Local Ford Dealer = Depressed

[glennb]

Originally Posted by 1Tunnah

Gidday to everyone here at the forums.
Well, this is my rant..I had the old problem of the bonnet release lever breaking the base of the fuse box in my BA 1 tonner. Anyway I booked into the Ford dealer for a 40,000km service and repairs. On picking up vehicle, was given bill for $360 and told to re-book for fuse box repairs. Also told that the hand-brake needed adjusting & brake fluid needed changing. I thought that this would have been done in the service, but no. On returning for the fuse box repairs, the technician said the handbrake didn't need adjusting, just the bolts needed tightening. Upon receiving the $630 bill, noticed that they charged $110 for adjusting handbrake. When I queried it, they said after I left in the morning, they had to adjust it, not tighten bolts. They charged me $55 for brake fluid plus labour. Charged me $55 for new wiper blades ( which I didn't ask for ). After spending nearly $1000 in two weeks, I asked what warranty I had, as I purchased the car as part of Ford's 04 run-out sale, which offerred 5yr warranty's as standard. Was informed I only had a 3yr warranty, and the salesman that sold me the car left months ago. I know this is a long whinge, but my opinion of Ford has taken a beating...

This is in Queensland?? I broke down in Near Surfers took my car into ford and they gave me a huge spill and tried to charge more than they quoted, but I stood firm and got out of it not screwed , but I have heard that Ford in Queensland are pretty dodgy.( this is from locals who have moved from Vic to the big sunny) but Im sure that they are not all like that and I would take it to another one.

[snakeoil]

1 Tunnah not disagreeing with what you are saying etc but how much have you spent on maintenance over the life of the vehicle??
To replace the wiper blades $55 each
Unless they replaced the insert and holder, not just the rubber??
from another poster
In terms of new car sales the dealerships make near on nothing on the new car it is the after service where the franchise can make a reasonable profit and I stress reasonable profit
If you were offerred a five year warranty then there should have been documentation to support this at the time of sale.Maybe recheck your paperwork???

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by 1Tunnah

Gidday to everyone here at the forums.
Well, this is my rant..I had the old problem of the bonnet release lever breaking the base of the fuse box in my BA 1 tonner. Anyway I booked into the Ford dealer for a 40,000km service and repairs. On picking up vehicle, was given bill for $360 and told to re-book for fuse box repairs. Also told that the hand-brake needed adjusting & brake fluid needed changing. I thought that this would have been done in the service, but no. On returning for the fuse box repairs, the technician said the handbrake didn't need adjusting, just the bolts needed tightening. Upon receiving the $630 bill, noticed that they charged $110 for adjusting handbrake. When I queried it, they said after I left in the morning, they had to adjust it, not tighten bolts. They charged me $55 for brake fluid plus labour. Charged me $55 for new wiper blades ( which I didn't ask for ). After spending nearly $1000 in two weeks, I asked what warranty I had, as I purchased the car as part of Ford's 04 run-out sale, which offerred 5yr warranty's as standard. Was informed I only had a 3yr warranty, and the salesman that sold me the car left months ago. I know this is a long whinge, but my opinion of Ford has taken a beating...

Brake fluid isnt usually part of the schedule. Its sold extra to the customer around every 2 years.
The handbrake most likely didnt need adjusting but the advisor has probably just stung you for it anyway. Wont be able to find out if its done or not now.
Wiper blades shouldnt of been done unless asked for or if they're free. I would refuse to pay for them.
The warranty issue should be sorted out easily enough. Contact Ford themself.

[MOTORE]

A friend of mine who was a mechanic at a Holden dealership told me that dealers have set prices for things that get done. They've done so many of them that they soon work out how much time on average it takes to do something and how much they need to charge to make a profit.

If they tell you $500 bucks, then $500 buck it is... you shouldn't come back to pick up the car finding out you have to now fork out another $350 or whatever it happens to be. If they give you crap customer service, then it's time to find another dealer who's willing to look after you.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by WILDEB

you's guys obvoiusly don't know about mechanics. stuff siezes and get's tight. or will just be a on not adjust properly. and your complaining about them just fitting wiper blades without asking. if they don't, you drive down the road when it's raining, put on your wipers and they smear, you can't see and crash, then your like "oh i just had a service, they should have checked them" then the dealer gets in .
Mazda wiper blades cost about $25 for two

I've had both wiper arms, not the cheaper refills - replaced for $40 on my EL. Another time the wiper blades were replaced and I had just replaced them myself 2 weeks prior and my mechanic didn't charge me when I queried it - and that was $20. Considering brand name blades would cost the dealer $10 and take 2 minutes to fit, $20 is reasonable and if I needed them I would have paid it. The handbrake adjustments for me are part of the $100 service - I can't find any extra charges for the handbrake adjustments - and there's usually one a year - over the 8 years I've owned it and kept my invoices.

It's bad enough when they do extra work without permission, but when they charge 2 or 3 times what the job is worth damn right the customer should be annoyed.

