need some opinions on this dealership

Tony302600 · January 29, 2008

I get a call from my buddies dad saying that his 04 F-250's right rear axle just shot out of his rear end on a turn and all bolts are sheared off at the hub. This is a 25,000mile truck, still under factory warranty ( in service date is 4/15/06 ), 5.4L 4x4, doesnt tow anything, just uses it for carprentry. I said go to the local Ford dealer because im 20miles away and its under base warranty, also told him to get his left front wheel bearing replaced because it has excessive play and noisy.

3hours later I get a call and this is what he said, "The dealership i'm at said they wont warranty the axle" I asked why the hell wont they he says "Because they think i beat on the truck or tow too much, i told them i dont tow anything, then the service writer told me that it from doing burnouts, i told them you cant do burnouts in a 5.4L superduty, so he then tells me its because i go from reverse to forward too much and that kind of wear is not covered under factory warranty." There was a long pause on my end because i cant believe what i just heard.

I then asked about the wheel bearing he told me " the service writer said they wont warranty that because i off-road too much."

At this point im fuming because this is my best friends dad who i talked into buying a Ford truck over his beloved chevy's, who has never done anything wrong to thsi truck except drive it. He was at the #1 Ford Truck dealer in IL so i thought he would be taken care of.

Can anyone else believe this? Makes you wonder what other dealers are telling people around the country. I have many more stories of what dealers have told my customers and its out of hand.

The dealer is Freeway Ford in IL BTW.

Keith Browning · January 29, 2008

What is up with THAT? That is BS if I ever heard it. I wouldn't dream of telling a customer that unless there was something so obvious that it couldn't be ignored or disputed. I have seen a few trucks over the years with broken or loose axle shaft bolts that I know were not abused. So what was his next move? Did he call Ford Customer assistance?

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · January 29, 2008

Quote:

Did he call Ford Customer assistance?

I would insist strongly that he contact the 1-800-IM-PISSED # with names of the individuals he was dealing with. If Ford Cust service won't help have it towed here I have some contacts in metro Detroit that will get it done!!!

When I hear these types of stories it makes me want to /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/puke.gif

Tony302600 · January 29, 2008

The truck got towed to our dealership. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif. Keith, this is actually why i dont want anyone from that dealership on this site because i know how they work, i went to class with one of their guys and i was disgusted. I still can't believe it. I should of gone their personally and just laughed when they repeated to me what they told him. That wouldnt be a good sceonario because I would jsut snap cause ignorance gets to me.

Another story long time ago, my aunt and uncle have a 99 explorer owned brand new, VERY VERY well maintained ( i do all the work /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif ). They were driving down the road and amoke started coming from under the hood, my uncle pulled over and lifted the hood, there was a fire under the hood. My uncle had a fire extinguisher and put it out. Towed it to the dealer, it had 34K on it, and they were told that a fuel line popped off and sprayed fuel on the coil. That dealer said they cant warranty it. My cousin ( their son ) is a Engineer for Ford. He called so many high up people, then called the dealer, flipped out on them, high ranking Ford Personal Relations people called them yelling at the SM and DP. Needless to say, they gave them $2,000 for the next purchase of a Ford, they paid for any inconveniences of that day, the rental, and Ford paid for a Dinner for 2 at a place of their choice.

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · January 29, 2008

I would have him call Cust. Service on them just because... It might give them something to think about when their DSM contacts the DP about it. Good people should never be treated like that anytime...

Jim Warman · January 29, 2008

................................. I'm speechless...

I know I would have been on the phone to those guys... but that's just my "never miss a chance to rock the boat" attitude.

But really, I can't see any diplomatic way to handle an obscene situation like that. If your friends Dad bought his truck at your store, is there a chance that your manager might offer some help?

If that kind of story happens very often, no wonder people call us "stealerships"....

Tony302600 · January 29, 2008

Jim, my manager was more then willing to offer a hand. His jaw dropped as I told him and he was very close to calling that dealer and saying something to them because we've delt with them in the past (not with quality of work, but with policies they've told our stranded customers )

Mekanik · January 29, 2008

That is absurd. It is people like that that give us a bad name. Tony, could you PM me to tell me what dealership this is? I'm curious.

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · January 29, 2008

The dealer is Freeway Ford in IL BTW.

Mekanik · January 29, 2008

You would think that a shop that works on so many diesels would have seen axle bolts break before. But then agian, they don't see any headgasket failures either. Or maybe headgaskets only fail from doing burnouts and shifting from reverse to drive too many times.

/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/scratchhead.gif

GregH · January 29, 2008

It's instances like these that reinforce the adage, "no good deed goes unpunished."

And it always happens to people we know... Never to the stranger off the street...

Bruce Amacker · January 29, 2008

I'm sure the guys on this forum are better than average or the cream of the crop. Unfortunately, not all Ford dealer techs fall into this category. I hear constant reports from my students nationwide about lies and refusal to repair trucks told them by various SM's. It is truly a shame, and especially true on E-vans.

The warranty Nazis tell the dealer they are too high in diesel, so the SM says, "I'll fix that, we won't do any more diesel." Then the lies start. They tell the cust, "They all do that", or give the truck a sunbath for a couple of weeks before the new guy pulls the short straw and has to work on the truck. He hangs the part which is easiest to change, doesn't road test the truck and gives it back to the cust broken. It is a shame.

I have large E-van accounts (like ambulance and school bus fleets) that would rather eat the cost of the warranty repair and do it in-house than deal with the grief and down time of having it done at the dealer for free. There are too many people in too many areas telling me the same thing, so I know it's not a lie. I have also experienced this myself firsthand at Ford dealers. In a situation where the SM is lying to one of my top clients, we have physically gotten in the car and driven to the dealer, to have the SM lie to my face. I don't like being lied to. I am 6'5, 265 and have a tendency to have my ugly side show when somebody lies to me. It has not been a good scene.

I have had top clients approach me with broken trucks that have been to dealers several times without being fixed. I have to diagnose the truck, write a letter including IDS captures and graphs, and have the cust take the letter to the dealer. Sometimes this gets the truck fixed, but sometimes it blows up in the cust's face. I don't know what the answer is- some dealers are open to a quality, well written letter of diagnosis, others practically tear it up in front of the customer. I have had the silliest things overlooked by techs- repeat trips back (documented on Oasis), and the tech never flashed the PCM to the latest cal, which fixed the problem. Sometimes I feel like giving up.

What's the root problem? It has many facets:

* Lack of training available to the techs.

* Techs who are tired of having it shoved in their backside by the warranty dept.

* Ford's "I don't care about the cust" attitude bleeding down from Dearborn in many ways.

* No upsells on warranty work.

* Ford not admitting they have a problem and installing new parts as kits like IH's Uptime programs. (This is a BIG one)

* The general lack of quality people entering our field at a young age, along with a poor work ethic.

There is a BIG difference in how IH administers warranty claims compared to how FMC administers the same claim. It is truly a study on the right way to do things and the wrong way to do things. It reflects in Ford's stock price and market share.

The small glimmer of hope I hold on to are the guys on this forum. It is a bright spot on what sometimes looks like a very dim topic.

"sigh"