Boss 0960

I just got my Boss back a few weeks ago after three transmission rebuilds and finally a replacement. It is still not shifting properly so I am hoping that the Blowfish Racing shifter mount will fix that (at my own expense).

I just got the call that they won't replace the defective hood switch on my '13 F-150 because there is a remote starter switch next to it and they "assume" that whoever installed the remote starter damaged the hood switch. The only problem with that is that the remote starter was installed almost a year before the hood switch went bad so it's definitely not an installation issue.

I have already traded in two previous Ford vehicles with warranty issues that were not successfully repaired at the time I traded them in. I currently have two Ford vehicles that I cannot get repaired successfully under warranty. Given my 0% rate of successful warranty repair at Ford over a number of years and vehicles, I think I will have to remove Ford from consideration of future vehicle purchases. I can't think of any manufacturer that builds any vehicles I might want to buy in my price range. Maybe it will have to be a Toyota or a Honda that's only an road-going appliance but I think I would be happier with a car that didn't break and could actually get fixed if it did.

Automatic 5.0

I just tell myself they are all the same. I am probably correct.

PJRManagement

That sucks. Have you tried to escalate to FoMoCo in Dearborn? I had some trouble in my first year of ownership. Not only did they step in to help, I got a 3-year maintenance plan and additional 2-year extended warranty - complimentary. There is also Deysha on this TMS forum - she is the Ford Service Rep, and she can help, too. My 2011 GT has needed an unusual amount of fixes, some repeats, but all 100% covered...I paid $0. Sometimes you just have to escalate - a customer should not have to, but desperate times...
I wish you luck.

Boss 0960

I had to get Deysha involved to get my Boss Owner's Kit. I had to get Deysha involved to get them to even try to fix my transmission. I don't think I should have to run to Deysha every time I need the dealer to replace a $20 part that failed.

I was raised in a Ford family. I have purchased or leased 11 new Ford vehicles since 1994 as well as a few used vehicles from Ford dealers, most of those before 2001 when my dealer boned me hard. Since 2001, I have purchased or leased 5 new vehicles from GM and Chrysler as a direct result of that incident. No dealership or warranty issues with any of those vehicles. I currently have two 2013 model Ford vehicles, neither of which I can get repaired properly. It's not even about the $20 part anymore, or whether Deysha can get them to fix it. The trust is broken in the sense that if one of my Ford vehicles fails, I cannot get it fixed under warranty...period. That's been demonstrated over the course of the last 13 years.

White2010

Having owned three Toyota's in the last few years I can assure you that you won't be any happier with their level of service. The reality is that in this day and and age large corporations just flat don't give a crap about you and large corporations based in other countries give less than a crap.

Jazzman442

Remember in the good old days most car manufactures made most of their own parts and sub assembles. Not anymore. They are all getting there parts from another manufacture and that manufacture is making the parts for most other car company's.

I have had allot of cars in my day. Had some really bad ones and have had really good ones. Not sure what makes up a good one from the bad.

NC14GT

Every dealership is different and that's where the problems occur. I have had mostly poor Ford dealers in both FL and NC but on occasion I have run into an excellent model of customer care. I also used to have excellent results by taking my Ford to the Lincoln/Mercury dealerships of the past. Those days are over but it was a remedy as they dealt with an older wealthier demographic and treated customers decently. It proves that Ford can do it right but they don't make it a priority.
I'm actually happy that I passed the warranty stage of all my cars' lives many years ago. I just take my cars to my local mechanic who actually fixes things, and at much lower prices. Very low mileage 'used' cars that are past warranty may be the way to go to avoid dealerships, warranties, stress, plus paying too much to start with.

sid719e

I have had the exact opposite experience dealing with my local Ford dealer. I've had six Fords since 2005. Any time that slightest thing went wrong with any of them, and it was a warranty issue, not only was the item repaired or replaced, but I was given a rental car to drive while they were repairing the issue. I have had nothing but great service, and some of the cars weren't even purchased from that dealer. Anyone in the Central Florida area should give Bartow Ford a try.

wheelman

I've had nothing but trouble with my local dealers right from the start. I asked for all-weather mats to be picked up with the car, so I wouldn't tear up the OEM mats, along with some other accessories. None of them were there when I picked up the car, despite the fact I told them three months prior and reminded them at least twice. Guess what? My OEM mats got torn up before the all-weathers finally arrived. (I know, I shoulda just bought them myself.) Then they spill brake fluid all in my engine bay and tell me it's my fault because I asked them to switch out DOT3 for DOT4. SMH

My last dealer wouldn't touch my UCA because it had "aftermarket bolts" which is a load because I reused the OEMs. The tech was proud to say he'd never heard of BMR, like it was some underground company. Also, I had some hood shake because that plastic belly pan thing was broken and directing air up to the hood. Three appointments later and they were still convinced it was wheels and wanted me to spend hundreds of dollars to run tests on my tires, all despite the fact that I told them about the belly pan right from the start. A few zipties fixed the issue (until I buy a new one.)

I recently called Tasca in RI to inquire about a Procal tune and was directed to the mod shop, which I liked the sound of. We talked warranty work for awhile and he convinced me that they're doing it the right way. He used the example that if I brought in a car with a bad syncro and there was an aftermarket shifter installed incorrectly, he wouldn't submit to Ford. If the shifter was installed correctly, though, then he would. That's all I'm asking for: fairness, nothing more. Pretty sure I'll be going there for all of my dealer work from now on and it's an hour and a half away from me.

