Spamfritter

I thought I'd share my dealership experiences for you North Texas guys. First, I've owned four F150s, two Mustangs and an Expedition. Needless to say, I like Fords. Town East Ford in Mesquite is one of the closest dealers to me, which is why I ended up popping by when I thought of buying a new truck.

In the past I've gone there and they couldn't make a sale because of whatever nonsense they tried to pull. I had gone in to buy a truck two previous times and it never worked out for whatever reason. Just over a year ago I was facing typical Dallas area traffic on my way home and was near the Town East Ford dealership which is on Town East Blvd. I exited and decided to wait out traffic while checking on the new 2015 F150's. I had only seen one or two on the road at that point, and hadn't really kept up with news about them other than knowing they'd retain the 3.5L EB and that they got an aluminum body. Long story short I found a salesman who showed me what I needed to know and let me test drive what I wanted and eventually we came to a deal I could live with. I've gone there for oil changes and the usual warranty stuff. I've been luckier than most in that regard as I've not really had any warranty work done on my truck until now.

I went to install my leveling kit about two weeks ago and found one of my shocks was leaking. I had the Ford dealer replace it, and had them install the Autospring kit since they were going to have to pull the struts anyway. I knew I'd have to pay for an alignment and that they would charge me more than what was fair to install the leveling kit. At that point I didn't care, as I just didn't feel like going through the hassle. Especially since I'd have to find a press to take out the studs at the bottom of the strut assembly. They didn't hammer out the way they seem to in the videos.

They order the part and keep my truck in overnight. I've got the Ford extended warranty so that paid for a vehicle rental from Enterprise while the dealer had my truck. I ended up getting a 2015 Ford Focus which was work truck white and had sticky **** on the steering wheel that undiluted Simple Green couldn't take off. (I know, I tried.) The next day I got called and told my truck was ready. That's where the fun began.

I go to pick up my truck, it looks good, I sign the paperwork, pay for the labor and head out. Immediately I notice that I've got scratches across my front bumper, bull bar and passenger side fender. Apparently they hoped I wouldn't notice. I hadn't even driven off the lot so I got the service writer out there along with the manager to take a look. The manager took the truck back to the body shop to see if they could buff out the scratches. I didn't see any dents, just scratches so I told them that was Ok. I figured if they could take care of the scratches by buffing them out then no harm done. As I was waiting, the service writer said "Normally when we ding a truck in for service, it's way worse than that. We normally crush them in the lift, or they fall off the lift or something like that." No, I'm not kidding he really said that.

The manager gets back and tells me I'm good to go. I still see scratches on the bumper, but the bull bar and front fender are all cleaned up. I pointed out the remaining damage and the manager tried to tell me: "That looks like old damage to me." I about came unglued. I let him know that I had never hit anything. The vehicle only had 12,000 miles on it and had never been driven by anyone other than myself and his service people. I barely have any rock chips to speak of, much less old damage. He took the truck back to have the body shop buff that without any further argument. He came back about 20 minutes later and said he'd have to paint it. There were a few scratches through the clear coat and two gouges in the paint that were down to bare metal. He offered to have me come in next week and get the truck's bumper painted. I said fine. He wrote an IOU of sorts on the back of his business card and of course, did all this in front of the service writer etc.

But wait there's more! As I'm driving home I notice that my alignment is way off. The truck is pulling to the left and the steering wheel is out of alignment with the wheels, so it's cocked right. The EPAS is also acting weird in which it behaves much as others on this forum have and more or less shows signs of what a particular PSCM / EPAS update TSB describes. I get home and grab my work laptop out of the back of my truck and find greasy tools used on the front strut assemblies in the back seat of my truck! What the hell were they doing back there? Why would they put those on the leather? I cleaned up my leather which was easy enough. I was miffed that they would even be back there, much less use my back seat as a tool box. I called the manager and explained that these things weren't acceptable. He claimed he'd make it right when I brought the truck back in for the front bumper repaint.

There was nothing else I could do so I put up with the alignment for a few days and made my appointment to come back and get the bumper dealt with. As a side note, I have used Town East Ford's body shop many times over the years and found their work to be exceptional. My Honda Civic Si was in there for repairs during this fiasco. When I picked up the car from the dealership, I mentioned they'd be getting my truck soon. The body shop manager took a look at it and assured me they'd get it fixed up. I trusted that his team would do a good job as they always had. And yes, my Civic SI was returned in better than new condition as they covered up the holes in the bumper cover where the license plate is normally screwed in. They did this at no additional charge which astounded me. If they applied the cost anywhere on the paperwork, I couldn't find it. It's possible they padded the estimate to the insurance company, I don't know.

In passing however, the body shop guy mentioned "fixing a lot of the service departments mistakes." Of that I had little doubt. Why this confession? I don't know. People love to tell me things whether I want to know them or not.

So the following week I return with my truck to get the bumper painted. While I'm waiting there a young guy who's name I can't recall starts telling me of the time he totaled a customer's truck. Mind you, I just met this guy about a minute and a half before that. So he's telling me this and then drives my vehicle back to the body shop while I sit there dismayed that these people would confess their screw ups to me, someone they don't even know. Someone who is already unhappy with them. You see I understand how mistakes happen in the shop, but I took exception or issue with the fact that they hoped I'd drive away and not notice the damage.

My truck gets taken back to the service department and they tell me that I'll be able to pick it up the next day. I had my doubts, but I left it at that. This time I got a 2015 F150 XLT SuperCrew 3.5L EB to drive in the mean time. This one wasn't disgusting, but it was dirty. So again I cleaned the interior as my OCD wouldn't allow me to drive around in filth.

