Blank stares. That's what I get when I walk in to a Ford dealer and ask if they can do the TracKey. It's ridiculous how little dealerships know about these products they're supposed to represent.

The first weekend I wasted with all of this. They didn't know that I needed to provide the activation packet. So I wasted time driving to a dealer that had it and then failed attempts to trying to get anybody to program it that day. Their estimates vary wildly. Some dealerships told me 1.5 hours, others the whole day and everywhere in between.

So this weekend I wanted to get it done. I made an appointment and I get there and more blank stares. The advisor goes to ask the one guy in the shop that might know and of course, can't do that on Saturday; we only have one tech working today. (Why does no shop want to employ more people to cover Saturdays since it's obvious they could make more money if they did?)

So I've wasted a bunch of time and still have the packet but no tune on my car. It's getting ludicrous.

 

Are all dealers authorized to do them?

 

Yes, any dealer *can* do it, if they weren't braindead. The complete instructions are included in the packet with activation code but you'd think it's rocket science the way the service advisors describe it.

 

I took mine to the only SVT dealership in my area.

 

Yep. SVT dealer.

 

You are not alone. I went thru the same hassle but I think it was worth it.

 

My selling dealer said he needed 1-2 days and about $200 to install it! Are you kidding me? So, I called around to dealers here in SC and asked if they had done the red key install. About 3 dealers had no idea what I was talking about and a couple others had not done one yet.Finally found Dale Jarrett Ford (NASCAR)in Charlotte,NC and they had done 3 or 4. So off I went to Jarretts, about a 2 hour drive. Charged me $110 to do the install,took about an hour and 20 or so. Very happy with the result.I had already bought the flash for $249. The car hasn't had the silver key in it since. Bought the car this past June. Call some dealers and ask,even if you have to drive a little to get it done right.Good luck

 

$90 & one hour to install mine.

 

The first dealer I call , try to order a actual key and they told me that it was going to take 3-4 weeks then I had to explain to the advisor what was the track key, he had no clue about it . After I explain the guy I just cancel the order and went to another dealership .

 

Even my little dealership had no problem doing it!

 

Go to Ford Store in Morgan Hill. Actually if you call first and talk to Art the service manager he will order it and have his specialist install at 8:00 Sat morning.

 

The Ford dealer I work for has been an SVT since day one 20 years ago. Our shop even does aftermarket mods. They've done a fair number of TracKeys as it's not hard to do. Most of our Boss 302 owners have had the TracKey programmed.

It's all about finding a dealer that is willing to do/learn what you're after, TracKey and otherwise.

 

+1.
Granted, my dealership knew very, very well what TracKey was, probably because I was in there on avg once every week or so asking if they'd received any word on when the tuning would be released. So once it was finally available, it was really quick. (Matter of fact, I want to say I was one of the first on the board here to pick up a tuned car that day.) And this was at a non-SVT/FRPP dealer.

 

Thanks for tip. They're about the only dealer in the area that hasn't treated me in some crappy way (because I haven't been there). I'll give them a try.

Yeah, it's just that they even had a couple of Bosses on the lot even. That just looks so terrible when the guys that are supposed to be working on the cars know nothing about them. Ford really needs to get serious about their dealerships and either educate them better or start pulling licenses of the most terrible dealers.

 

They did mine as well. Now under new ownership, called Crossroads Ford in Indian trail.

 

Id like to know how some dealers are doing it for less then the Purchase price for the dealer it selves?
I was charged over $400.00

 

I have to agree with that. Independent dealers or not, it still reflects back on the parent brand whether its Ford or McDonalds or Starbucks or any other nationwide company.

Ford spends millions on national advertising (that we ultimately pay for) to build a brand only to have inept dealers screw it up. Yet the responsibility comes back on the parent to do a better job of training, of inspections, of holding dealers accountable.

As every successful business knows, "You can't expect what you don't inspect". Set the bar, hold your people to the bar, or change the people.

 

So what is the process? I've heard differing things as well from local dealers. Do the dealer's order it? Do I order it myself? Are those discounted TracKeys on ebay legit?

 

You can buy the trackey voucher (which has a unique code on it) from any ford racing dealer. Once you have it, you should be able to take the voucher, your red key, and car to any ford dealer for programming. Of course based on the posts in this thread, it sounds like the programming part may be an adventure.

I know the dealer I used is probably the only one in the area that has done any (maybe 4 or 5), and they have only one tech that they allow to do them.

Like I said, you can buy it yourself or do a one stop shop (voucher and install) through your dealer, but I learned that if your installing dealer isn't an official ford racing dealer, they'd have to buy the voucher through one who is.

There are deals on vouchers out there if you buy it yourself. Tousley ford in MN is a popular source...about $100 off retail.

 

I'd rather slam my **** in a sliding glass door than let others work on my cars/truck, but in a pinch I'd let these guys. Art's a good guy and the dealership is a lot more "small town" than the "city slickers" you see in the other dealerships in the south bay.

You should come down to Laguna Seca on Friday. The Nor Cal Shelby Club is hosting an open track day. Forecast is for 73* and sunny.

http://www.norcal-saac.org/news/1211ls.htm