write a letter to Ford about this dealer and leave them a Yelp review.
 
Without a signed repair order, they are not supposed to even touch the car. Ford will not reimburse a dealer for warranty work if there is no customer signature on the RO.

How good is NY's version of CA's Bureau of Automotive Repair? In CA the mere mention of BAR has a shop in the wrong cowering for fear of being put out of business.
 
Hi Bandito,

I'll refrain from naming the dealer…at least until I go to visit them tomorrow and see how it all turns out. If you know the area, let's just say it's a town known for windmills and a big hunking dairy/cheese plant.
 
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