My Ford dealership story

[04SE]

So, my 2004 Ford Taurus (115,000 miles) had a weeping oil pan gasket seal which is very common for the 3.0 Vulcan. I had the dealership replace the gasket as I was far too busy at the time and I get 15% off parts/labor for buying the car there.

So, they replaced the gasket and it continued to leak, in the SAME spot. It drips right onto the exhaust. I took it back a second time and they swore up and down it did NOT leak. I went round and round with the service manager and they finally added a dye to the oil and gave it back to me for a few days.

After a few days I jacked the car up and sure enough, there was clearly a leak right where I said there was. So, the car went back a third time. A guy from the shop (Not the service manager) called today with a bad attitude proclaiming there is NO leak and my car is old with a ton of oil leaks (NOT true). So, I went round and round with him and he wanted me to drive it some more and bring it back. I politely told him no and informed him I was going to be speaking with the General Manager of the dealership.

I then called the GM and left a voicemail. About 2 hours later I get a call from the service manager and he was HOT. We went round and round and round and round. We finally essentially agreed to disagree. He had personally smelled the burning oil smell when I took the car in the second time and he KNEW it was leaking somewhere. I told him to take it for a drive and get it warm and it would leak.

I get another call from the service manager about 40 minutes later that begins with him apologizing up and down for his attitude and behavior. He then informs me they were unable to find a leak but he and the technician DID smell the burning oil smell. He said Ford would be paying for another R&R on the oil pan gasket and my car would not be delivered to me until the car was fixed correctly and NOT leaking or smelling of burning oil. He stated he had never seen a Taurus with that many miles that did not leak oil ANYWHERE (what a change from the previous shop guy's comment!!!). He commented on how clean the engine bay & engine were for the age/miles.

This evening, the General Manager called my house and left a message wanting to know how today went and what can be done to help the situation. He said he would be mailing some stuff to me but did not elude to what it was. I figure it is just free oil changes and other stuff.

So, they FINALLY made the situation right after almost two weeks.

I will NOT be returning to this dealership and I WILL be contacting Ford about this, even though they did rectify the situation. They need to know about the idiots that represent them.

 

[FirstNissan]

I wouldnt go back to that place either. Being treated like a liar and a jerk is totally unnecessary, especially since there are a ton of independant mechanics that are willing to fix your car for less money that the dealership.

 

[SLCraig]

Crazy.
Only go to the dealer if I absolutely have to.
Otherwise, no way.

 

[Mr Nice]

I would have gone to an independent repair shop and avoid the dealership.

 

[Dakota1820]

My mom bought a 2010 focus and it has 30k on it she purchased the extended warranty and it is still under full warranty anyway. The rear door sticks only sometimes and the ac isn't cold . They were very nice about looking at it. But then they pulled it in and pulled it right back out and said airbwas blowing at 47 degrees well it was only 50 that day but even so it wasnt that cold even I checked. The door i told them only sticks once in awhile. They opened 2 times and said it was fine and then the guy basically called me stupid and then a liar. We called Ford they said to email them instead. And that's where it stands. Ford sucks. I'm running out of American companies to purchase from since gm isn't exactly ideal either. So trust me you are not the only one to be unhappy with fomoco.

 

[sleddriver]

Wow . . and you even bought the car from there!! How nice. My nephew and I recently fixed a problem on his dad's Expedition and I ran into the local dealer for a part after trying to talk with them over the phone. Dense as concrete. I'd taken the vac hose off the vehicle, and showed it to the guy. Then asked him to print out the page of the part diagram and told him 'that is this'. He still didn't get it. Waited for 40 min. while he disappeared trying to put 2 & 2 together.
Unbelievable . . . . rocks have more sense....

 

[vssjim]

They seem to send forg parts guy's to a special school to not sell the right parts. Not to be mean but this is thirty five plus years of dealing with them at many locations.

 

[bdcardinal]

Sounds like you guys need to find better Ford dealers. The parts "language" you have to learn for Ford parts has an extremely steep learning curve.

 

[Colt45ws]

Ive dealt with my dealer on a couple of occasions. Always for warranty work. Did a Cat on my Vic right after I got it. First thing with that was I had to show them the rattling noise because they were..not revving the engine the right way to induce it. As soon as he heard it he went, "Aha."
Then the Service Writer said, "Its out of warranty." He just kept repeating "3y/36k" like a broken record. I wanted to break his record. Finally a Tech walking through overheard me telling him it is still under the 8y/80k federally mandated emissions warranty of which a cat definitely falls under. The tech took my side, a manager was grabbed, backed me up as well and that was that. They got right on it. I think it was just a training issue with that particular service writer. I have never seen him again either and I go in there for parts occasionally as well.
When I took my Mom's Fusion in for the coolant leak (and a extra key) last Friday, it was smooth as butter. I brought it in, told them what was up, and left. They called later that day to tell me they found the leak and ordered the part, but I didnt catch the call because I was busy trying to put a valve body back into a CVPI. So I ended up not being able to pick it up over the weekend. But that was my fault.
Called me 8:30am Monday, they got the part in and he was going to start work on it. He finished at about 12:45pm and let me know it was ready for pick up. I was at work so I picked it up the next day. I only paid the $215 for the extra key, but that cant really be helped. If the prices bdcardinal posted in my other thread are right, at some other dealers the same thing would be knocking on $300 after tax.

