Do you leave your car for service.

[Elliotness]

Just got my car last week. Test drove it prior to purchasing didn't everything seemed to be in order.

On the way home accelerated to 80 mph. Noticed a very slight vibe. Vibe was not discernable when I took the car out before buying it. Nonetheless, car has a slight vibration. I took it to the local dealership and took the shop foreman for a ride. He noted that the vibration. Got a call yesterday, they are ordering me a new DS. This is a fairly reputable dealership. However, I don't want to drop my car off for anything. I want to make sure nobody has the chance to hot-rod read: "test drive" my car.

What do you guys think? Am I being to anal..

What will you guys do when you have work done on your cars.

BTW, How long should it take to swap driveshafts? What does swapping a driveshaft entail?

 

[POINTCOVER]

Trust no one. I've worked in service departments before. They could care less about you or your car.

 

[f4sfed]

Originally posted by POINTCOVER
Trust no one. I've worked in service departments before. They could care less about you or your car.

What he said!

 

[KNGOBRA]

Originally posted by POINTCOVER
Trust no one. I've worked in service departments before. They could care less about you or your car.

I agree, if I was a mechanic and a car came in like ours...I'd beat the crap out of it!! Why you ask, because it's NOT mine!!!!

 

[Hammer]

There will be times that our vehicles must be serviced and must be left overnight. The alternative is to forefit warranty service (uuuhh...I don't think I'll be doing that).

What we can do is express our concerns with the service manager before dropping the car. I think that most dealerships will only joy ride a car if they think it won't cause waves.

As nice as our vehicles are, no one's going to joy drive it if they think it could jeopardize their job.

SVT told me that all dealerships should give a service ticket with odo statement on it WHEN YOU DROP THE CAR OFF. Sometimes they won't offer the service ticket or ask for it with the odo statement.

 

[Speedracer XTC]

I have read the horror story thread about the service tech that abused the Customer's Cobra and then posted about it. I can assure you that that kind of abuse would not happen while you car is on my Watch. If you find that you need service of any kind, call me for an appointment.

I deal with only one service writer who has years of dealership experience. I also follow your vehicle every step of the way, including a contact call before and after any testdrives for diagnosis purposes.

You car is treated as if it were my own when you bring it into service. She is cared for, tenderly touched, parked in Egypt, and cleaned with a fresh chamois when done.

Regards,

 

[tommylightning]

Call the owner of the dealership you are going to and tell him your situation and that you don't want anyone screwing around with your car. If they do it will get big time press. Your car will get handled with white gloves.

 

[03 Red Cobra]

Originally posted by Speedracer XTC
I have read the horror story thread about the service tech that abused the Customer's Cobra and then posted about it. I can assure you that that kind of abuse would not happen while you car is on my Watch. If you find that you need service of any kind, call me for an appointment.

I deal with only one service writer who has years of dealership experience. I also follow your vehicle every step of the way, including a contact call before and after any testdrives for diagnosis purposes.

You car is treated as if it were my own when you bring it into service. She is cared for, tenderly touched, parked in Egypt, and cleaned with a fresh chamois when done.

Regards,

Funny. This coming from a car salesman.

 

[bassin247]

Originally posted by tommylightning
Call the owner of the dealership you are going to and tell him your situation and that you don't want anyone screwing around with your car. If they do it will get big time press. Your car will get handled with white gloves.

Or they will tell you to take it somewhere else.

 

[KNGOBRA]

Originally posted by Speedracer XTC
I deal with only one service writer who has years of dealership experience. I also follow your vehicle every step of the way, including a contact call before and after any testdrives for diagnosis purposes.

What happens when you're on Vacation...? :shrug:

 

[Leadhead]

I have been posting for a while and I tend to agree with the hammer alot when I read. I have to agree again there are just times when you are going to have to leave your car. I would add that you are going to the same dealership every time, take the time to shoot the breeze with some of the technicians. I know when I took the civic to the dealer in san diego, that's what I would do. I knew several of them by their first names. Sometimes I would ask them about how they did stuff.

Trust me this works very well because then the people know you and the car you own and think twice about doggin it or something because they think your nice. You also learn how they do things at the dealership which also get you an advantage.

I know it sounds dumb but it works.:coolman:

P.S. (Heavenly dream reverb voice on) Listen to the Hammer. (Heavenly dream reverb voice off)

 

[ssssnake]

I work with a guy that makes friends with the techs. He tells them he will bring them a case of beer AFTER they do the work and they do a good job.

 

[Bingo13]

Hammer,

I followed all of your suggestions and still got screwed by Mac Haik Ford in Houston. In fact a Ford Rep is coming down here next week. They listed the in and out mileage as being the same when Ford asked for the service records. I already have the Service/Sales/Customer Relations statements that the car was indeed test driven although they believe the mileage was not excessive for a performance vehicle.
It was obvious to the Ford rep and myself they are trying to cover their tracks now. I had written down the mileage with the Service Advisor and then checked the odometer before I even started the vehicle at pickup. When I noticed the mileage I exited the vehicle and started looking for the Service Manager with the Sales Manager in tow. Their new official documentation shows the vehicle was not test driven as instructed. I have given up trying to work with the dealership and have taken my case to Ford at this time.
After speaking with another 03 Cobra owner who bought their vehicle from Mac Haik I have come the conclusion this is a dealership to stay away from in Houston. His car was damaged after being driven by the body shop personnel. His fender had to be replaced and they are still trying to repair a shoddy paint job on his vehicle after the fender replacement.

