Dealership Problem - Opinions Needed

[notfastenuf]

Alright, here goes - feel free to make fun.

This is my fifth Mustang, third Cobra. Had it for a month, driven 300 miles or so; 3700 miles total. I have a little over a year left on the original warranty - yesterday I dropped it off for a squealing right rear caliper - turned out to be a stuck pin. They fixed it, whatever - it's fine. Normally I would handle a brake issue myself but I've been swamped with work lately and this was much easier since a shuttle service was offered.

The problem - it was raining when I left the dealership and didn't have a chance to really hear much, but this morning the transmission is now giving a new sound - essentially right at the gearbox; it's low whine when in neutral and the clutch is out - the car has to be stopped to even hear it. Additionally, those ****s drove the vehicle 14 miles at some point in the day.

I called the service manager this morning to complain and at first he said that distance (14 miles) was part of the service check for the brakes and then he denied my math was right. I'm not going to argue that, I know I'm write and besides, they only indicated 1 mile on the service slip (putting the actual mileage 13 over the indicated out mileage). Additionally, I still have a dealer mat in the passenger side and it was moved. I didn't notice the mileage until I got home, my mistake.

The question - should I let this same dealership work on it again or take it to another? I already called and scheduled another appointment for Monday but I'm not sure if I'm going to roll by a couple dealerships this weekend to talk to a service tech. Will another dealer shy away from working on this since it's already been worked on?

 

[PowerWheels]

I'd let them do it, just write the mileage down and tape it to the window this time.

 

[5spd07gt]

mind saying what dealership it was? I had my cobra in to Cowles ford (Woodbridge, VA)the other week and those guys took care of me. Ask for Matt, he is the service manager and seems like a good guy. I met him at a car show back in may and talked to him briefly. 2 weeks ago was the first time i'd seen him since and before he even saw my car he knew remembered me.

 

[BigDan]

Story's like this always make we wish us owners could enable the SC bypass that Ford used when our cars were brand new for the first consecutive 10 miles. I'd pay good money to make it an option on "My Key" features.

What's the best way to avoid the tech's from going on 15 mile joy rides with my GT500?

 

[kyl]

set the RPM limiter to 3K

 

[blacknlte]

Glad mine has the "valet parking" and a passcode to turn it off and on!!

 

[Brandon03SVT]

Speaking from the point of view of a Senior Master at a Ford dealer....

You're best bet to get reliable AND honest service at you Ford dealer is to let the service manager or writer know how attatched you are to your car when you bring it in... BEFORE it gets dispatched to the technician. Maybe ask to speak to the technician or the shop foreman, or even request the shop foreman only to work on your vehicle just because you want to feel you are being taken care of.

I know first hand that Random Joe's GT500 comes in for a brake squeal, I'll fix it, drive it, verify it, and ship it. It's whatever. It's just a car.

BUT

I know first hand If I meet the customer and talk with him about business first, look at the car with him before service, and generally just shoot the shit with him and know he's a good guy, a straight shooter, and not just some guy that wants to be a dick and get a bunch of random stuff replaced for fre just because it's under waranty, it won't be just another ticket to me, it will be Mr. So-and-so's GT500. You WILL recieve special treatment and not even know it. I'll go the extra mile to make sure it is just right for you because you have met me, and I have assured you it will be taken care of as it was my own. I have witnessed this with other technicians as well, and it is the most prevelant with GT500s and thier owners because most of us here understand it just isn't another Mustang. This is typical at any dealership. It's all about the customer's attitude and demeanor that ensures proper and honest service.

My recommendation would be to not go in with a chip on your shoulder unless you plan on getting your vehicle serviced at another dealer. Reason being: as soon as you leave you are gonna be the "remember that asshole who had the GT500......". Your best bet is to voice your concern to the service manager regarding the mileage. If your concern was intermittent, an extra 30 miles on the odometer would not be out of place. However, if your concern could be duplcated in the parking lot, or after a short road test (up the street and back) then you should be looking at no more that about 7 miles extra. Some technicians have a certain route they like to drive with EVERY road test for some reason. I've seen this first hand. There used to be a technician that worked with us that took his time on everything, and even took oil changes out on road tests. He was slow, logged 10 or more miles on any customer's vehicles, but he was very thorough and rarely had comebacks because of it. So that may be something to keep in mind too.

As far as your transmission concern: I would have an EXTREMELY hard time believing the technician did anything to cause a concern on your vehicle. Reason being: We get paid flat-rate. For instance: I get paid an hour to throw a set of pads on something. If I do it in 3 minutes, I get paid an hour. If I do it in 2 hours, I get paid one hour. Warranty pays DICK to do work on ANYTHING! That 1 hour to r&r pads would be about .3 hours under warranty. That being said, when I get a warranty ticket, I wanna fix it, and get it out. I'm not looking to total the car with an estimate for a bunch of extra stuff. I just wanna fix what the customer's concern is and ship it. I doubt the technician did anything to your vehicle to cause your transmission concern.

