dealer service problems?
 

anyone have problems with dealer service?
i brought my truck in on 1/17 for sevice and was told it would be ready on 1/19 it is now 1/28 still no truck?
its kind of like going cold turkey
blizzard of 2005 no truck

Yes I have had problems with a dealer in NH not to long ago.
And it took another one to fix the problem.

I have had problems with my dealer telling me "The diesel mechanic wasn't in today. We'll have to keep your truck"
This when its brought in for a darn oil change. In my opinion, they always overbook themselves.

So what was or is the issue?

Send me an email and I'll tell where to take it so you can get it fixed right.

Dealer Service
 

First - I ain't out to flame anyone, but. . .
I'd like to find a quality Ford Service dealer as I don't have the time for all the maintenance I've always done myself. Past experience has been horrendous. Without hopefully too much venting, the last trip to a dealer was for front ball joints on a '94 Ranger. Seeing it was there I asked that the seal on the steering box (maybe the wrong term) be changed (it was starting to leak) and the fluid flushed. My wife picked up the truck several days later, drove 50 miles to work each way, and when asked about how everything was, said the steering seemed 'different', but maybe it was the days without driving it. After a short test drive, the steering had about 1/2 turn play in it - It took all my concentration to keep the vehicel in one lane. Within minutes I found the issue - the mechanic forgot to tighten the steering box bolts to the frame - one was gone and the other 3 were hanging on by only a couple of threads. The entire box was moving back and forth!! Don't need to tell you the consequences if this let go doing 70MPH on the highway. I can honestly say I have never been so $!#&* in my life - they played the equivalent of russian roulette with my wife. This was only the last (and worst) experience - I've had a list of others over 15+ yrs at over 4 dealers.
Anyways, could anyone recommend a dealer - and more importantly a specific mechanic - in the Milford, MA area that I could speak to. I'm more than willing to pay a good rate but the service (geez, esp on steering and brakes) has got to be done right - any suggestions would be very appreciated.

I know its definately a haul, but I have had great luck with Lamoreaux Ford out of East Brookfield, MA. For those of you who have had issues, do not feel that you have to omit their names. If the service was that bad, it wouldnt hurt to let your fellow NE FTE members know. It just might save someone else the hassle later on.

Recommend delaers for service
 

WheelMA1 - thanks for the suggestion. That would be a haul but a good mechanic is pretty darn hard to find. I hesitate to list dealers because I believe its particular mechanics, not the dealer in most cases. In speaking to many other Ford buyers, and Ford freaks, the issue seems to be priority. Ford doesn't seem to pay well enough to attract and keep the good mechanics. My trips into dealers (usually to get parts) suggests a lot of younger guys. Not necessarily bad, but I think they lack 'mentoring' from the experienced ones and poor ones take far too long to weed out. More than a few seem to have bad attitudes and poor morale. I don't think this is limited to Ford either - the big3 have a lot of catching up to do in this area. [The wife's Jag got free maintenance for 40K. The service after that hasn't been cheap, but its done right. Several times the mechanic personally came to me and asked about the issue - when it happened, any related events, etc. We discussed possible causes/fixes and agreed on what to do.] I'm a firm believer that a whole lot of issues and complaints arise from poor service. The Ranger I mentioned had 230+K miles on her before I parted with it (it still runs last I asked). The list of work: ~60 oil changes, ~ 5 sets of pads/shoes, a set of rotors/drums, ~ 4 trans fluid and filter changes, several batteries, two sets of hoses and belts, fuel filter, and an alternator. A single bolt was never removed from the engine or drivetrain - still had the original exhaust! The auto locking hubs worked for only a couple years and couldn't be made to work reliably and were converted to manual. That's it for over 230K miles!! - all done by myself (Oh, and the ball joints - the only time the Ranger was ever at a dealer.)
Ford's been making vehicles for a long time and, IMHO, makes 'em damn good (sure there's the lemons, as all mfg have). It only takes one bad service trip however to ruin a solid, reliable vehicle and create an unhappy customer (or loose 'em for good).

I got this off of Lamoreaux's web site:

" Awards and accolades have followed our continuous growth. We have won the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Worth American Customer Excellence Award every year the dealership has been in business (1978-2001). We are proud to be a Blue Oval Certified Dealership since that programs inception and one of the first in New England to be certified - Ford Motor Company's most cherished prize and highest dealer award, the President's Award has been captured seven times.

Key to the dealership's success has been our high "owner loyalty". Currently Lamoureux Ford ranks in the top 2% of New England Ford dealers in this category as measured by Ford Motor Company, therefore earning our slogan "where friends send their friends"."


It is things like that, that have made me a believer (and it was pretty nice that I used to live not 5 minutes from the dealership :)).

I have great luck with David Ford in Keene NH.There service dept came in 4th for the whole country at the service dept rally in Dearborn MI. Last year.