Issues with dealership service center.

[Jaysonics]

This might be a bit lengthy but looking for some advice or opinions.

I picked up my truck this past Oct from a local dealership. With a front level spacer kit, tires and plow to be installed upon delivery. I'll try and make a long story shorter here. The service center ended up scratching the front bumper which they fixed but I can still tell where it is. They could not get the front end alignment done properly after 2 attempts and I ended up taking it to a different shop who was able to get it done right. Ford also failed to install the nuts on top of the shock tower after installing the level kit. They also did not torque the wheel lugs down to spec. They ended up reimbursing me for the alignment and threw in a LineX liner on them for all the trouble. Although I did appreciate how they reimbursed me and did what they could, I lost trust in the service dept as nothing got done correctly.

Today, I just brought my truck into a different local dealer for an oil change and tire rotation. I've had some issues with an employee here in the past which led me to the other dealer that I bought the truck through. As I was about to leave, I noticed that my locking lug nut key was missing so I got out of the truck to go get it inside. I looked at 1 of the wheels and it looked like the key was still attached to the lug... Nope. It was the locking lug sticking out. It was only threaded on a few turns. I went around and all 4 of them were loose. I went back in to tell the desk and walked back out to find a young guy tightening them with a breaker bar. He says "guess I forgot to tighten them... Whoops" I had a different tech come out with an actual torque wrench and watched him do it. Every lug was not even close to tight. And a couple spots had scuffs on the rim from the socket, which stick out on black wheels of course. The service advisor said that he would address this and let me know what he could do. He gave me a card for a mobile detailing guy they use and if I wanted to contact him about fixing the scratches on the wheels, they'd cover the cost.

Is this just bad luck for me? I am getting to the point where I feel I can't trust dealership service centers. I did later find out that the tech who did not tighten my lugs properly was let go due to several complaints. I do like bringing it to dealers for proper documentation/parts rather than bringing it to a generic local shop (although I feel like I can trust my local guy fully). How would you guys deal with situations like this? Enough to make you stop going there or not? I did report the first situation to Ford which I feel fell on deaf ears. Never heard anything back after several times reaching out.

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[WalterMitty]

Unfortunately for the rest of us, I don' think it's your bad luck. I know I'm going to sound like some old dude, but I have noticed a general decline of quality service and products across the board. It doesn't matter the industry.....automobiles, to restaurants, to the written word (magazines, web pages, etc.), the overall performance level is down.

Where did all the experts go? The true craftsmen? People that had pride of ownership, or doing a job well? They are super, super, rare. Now the norm is mediocrity. Most don't have the skills, many don't care, and some don't have the skills AND don't care.

I work for a major corporation, and I stopped being surprised by the number of "not good" peeps around. Folks that really don't know their job. They sort of know some things, but when pressed, you quickly find out that there's no expertise there. They are much more concerned about how much they have to come into the office, having fun, having unnecessary meetings, and being social.

In your specific case, there are a lot of dealers that are not using trained mechanics. They are having "service technicians" for routine maintenance...oil changes, tire rotations, etc. They they are turning these barely trained folks on our $50k - $100k vehicles. Additionally, the "service advisor" is just there to sell more and more services, regardless if you truly need it or not.

My truck is only a few weeks old, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do when it comes time to service the truck (I bought it from Granger, who is about 5 hours away).

 

[HammaMan]

It's not isolated. Glad to see new car companies emerging with shipping replacement parts directly to customers who wish to self-repair. I do not like taking my vehicle/s to anyone, ever. The local dealer here has a dedicated 'fast' lane that's mostly a separate entity but tied to the dealer. There's windows into the service area and the customer chairs are facing it. You can see everything going on in it. They don't do the detailed work in there, just the simple things unfortunately.

This is ultimately the result of trying to push people into college who truly have no reason to be there and have been misguided. There's a local technical college here full of the latest CNC machines. It's completely free to attend as the state pays for all of it with lottery proceeds. They're doing good to have 20% of the seats filled. There's local manufacturers paying 45-50$ / hr right out of the school and yet people don't even both. They'd rather stand around at mcdonalds playing on their phones for $12/hr.

 

[m_bt54]

Par for the course. I won’t let my dealership touch my truck unless it is warranty work, and even then I am hesitant. I won’t even let them change my oil.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

Unfortunately for the rest of us, I don' think it's your bad luck. I know I'm going to sound like some old dude, but I have noticed a general decline of quality service and products across the board. It doesn't matter the industry.....automobiles, to restaurants, to the written word (magazines, web pages, etc.), the overall performance level is down.

