Recently my 2001 Expy was in the dealer for an unrelated topic. While it was in, I decided to have them change the oil rotate the tires. (for a nominal (outrageous) fee of course!)
When I picked it up, I noticed that the steering wheel was shimmy-ing. I called the dealer and told them that either the tires were out of balance or they knocked the alignment off when they rotated the tires. They told me to bring it back. When I took it back the advisor agreed with me and said that it was the tires, and for $79.00, they would gladly balance them. I lost it and explained that I didn't think that I should have to pay anything. (Personally I felt that a technician should make the diagnosis, not the advisor! Now I wish I would have said it not thought it.)
I explained that:
1 - The tires were rotated 4000 miles ago and it didn't have this problem then.
2 - It didn't have the shimmy or vibration before they rotated them. So why would it now?. (argh)
3 - I already had two tires replaced, by them (Check the records), because they were defective.( A whole different story) And at this point, I was extremely disappointed and frustrated to have had nothing but problems with the factory installed tires.
4 - And finally the vehicle was still under warranty!

Well, he agreed to fix it (at no charge!) When it was done the advisor did not give me a copy of what they did? The advisor just said, "it was the balance", sent me on my way, and disappeared into the office.

Was I out of line by expecting not to pay for whatever work that had to be performed? And is it common for the dealer not to give you a copy of the invoice? (I don't trust the dealers when it comes to logging their work on vehicles) And I am not really positive as to what work they performed, do I take their word for it?

Maybe I am making a bigger issue of this than I should, but I have had a small history of problems with this truck. All said and done, I am greatful that it is fixed, and I still love my truck, but I am just bothered by the way it was handled.

Thank for listening!

Deb

 

If it's fixed & it was free, I'd just let it go...

However, you can probably look at the wheel(s) and tell if new weights were put on.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 28-Dec-01 AT 00:29 AM (EST)]Your right, and I agree.
IT IS FIXED and I am happy...Just venting.
There have been cases where the dealer has worked on the vehicle and they have not recorded it in the dealers nor Ford's database. There is a past history of screw ups, and mis-diagnosis that have caused this vehicle to be in the shop many hours/days. Maybe it is just the dealer, and their inexperience.
But in reality, I guess it just bugs me when they won't give me a copy of what has been done rather than just telling me.

Thanks
Deb
(edit) Don't forget...I have two Expy's. My husband and I love (and have always loved!) Ford Trucks. I have (gag) owned other, but I will never again own any other truck than Ford! I love my Expy.

 

Feel free to vent all you need. We'll listen.

After having so many issues with them, why do you continue to use that service department? I drive 40 minutes to a dealer in another city for service instead of using the one that's 10 minutes from my house.

 

Obvious point taken.
The next nearest dealer is 30 minutes away and should be able to shuttle me home/work when needed. It was a matter of convenience, and thinking that the others were just isolated incidents. ;-)

Thanks again
Deb

 

This sounds like a common problem with Ford dealers. I have three Ford dealers within 25 minutes from my house and I bought two Fords from two of the dealers. As an owner of two Fords my major frustrations have been with the dealer service departments especially the service advisors at all three dealers, more so than with the vehicle problems. It seems to me that they were all trained at the same Ford seminars. They are great at providing stupid illogical answers and seem to be technically challenged. I've gotten tired of dealing with these advisors to the point that I will not have any repair work done at a Ford dealership anymore, once the vehicle is out of warranty. In addition, too often I had to bring the vehicles back one or two times to have the initial problem fixed properly. Even when the vehicles were under warranty it was not worth the aggravation to bring the vehicle in for minor warranty work. There is little or no supervision of the repair work. When I complained to Ford and the owners of two of the dealerships it was clear to me that they do not care about me as a customer. Based on my experience with the three Ford dealers, I do not have confidence in any of them to have the resources or skills to repair a wheelbarrow properly.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Jan-02 AT 02:06 PM (EST)]Sounds like you can relate. I won't talk to anything less than the Service Manager anymore, or directly to the tech. I hate to say it but I have found at this particular dealer, that I seem to know more about my truck than the advisors do. Sad but true. When I take my truck in I have already pretty much diagnosed the problem myself. (but I don't tell them that) I can better communicate a problem to the technicians directly than try to explain to an advisor that doesn't have a clue. I will be happy when it is out of warranty, but in the meantime, I will go to another dealer, and any little thing that goes wrong (hopefully nothing!) will be fixed by them.