 

[bradepb]

I am finding these types of situations all over in my dealings at work. I use a lot of parts places and outside service providers . About half the time I feel like I am dealing with people very unqualified. You would think with so many good people out of work there would be more competent people in these positions.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: bradepb
You would think with so many good people out of work there would be more competent people in these positions.
Amen!

 

[jeepman3071]

Dealers are usually hit or miss. There is a Jeep dealer close to me that is totally clueless and the employees have no idea what they are doing. Then there is one a little further away that is really nice and helpful. When I buy parts, I'd rather drive a little further to get decent service.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I can't comment on the dealership experience, but will comiserate with you on the 3.0L's constant oil leaks. All three of the '05 Taurii at work leaked oil from somewhere, and all three smelled of oil when you drove them. We got rid of two, but still have one. I don't mind to drive it that much, but it still stinks. The seal has been replaced once, but it's still leaking from somewhere. The engine engine is covered in a layer of grime, so it seems like it's possibly a front valve cover or someplace where a leak might get blown back over the engine. Only has 21k miles on it.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: bradepb
About half the time I feel like I am dealing with people very unqualified. You would think with so many good people out of work there would be more competent people in these positions.


The problem is that companies only care about their bottom lines.
Why bother paying someone who knows what they are doing, and is very professional for $20 an hour, and have them win repeat business from customers due to great customer service and experiences, when they can pay a complete idiot $9 an hour, and lose their preferred customer base.

BC.

 

[Vikas]

I have a feeling that OP "told" them to replace the gasket. To put it another way, dealership did not "diagnosis" on their own and decided that gasket needed replacing.

Mind you, I would have done the same thing but I would have personally verified that they put the new gasket and they used the torque wrench to tighten in the correct sequence.

At this stage one does not even know if dealership did *any* work when first brought in. I know I sound extremely cynical but as far as I am concerned, unless I personally see the work being done OR there is obvious evidence of work, I will assume it was not done. There are enough cases of customer being charged for fraudulent work.

- Vikas

 

[R2d2]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I would have gone to an independent repair shop and avoid the dealership.


Yeah I rather go to an independent, and get ripped off twice as bad.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Why bother paying someone who knows what they are doing, and is very professional for $20 an hour, and have them win repeat business from customers due to great customer service and experiences, when they can pay a complete idiot $9 an hour, and lose their preferred customer base.BC.


I simply don't understand this business model. They have no one to blame but themselves. I try to support local brick and mortar stores. But, when you get superb and FAST service from internet companies that strive for customer satisfaction, it's hard to ignore them.

When will the dealers and other establishments wake up and realize that decent parts prices and superb customer service will get more traffic (more $) into their stores. It eludes me.

 

[kelpie]

I see Ford still has their issues. I don't mean to bash Ford, but I bought my last one (new) in 1987 and was such a bad experience I switched to GM and Chrysler. I still would give Ford another chance before I would even consider an import, though. I have done a lot of mechanical work and GM n Chrysler are better engineered IMO.

 

[OVERKILL]

I must say, this at least sounds a heck of a lot better than the dealings with Chrysler the guy in the General and OT section is having.

Sucks you had to go through all of that though.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have a feeling that OP "told" them to replace the gasket. To put it another way, dealership did not "diagnosis" on their own and decided that gasket needed replacing.


That very well may be the case. However, some of us motorists are knowledgeable about our cars or vehicles in general. It's understandable that a dealership would want to confirm the diagnosis for a warranty issue. However, many people who don't have all the paperwork are quite capable of diagnosing a leaking oil pan gasket, for instance.

I do most of my own work when a vehicle is off warranty. If I'm taking it in to the dealership for warranty service, it's only with great reluctance, and after I've diagnosed the problem myself, if that's at all possible. I don't need them telling me I imagined a problem or have them make a bunch of unnecessary and time consuming repairs, either, even if it's costing the manufacturer money, and not me.

In the late 1990s, a similar thing happened with my mom and dad's brand new Chev half ton. There was a pan gasket leak in under 10,000 km. Dad was away and she took it to the dealership. The dealer claimed they fixed it and sent her on her way. It was leaking in the garage again. So, she took it back. They claim they can't find the leak. She walks under the hoist and points it out to them. When a sixty year old lady who's never changed her own oil can find a pan gasket leak and "trained mechanics" cannot, we have a problem.

This isn't 1960. If dealerships are afraid of having warranty claims denied by the manufacturer or some such thing, it's very easy to document issues. Digital photography has been around a few years.