Ok, I have gallons of oil in my garage (from my BITOG days) and have changed my own oil since my first car more than 20 yrs ago but I got "suckered" into Ford's maintenance plan when I got my '14 GT. I'd been in Hondas for a while (since I got rid of my '94 Probe) and really enjoyed dealing w/ my local Ford dealer and figured, hey, it's a PITA to recycle oil and with this car taking so much....PLUS the plan covering things like the clutch, it might not be that big of a deal.

Well, then I went in for my first oil change a few months ago on a Saturday morning. Because he had pity on me (since I had to be somewhere for my kids), the advisor bumped me up in line and got me out in like an hour and a half. He told me they have a skeleton crew on the weekends and no shuttle service. He said come by at 4 on a weekday and I should be able to get right in. Only problem is I have a JOB and can't go take my car in on a weekday afternoon.

This week, I scheduled my second oil change and surprise, my wife tells me I have to be somewhere a couple hours later. So, I got to the dealer extra early and already had 6 cars in front of me. I asked if they could have the car ready in a couple of hours and they said if so, it would be VERY close.

So the moral is, I'm going to be stuck spending all saturday in a Ford dealership or lose vacation time from now on out in order to get the value out of my maintenance plan. I hesitate to even ask if there is a way to get this the plan refunded for having you all laugh at me. But IS there?

 

I understand how valuable time is brother. As far as getting a refund, you will never know if you don't ask. All they can say is no, but maybe....... Good luck.

 

Definitely ask. No harm, right?
TIME is always the worst problem with oil changes at dealerships but they also put the minimum wage guy in that oil change position and they are prone to mistakes, even with that simple task. They poke around looking for other things, fill the tires with too much air, and tighten the oil plug and filter too much sometimes. No need for aggravation even if the service was free. 'Been there, done that'. Walmart sells the Ford 5w20 synthetic blend for under $25 and I bought a bunch of Ford filters for about $5 a pop. Up on the ramps and off within 30 minutes, and that's taking my sweet old time and cleaning things up while under there. I have a 5 gallon bucket I throw the old oil in for recycling. I did it when I worked and I do it while retired. I've probably added weeks to my life instead of sitting in a waiting room, all for $30 per oil change. Money well spent to know the job was done right and at your convenience.

 

Suck it up and take in in on Saturday. It ain't like you will be there EVERY Saturday.

Do you want to take a chance on explaining the self maintenance if the engine fails? And that clutch coverage may come in handy too. I've read of one guy that had clutch issues under warranty and guess what, they wouldn't cover it. It even turned out to be a broken PP spring and They blamed it on his driving.

 

Are you serious? When people work 5 days a week, the only 2 days to do personal things is Saturday and Sunday. Sitting around a waiting room for an oil change is a waste of time. Doesn't Ford advertise the 60 minutes or less oil change like many other manufacturers? I'm asking because I thought they all did that today to be competitive. Also, if the engine fails, you don't need to explain self maintenance over oil changes!

 

I cancelled the maintenance plan on my brand new ford escape. The earlier you do it the more you get prorated back. I cancelled it before my first month was up and got a full refund. I went in to the finance manager, filled out the paper, handed it back. That's all it took.

 

The clutch and other wear items ARE what hooked me in. The other was the volume of oil the 5.0 requires. I have 3 cars right now (including a '15 Yukon XL) and already have at least 15 gallons of used oil waiting to be recycled. I figured that would increase quicker than I wanted.

Re engine failure, like I said, I've been doing the whole "self-maintenance" thing for a long time. But when I got this car, I DID figure yeah, it'd be nice to let someone else to change the oil , rotate the tires, and all that other junk for once. But it WILL be more often than I want. I log at least 130 miles a day on my commute. So my PremiumCare plan's 5,000 mile oil changes are going to come pretty quick.

I got my wife to take the Mustang in this morning (Monday) and she was there by 7:40 am. She called me as she left the dealer at 9:50. She wasn't too thrilled, lol.

 

Seriously! My dealer will knock it out in less than an hour for $42 and it takes me another hour round trip travel.

Figure how much time it takes you to perform the service and dispose of the old oil then subtract that from how long you might spend traveling and waiting at the dealer. Go price 8 quarts of synthetic blend Motorcraft oil and an oil filter and subtract that from the dealer service price. Then you will have an idea of how much time and money you MIGHT save.

I have serviced my own cars for years. I was in the business for 25+ years before I changed careers. My time and knuckles are worth way more to me now. I still spend plenty of time wrenching on a race car but I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste my time doing oil changes anymore. I am taking all 3 of my driver vehicles to the dealer from now on.

And if you don't think you will have the burden of proof if your engine fails you are sadly mistaken.

 

Post an ad on Craigslist, free waste oil.

Someone with a waste oil furnace will want it....

 

Lol, I don't think anyone has waste oil furnaces down here in the South...

But an update, I did air my grievances in the Ford survey I got a few days ago about my visit. Funny thing about it is the very next day, the dealer sent a stock email out saying "you may get a survey soon. Let us know if you had any problems" I'm thinking, too slow on that one too, guys!

 

bkrell, it's a shame but impersonal communication is the 'norm' for big companies. It isn't just Ford. You wish Ford would be different but....

 

Oh I know. I'm just laughing at the irony. They took a long time to do my service then they took a long time to send out their email in which they attempt to anticipate and redirect customers ready to gripe to Ford.

 

You should speak to your dealer about a better timing, bkrell. Some dealers stay open late, so maybe stopping by after work might work. If you still want to cancel your Maintenance Plan, be sure to speak to your sales/finance manager or contact our ESP Administration Department at 1-800-521-4144 for further assistance.

Deysha

 

Thanks again for replying Deysha. No, I don't guess I really want to cancel because ultimately I don't want to do oil changes anymore and I trust my dealer a lot more than some quick lube place. They DID tell me a time I could come in where they generally have no problem getting folks in and out and the service adviser even gave me his direct line. It's just the time he gave me would require I leave work early. Typically, I get back in town daily from my commute about 30 minutes before the dealer's service department closes. I may actually look into getting my service done at another dealer closer to my office where, although slightly out of my way, I would be able to get there by about 4:45 in the afternoon.

It's just bad timing. When I'm not busy, they are and vice versa.

 

You’re welcome, bkrell. I was hoping they had late hours.

Deysha

 

We got a maintenance plan with our Focus (got it free). At our dealer, you schedule an appointment. You'll be in and out in 30-60 min. Maybe check with your dealer (or another dealer) if they will schedule oil changes.

 

No one else has or was considering the Ford Maintenance Plan. Since drive line and Clutches are covered as well as the oil changes it looks like a great deal. I just loged in and got a price seems like break even on the oil changes a loan. How long does the clutch last in these?

Is there any dealers that monitor this for better pricing?

 

The clutch and brakes were what sold me. That and not having to schlep around 8 quarts of used oil every 3 months....

 

bkrell What plan did you get?

 

I don't have my receipt in front of me but here's the brochure for the maintenance plans in general:

http://owner.ford.com/Storage/mfMmed...20Brochure.pdf

I know I got 5k mile oil changes and want to say out to 100 or 125k miles?

At the rate I drive, it takes me about 3.5 years to get to 100k miles. Of course, with so much highway, theoretically the clutch should be ok. But on my last Honda, I was getting some chatter already at 60k miles so who knows...