azlitigator

Well, I had the car in on Wednesday for the gas tank and asked them to investigate a rattle noise I have in the rear window area of the passenger side. I took the car in at 8am and at 4:20 I called to find out what was going on with it. The service manager said to come in at 5 to pick it up. When I got there the car was gone, the SM said it was being test driven now. When the tech got back, (after 5pm) they gave me the keys and said bye. I was like "what did you find out about the rattle?" He said "uhh, I didn't hear anything on my test drive". Never gave me any paperwork to say what was done with the gas tank or anything, just walked away. Doors closed and I'm on my own. OK, I am kinda p*ssed off about this because they had the car all day, and I honestly don't think if he heard the rattle he would have come back at 5pm and done anything about it. Of course, when I get in and drive away, the noise is still happening!

This is the part I need the help on- When I got in the car, there were dirty, oily scrapes deep into my new IUP door sills and into the paint on the door sill. In addition, there are scratches on the outside of the drivers side where the tech might have scraped something attached to his belt when he got out. They aren't deep scratches, but they are there and were done while the car was at the dealer. I spent Tueday morning detailing the baby and took a whole roll of film just on the car. I know for a fact and they weren't there before the car went to the dealer and I have film to prove it.

I am livid about this whole situation and need help deciding what I should do about it. HELP PLEASE!!! The car is at the graphic place today getting striped and I told them not to wipe off any of the dirty oil scrapes so I could decide what to do. My dilema is- should I go talk to the owner of the dealership? The service manager has been a total jerk from day 1, so I am not going to be dealing with him again. If I do go in and talk to the owner, what should I say? I don't want anything more to do with this dealer, and so if he says "have a free oil change" I wouldn't use it. Should I press for them to fix the scratches? I am so frustrated I needed some outside opinions on what to do. I know I'm obsessive about my cars, and so I may not be looking at things clearly. Would you pursue a remedy with the dealer? Or would you blow it off and never go back there again.

outdoorstom

That really stinks! I think you should definitely approach the owner (since manager is a jerk) and explain the situation. Show him the pictures....if they have any integrity at all, they'll make it right. Good luck and let us know what happens

mustangspeeder

Good luck getting in touch with the owner of the dealership. You might be able to get in contact with the GM though. If the rattle is that obvious, I would be pissed and think that the service people were just "test" driving it for the fun of it. If you're able to get in touch with the GM and he blows you off also, ask for the name and number of the regional manager to complain. Either way, I'd find a different dealership to get your vehicle serviced at in the future.

Or.....you could also make some picket signs and stand out front of the dealership on the sidewalk and have a protest with some buddies. That can work wonders on a busy weekend at the dealership.

azlitigator

We live in a very small town, and I know if I call to talk to the owner, I will be able to get a meeting with him. My hubby is the elected County Attorney and so he has some status in the community. I would never act like we are entitled to special treatment or anything because of his position, or use it to get something, but people do seem to respect the postition he holds.

One other thing that is rather tricky, the 5 Star certified tech who was working on the car is the husband of one of the secretaries who works for my hubby. He called my hubby's office and told his wife, "tell Martin his car hauls hiney". She told me that when I walked into see my hubby minutes after picking up the car.

I don't want to cause problems or get anyone in trouble, BUT, my car is damaged. Should the dealer know about it and have a chance to make it right?

Webba

Id call the service manager back and tell him what you discovered. I have been going through this for some time with my F-350. Exhaust noise that none of their mechanics can hear. Then I pick it up and magically it starts again since myself and everyone but an employee can hear. I called the SM this last time and laid it out to him that it either got fixed or my lawyer was calling and my loud mouth was going to be tellign everyone I know what happened. They got the truck in the next day, me a rental, worked on it, and returned it the next day. They treated me like a king. Unfortunately the noise was gone for an hour and returned!LOL I have a exhaust manifold bolt issue caused by them retapping the hole a few times. So now they are replacing the head soon as the part comes in. These guys know how long it takes to get the mustang, the least they could do is treat it that way. And the moron mechanic should be fired IMO> They need to realize that your time is just as valueable as theirs and they shouldnt waste it with mutilpe trips. GL with this. If they dont help you call Ford direct.

mustangspeeder

OMG, I'd be so pissed. That's proof right there that they were joy-riding in your car instead of listening for any kind of clicking sounds. What BS....The dealer should DEFINATELY know. Do you have any digital pics to post on here so that we can get a better idea of what kind of damage you are talking about?

SixtySix

I would let them know that under no uncertain terms, that when you take a car in for service you EXPECT that your car will be returned in the same condition that it was dropped off in, that you would EXPECT your service advisor to tell you exactly what they did to investigate/remedy your problems, not just throw you the keys and say see ya.

