Ok so I went to a local Chevy dealer to look at an '04 150 they had for sale. We got all the way to talking money and he was only able to drop it $100, which I think was a waste of driving 64 miles round trip. So I didn't leave with the truck, but I will wait a week or two and try again.

ANYWAY, He said he had never heard of the 5.4 spark lug problem. He called both supposedly "associated" Ford dealers and they both said they have never heard of it and wouldn't have the tool to fix it if they would break any. So I had to explain the whole problem to the Chevy and Ford guys, I even told them the names of the tools and how they worked. AKA I "schooled" them on the problem.

Does this sound like typical salesmen BS or a true possibility that they never heard of it?

 

I call BS. Only drop $100 bucks? keep looking.

 

Talk to the service manager at the Ford dealer. Sales guys know nothing, and if they do, they won't tell you.

 

and thats exactly why GM is in the predicament they are.

 

Why would (or should) a Chevy salesperson know what problems Ford was having with a certain range of its trucks?

Chevy took a used truck in and now its trying to sell it. I doubt the salesperson knows 50% of the problems Chevy is having with "its" trucks.

And if the competition called me up asking about problems I was having with my truck line, I would play stupid also...

 

what "deal" are you getting... in this economy dont be afraid to haggle.. us minorities have been doing it forever... and oh yeah BS on that dealer... mebe do a little legwork yourself? call up some ford service dept and ask... but take our word for it... the spark plug issue with 5.4 is a harsh reality

 

I tried to haggle, but he wasn't having it so I walked out. The Ford dealer he called was one in the same family line. They would have no reason to play dumb. I mean its not like I am calling a ford dealer asking about a chevy truck. I AM buying a ford product. I am very aware that there is a plug problem, I know that its very imminent. Its just that how could the ford dealer have NO cases of this problem, when there are plenty of people that have had the problem and its not just one or two cases. I have been looking for about 6 months now to find the truck that I want. Ill let this one pass, whats another couple months if ive been waiting 6 already.

 

Its very possible the Ford dealerships have not had many cases:

1) The majority of f150 owners don't read auto forums daily to know of the problem.
2) The suggested change comes at 100,000 miles. So most people will not get them changed before the recommended @ $400 a pop (normal spark plug change)
3) Average mileage rate per year is around 12500. That would mean the bulk of the 2004 trucks won't start showing up at the dealerships for 7-8 years. Right now the leading edge of the bell curve is showing up for the plug change. 2010-2011 this issue should become very well known.
4) Alot of people will get new autos before hitting the 100K mark

I think Ford will get by without getting burned by this problem. As long as the problem shows up well into the extended life of the truck or by the second or third owner. Ford doesn't care so much about these people. They care about the ones buying new. The bulk of people hold on to vehicles immediately outside of warranty. That is what Ford would be concerned about, those are your new vehicle buyers. So 100K works for Ford.

 

My dealer has changed quite a few out and they are very successful at it. Have had very few break and were able to retrieve those. I sent one guy to them with 133,000 on his 04 and they changed them out in 2 hours, none breaking.

 

see below...

 

no, its called ****ing lying. there is not a ford dealer in the country that doesn't know about the spark plug issue.

 

X2 You know what I say about any Ford dealer that would tell you they had never heard about the spark plug problem... They'll lie about other things also! That is patently absurd.