On the other side of the coin: I have had instances where I would perform a certain service or repair, and the vehicle would come back with a "ever since you..." claim. Sometimes I find the customer is just looney, but there are times that it is actually legitimate and the fact that the concern surfaced just after I serviced it is merely a coincidence.

Overall I recommend just mentioning or questioning the mileage for your own peace of mind, but not harp too hard on it. You obviously need to go back and have your transmission concern diagnosed anyway. I would recommend you meet with the technician so he doesn't feel you are giving him the "ever since you". It's important to inform the technician that you noticed it and aren't necessarily blaming it on him, you are just concerned with the noise and don't want to damage anything if you are driving it around all F'ed up.

They may try to tell you about the TSB for gear rollover noise being normal, but if you feel it is excessive, it may take the dealership personnel to attain means of requiring a like vehicle for comparison to verify that your concern is prevelant vs. the other "nomally operating" vehicle. You may even have to try another dealership in your area.

I hope this helped...

 

[notfastenuf]

It helps me understand the thought process in the back, but I shouldn't have to suck some guy's dick to get proper service. Logging 14 miles is bs, especially when he lied and changed his story about it.

I'm not going to explain my whole conversation when I dropped off / picked up the car from the service manager, but I can assure you I was both chatty and cordial.

I'll report back after a few days.

 

[me32]

It helps me understand the thought process in the back, but I shouldn't have to suck some guy's dick to get proper service. Logging 14 miles is bs, especially when he lied and changed his story about it.

I'm not going to explain my whole conversation when I dropped off / picked up the car from the service manager, but I can assure you I was both chatty and cordial.

I'll report back after a few days.

agreed 100%, i have to say that every car wether it is a 100k car or a 10k car should be treated with the most respect. 1st off its not fords/techs car to be treating it like shit. i know there are alot of good an respectful techs, but at the same time there are just about the same amount of shitty dont give a crap techs that dont care about someone elses car. an wanna just take it for a joy ride. who cares if the owner wants to get things done for free under there warrenty, they have every right. they pay for that right when the car was bought. when a TSB comes out that replaces old parts with new better updated parts, there is a reason Ford does it.

 

[Brandon03SVT]

Unfortunately getting your vehicle serviced from a customer's standpoint can be hit or miss, as is getting any type of service anywhere.

If the technician doesn't want to meet face to face, or isn't chatty, or even dodging questions and being short with answers, you'll know right off that that's not the one you want working on your ride.

I have confirmed from experience that the technicians that are willing to go the extra mile to have a chat with you and field any of your questions are the ones that will make sure you and your vehicle are treated fairly. The one's that are short with responses and give you that feeling like they just wish you would go away already are the same guys with the "get it in, get it out, pay me" attitude.

All in all: any time you bring a vehicle that you want to be 100% certain isn't going to get abused, it's best to have a little chat to feel out the technician, managers, writers, service department, and also to assist the technician in feeling out exactly how you want you and your vehicle to be treated. It will also make it easier seeing your concern is properly verified and resolved.

The goal is a happy customer. Unfortunately it sometimes takes extra means like this to ensure that you are treated fairly and not taken advantage of. We have to keep in mind that we have a cars that no one really gets the privelege to work on, own, drive, ride in, or even see very often. So when the opportunity presents itself, there are some people that may give in to the temptation and take advantage of it. Only thing you can do to attempt to resolve this situation befor it occurs is to meet-and-greet and build trust. Because that's what we all want. Someone we can TRUST with our vehicles.

 

[Brandon03SVT]

agreed 100%, i have to say that every car wether it is a 100k car or a 10k car should be treated with the most respect. 1st off its not fords/techs car to be treating it like shit. i know there are alot of good an respectful techs, but at the same time there are just about the same amount of shitty dont give a crap techs that dont care about someone elses car. an wanna just take it for a joy ride. who cares if the owner wants to get things done for free under there warrenty, they have every right. they pay for that right when the car was bought. when a TSB comes out that replaces old parts with new better updated parts, there is a reason Ford does it.

I agree with you 100% that when a TSB surfaces, FoMoCo has noted a known concern in a certain vehicle line, and approved a repair that will resolve the concern.
I also agree that as much as we pay for these cars that it should be right.
TSBs can be hell. Not just from the customer's standpoint, but from Ford's too.

