Another dealer issue....

[Bingo13]

My car has been in the shop for the past 9 days due to several issues including the vibe, pull right hard, and paint issues. I picked up the vehicle today and it had an additional 13 miles on the car.
The vibe and pull right issues were discussed with the service advisor and sales manager before I let them have the vehicle. I also clearly stated verbally and in written word that only the service manager was allowed to drive the vehicle if I was not present for the repairs.
I gave permission to the sales manager to drive the vehicle from the service department to the body shop that is a couple of hundred yards at best. I have not been able to get a clear answer on why they needed 13 miles on the vehicle and over an eighth of a tank of gas to verify my issues. The pull hard issue was noticeable within 200 feet of driving distance when I took delivery of the car. The drive shaft issue was already documented with measurements I took not to mention pictures of my inability to see through the rear window clearly at 70mph. I had already called the SVT group and provided the service advisor the issue/repair information when I dropped the car off.
I even explained to them that I did not want a repeat of my last visit to a dealer that promptly took my Saleen on a Ferris Bueller test drive that ended with the tech going sideways through an intersection that I was sitting at in my loan car.
Am I being crazy here in thinking that 13 miles was excessive for these repairs?

 

[mosconiac]

13 miles IS EXCESSIVE, but I'm particularly sensitive to these issues. My dealer put almost 60miles on my '03 during alignment work. The Service Advisor said they put it on the machine, found it was within spec, drove it to see what I meant, put it back on the machine to confirm that the first measurements were correct and parked it. Uh huh.

I gave 'em he11 and they only put 1.7 miles on the car during subsequent alignment work. 1.7 miles is reasonable.

Mosconiac

 

[byevette]

The dealer put 30 miles on my car for the "test drive". I think 10 miles is reasonable.

:beer:

 

[Elapidae]

This will, of course, put more miles on your car, but call their bluff.... If you know it was 13.0 miles...
Ask them to get in the passenger seat and direct you along the same 13.0 mile "test track".

It would be interesting to see what they consider to be an appropriate "test drive" for the issue you brought it in for. Have them explain during the entire 13.0 mile run how each square foot of pavement is relevant to the test and how it differs from the last square foot of pavement.

 

[Bingo13]

The service manager to date has either been at breakfast, lunch, or in a meeting today. The Customer Relations Manager is waiting to hear from the Service Manager. I expect this to be a very good story. :rollseyes
The Sales Manager has been wonderful though and even told me a story of how the techs took his car out for a test drive (he saw the burnout) although it was a power window that needed to be repaired. All of a sudden I realized I am probably not being an arse in finding out what happened in those 13 miles.

 

[shoguy]

ahh this makes me made the idiots taking the 03's for joy rides!

 

[Bingo13]

I have not heard from either manager as of this evening. I have now left a message for the General Manager. I distinctly have the feeling they are trying to ignore my questions and probably me. ;-)
The dealership is MacHaik Ford in Houston, Texas.
Is this common treatment now for a Ford dealership? I could at least understand getting a blow off answer but to totally ignore a person is unacceptable in my book. :fm:

 

[Bingo13]

After discussions yesterday with the Service Manager I am even more upset with their explanation. I was told for the hard pull right issue that they required six to seven miles to properly test the vehicle. They had to find suitable flat road surfaces to see if it was an alignment or tire issue.

I reminded him that this issue is widespread and I provided information about a SVT bulletin on the subject. I also stated that the repair order showed all alignment points to be out of specification and the clear wording that stated do not test drive. They simply needed to put the vehicle on the rack and check the alignment specs without needing a test drive. Also as stated on my entry paperwork this problem was noticed within 200 feet of driving away from the dealership. I got the standard "We are professionals and need to thoroughly diagnose the issue before arriving to a repair conclusion" statement. I wanted to know where they had to drive to find a flat surface and why other cars are aligned in their shop without a test drive before or after. I received no answer to this statement.

Of course by now I wanted to know how the rest of the mileage was put on the vehicle and was informed they needed an additional six or seven miles to verify their alignment changes were correct and to check the vibe issue. I stated I still have the vibe issue. He replied the foreman and tech said it did not occur while they were driving. I asked why a foreman and tech were in the car when I specifically only gave approval for a manager to drive the vehicle if I was not present. He did not have a reply for that question except to state that is standard operating procedure and he also personally drove the vehicle.

I asked how I could be assured that the vehicle was not abused after once again stating this was excessive mileage for a known issue. He said their shop does not abuse vehicles and not to "worry" about mine. I wanted to know why the Sales Manager's car was abused? No answer and end of conversation.