Where did all the experts go? The true craftsmen? People that had pride of ownership, or doing a job well? They are super, super, rare. Now the norm is mediocrity. Most don't have the skills, many don't care, and some don't have the skills AND don't care.

I work for a major corporation, and I stopped being surprised by the number of "not good" peeps around. Folks that really don't know their job. They sort of know some things, but when pressed, you quickly find out that there's no expertise there. They are much more concerned about how much they have to come into the office, having fun, having unnecessary meetings, and being social.

In your specific case, there are a lot of dealers that are not using trained mechanics. They are having "service technicians" for routine maintenance...oil changes, tire rotations, etc. They they are turning these barely trained folks on our $50k - $100k vehicles. Additionally, the "service advisor" is just there to sell more and more services, regardless if you truly need it or not.

My truck is only a few weeks old, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do when it comes time to service the truck (I bought it from Granger, who is about 5 hours away).

Where did all the experts go? I will tell you, we are retiring or have retired. I walked out of a tool store yesterday because the 3 Employees stood around looking at their screens and laughing at something instead of asking if anyone needed help. It kills me to walk into my former workplace and have to deal with the idiots that work there now.

 

[Karytas80]

I've had similar experienced with lot of dealerships. That's why I'm still debating if I want to buy Ford's ESP for my 23 XLT PB as I dont want to deal with dealerahips unless I have to such S warranty issues or recalls. I recently had to drop my truck off at a local dealer to replace a bad turbo. I was initially told two days but after two days they came up with every possible excuses and they kept my Truck for 10 days. Honestly, I'm not even confident they did a good job although I don't see any issues with my truck and that was my first visit with the truck. Plus, I didnt get a loaner as I didn't purchase my truck from them. I just want to bring it to the mechanic that I've know for a while instead.

 

[HammaMan]

I've had similar experienced with lot of dealerships. That's why I'm still debating if I want to buy Ford's ESP for my 23 XLT PB as I dont want to deal with dealerahips unless I have to such S warranty issues or recalls. I recently had to drop my truck off at a local dealer to replace a bad turbo. I was initially told two days but after two days they came up with every possible excuses and they kept my Truck for 10 days. Honestly, I'm not even confident they did a good job although I don't see any issues with my truck and that was my first visit with the truck. Plus, I didnt get a loaner as I didn't purchase my truck from them. I just want to bring it to the mechanic that I've know for a while instead.

I've got 10 days to buy mine before the 1yr period is up -- I'm looking at just going 200$ deductible to cover the really expensive shit. I have a powerboost and there's nothing cheap about the HV components. The cheapest part right now is the 7.2kW inverter for $900 (normally $1800) but on 'national backorder' -- all other parts of the HV system, 6 in total range from $1200 to $5k. Fortunately HV components can only be touched by the tech that's undergone the HV training -- a dealer is lucky to have one, and they're usually booked weeks out. I'm only interested in them covering the $$$ components. Most of the other parts of the truck are pretty cheap / easy to replace when they do fail. Look at 13th gen part pricing. So many of them on the road and ending up in junkyards, parts are plentiful.

The 'special' ev tech is a double edged sword. They're one of the smarter ones, but also the least available.

 

[Karytas80]

I've got 10 days to buy mine before the 1yr period is up -- I'm looking at just going 200$ deductible to cover the really expensive shit. I have a powerboost and there's nothing cheap about the HV components. The cheapest part right now is the 7.2kW inverter for $900 (normally $1800) but on 'national backorder' -- all other parts of the HV system, 6 in total range from $1200 to $5k. Fortunately HV components can only be touched by the tech that's undergone the HV training -- a dealer is lucky to have one, and they're usually booked weeks out. I'm only interested in them covering the $$$ components. Most of the other parts of the truck are pretty cheap / easy to replace when they do fail. Look at 13th gen part pricing. So many of them on the road and ending up in junkyards, parts are plentiful.

The 'special' ev tech is a double edged sword. They're one of the smarter ones, but also the least available.

So TRUE! That's why I'm debating about Ford ESP now. I guess Hybrid battery is covered up to 8yr/100k miles and wonder if that covers all HV system parts or only the battery. This is my first Ford and first pick up, as I drive about 10-13k miles per year, I may wait a year or two to see how many issues I have with the truck to decide if I'm going to keep it long or not. If I decide to keep it long then I will definitely buy the ESP for 100K miles.