[elusiverunner]

if you wanna complain about pricing think of where Ford is coming from. handbrakes can be hard to adjust sometimes. due to parts seizing etc etc. and if Fords supplier sells them good quality wiper blades for a high price it gets passed on to you. to bad it happens.

if you wanna complain do the service yourself. and then see how long it takes you. then work out the labour cost. $55 for brake fluid is cheap. 500mL of the stuff costs $10. might have used 2-3 depending on how big the caliper resevoirs are and master cyl, lines, ABS pump etc etc

Sounds like WILDEB maybe a Ford employee :evil3:

[InTrail]

Originally Posted by 1Tunnah

Gidday to everyone here at the forums.
After spending nearly $1000 in two weeks, I asked what warranty I had, as I purchased the car as part of Ford's 04 run-out sale, which offerred 5yr warranty's as standard. Was informed I only had a 3yr warranty, ...

We bought our '04 BA XR6T during the end of year sale as well. A few weeks after taking delivery, we received a letter direct from Ford with details of the extended warranty. Check your paperwork. If you can't find it, I'd be asking Ford directly for clarification.

As for the hand brake problem, I think that's a rort. Ford design a crap hand brake mechanism so that the dealers can hit you up for an extra C note every service. :

[89.SVO]

Originally Posted by elusiverunner

Sounds like WILDEB maybe a Ford employee :evil3:

no actually. Mazda actually

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by WILDEB

you's guys obvoiusly don't know about mechanics. stuff siezes and get's tight. or will just be a on not adjust properly. and your complaining about them just fitting wiper blades without asking. if they don't, you drive down the road when it's raining, put on your wipers and they smear, you can't see and crash, then your like "oh i just had a service, they should have checked them" then the dealer gets in .
Mazda wiper blades cost about $25 for two

Obviously we don't.

I'm usually pretty up to date with the condition of my wiper blades and if they need replacing I'll either do it myself or when the car is in for a service, I'll ask the service department to do it for me. Had my wiper blades been in such poor condition that they caused smear on the windscreen shortly after a service, I'd be wondering what the service department did that cause my wiper blades to deteriorate in such a short period of time as they were fine prior to the service.

If they gouge me for several items (including wiper blades) as they did in the OP's case, it'll be the last time I would ever take my car there for servicing.

I'm pretty sure most service departments factor in the price of servicing costs to the average amount of fluids and labour required. Sometimes you take less time/less fluid, sometimes you take more time/more fluid. If that's not the case, they should adjust their prices accordingly. If I get price gouged, they just lose a customer - it's that simple.

[Wally]

I guess it same old story when buying a car. I know my VE hasn't cost me much at all for the various services, a couple being cost free.

[89.SVO]

Originally Posted by Wally

I guess it same old story when buying a car. I know my VE hasn't cost me much at all for the various services, a couple being cost free.

how long have you had your VE for? and have you replace wiper blades on that yet?!

[snakeoil]

One thread ..........................40 posts in reply

[GORDZ]

um, whats ur point snake?

[colossus]

I agree that the Ford dealership service is absolutly dreadful but go over and read ls1.com and you'll see the Holden ones are just as bad if not worse.

You should just take it to an independent mechanic and avoid stealerships like the plague.

[89.SVO]

Originally Posted by colossus

I agree that the Ford dealership service is absolutly dreadful but go over and read ls1.com and you'll see the Holden ones are just as bad if not worse.

You should just take it to an independent mechanic and avoid stealerships like the plague.

and void your warranty :

[RG]

Originally Posted by WILDEB

and void your warranty :

It's not only Ford who can do handbook servicing to keep the warranty valid.

[S3SR]

Originally Posted by alecrain

I think I'm the only one happy with my Ford service.

i love my ford service, i even travel 300kms to get there when theres one 10kms away from me....

i can understand why you would be angry that they would just replace stuff and charge you without even hinting about it

but when i worked for a holden dealership in the service department we were instructed to just replace certain things at certain intervals... if it was half worn it was replaced, imagine going in for a service then 1 week later your wipers are stuffed, or after the handbrake was adjusted it was worse than before.... wouldnt you rather the things fixed when you have time or on the side of the road waiting for RACQ or a tow truck? im sure it would cost more than the difference in time and lost productivity

have a chat to the dealer principal and return the things you did not need

just remember blowing up and shouting and swearing doesnt solve anything, and i hope they dont return it if you do, but by being one of them i know what they have to do, and its actually a service rather than a rip off with its exceptions

tell them if you dont want it, hell if Ford have all these stories of ripping people off why are they in financial trouble???

BUT also those things should be brought up when you pay for it or ASAP

price of those wipers you could get the Bosch Aero twin, and they actually work no more crappy metal with refills that break + they look cool and if they dont work as described bosch give you more

[snakeoil]

My point I thought was pretty obvious GORDZ

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by snakeoil

My point I thought was pretty obvious GORDZ

Wasn't obvious to me, either... unless your point was that this thread has 40 replies. However, that only raises more questions.

