My new truck buying experience is quickly going downhill. At this point, I cannot blame my dealer. I was shopping for an F150 Ecoboost and visited a nearby dealership. Long story short.....they did not have the truck I was looking for, but found one at a local dealer. They did a dealer trade and I took delivery of the truck this Saturday night. It was about 9 p.m. when we left the dealership. The first thing I noticed when they got the truck to the dealership was the paint was rough feeling in places. They said it just needed buffing and if I would bring it back Sunday, they would take care of that.

They did do some buffing and used a clay bar. Most of the paint feels good, but there are a few places mostly above the doors that are still a little rough.

I also woke up this morning to discover my truck has 18" wheels on it. The sticker shows 20" wheels and a $795 charge. I discussed that with the dealer today (Sunday) and they are supposedly going to take care of it. They called the dealer they got the truck from and they were aware of the mix up. At this point, I'm going to consider that an honest mistake.

Now to the real problem. I drove the car off the lot Sunday, and was about 2 miles down the road when I decided to open the sunroof. The sunroof opened, but would not close. It acts as if something is blocking it from closing. It will close most of the way, but immediately retracts to the full open position. I immediately turned around and took the truck back to the dealership. After the manager on duty looked at it for a bit, I agreed to leave it for service to look at it.

Now I'm a little spooked by the experience with the sunroof. I'm tempted to tell them if this is something they cannot get fixed by tomorrow / Monday that they need to find me another truck. I'm not sure if they would be open to that or not.

What do you all think? Just trying to get some ideas on how I should handle this. The truck has just about 110 miles and I put on about 25 of those.

Thanks

 

I honestly would try to give it back. I am sure that won't be easy, and may not even work (check your state laws), but I would try.
I would not consider 18" wheels vs. 20" on the sticker an honest mistake. Something was going on there. I really doubt the truck "mistakenly" left the Ford plant with the wrong wheels. I think it is much more likely that somebody somewhere was made happy with your 20" wheels by the other dealer.

If it was me - I'd be very suspicious. I'd be more suspicious / worried about the wheels than the sun roof. I mean: what else did they take off / replace?

I do not understand why you took delivery at 9:00pm noticing rough paint. I would have told them to fix the problem, and would have made an appointment for pickup the next day, during sunlight hours. Something you can't change now, but something to remember for the future.

EDIT: now thinking about this some more, there are 3 issues: (1) rough paint spots; (2) wrong wheels; (3) a sun roof that acts like there is some blockage.
I think that all of this might point to transport damage and / or even an accident prior to the transfer to your dealer that they are trying to cover up. I'd be very careful if I were you.

 

I think I would do the same thing. They only have a few days to work with the DMV if you feel like you want a different truck, so don't wait too long. If your like me and get that bad taste it will be hard to be happy with that truck. I haven't been impressed with most of the dealer service departments and their mechanics so far.

 

The sun roof likely has the same "no pinch" type of set up as the power windows have. It could very well be a malfunction in that system.

Personally, I'd be more than happy with the 18's and a reimbursement of the $795.00.

The rough paint is a non issue.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty sure legally there is nothing I can do, but let them fix the truck. There might be a chance they would try to find me another truck just to make me content. At this point, i have not discussed it with them. The other problem is that there does not seem to be many Lariats with 3.55 or 3.73 gears around. They had a hard time finding this one. I'm sure they are out there, but if they cannot put there hands on one easily, they are probably not going to try to swap.

About the paint, I just thought it was dirty. I've never experienced anything like this buying a new vehicle. Most of my vehicle purchases have been used cars. i just assumed being new, I wouldn't have any issues.

 

Buying new is hit and miss, you really need to check them out good. Quality control is gone, it's build them quick and get them out the door. My 2011 had dirt under the paint, door's out of adjustment, door rattles and a door handle that was bad on delivery. I eventually sold it. After them trying to repair things they made it worse, scratches ect!