Just because you live in Parker it's no excuse for them to act like Mayberry hucksters. Acting like a professional outfit is important no matter where you are. This is a place that represents the Ford Motor Company, not Joe's Garage and bait shop.

They need to act accordingly.

I think that sums up my opinion

azlitigator

Thanks for all the input everyone. I will try to get pics up after I get it back from the graphics shop. I'm just so mad about the whole situation that I want to make sure I am not flying off the handle.

I would expect any shop to treat someones vehicle with respect, whether it be a 1986 Dodge or a new Mustang. It's just so irritating!!!

Webba

66, they did technically return the vehicle in the same condition it came in with..came in with the noise, left with the noise And I wouldnt be surprised if the mechanic blames you for him not hearing the noise since you have the shaker sound system

SixtySix

azlitigator

Yeah, I actually I left the stereo off in the car because I knew that they would not feel like listening to my Tool CD blasting. I assumed they would want it quite to hear the noise, but then I also assumed that my car would be treated with some respect. When I picked it up, it was on!

SixtySix

Tool!

Great taste

GRAYPNY

Sounds like the mechanic is a TOOL!

Sonic05

Man these kind of stories make me soooo mad!! There just is no excuse for that kind of crap. It just makes us good techs look bad. :notnice:

Oil marks, scratches, radio was turned on . . . I would let them have it. And if they don't do anything for you, contact a local news station, they love that kind of stuff. Station here have special segments where they go after people like that. Hehe, always good stuff.

"So [insert name], we where told one of your techs was joy riding in a customers car instead of fixing it. What do you have to say about that?"

"Get that %#$%(*&&^$#$ camera out of my face!!!"

Sonic05

oops, wrong button

azlitigator

Well, going to the media in this case probably wouldn't work. Samll town, you know.

As far as Tool goes, I will borrow from the fabulous Maynard James Keenan's Hooker with a ***** song and say I'm "OGT, from '92, the first EP".

Please keep the input coming guys, I haven't decided what to do yet!

OBleedingMe

Well being that your tech had a good old time with YOUR car, didn't bother to fix it, and then scratched it to boot, I know that if I were your husband me and that tech would be having a very long "talk."

Seriously, bring your husband with you and blast 'em. He's an attorney so I'm sure he can intimidate from a legal standpoint. It really sounds like this dealer took you for a ride (no pun intended). They saw a chick with a fast car and decided you were too naive to know the tech took it for a joyride or to care about the scratches he left. You should march in there with your husband and DEMAND they cut you a check for the amount of money it's going to cost to fix the scraches (don't let them fix your car - they can wipe your computer's databank) and pray you don't sue them for abusing your personal property. If they say you have no evidence, remind them that your car's computer records the TIME/DATE of every instance that the rev limter on your car was bumped, and I'm sure that if this "tech" was having a good time with your car that he hit it. Have a separate delaership check to see if/when the rev limiter on your car was hit and to print it out. This would be admissible evidence in a court of law and could net you a new engine/car.

I'd go after them with everythng I had... but then again, I love my cars more than some humans.

mustangspeeder

The longer you wait the worse off you are. I'd go back in there asap with your husband (if you think they'll know who he is and that he's a lawyer). Make a list of all of your claims and only speak with the service manager. Bring up your claim about the noise and them joy-riding because you found that the stereo was on. If the noise is as abvious as you claim, request that the service manager takes a drive with you so that you can show him how easy it is to notice it and that the techs who missed it were having too much fun driving with the music up instead of doing their job and listening for something to fix.

hispony

here's your problem with the scratches. The dealer is going to say the graphic shop did it. The graphic shop is going to say no we didn't.
Did you take pictures after you left the dealer, before you went to the graphics shop?

azlitigator

It's funny you guys brought this thread back because all weekend I was still unsure what to do. Today I sent an email to the parts department guy at the dealer where this all happened. We have a pretty good relationship and have emailed each other back and forth about a variety of things. I asked his advise on how I should handle the problem with my car. I didn't explain everything in detail like I have here, but just asked him about reporting problems with service, etc. Within 10 minutes of my sending the email, I got a phone call from him. He apologised over and over that I had a problem with the service department and told me he'd transfer me over to the service manager. I asked him not to do that because the SM was part of the problem. He told me he would speak to the owner of the dealership and have him call me personally. I was called by the secretary today and made an appointment to speak with the owner tomorrow.

I'm still very upset about the way my car was treated, but I've had a chance to cool down and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to explain the situation without being so angry with them. I still don't expect them to do anything for me, and if they tried I probably won't accept anything they offer. But I do feel like I should at least make the owner aware of the problems I encountered. If I owned a business I would want to know if something like this happened.

I'll post my results after my meeting tomorrow. Wish me luck! Hopefully hubby can go too. He is a lot more matter-of-fact than I am and can usually articulate displeasure without sounding like an angry rube. Not that I sound like an angry rube