Let me apologize up front; this is a long post.

I took my 2004 FX4 SCrew in to have the fuel door repaired and decided to see if there was anything they could do about what I thought might be the beginning of the "steering wheel nibble" I am always reading about.

They did a great job with the fuel door and they road force balanced my tires. Before I took delivery of the truck, I noticed that the clearcoat on the face /flat surface (spoke) of the LR wheel was scratched (about 5 or 6 small scratches). I checked out the other wheels more closely and discovered that the front left wheel was also scratched.

I also noticed that they must have parked my truck under a tree, because the windshield and roof were SLATHERED in bird chit. An SA noticed I was looking over my vehicle very closely and asked me if anything was wrong. I said "Hell yeah, the wheels are scratched and my truck is covered in bird chit!!!" She says "You mean it didn't come in like that?" I said "No, I stop and wash my truck off if a bird chits on it" - I never let it get like this. She went to get another SA, but it was 5 minutes to closing and getting dark. They asked me to leave it so the Service Manager could look at it the next day.

I come back yesterday, and the truck is sparkling clean (inside and out) but, they had not done anything with the wheels. The manager comes out and has an attitude - he says "We can't do anything about your wheels. Ford won't cover it under warranty. Besides, it is impossible to remove the wheel weights without scratching the wheels. If you can do it, I would love for you to show me how".

After explaining to him that it was NOT a warranty issue, that it was a service / incompetence issue, I took him to the other side of the truck and showed him where one of his techs MUST have removed the weights from one of my wheels without scratching it. So there was some more arguing...I told him he had a poor attitude and that I was the customer and that his TECHS damaged my vehicle...there was some more negotiating and they finally agreed to replace the two scratched wheels to "make me happy".

So the SA called me today and they have the wheels and they'll give me a loaner while they do the work.

I took some pics (we always want to see the pics on here), but they did not come out because of the flash reflection off of the wheels.

I am not a serious "off-roader", but my truck will see some time off-road during hunting trips in North Texas and probably western PA. Also, I am moving up north next summer and will be back where the snow flies. Eventually, the wheels will get chipped, but the truck is 5 months old and has 4000 miles on it. I am still very careful with it - plus damage CAUSED by ME is different than some tech that doesn't give a rats **** about being careful with my vehicle...

Am I being a putz about this or is it reasonable to expect the dealer to return my vehicle after service in the same or as good of condition as when I turned it in?

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share the whole story - I still have trouble believing it myself...

 

Print this out and take it to your dealer.

Maybe they don't know that there is a wonderful tool designed for taking weights off without damaging the wheel, and its not called a channel lock.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

 

I agree w/ ya. Maybe if it were 5 yrs old and a little banged up you probably wouldn't even have noticed. But not when it's brand new.Sounds like that manager is the putz. Glad he replaced the rims though

 

Hey wattman1,

A while back when I had my truck in for...surprise!...a vibration issue. They performed a road force balancing and scratched three of my wheels while removing the center caps. They did not offer replacements, but did offer to have their "wheel repair guy" attempt to buff them out. He was mysteriously absent every time I stopped by and it never happened.

Someone else on this site had the same situation as me and the dealer did replace some of his wheels. I would have accepted the new wheels (if offered!) just on principle. Maybe they would be just a little more careful in the future. It sucked having my new rims scratched.

 

Service with a smile...

I know the whole wheel thing happened to my 2004 F-150. I was pissed off. The centercaps were set on the cement and all scratched, you know how they use them as bowls for lug nutz... Anyway, it looked as if they used a jack hammer to get the wheel weights off. Plus after 3 balancings and 1 Road Force balance and 5 tire replacements, my wheels got the whole lifetime workout in 2 months!!!

I was even thinking of getting two heavy duty jacks and rotating my tires myself too. I hate when service departments treat your car like chit and they would never have done that chit to their vehicles!!!

 

You're totally justified in challenging the SA on scratched wheels. They just think that most customers won't notice and won't care...but they really need to treat every vehicle with great care. To me, the paint on the wheel is just as important as the paint on the truck. If I know they will be removing a wheel (they do for state inspections, etc.), I always remove the caps before I even drop it off...that way Gomer won't pry them off with his rusty old flathead screwdriver and scuff it all up. I also take an old sheet and cover the driver's seat because the guy who is underneath your truck crawling around on the shop floor is usually the same guy who drives it back out of the bay when he's done...and those little paper things they put on the seat don't cut it. I guess the bottom line is nobody cares for your stuff like you do.

 

Thanks - I was actually reconsidering having them touch my truck again to change the tires/wheels, but they didn't offer any other solution or compensation. I'm going in to get the wheels done and I might insist on staying with my ride! It was their mistake.

blitzkrieg - I was LMAO

jimmyK - You are right; THEY are the putzes for messing up my wheels...

Clem - The SA called me today to tell me they are in. Gotta call and make sure they ordered the 18 inchers though...

mjninke - I might have to start doing all my own service / work (short of must have warranty issues). I don't want anybody screwing with my stuff!

dewy - You are right; I agree that they figure most people won't notice.

Thanks for the replies! You all helped me make up my mind about getting the new wheels.

 

Took mine in to have the tires rebalanced when it was three weeks old ,they scratched two of mine, taking the old weights off..

 

That is why I and many of you do our own tire rotation. Only had the dealer do it once and he did it ok. But I told him then that I didn't want my wheels or caps messed up. Or else he was going to replace them.

I was being a nasty guy but it paid off then. Still don't trust them so I have two floor jacks now.

 

That comes from WAY too many people that don't take any pride in their work. I brought my truck in for the clutch pak prob. 3wks
into ownership and had a wheel scratched ( a small scratch ) but
one nuntheless. I immediately brought it too the service writer and then the service managers attention. I told them that it was
unacceptable since when i brought it in it was mint. The man. says
but its almost $400. and i says and the soft tonneau bed cover is
almost $300. I'll save you a $100. replace the wheel or get me the cover, they got me the cover ( i'll live with the little scratch )

 

Took mine in for wheel rotation,,special with oil change,, got all 4 caps back with scratces in,, talked to service mngr..no questions asked,, got 4 new caps ordered and installed next week.. said he would talk to mech that did my wheel rotation with a screw driver,, said i would talk to him if he did not want to,, haha,, also said i could make tool outta wood to take caps off, without damage,, said they already had a plastic one that mech did not use,, bottom line,, complain,, sholud be taken care of by repsponsible dealer,, oh ps,, cost 90 dollars for 4 caps