Time to think about buying another one but very hesitant on what to get especially for what they cost.

 

I would be surprised if they gave you a new one. The engine in my 2011 had to be replaced at 600 miles because of an issue with the crankshaft. I told them I wanted and new one, and it was a no-go. I also had several other cosmetic issues, electronics issues, and transmission pump failed, leaving oil all over the ground. I spoke to Ford Corporate and told them if they would give me an extended warranty on the truck for free, that I would be happy. They still wouldn't do it.

I've driven Fords all my life, but this is the last one I'll ever buy. The poor customer service/lack of care has turned me away from the Ford product forever. I'm going to see what I can do about selling mine. I am turned off by the truck and don't trust it to drive it on a long trip. Good luck.

 

Sunroof likely just needs adjustment. The 18" vs. 20" is weird. But I'm with Tim. 18's will ride better, and they are cheaper to replace
Not laughing at you, but that's funny

I'm done with new Fords. I traded my 08 Expy for the 12 Flex in signature...lease

If I remember to, I'll take a picture and post up the passenger door. I went ahead and took delivery of it because it's a lease, and the paint isn't compromised, just really FUGLY!

Ford has pretty much no quality control anymore. When I had issues with paint on my 06 F-150, I was a rarity here on FTE. Now it's the norm, and Ford treats you like a Leper for daring to expect your $30k+ vehicle to look correct

 

Not sure where you're located, but in many states, you have up to 3 days to back out of a deal. Not sure if it applies, but I'd check it out in a hurry if you're not happy keeping this truck.

 

I'm sorry you're having so many problems with your new truck, and understand why you might not want another Ford. Keep in mind, though, that other makes have their problems, as well. I've owned several brands (including new BMWs and Mercedes), and overall, my Fords have given me the least amount of trouble.

 

.................I just picked up a new 2011 F150 xlt , and so far it has been a real pleasure to drive ! 360hp 302 amd my fuel milage is improving as I approach 1,000 miles . Window sticker says 21 mpg so that would be acceptable but I wouldn't mind 25 or so . I'm hoping to use this truck to pull a small tongue pull travel trailer a little later on so we'll see how well Ford's quality control built this truck . , rb

 

I am surprised that most think the wheels are not a big issue. Somebody has removed the factory wheels - that would have me worried about what else they messed with. Something isn't right here IMO.

 

+1. The other dealer that originally had the truck obviously swapped the rims with those from another truck to suit a customer request ("my new truck came with 18"s but I want the 20"s from that truck out there on the lot"), and didn't bother to rectify the situation when the dealer trade occurred. Shoddy....

It's an unfortunate sign of the times that you have to A.) do your homework through and through when picking new vehicle model/options, and B.) NEVER assume everything is A-OK with new products when you receive them.

The poor customer service you experienced is one thing, and the issues with your truck are rather extreme, but keep in mind you did buy the first year of the 5.0 in the F150. There are almost always teething problems in the first year of a body style or a major revision thereof (my '09 Corolla is the first year of its body style, and has had steering issues and lots of valvetrain noise; compare that to the '08, end of a 5-year run, which are solid as a rock with excellent reputation). The competitive nature of the light-duty truck market exacerbates this fact, since the automakers are trying to push improvements to market as quickly as possible.

 

Well, the truck is mine. Yesterday morning, the dealer I bought it from offered to "unwind" the whole deal if he could not make me happy. The issue with the paint has me a little concerned, but it looks good now.
I tried to put the other 2 items in perspective. The wheel issue is shady, but they took 20's off a vehicle on their lot to put on my truck, so I guess it's not a big deal. They said the service dept. had to "re-sync" the sunroof. Not sure what that means, but it did not take them very long, so it couldn't have been too major. Hopefully I will not have any more issues. I would have gone with another truck, but there just wasn't another Ecoboost lariat with 3.73 gears that we could find.

Thanks for the replies.

 

I'm interested to see what you are referring to. Thanks