I never got a straight answer to my questions. What really concerns me is the dodging of the questions about why my Cobra needed this many miles when the majority of vehicles with alignment issues never get a test drive. This appears to be a SVT dealership to stay away from at this time.

 

[sohowcome]

Originally posted by Elapidae
This will, of course, put more miles on your car, but call their bluff.... If you know it was 13.0 miles...
Ask them to get in the passenger seat and direct you along the same 13.0 mile "test track".

It would be interesting to see what they consider to be an appropriate "test drive" for the issue you brought it in for. Have them explain during the entire 13.0 mile run how each square foot of pavement is relevant to the test and how it differs from the last square foot of pavement.

Good idea..........

 

[Blade]

Good luck in your fight with the dealer. I had Freedom Ford in Hampton, VA put 54 unauthorized miles on my Saleen. It was in for body work. :gt:

I dream of the day I catch some tech in my car hot rodding or going to lunch. My first action will be calling 911 and reporting it stolen. Let the tech sit in jail for a bit - that should give him a wake up call. :-D

This is also why I try to wait there if the car needs dealer work. Otherwise a GPS tracker is your friend. Not sure about Fords, but some cars can have the computer downloaded showing how it was driven (rev limiter or govorner hit, top speeds, etc.).

 

[SPORTRAC2001]

As a member of the mysporttrac web site this thread was brought to your attention, first off all Ford owners need to stick together. When the idiots tested the cobra and posted what they did they both signed the death warrant. They should jsut be told please leave the premmisous right now, have them escort if nessesary. A dealer that knows that that type of activity is going on should be avoided at all costs. My heart goes out to you.

 

[stan03]

Dealer Abuse not O.K. !!

As the GM of a Ford SVT dealership I am in shock that anyone would think such behavior is acceptable.At our dealership we build,sell,and service many performance modified vehicles and make it very clear to our employees that these vehicles get special treatment and consideration as these are our most loyal and valued customer.Nobody gets us word of mouth like a perosn that either loves or hates the car or dealer.
I will be sharing these things with my people today and insuring them that termination would just be the start if someone is caught treating a customers vehicle that way.
I am currently building a few '03 Cobras with the guidance of JDM and Terry at SFPHQ.I really am getting a lot of good info from this forum and will download some project vehicles soon.
Good Luck finding a good performance Ford dealer in your area...in the Dallas area try Doug Stanley Ford in Desoto.
If nothing else drive out and see my '93 and '95 R Cobra's and check out our latset project..it'll be in my parking spot.
Tim Stanley/Doug Stanley Ford
[email protected]

 

[1svtcobra]

I have to have my car serviced for driveshaft next week I am getting nervous.

 

[Blue03Cobra]

Originally posted by 1svtcobra
I have to have my car serviced for driveshaft next week I am getting nervous.

Don't be nervous, just take the time to be with the car while it's serviced...

 

[Bingo13]

The dealership I visited refused to accept my request to be present if a test drive needed to be performed. I only granted permission for the Service Manager to drive the car if I granted verbal approval. The Service Manager never did call to inform me the vehicle was going out on a test drive. The Sales Manager did call to ask for permission to drive the vehicle over to the body shop.

I would be very nervous unless you are with the vehicle. This is my second bad experience with a dealership regarding test drives in the last two years. I witnessed my Saleen on a Ferris Bueller romp at a different dealership last year.

I had another visit with the dealership today and will detail the conversation once I settle down. ;-)

I know my car was abused and the miles for the service requests were excessive. I did find out it is not normal policy to test drive vehicles for alignment issues.

If you live in Houston stay away from Mac Haik Ford.

I am going over to Tommie Vaughn to have the vehicle inspected on Monday.

 

[Friendchicken]

How far was it to the nearest flat road from the dealership? If it was 6.5 mi away, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I think we have all had visions of paranoia especially after the last week, but the car is back in your hands now and all is well with it I hope.

If you are concerned about it- and for everyone else, pack a lunch and do it on your day off. It's not worth stressing about and the dealer does have to report through proper means why warantee repairs are being done.

They will look at us like we are all whackos with these special requests, and will probably disregard them cause you can't find out anyway.

Call SVT, get the TSB reports and bring them in so they don't have to try so hard to investigate the problem.


Cheers

:beer:

 

[Bingo13]

The nearest flat road was about 10 feet away from their parking lot. ;-)

I offered to be there at any time for the service review. I did supply the information from SVT about the pull hard and vibe issues not to mention the measurements on my driveshaft. I for one am not being paranoid about dealer abuse. This is twice in two visits.

I think the majority of dealerships are not truly concerned about our vehicles or our opinions on the issues with them. I am biased at this time but I would like to find a customer friendly dealership to prove me wrong.