So the time frame I was quoted to pick up my truck wasn't met. I received no phone call but I wasn't surprised. The next morning I sent the manager an E-Mail telling them what TSB applies to my steering issues and I asked them to disable the engine enhancement audio while they were in there. I sent the pic and the directions for doing this. At this point I have very little faith in the dealership's ability to do anything correctly.

I got a call back from the body shop and it was someone I'd never dealt with before. He pretty much told me that the service department couldn't figure out how to get the truck aligned, so he asked me about the steering issues. He did say the PSCM update was applied by the service techs, but that the body should would finish the alignment. How can a Ford dealer's service department not know how to align a ****ing F150? I have more faith in the body shop, so I was somewhat relieved. He told me that my truck would be finished by 2PM but that I should wait for a call just in case it wasn't, rather than wasting my time driving up there. I said that was fine and went on with my day. Around 1:00PM I get the call that my truck is finished and ready for pickup, and that if I needed it, the tech who fixed it at the body shop would go on a test drive and we would talk about my issues.

I got there and the truck was gorgeous. It was as stunning as the day I took delivery of it. I carefully checked my wheels, body panels, interior, and every inch of the vehicle for damage or issues. I made sure all my bull bar's mounting hardware was there as I knew they had removed it to repaint the bumper. Everything was there, and it was nice and tight albeit slightly crooked. Having installed that part myself, this didn't concern me. I knew I could fix it in minutes so I wasn't worried. I thanked the body shop for their stellar work and went home. My alignment is flawless and the steering is better than ever. Unfortunately the fake engine noise wasn't disabled, but it's no surprise that the service department dropped the ball on that.

Oh well, I felt like getting that off my chest for any of you DFW area guys.

Cliff Notes:

Town East Ford's Body Shop Rules!
Town East Ford's Sales Department rocks 33% of the time!
Town East Ford's Service Department is Inept and I'm convinced many of their technicians ride a short yellow bus to work everyday.

So that's the story of my latest dealership experience. I normally go to North Central Ford which has always been my benchmark for dealership excellence. They are far away from where I live and work now, so I've tried Rockwall Ford, Randall Noe and Town East Ford with mixed results from all three.

OilFieldCash

Man... I'm sorry to hear this. I was in Rockwall before here. Go to Rockwall Ford, ask for Jerry Jones. He's a service advisor. He will treat you right man hands down the best service I've had at a dealership. I took him my company truck and personal truck since I lived on the road back behind the dealership. It's on the North side of I-30! And I have dealt with both dealerships. I can speak of the sales staff since most places change people like underwear. But I had no good luck at Town East.... At all. I had a buddy that worked at the body shop at Rockwall Ford. I haven't had my work done in their body shop, but I have sent family members to them and they were happy.

Spamfritter

Interesting. I have been there once. The service was done right, but it was outrageously slow. That was a couple years back though.

OilFieldCash

I had the Ford maintenance plan on my 2013
F-150 and they did every single one of them. It is obviously faster if you schedule ahead of time, but they rebuilt the service department last year. It's really nice and I usually had no problems getting in and out.

Spamfritter

I'll give them a shot. They can't do much worse than Town East Ford did.

Update: I filled out my customer satisfaction survey this morning. I got a call from the manager an hour later. He of course promised to do everything perfectly, all I have to do is bring my vehicle to him when I come in. That would probably work, as he'd undoubtedly tell his guys not to **** my truck up specifically. I simply shouldn't have to do that, and I've zero confidence in their service department. In my survey, in the comments I gave props to the body shop, and slammed the service center. The manager practically groveled, asking what he could do to make it right. He wasn't exactly receptive to partially refunding the labor costs on the alignment or installation of the leveling kit so he can go pound sand.

I'm done with Town East's sales and service departments. Their body shop is still excellent, and came through for me twice last week. (My Honda was in for repair also.)

OilFieldCash

I have the same out look on this. Not just because I own my own shop now, but more because I am OCD and no one can touch my truck lol. That's the only reason I let Rockwall Ford touch it. I had issues with my company truck long before I bought my 2013 F-150 and watched how they treated it first lol. I wouldn't have taken my F-150 there if I didn't the maintenance package for free. But they took good care of it. Mistakes happen, they suck when they do, but they do at times. The fact they tried to hide it and cover it up is the worst part! That's a million times worse. I try to take extra good care of other peoples property but I definitely wouldn't hide the fact something went wrong if it did. And now they want to take better care of you lol. Like you said, it's a little too late now. Forgiving and forgetting are two different things for sure!

LoadSmasher

My good buddy worked in the collision section there in Town East, and he's even told me 1) never buy a truck from them, and 2) never use their service department. Says both are terrible. I've stayed completely away ever since. I've used Rockwall Ford since I moved to Rowlett, and I can't find enough positive things to say about them! I won't take my rig anywhere but Rockwall!

Spamfritter

That's two for Rockwall Ford. I may give the a try then. I went to their service department once a few years ago. They did the work but they left my steering wheel and door panel greasy. They also told me I could wait on it and that it wouldn't take long. They finished about two and a half hours later. They gave me a coupon for either a free or deeply discounted oil change to compensate me for that. I never went back. Maybe it's different now.

LoadSmasher

I've never had an issue before. They've always returned my truck clean and tidy, and when they took longer than expected the last time, they detailed the truck as compensation. Their service area is brand new, comfy and clean, with free grub, wifi, and 2 flat screen tvs. I usually, take my ipad in with me and stream netflix while I wait. Definitely makes the time pass quickly if it's going to be a while

Spamfritter

The service area wasn't like that last time I was there.