[68XTFairmont]

I must be extremely slow because once I enter this it has 50 posts and I still don't see your point.

Is it to with the fact that there are a lot of unhappy people out there??

Or the fact that lots of people have an opinion either way?

[klone]

When I take my car to the dealer for a service (which I only do for waranty purposes), I make sure we both understand what they are doing and what the price is. Anything more than that requires a phone call from them or it simply doesn't get touched, and if it did, I wouldn't pay for it.. These people are in business to make money out of YOU and they will take every possible cent that they can get away with. They dont care about you or your car, it's about making money. Shop around and find the least crooked dealer.

BTW: Holden dealers are no better. I've had just as shonky service with them with my previous cars.

[snakeoil]

Is it to with the fact that there are a lot of unhappy people out there??

Well lets all be unhappy together over a set of wiper blades or a bad experience that one unfortunate punter has had due to the over zealous activities of a Service Advisor

if we are all unhappy then lets all drive Toyota's

I want Ford to stay in Australia.

They make bloody good cars.Hi performance models available. Physically well engineered and very strong and safe

crap like this thread does not help and I am sorry but I thought this was Australian Ford Forums.

Australian being the operative word

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by snakeoil

Is it to with the fact that there are a lot of unhappy people out there??

Well lets all be unhappy together over a set of wiper blades or a bad experience that one unfortunate punter has had due to the over zealous activities of a Service Advisor

if we are all unhappy then lets all drive Toyota's

I want Ford to stay in Australia.

They make bloody good cars.Hi performance models available. Physically well engineered and very strong and safe

crap like this thread does not help and I am sorry but I thought this was Australian Ford Forums.

Australian being the operative word

Ummm.... what are you on about? :

A business stays in business by treating customers well. If you feel you have been treated unfairly then ANYONE has a right to voice their dissapointment.

Don't trivialise the matter by bringing up the wiper blades and the fact that we should just support Ford willy nilly. More people are not satisfied with their service than satisfied...

It comes down to principle, and the person that started this thread has a valid gripe, no matter how unaustralian you may think it is to do so.

[300C-CRD]

Totally agreed with "Yellow Festiva", we need to put those bad dealers on notice, it is them who damage the Ford brand name by ripping us off. In fact, Ford Australia should take actions against those bad dealers, people switches brand because of the bad services from the dealers, get rid of those bad dealers will definitely increase sales.

[68XTFairmont]

Originally Posted by snakeoil

Is it to with the fact that there are a lot of unhappy people out there??

Well lets all be unhappy together over a set of wiper blades or a bad experience that one unfortunate punter has had due to the over zealous activities of a Service Advisor

if we are all unhappy then lets all drive Toyota's

I want Ford to stay in Australia.

They make bloody good cars.Hi performance models available. Physically well engineered and very strong and safe

crap like this thread does not help and I am sorry but I thought this was Australian Ford Forums.

Australian being the operative word

We all want Ford Australia to keep going, But if people are unhappy with service and quality they are going to stop buying them.

Sites like these have more power than some people realise, I can guarantee that Ford Australia know of it's existence and keep tabs on what it is that people are unhappy about. That is how things get changed. At the same time They get to read all the positive feedback and know what it is that their customers want more of.

Ford Australia isn't going to go out of Business over a pair of Wiper Blades, But it is out that they need to tighten up a bit with their Service. On the overall scheme of things isn't it better that we have a little whinge here and maybe something gets done about it than nothing ever gets done and people stop buying the Cars that we all love so much.

[Buzz Box]

Obviously some people are not understanding the point of this.

It is NOT about a set of wiper blades its about the SERVICE!!!

I know it puts doubt in my partners mind about buying another ford she is dubious after the trouble and service we have received and over pricing of servicing.

[300C-CRD]

Speaking with my personal experience, my wife and I weren't happy with the services provided by one of our local dealers, so when my wife was looking for a new car early this year, we avoid all the brands which this dealer is selling. Let's face the fact, most of the new cars now a day are quite similar apart from the badge on the grille. The difference in services provided by dealers plays an important part of buying decision.

[1Tunnah]

Been out of action, so only just managed to read the responses. I'm happy to read responses good & bad, and must say I agree with most of them. I was ****ed that the fuse box (a known design fault) cost me a $100's to fix and there is no warranty if the same part breaks again next week. The dealer should have advised me before fitting the wiper blades. Now it's out of warranty, goodbye Ford, hello Ultratune.

[89.SVO]

Originally Posted by 1Tunnah

Been out of action, so only just managed to read the responses. I'm happy to read responses good & bad, and must say I agree with most of them. I was ****ed that the fuse box (a known design fault) cost me a $100's to fix and there is no warranty if the same part breaks again next week. The dealer should have advised me before fitting the wiper blades. Now it's out of warranty, goodbye Ford, hello Ultratune.

have fun with ultatune. they are even worse

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by WILDEB

have fun with ultatune. they are even worse

Ultratune did a much more thorough job in servicing my car twice than Ford did in 3 years of ownership... and for half the price.