No more exclusion on diesel repairs

G. Bedford · November 19, 2008

In the past if your dealership was only high in the diesel repair category, and no others, you were excluded from the warranty audit process. Starting next year that "get out of jail free" card will be gone. Prepare for your dealer to scrutinize each repair and work flow in an effort to control the 126 numbers. Just a heads up to you techs if things start to change (managements attitudes) so you may understand what is happening behind the scenes. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif

Keith Browning · November 19, 2008

Shyyyyit! We get an audit every year to some degree. Diesel is ALWAYS scrutinized. What is going to change? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif

G. Bedford · November 20, 2008

Kinda tough to explain further, really. Bounce it off the service manager once and see what they have to say about your own situation.

We are always very high in diesel due to the sheer volume of work that comes from the oil patch. The saving grace is we keep out of audits by keeping our nose clean in every other area. What our options are when the exclusion ends I am not sure at this point.

BustedKnucklez · November 20, 2008

Im used to that kind of thing already. It's great to have a boss that backs up his guys. The last couple of places I was at where hell bent on keeping level 1 status even if it meant back flagging me and the other diesel guys to death. When I was interviewed with my director where I'm at now, I asked if he had or was trying to obtain level 1? His response: "what are you, f*ckin' kidding? Not with 6.0L still under warranty." My reaction was just /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Keith Browning · November 20, 2008

My Manager has NEVER so much as mentioned "126" to me, ever. But, every time we get an audit, whether it be a big intrusive ordeal or a self audit he mutters that we are high in diesel. It is never a surprise to him or me for that matter. he DOES discuss with me our processes, what we are not doing correctly and what we need to do to correct or improve upon with respect to our processes. We know that in our case, high numbers for the most part are simply the result of the vehicles we have sold, our customer base, our good reputation and a product prone to failures. We are honest and try our best to follow the guidelines and recommendations that Ford has provided us, which by the way, seem to constantly change. It "is what it is" for some of us my friends. Do your jobs properly in all aspects, take care of your customers and let FORD worry about THEIR warranty expenses.

eastendpowerstroke · November 25, 2008

My boss doesn't threaten me with the 126 he has commented on us being high in an area before but followed it immediately with "we didn't build them, we just gotta fix what comes through the door whether Ford likes it or not" we keep an eye on the numbers and try to "space things out" when necessary to stay under the radar.

As a result we are a level one dealer, and have good CSI scores, a good reputation, and loyal customers.We have had the warranty audit police here looking for something to charge us back for and they left empty handed!