 

[HammaMan]

So TRUE! That's why I'm debating about Ford ESP now. I guess Hybrid battery is covered up to 8yr/100k miles and wonder if that covers all HV system parts or only the battery. This is my first Ford and first pick up, as I drive about 10-13k miles per year, I may wait a year or two to see how many issues I have with the truck to decide if I'm going to keep it long or not. If I decide to keep it long then I will definitely buy the ESP for 100K miles.

The plan is cheapest if bought within the first year. It can also be pro-rata refunded if you sell it (from mile 1, not when you bought it). They're actually pretty cheap for full coverage. Search on here for the chart. One of the companies makes it real easy to see all options in one go / pricing.

 

[Karytas80]

The plan is cheapest if bought within the first year. It can also be pro-rata refunded if you sell it (from mile 1, not when you bought it). They're actually pretty cheap for full coverage. Search on here for the chart. One of the companies makes it real easy to see all options in one go / pricing.

Thanks for the great info. Now I have 11 month to decide but mostly going to buy it for piece of mind.

 

[WalterMitty]

Where did all the experts go? I will tell you, we are retiring or have retired. I walked out of a tool store yesterday because the 3 Employees stood around looking at their screens and laughing at something instead of asking if anyone needed help. It kills me to walk into my former workplace and have to deal with the idiots that work there now.

Yup.

It's sad, but most stores are killing themselves....like the tool store you mentioned. The more that happens, the more it drives folks to just buy online.

Back to the lack of experts....

I've always been into cars and motorcycles, still am, but I used to be REALLY into them. I read all about them, and had a decent knowledge of facts and figures. You could go into a shop, and quickly know if the person you were talking to was educated on their products or not. At the time, most were.

Now it's a total sh*t show. You go into a dealer and say....I really wish you had that model in this color...too bad you don't.....then the guy will say.....I think we do, or I can probably get it for you....and then you have to say.....no...that model doesn't isn't offered with it. Or some version of this.

A customer knowing a lot more about the products and services a business sells than that business's employees isn't a brag.....it's a shame.

 

[tcp]

Took truck in for an oil change a few weeks ago, I normally change my air filters myself. This time I changed it a few days before I took it in. Afterward the service advisor noted that his tech marked on the free multipoint inspection sheet that my air filter needed to be changed.

Told my service advisor it was changed days ago... and what's going on with that and he just looked away with his hand out for my payment.

Do they even perform this so call multipoint inspection or do they randomly check things off? That lead me to be concerned if they even changed my oil since Fordpass didn't even log that the hood was opened during that time. Seems Fordpass took the hood alert away since so many people are calling out dealerships for sitting on their trucks for days.

Well that made me pop the hood to check if the oil is clean or dirty which it was clean and crawled under to check oil filter as well.

But in the end...same story as everyone else.... I've almost completely lost trust in any dealerships as bad apples are everywhere! Seems ever since COVID quality of service and people are gone!

Might go back to doing my own maintenance from now on.

 

[Natetroknot]

I feel like it’s borderline crazy to trust a dealership grease monkey to maintain your EXPENSIVE vehicle for routine maintenance, the make is irrelevant.

 

[MHarvey]

I’ve been dealing with the same kinds of problems with my local dealer. They only do drop off service, even for oil changes which is a huge pain. I originally purchased my truck from another dealer about 60 miles away so it‘s not really easy to take it there for service. What sucks is I purchased the 3/36 maintenance plan for oil changes, wipers, etc. so I’ve already paid for the first 6 oil changes in advance. After dropping it off the last 2 times with my local dealer (6-8 hours for them to do an oil change) I picked the truck up and on looking underneath it found oil all over the front differential and front crossmember, and the underbody panel that covers the transmission pan, hanging down loose and missing bolts. I know I’m picky, but at 51 years old this is my first new truck and I’m used to doing my own maintenance so that I know it’s done right. I feel like you will get no support from Ford if you’re doing your own oil changes and a problem comes up such as an engine issue as they won’t have a trace that you’ve performed any maintenance. I did get them to replace the bolts on the panel, but they said the oil just splashed on those areas from draining it, which I know is wrong as I changed it myself the 1st time at 1000 miles. I spent nearly 2 hours after I got home with cleaner and a rag getting the oil off the bottom after I left the dealership. It seems like good techs are getting fewer and farther between and the dealerships don’t care at all.

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