Customer Service?
#1
05-26-2000, 04:48 PM
Customer Service?
Ugh...
Ford makes good trucks. I do. I think they have problems with their trucks, like any make does. I can accept that. To a point.
I can also accept avereage service. But I cannot accept pass the buck service and finger pointing.
Case in point - At 35,200, I had my instrument cluster replaced, as the odomoter stopped working. I had written about this particular matter of the truck being out of warranty by 1 month, even though I had identified problems with the vehcile before the warranty period. Fine. What could I do?
Well, at ~47,000 miles, the voltmeter gauge stops working properly. It goes to zero, goes all teh way up to 18, etc. I called the dealer, informed them of the problem and made an appointment. They ordered the part they thought would fix the problem.
I drop the truck off with 47,150 miles on it. The part they ordered does not work, and they say that they will have to order another part. They did say that the problem is in the gauge itself and not with the electrical system. Fine. I can drive the truck.
They never called me for the part. Meanwhile, I have had the truck in probably 3 times for service since that point, asking once if the part came in "We'll check on that". Still no call to confirm if it came in.
Finally, I made a special appointment with the truck at ~54,000 miles - to have this looked at because the volt needle sits at 0 a lot now. The guy who took me back to work today and dropped me off noticed the volt gauge. "Hey, that's not right", he said.
I go back to the dealership this afternoon and they tell me "Yep, the gauge is bad - we will need to replace it". Great, the third one that's gone bad. But then he tells me "the cluster is not covered under the warranty - it's past the 12,000 miles since it was installed".
I controlled myself. I really did. I said I would be right back, got the paperwork out of my truck and showed him that I identified the problem at 47,150, with 50 miles to go before the 12,000 miles are up. He said "it does not matter, the vehicle is over 12,000 miles since the part was installed". I said "but you folks ordered the wrong part, and you folks never called me back to inform me of the arrival of the new part. In fact, I asked you on one service visit when the part would be in, and you said you would get back to me, you never did".
He said the only thing he could do is to call the Ford Service Rep or something and discuss teh matter with them, but he was not hopeful.
Folks, this is pathetic. What is one supposed to do? Walk to work so that the vehicle does not go over 12,000 miles? That's absurd. Dealers could use this as a way to put the screws to people. I would hope not.
Well, I called my attorney and he said that based on the paperwork that I have that was generated by the Ford dealership, paperwork that shows I identified the problem within the 12,000 mile period, I have the cards and that I would likely prevail in legal action, which it *will* come to if Ford and the dealer do not relent. I'm not backing down this time. I need Ford and the dealer to act in a manner more befitting them, instead of the way they are. Once I get this part, I am done with this dealer and will find another. I tried them again, and it just is not working.
What a hassle.
Ford makes good trucks. I do. I think they have problems with their trucks, like any make does. I can accept that. To a point.
I can also accept avereage service. But I cannot accept pass the buck service and finger pointing.
Case in point - At 35,200, I had my instrument cluster replaced, as the odomoter stopped working. I had written about this particular matter of the truck being out of warranty by 1 month, even though I had identified problems with the vehcile before the warranty period. Fine. What could I do?
Well, at ~47,000 miles, the voltmeter gauge stops working properly. It goes to zero, goes all teh way up to 18, etc. I called the dealer, informed them of the problem and made an appointment. They ordered the part they thought would fix the problem.
I drop the truck off with 47,150 miles on it. The part they ordered does not work, and they say that they will have to order another part. They did say that the problem is in the gauge itself and not with the electrical system. Fine. I can drive the truck.
They never called me for the part. Meanwhile, I have had the truck in probably 3 times for service since that point, asking once if the part came in "We'll check on that". Still no call to confirm if it came in.
Finally, I made a special appointment with the truck at ~54,000 miles - to have this looked at because the volt needle sits at 0 a lot now. The guy who took me back to work today and dropped me off noticed the volt gauge. "Hey, that's not right", he said.
I go back to the dealership this afternoon and they tell me "Yep, the gauge is bad - we will need to replace it". Great, the third one that's gone bad. But then he tells me "the cluster is not covered under the warranty - it's past the 12,000 miles since it was installed".
I controlled myself. I really did. I said I would be right back, got the paperwork out of my truck and showed him that I identified the problem at 47,150, with 50 miles to go before the 12,000 miles are up. He said "it does not matter, the vehicle is over 12,000 miles since the part was installed". I said "but you folks ordered the wrong part, and you folks never called me back to inform me of the arrival of the new part. In fact, I asked you on one service visit when the part would be in, and you said you would get back to me, you never did".
He said the only thing he could do is to call the Ford Service Rep or something and discuss teh matter with them, but he was not hopeful.
Folks, this is pathetic. What is one supposed to do? Walk to work so that the vehicle does not go over 12,000 miles? That's absurd. Dealers could use this as a way to put the screws to people. I would hope not.
Well, I called my attorney and he said that based on the paperwork that I have that was generated by the Ford dealership, paperwork that shows I identified the problem within the 12,000 mile period, I have the cards and that I would likely prevail in legal action, which it *will* come to if Ford and the dealer do not relent. I'm not backing down this time. I need Ford and the dealer to act in a manner more befitting them, instead of the way they are. Once I get this part, I am done with this dealer and will find another. I tried them again, and it just is not working.
What a hassle.
#2
05-26-2000, 05:05 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 461
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Fury,
Dont worry, as long as you identified it within the warranty period and they have a record that you called and said there was a problem within the warranty, they have to honor it.
Alot of guys with the piston slap were way past there 3/36 when they got their new engine. This is because the dealer has documented it during the warranty period. I would escalate this to the service manager. If no luck there, each dealership has a customer rep with Ford. Contact them and they will help or send it to the resolution board.
------------------
The Truck: 1997 Black F-150 Flareside. Regular Cab ORP and Towing Package
The Mods: K&N Filter, Eurolid Hard Tonneau, Profile Windstream Side Deflectors and Lund X-Terminator Bug Deflector.
The Site:
Triton's 4.6 Liter Web Page
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~acbradley/index.html" TARGET=_blank>www.mindspring.com/~acbradley/index.html</A>
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[This message has been edited by Triton46 (edited 05-26-2000).]
Dont worry, as long as you identified it within the warranty period and they have a record that you called and said there was a problem within the warranty, they have to honor it.
Alot of guys with the piston slap were way past there 3/36 when they got their new engine. This is because the dealer has documented it during the warranty period. I would escalate this to the service manager. If no luck there, each dealership has a customer rep with Ford. Contact them and they will help or send it to the resolution board.
------------------
The Truck: 1997 Black F-150 Flareside. Regular Cab ORP and Towing Package
The Mods: K&N Filter, Eurolid Hard Tonneau, Profile Windstream Side Deflectors and Lund X-Terminator Bug Deflector.
The Site:
Triton's 4.6 Liter Web Page
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~acbradley/index.html" TARGET=_blank>www.mindspring.com/~acbradley/index.html</A>
<A HREF="https://www.alladvantage.com/joinsecure.asp?refid=LTM-954" TARGET=_blank>I made $450 surfing the web last month...you can too!
</A>
[This message has been edited by Triton46 (edited 05-26-2000).]