Thanks
Deb

 

I have been through this same exact senario myself, I believe it is the arrogant assumption of the dealer that we (the owners) are too stupid to work on or know about anything mechanical on our trucks. Because afterall, if we know it all, then why are we bringing our trucks to them for service. That accounts for most of the stupid answers that they feed us to "make us go away" I most recently had a service advisor trying to B.S. my wife into believing that a faulty (noisy)pitman arm would fix itself in time, and that its really not a warranty issue to worry about, this is right after the same Jack*ss told her that a slipping and clunking transmission was nothing to worry about and probably just needed to be flushed. (what an Idiot!)
I am sorry to say that most mechanics still have the belief that they can snowball Women (sorry Ladies)into believing the most rediculous senarios.
when I came in to the dealer the next week, with the same problems I was treated a bit differently, but still the jerk had the nerve to tell me much of the same stories. I arranged a meeting with the service manager, the dealership owner, and myself.
After showing the owner the documentation that was given to my wife and the fine print of the Ford warranty contract, and threating to bring an attorney into this, (not to mention the dealer licencing board) Miraculously the problems were suddenly warranty issues, and wouldent you know, they replaced the pitman arm, and the trans!
(still I called the BBB on them)
Unfortunatly most dealers are comprised of scumbags, albeit various levels of scumbags, but still scumbags and sharks.
All I can say from my experience is DOCUMENT EVERYTHING If they wont give you the proper docs. ask why? A dealer must document each and every vehicle that comes into their garage, dont let them lie to you and say that they dont have anything, ask them to put any diagnosis in writing (just for your own clarification)
Oh well, Im not bitter
Until there comes a better way to transact automotive business, we are stuck with the good old dealer.
what a racket!! I just feel sorry for the folks who really dont know any better and are victimized by these arseholes!!
Sorry for the length of this post, and thanks for listening!!

 

jrahn:

I hear ya...Since my last post I have received a copy of the invoice, but not until I had a very nice conversation with the Service Director. I explained that there have been problems in the past (with a certain advisor) over other (an electrical problem/short) and this related issue (tires). That the advisor seemed to jump to conclusions to quickly, and seemed to have a real attitude towards me (before I argued with him). I explained to the Service Director that I literally had an argument with this advisor once when I took my Expy in. I was explaining a situation to him and he was not writing what I was saying (an electrical problem effecting the transmission), rather writing what he wanted (an engine-mis?), and putting words in my mouth. It turned out (after being stranded twice and towed) to be precisely related to what I was explaining (a faulty wiring harness, that effected the ETC). I also explained to the Director that there have been visits that have not been logged into their computer. Now after showing him the documentation on my Expy I have a new advisor, the Service Manager himself, and all documentation of this vehicle has been updated to show all work done!

The only time I take my Expy or any other car into the dealer, is when they are still covered under warranty. I figure that if anything is going to go wrong or needs to be corrected it will happen while the vehicle is still under warranty. I also keep very accurate records of any vehicle that I own, just for these purposes.

Like I said before I am not an expert, but when it comes to diagnosing a problem, whether it be electrical or mechanical, I have an advantage over most. It really bugs me when any mechanic tries to take advantage of a women or a man. I have actually stood up for other people I thought were being taken advantage of in service related situations, but only if I am 100% sure of a problem. Outside the dealers it is worse. I have overheard mechanics tell (mainly women) people of problems of things that don't even exist on cars, and I quickly jump in and ask "just out of curiousity, precisely what are you talking about?". How quickly they change their stories.

Long winded and short on the details of some of the situations I have had. Still I am extremely happy with my Expedition, and now that I have aired my problems with the dealer, maybe I will get a little more respect in the future.

We have all been miffed before, and have all vented on this site. My problems for now have been corrected, and I think everyone can relate regardless of your particular vehicle the frustrations of having vehicles under warranty, and dealers not really wanting to deal with it. Hope you and your wife have better results in the future!

Thanks
Deb