Two days ago, I dropped off my red 01 L at Sunrise Ford, in North Hollywood CA... 15M service.

An hour later, an extreme JERK of a service manager called me... "Sir your truck was just stolen off our lot".

He offered no apologies, never mentioned the word sorry, said:

"... there are thieves in this world and there's nothing we can do about it..."
"... we are not responsible..., this is between you and your insurance co..."
"... last week someone stole a mirror from another truck..." (as if I cared)

It gets worse - I never signed the service order. The service rep did, in my place!!

Maybe he thought I left, because he 'signed' where the customer signs. Then he kept his copy, and threw the original in the trash. 5 minutes later I showed up again, asking him for the service order.

He picked it from the trash can and gave it to me, embarrassingly saying "I just signed it". At first I wasn't sure what he meant.

The cops told a video shows a car pulling up (INSIDE the gated service area, right in front of the stalls w/ 15 or so mechanics working), one guy getting out, got straight into my L, and took off.

Needless to say... Sunrise Ford in No Hlwd is one shoddy place... DON'T go there.


Thanks for listening guys. I am royally pi$$ed off about this whole thing!

Been lurking occasionally.

 

I would sue the dealer for not taking proper care of your property.

 

That really sucks..I used to work in North Hollywood about 20 years ago.. I called it the "armpit of the valley" back then, I know it's only worse now........sorry for your loss...JR

 

You ought to at least press forgery charges on that service writer. If the thief just hopped into your truck and drove off in no time, that tells me they had a key and it was an inside job. Alert your insurance company about that. Ultimately they will have to pay at first, but they will want to get to the bottom of it. Especially having to pay for a 25-30K dollar truck.

PS: just thought of something. YOU not signing that form makes THEM liable, in Georgia at least. Talk to your lawyer.

 

Damn....that even pisses me off - How are they not responsible? I am very sorry that this happened - although my sympathy probably doesn't make you feel any better.

 

Go to the meadia on this one.

 

Hey I know it sucks getting a vehicle stolen, but unfortunatley the dealer can't put a 24 hour armed guard on the vehicle. There are professional thieves out there that can basically steal about anything without hardly being seen. Unfortunately a truck as nice as a Lightning is a target. You haven't stated anywhere what the dealer did that was negligent. What's signing the work order have to do with anything? That wouldn't cause or prevent the truck from being stolen.

The reason we have insurance is to take care of problems like this. It may suck, but just be thankful that you have insurance. Hopefully if you handle the situation right at the dealer, they will help you get into an equivalent truck at a good price. I'm sure the dealership felt bad about the situation and maybe after you are able to calm down you will be able to understand it a little better. Good luck and hopefully you can get your truck back or find one just as good if not better.

 

I would sue (since I'm a lawyer, that's easy for me to say). However, if it appears to you that they exercised substandard care with your truck, they might be liable for negligence.

The service contract probably absolved them of any liability. You are damn lucky that you did not sign it.

Hope you get the truck back.

 

So basically, they're saying that YOUR insurance has to cover their F*ck-up? I suppose if they took it for a test drive and wrecked it that you should pay too? Nope...If you make a claim on a 30K vehicle, the next time you even sneeze they're gonna bump you into a 'high-risk' category. Plus, you have to pay your deductable, which can be $500 or more. I'm not a person that believes in BS lawsuits, but I would sue in this case.

 

I don't know how the legality/liability end of it works, but even though you didn't sign the repair order, you did take your truck to THEM and it got stolen, it's not like they forced you to take it there and then it was stolen or they took it from you and it was stolen.

you left it on their lot of your own free will (pretty much).

but like I said, i don't know how this stuff works, so they may be responsible.

either way I'd cause a stink and at least get them to appologize and pay your deductible (that is if of course they aren't found responsible and have to have their insurance company cover the whole thing).



AS A SIDE NOTE: service writers forging customer signitures happens every day all over the place. The warranty clerk can't book the repair order without a customer signiture, and if the customer has left the building without signing, they sure aren't going to call them at home or work and ask them to come back in and sign the paperwork before they can work on the vehicle. however bad of a practice this may be, it is VERY common.

later,
chris

 

The dealer shouldn't leave keys in the vehicles. The keys should be locked up. If the dealership is in a bad part of town they should consider security. I think you hit it on the head that insurance is there to take care of unforeseen problems. In this case the dealer has insurance and should be held responsible for the problem.
One other thing, it doesn't sound like the dealer cared about the theft. Maybe it is just me and the experience I've had at dealers, but I don't think there is a dealership out there that really gives a **** about their customers after a sale.

 

Next time I can take my truck for warranty service anywhere let me know. We are forced to take the truck for warranty work to the dealer, however incompetent they may be. Yes, I know it was just for a 15K mile service, but it could have been taken there for any problem.

 

You must have your key to drive it away as I understand PATS. Does the dealer still have your keys? How did they start it? Is it reasonable to leave the keys in the vehicle in an unsecure area?

 

Wow! Where do I start?

a) the dealer should demonstrate proper care with other people's property

b) the anti-theft features of a Lightning make it extremely difficult to just jump in and drive off (without the key)

c) lots of vehicles make "nice" targets, thieves only care how much money they can get out of them

d) signing a work order in some cases limits the dealers liability for things like THEFT!

e) people don't get insurance to handle things like this

f) the dealer didn't seem to care much

h) maybe when you put yourself in StolenL's shoes, you'll be able to understand the situation a little better...

StolenL, bluelightning is right. Go to the media (after getting a full police report on the incident). If this is the kind of care the dealer normally demonstrates, there may be many other customers in the same situation. Stories like this in the news also tend to lead "creative" lawyers to get in touch with the "victim". Good luck...

 

I'm real sorry to hear about your L getting stolen
I will never in a million years understand how Ford is not responsible while YOUR CAR is in THEIR POSSESION ???
WTF is that about.
So sorry...