Anytime a TSB is performed under warranty, Ford foots the bill. Any warranty claim that is written on your vehicle, Ford foots the bill for. The dealer performs the work and gets paid by Ford. The parts are charged out, and Ford pays for them. The dealer can just be considered the acting agent to make sure Ford comes through on their end with the warranty. But Ford audits EVERY ticket that's turned in for warranty. They have kicked back claims for a $20 of extra parts, or even something a small as .2 hours of labor that "can't be justified". Any time we perform a repair under warranty, we HAVE return the parts we replaced to Ford. Ford can call back these parts and put them "under the microscope". This is especially prevelant when performing a TSB using expensive parts and a lot of labor time. They want to make sure we are actually replacing parts that have failed and are causing the concern. We would love to just perform TSBs at the drop of a hat. It would make the customer happy, and the dealership would be getting paid as well. But we can't because the bean counters in Dearborn will kick the claims back saying that the parts that were replaced were fine. The dealer will not get paid, and they will take the money back from the technician. This is why technicians and service departments are especially leary about performing TSBs without verifying 100% that the concern is prevelant.

 

[Brandon03SVT]

It helps me understand the thought process in the back, but I shouldn't have to suck some guy's dick to get proper service. Logging 14 miles is bs, especially when he lied and changed his story about it.

I'm not going to explain my whole conversation when I dropped off / picked up the car from the service manager, but I can assure you I was both chatty and cordial.

I'll report back after a few days.

I wouldn't say you have to suck him off for proper service, it's just up to you to feel the service situation out and I feel the best way to do that it to meet the person servicing your vehicle.

When the technician that worked on your vehicle changed his story, that is your proof that he is a liar and CANNOT be trusted. I would HIGHLY recommend dealing with a different technician or even going to a different dealer and starting fresh.

I'm sorry your service experience turned out this way. I can't express how frustrating it is to hear stories such as these because it leaves a bad taste in our customer's mouth's and gives technicians and service departments a bad reputation. There are good technicians and honest service departments out there. It can sometimes be a pain to find them though. I hope your situation gets resolved appropriately and as promptly as possible.

 

[lowflyn]

The best thing I can tell you is make a few contacts at a local dealership you trust and keep those contacts up.

My cobra has never seen a dealership for any work under my ownership, but I have had other vehicles serviced/warrantied at a local dealership I trust.

The parts manager and service manager know me by name and know how I am about my vehicles. Even when I carry the focus in for something minor I know it's being treated correctly.

 

[dirtyo2000]

First off I only drove the car 3 miles out and 3 miles back. Your car has a real problem with the back wheels turning faster than the front wheels, since the speedometer is reading off the transmission that is why it's off. Never did you mention the traction problems of the car. Being the professional that I am, I found it immediately when I left the first red light with it to the floor. This problem is really bad because it has the same problem in 2 gear also. It clears up by third gear though and from there on out its okay. I stopped at 4 red lights and it did it from every redlight. Now I would recommend you bring it back to me so I can compare it to my buddys car. If you could drop it off Saturday morning I will take it out Saturday Night and compare it to a few others to see if they are having this same problems as yours. It will be ready for pick up Monday morning with a full diagnosis and comparison to other cars to see where yours fits in at. Sincerely your technician.

 

[notfastenuf]

I wouldn't say you have to suck him off for proper service, it's just up to you to feel the service situation out and I feel the best way to do that it to meet the person servicing your vehicle.

When the technician that worked on your vehicle changed his story, that is your proof that he is a liar and CANNOT be trusted. I would HIGHLY recommend dealing with a different technician or even going to a different dealer and starting fresh.

I'm sorry your service experience turned out this way. I can't express how frustrating it is to hear stories such as these because it leaves a bad taste in our customer's mouth's and gives technicians and service departments a bad reputation. There are good technicians and honest service departments out there. It can sometimes be a pain to find them though. I hope your situation gets resolved appropriately and as promptly as possible.

Ya, no. It's cool - I hear what you're saying. It's only a car, so I'm not going to go around losing my cool or bad mouthing a dealership service dept - not really my style and I don't have the time in life to be pissed at dumb things like this. If they gave me a ton of attitude, I might spend some time on it, but there are like 5 other dealerships in the surrounding areas.

Appreciate the perspective. :beer:

 

[2Sharpie]

Did you want to share which dealership?? The reason I ask is if you want somewhere else to take it - the dealership I deal with is F'in great. Only 1 person ever deals with my car...for anything and everything. And since he is a fellow Shelby owner too, he knows what these cars mean to some of the crazies like me. He's treats my car like it is his -- no one else is allowed to go near it, drive it, etc. Some of the other workers/valets were bitching when my car came in that "this guy (me) won't allow anyone else to drive it". The Service Manager and Master Tech both told me about this and told them too bad. If you're not paying for it and taking it home -- F OFF! Yes it's only a car, but it's YOUR car and YOU pay for it. I agree with Me32, - every car should be treated with respect. I remember taking one of my Cobras to a body shop for a scrape, and when I picked it up there was Coke in the cup holder. I wanted to strangle someone. If I don't put/drink shit in my car, I don't expect anyone else to either.

