my friends daughter is taking her 02 ford escape into the dealer for a recall for something chassis related she is afraid of two things first off she does not want to pay a dime for this work and is afraid they will try to rip her off and charge her. Second she is afraid they will abuse it driving it like they stole it. (she loves this suv)
What is the best advice i can give her she lives in NY and i don't know this dealer. Should she write on the receipt only warranty work paid for by ford authorized?
Taking 02 Escape Into Dealer 4 Recall Any Advice ?
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2023
They're not gonna do anything, they'll just fix the issue. Doesn't the control arm or subframe rust out on these? Don't worry what the dealer is gonna do, if anything they'll let her know if her brake pads are low or something. This isn't Jiffy Lube
And I already know here comes antiqueshell talking about the $tealerships!
Advise before service done, to run ANY thing by her first. Drive it like they stole it...i duno wat to say to that...besides i dont think the dealer is taking it very far..and i doubt they are that excited bout an 02 escape..but i understand being concerned and babying her car..as i am with my 07.
Chances are they will do a "complimentary vehicle inspection" and come up with all kinds of ridiculous things that need to be fixed. Last time we had a recall fixed, they came up with over $1500 in work they said needed to be done. Just say no.
Take an ADULT male with her to drop & pick up vehicle. Wait for repair if possible. Ed
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Chances are they will do a "complimentary vehicle inspection" and come up with all kinds of ridiculous things that need to be fixed. Last time we had a recall fixed, they came up with over $1500 in work they said needed to be done. Just say no.
If the technicians were going to go joyriding, I don't think it would be in a 12 year old Escape. Generally, they arent going to try to upsell unnecessary stuff on a rusty 12 year old Escape. They have more than enough work on not rusty cars to keep their shop full.
Now if she had a 50000 mile Mustang GT, may be a different story. It's fun to drive (joyride?) and getting to the age where it may need brakes, tires, etc ... and isn't rusty for when they recommend extra services.
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Take an ADULT male with her to drop & pick up vehicle. Wait for repair if possible. Ed
Originally Posted By: Miller88
If the technicians were going to go joyriding, I don't think it would be in a 12 year old Escape.
I was a Honda dealer mechanic before going back to school and moving onto diesel. Do the service adviser, mechanic and whomever takes the vehicle in a favor by stating: I only want the recall work done, please don't do a courtesy inspection.
I just got recall work done at a Ford dealer. It was just one recall and they also wrote down something like a 52 point inspection but that it was free. I let them leave it on. When I went to pick it up, I don't think the odometer changed, just in the shop and out. They just wrote down good tires and didn't try to up sell anything. Even got a free ride to the train station.
They will not charge for the recall. Just tell her to go in and if they try to upsell anything, just have them write it down and she will think about it.
Our techs have no interest in joy riding customers cars. We have a Saleen Extreme and another Track Pack GT in the shop right now and no-one wants to touch them beyond the necessary in and out of stalls.
can I come play with the Saleen? I will return it...but it may have lost 80% of the tread on the tires 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
They will not charge for the recall. Just tell her to go in and if they try to upsell anything, just have them write it down and she will think about it.
Our techs have no interest in joy riding customers cars. We have a Saleen Extreme and another Track Pack GT in the shop right now and no-one wants to touch them beyond the necessary in and out of stalls.
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
can I come play with the Saleen? I will return it...but it may have lost 80% of the tread on the tires :P
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
my friends daughter is taking her 02 ford escape into the dealer for a recall for something chassis related she is afraid of two things first off she does not want to pay a dime for this work and is afraid they will try to rip her off and charge her. Second she is afraid they will abuse it driving it like they stole it. (she loves this suv)
What is the best advice i can give her she lives in NY and i don't know this dealer. Should she write on the receipt only warranty work paid for by ford authorized?
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
No one at the dealership wants to "test" drive her 02 Escape. They want to get that POS in and out as fast as they can. They don't make much on warranty work, and that is likely just the control arm support brace that wont take long to install.
You owning an automotive repair shop should have been able to answer her question without posting here.
Yeah they don't make squat on warranty work like that which would concern me because they might either do a poor job of repair, and or break other things in the process so they can fix them as cash work.
I agree with Ed....
She should have a adult male go with her, and also clearly say they do not want any free inspections just the Ford authorized recall work. I would wait if possible as well. Very important considering that the $tealership has never been visited before by the car owner.
Always be suspect of any auto repair shop, and do not trust them until they prove themselves otherwise to be a
competent and honest shop.
However, also remember that shops and people change so while you may trust them today they may not be the same place tomorrow.
A lot of these shop owners forget that a business must earn the trust of the customer each and every time the customer patronize them, not just once.
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I agree with most of you but if you knew her you would understand... Im sort of in the middle here.. This escape is all she has.
After ignoring a recall on our Windstar for years I finally decided to get out from under the letters, and the dealer that sold it to us is long gone. I called the next one down the road out of the blue, and had an appointment set within 5 minues. I left it the night before and retrieved it the next day without any problems. In fact, they washed it which blew me away. I made it clear when I left it that I had no complaints and planned to keep it to at least 200,000 miles. Or I was just lucky.
Kevin
Maybe you can drive/fly over to help her?
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