 

[Blade]

Originally posted by ssssnake
I work with a guy that makes friends with the techs. He tells them he will bring them a case of beer AFTER they do the work and they do a good job.

Excellent idea. Just walk out to the tech(s) who has your car and say, "hey guys, this car is my baby so all I need to know is - what kind of beer do you drink?". That should get you off on the right foot. I'd still wait on it if feasible. Always have, always will.

 

[KNGOBRA]

Originally posted by Blade
Excellent idea. Just walk out to the tech(s) who has your car and say, "hey guys, this car is my baby so all I need to know is - what kind of beer do you drink?". That should get you off on the right foot. I'd still wait on it if feasible. Always have, always will.

:nono: GREAT, now you gotta bunch of drunks working and "test driving" YOUR car!! I DON'T THINK SO

 

[Blade]

Originally posted by KNGOBRA
:nono: GREAT, now you gotta bunch of drunks working and "test driving" YOUR car!! I DON'T THINK SO

LOL! No, I meant for me to give them after they do the work. I doubt they would be able to consume them in the bay of a dealership anyhow.

 

[tommylightning]

Originally posted by bassin247
Or they will tell you to take it somewhere else.

What...no love for me?:shrug:

 

[Fred G]

Hey Elliot,
Make arrangements with the service manager or shop foreman to stay with your car for the DS fix. Be advised, however, that revised or not, the DS may still have to be indexed, so make sure your dealer is up to speed on the indexing procedure. My vibe was fixed by the factory rep, who did a great job. If you do a search, you’ll find the previous posts on that deal. If your dealer does not know the indexing procedure, I suggest reaching out to the factory rep. Request to bring your car into the shop when he is next scheduled to be there, so that if you need the indexing he could get involved. Express you concerns about other people driving your car and chances are he will suggest you drive if a road test is necessary at all. In my case, the vibe was so bad, I couldn’t see out of the rear view mirror at 80 MPH. The dealer replaced the DS, and that solved about 95% of the vibe. I got the rep involved and he came down and indexed the shaft. He brought some neat test equipment eliminating the need for any road testing, as it measured vibration and harmonic resonance right on the lift. BTW I stayed with the car while at the dealership.

Today I had the tick taken care of (re-torque of L/S cam saddles). I went over the entire procedure with the service writer and technician, brought my own cloth fender covers (for the technician to put his covers ON TOP of) and some old towels to stuff around the hydro boost unit so it wouldn’t scratch the apron. I didn’t leave the dealership until the job was underway and returned well before it was completed so that I could drive the car out of the shop, before it was put out into the general population of daily drivers stuffed into the customer parking area. The technician and I were definitely on the same page before I left the dealership this morning and I made it worth his while for the extra TLC when I returned and checked the car over when he was done. Not a mark anywhere on the car. My only concern was that I didn’t wind up with a hydro boost or brake problem as a result of the R & R. The tick is another story, as the technician has little to do with that. The re-torque fixes most ticks, but on some others, it returns. That’s an engineering deal, not a dealership problem. For now, however, my car wasn’t scratched or damaged in anyway, the brakes are fine, and the tick is gone. Hopefully it will stay away. And yes, today’s RO states, “ Customer requests no road test”.
Good luck.
Fred

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by Bingo13
Hammer,

I followed all of your suggestions and still got screwed by Mac Haik Ford in Houston. In fact a Ford Rep is coming down here next week. They listed the in and out mileage as being the same when Ford asked for the service records. I already have the Service/Sales/Customer Relations statements that the car was indeed test driven although they believe the mileage was not excessive for a performance vehicle.
It was obvious to the Ford rep and myself they are trying to cover their tracks now. I had written down the mileage with the Service Advisor and then checked the odometer before I even started the vehicle at pickup. When I noticed the mileage I exited the vehicle and started looking for the Service Manager with the Sales Manager in tow. Their new official documentation shows the vehicle was not test driven as instructed. I have given up trying to work with the dealership and have taken my case to Ford at this time.
After speaking with another 03 Cobra owner who bought their vehicle from Mac Haik I have come the conclusion this is a dealership to stay away from in Houston. His car was damaged after being driven by the body shop personnel. His fender had to be replaced and they are still trying to repair a shoddy paint job on his vehicle after the fender replacement.

OK, simple solution: find another dealer to work with. My car was joy driven at a dealer. But they put less than 10 miles on it. It sucks and I was pissed but where am I going with it? I expressed my objections and got on with my life. And I learned something from the experience. I express my concern up front and the car is not driven anymore.

You had an experience with a bad dealership? Find another and move on.

 

[Speedracer XTC]

I cannot speak for all Cobra owners nor others who have had their vehicle serviced by other Houston area dealers with complaints. However, I can say that if you do bring your SVT product to our dealership, as part of my job as YOUR SVT Representative I will follow your car throughout its service process.

AS for me being on vacation... Well I stated in my previous post to contact me and schedule an appointment for service. In doing that I would certainly make time when I am at work and not on vacation.

Proper service procedures are spelled out to be SVT certified. Many dealers may take shortcuts I know from reading the posts here. I have a few choice techs for SVT service and they are all way beyond their "HorsePlay Years" and quite mature.

The simplicity is this... If you need service for your SVT product and I can help make the process easier for you, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,