If someone gets shit-service, I think people should know about it. Not necessarily trashing the whole place or bad-mouthing, but it's good to get a heads up sometimes - and there is nothing wrong with sharing your experience at a specific dealership. It can end up turning a negative experience into a positive one. I had one pretty bad experience (at least it started that way) in 2001- and ended up doing a complete 180 when I spoke to the big-cheese. The dealership has gone above and beyond since then. I couldn't ask for more.........

 

[Brandon03SVT]

Ya, no. It's cool - I hear what you're saying. It's only a car, so I'm not going to go around losing my cool or bad mouthing a dealership service dept - not really my style and I don't have the time in life to be pissed at dumb things like this. If they gave me a ton of attitude, I might spend some time on it, but there are like 5 other dealerships in the surrounding areas.

Appreciate the perspective. :beer:

Ok cool! There for a minute I was thinking everyone on this thread thinks I'm advocating the dealer on their wrong doing in customer service.

All I'm trying to do here is give everyone the perspective from the other side of the counter so when they bring their vehicles in for service, they will not be potentially mistreated or disrespected and understand why the dealers do what they have to do; and one way I know how to ensure it is to either meet the technician, or go with someone that is known to be trusted (like a friend's recommendation). I'm not in ANY way defending the dealer. I just am giving my opinion: as the thread title stated.

And I agree 100% with 2Sharpie. It is YOUR car and if you feel mistreated, I would head down the road to the next dealer.

I also agree 100% with Me32. Every car should be respected 100% whether it's a Ford GT or a '94 Aspire. Unfortunately, not all technicians see eye-to-eye with us on this.

Might be worth at least trying out some of the other dealers the local guys have experience with next time it has a concern. Every dealer has a completely different set of people with different attitudes and levels of professionalism.

 

[Brandon03SVT]

First off I only drove the car 3 miles out and 3 miles back. Your car has a real problem with the back wheels turning faster than the front wheels, since the speedometer is reading off the transmission that is why it's off. Never did you mention the traction problems of the car. Being the professional that I am, I found it immediately when I left the first red light with it to the floor. This problem is really bad because it has the same problem in 2 gear also. It clears up by third gear though and from there on out its okay. I stopped at 4 red lights and it did it from every redlight. Now I would recommend you bring it back to me so I can compare it to my buddys car. If you could drop it off Saturday morning I will take it out Saturday Night and compare it to a few others to see if they are having this same problems as yours. It will be ready for pick up Monday morning with a full diagnosis and comparison to other cars to see where yours fits in at. Sincerely your technician.

The concern was verified after a brief street race from a dig with another GT500 equipped with M/T ET streets. Both vehicles were simlarly equipped and the traction concern is not prevelant on the other GT500. Verified another PCM calibration available from Ford (pre PDI calibration). Uploaded pre-PDI calibration into PCM. Road tested and verified PCM will not allow powertrain to enter boost, and traction issue no longer present in any gears with TCS off. Repair verified and vehicle released to the customer. :-D

 

[RedlineHP]

Brandon03SVT, Thanks for you insight from the otherside of the counter,Good info.

When I took my car in for the clutch TSB I spoke with the service writer before I ever brought the car in, and had made arrangements to meet the service tech (SVT tech) and verify my concerns.

I then asked/instructed service writer, only her or the tech was to drive my car, they said no problem. I also asked if I could come see the car/parts once the clutch was out , also no problem.

They knew this was not just a car to me, an did a great job for me. I did make sure to Thank them for a job well done.

 

[me32]

Ok cool! There for a minute I was thinking everyone on this thread thinks I'm advocating the dealer on their wrong doing in customer service.

All I'm trying to do here is give everyone the perspective from the other side of the counter so when they bring their vehicles in for service, they will not be potentially mistreated or disrespected and understand why the dealers do what they have to do; and one way I know how to ensure it is to either meet the technician, or go with someone that is known to be trusted (like a friend's recommendation). I'm not in ANY way defending the dealer. I just am giving my opinion: as the thread title stated.

And I agree 100% with 2Sharpie. It is YOUR car and if you feel mistreated, I would head down the road to the next dealer.

I also agree 100% with Me32. Every car should be respected 100% whether it's a Ford GT or a '94 Aspire. Unfortunately, not all technicians see eye-to-eye with us on this.

Might be worth at least trying out some of the other dealers the local guys have experience with next time it has a concern. Every dealer has a completely different set of people with different attitudes and levels of professionalism.

:beer:, sounds like we have one of the good ones on here