Boss 0960

The only difference, really, is how they react when something fails. I almost had my wife convinced that her next car should be an S550 Mustang convertible. That plan will be off the table now since I am 100% convinced that I will not be able to get it fixed if it breaks. I may have to step into a BMW 1-series or Mercedes SLK to get her what she wants even if I have to buy used.

T-Rex12

This is the first Ford I have purchased and based on the comments on this site it seems most of the owners are having issues with warranty work. I know that most of the time on the internet you only hear about the problems and not when everything goes right. I just hope I don't have to deal with them in the future.

I was a die hard Chevy fan in the 90s and thier service along with bad products made me look elsewhere and haven't purchased a Chevy product since the mid 90s. I owned mostly Dodge products up until the purchase of the Mustang and overall the service and products were pretty good until I started having issues with my Challenger and it took the service department over a week to do an alignment and wouldn't let me see the car while it was in the shop. I called customer service and they told me that's why you have a warranty there is nothing we can do. So I'm no longer a Dodge owner.

If Ford pulls the same thing then I will have to switch to a luxury brand. I have seen their service first hand and was very impressed.

Hopefully you can get everything worked out but I understand your frustration.

NC14GT

I owned a 2002 BMW for quite awhile and the service departments are like heaven, at least in Atlanta anyway. They greet you at the door, open the doors for you, "Yes sir, no sir", "would you like some doughnuts?". Everything is cool but the repair bills unless you have the warranty. This is the exact opposite of the way I feel about American cars as I posted earlier. If you do get a BMW just get one with a long extended factory warranty, unless you do know of a local BMW mechanic. Not always easy to find good ones. BMW's have sensors out the ying yang and idiot lights are on more often than not it seems. You can't be blowing big $$ every time you need to go to the dealer. I'll never own another BMW out of warranty but certainly would buy a new one and get the longest extended plan available. Again, the opposite of the way I feel about American cars. That's been my experience anyway. Good luck with everything.

skramblr

If the dealership is refusing to do work that should covered under warranty, sounds like it's time to find another dealer. At my local dealer, even if they don't think it's covered under warranty they still contact ford about it (they let ford make the call, not themselves) - and so far Ford has agreed or the dealer found some info to cover it - about a dozen items on 3 cars over the last 10 years.

laserred38

My 2014 is my first new car, and after my experience with my older used Fords, I bought it without any respect to the warranty. I hope if anything breaks, I can fix it myself, because my local dealers suck a$$. That's why I flew 1000 miles to buy my car from Brian, and drove it 1000 miles home.

These corporate dealers suck. I miss the smaller, family owned dealer that used to be in town. Ford forced them out.

Boss 0960

I have an update that sounds promising. I got a call last night from the dealership for a service satisfaction survey. I explained to the girl on the phone that they had decided not to fix my truck and pretty much outlined exactly what I wrote in this thread. Today, I got a call from the dealer's General Manager asking about my response to the survey. I explained to him how the remote starter was the first thing I had installed on the truck and the problem didn't show up until almost a year later. He's going to look into it and talk with the Service Manager. We'll see how it goes.

I buy cars new because I don't have the time and energy to fix a lot of stuff myself these days. Buy new and if it breaks, they fix it under warranty.

Boss 0960

Further update: The General Manager did not call me back. After a week or so, I called him back. He agreed to have the Service Manager order the part and have him call me back. After a week or so, the Service Manager did not call me back so I called my Service Adviser. She hadn't heard anything about it. She had the Service Manager call me back but he hadn't heard anything about it either.

At any rate, the Service Manager has now said that he will order the part. I may actually get a Ford fixed under warranty this time but they are sure making me work for it.

White2010

I would have gone down to the dealership and embarrassed the hell out of a General Manager and a Service Manager on the showroom floor with customers looking on.


I had to do that when I had my Toyota and you would be amazed how quickly they can make things happen when potential customers are sitting there and hearing all about how crappy the service department and overall lack of service at the dealership has been for you.

Boss 0960

LOL. This is the dealership I switched to in order to get away from my original bad dealership. I don't want to alienate them since the next closest Ford dealer is about a 40 minute drive away. I try to be all sweetness and light when I contact them because I think they genuinely want to be helpful.

Besides, this dealership doesn't owe me anything. This is not the dealership where I bought my Boss 302 or F-150. The only new car I ever bought there was a 2000 Cougar way back when. I just know that I had to get away from the other dealer if I was to get any satisfaction from any Ford product.

They have Trackey, and FR LCAs on order for my Boss and they offered to install my Blowfish Racing shifter bracket at the same time. That sounds great but in my mind, even that is conditional upon getting this $20 switch installed in my truck before they see the Boss again.

On a side note, I used to work at this dealership under a previous owner. So did my wife. That's where we met 25 years ago.

Jazzman442

I have had allot of cars. I found out that it all has to do with the Dealer. Some are fantastic. Some could care less.

I still do not understand why the dealers argue about warranty claims. The manufacturers pay good labor rates for repairs.

slow.stang

yelp, cargurus, google, dealerrater, edmunds, all bad ratings. Worked for me...