einer

From over 50 years of experience as both a Ford Customer and Ford provider, with a family member that owned a Ford Dealership (till they passed away - about 50 years as a Ford Dealership owner) ..... 1) I treat the service people the way I expect to be treated --- IF I get anything less, they get a bad survey review, and I Will go out of my way to make sure they get it 2) I am very knowledgeable of technology, including Ford's --- My approach is "Hey Steve .... here is what I am experiencing and here is what "I think it may be.... could you check it out for me please?" :-) 3) The "Dealer" is a "Ford Representative "."" ----- and a Great Dealer remembers it and expects their employees to remember it, and trust me, Ford also sees it that way 4) I give a Ford dealer 3 opportunities to "Make things Right" ..... after that, they get a Very bad review and I move on to the next dealer 5) AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR DEALERS AND THEIR EMPLOYEES TO LIVE BY "The Customer is buying a Ford from you and expects the Service to be as great as the sales experience because ultimately, that customer is also buying the Dealer's performance as a whole" ----- bad sales experience == no service revenue and bad service experience == bad Dealer as a whole == Customer buys it from your competitor == no sales == no revenue == not a Ford Dealership any more.

Gozzie

I bought a new 2000 F-150 in 2000. It was the last Ford for me. The truck was great but the dealership service was terrible. I've been driving Chevy ever since. Not any better of a truck but a whole lot better experience.

Brand

Yet you hang out on a Ford forum?

Reapster

I know where I'm at, but wanted to say that despite there being some people who speak so well of Ford our family historically has had many problems with Fords. Parents owned two Taurus/Sables from the late '80s/'90s with a plethora of issues, my father always made sure maintenance was kept up on all the family vehicles. Both of those cars were out after the issues kept coming up (digital dash, climate control, etc.). They bought a '96 Sable Duratec with something like 20k miles on it, and it had so many clunks and rattles, numerous drivetrain issues, finally at around 95k miles the engine just made horrible growling sounds and was promptly traded in. My father was friends with the guy running the dealership he traded it to and said the engine locked up at 102k miles after the next people bought it. Always kept up maintenance, but still fell apart. This was all in the '90s and early '00s btw, so they weren't that old at the time. I'm leaving out a few others we owned, but they all had numerous problems.

Comparatively, the family owned a '97 Buick Riviera. Got it with 95k miles on it, was passed around in our immediate family until it was my car, finally sold it at 168k miles because the transmission was starting to not go into overdrive. It never required anything serious, unlike the Sable which locked the motor up at 102k and the transmission died at around 40k something because of that cheap plastic piece they put in there (It was replaced under warranty). Over the years we looked at used Fords of all kinds, partly because I like comparing cars and because I figured "Surely people can't all be saying this and be lying through their teeth?". Every Mark VIII I saw had an engine problem even with lower miles, Exploders always had things wrong with them. No, I was not looking at almost brand new ones, but these weren't buy here pay here cars and they still always seemed to have some issues. It was sad that '00s Fords with less miles than my Riviera often had more issues and weren't hold up as well. Before you say apples to oranges, I looked at Lincolns too and they weren't too great either (save for the old Panther body Town Cars). I've never seen a Lincoln LS that didn't have a ton of issues.

I do happily own my '15 SCrew, I got it for a fair price equipped with the things I wanted and some extras I didn't think I would get. IMO Ford's trucks really are where they shine. I liked the looks, features, and ergonomics of the F150 better than the comparable offerings from Toyota and Chevy (No FCA products for me, ever). I also think their quality today is lightyears better than the junk from the '90s and '00s which I barely see anymore - I figure most already blew up by now. Conversely, I think the old GMs were built better than this awful stuff they make today. The 3800 may have been a dinosaur, but it was quite reliable and low maintenance. The only GM product I'd own today would be a '16+ Camaro SS or a Vette (And I already own the latter before they crammed OnStar and all that junk into them). Those new 4 and 6 cylinders GM has been making don't seem that well made and while I trust an LS V8 to the ends of the earth, I'll pass on any of their other motors.

There are half a dozen Ford dealers in my area, but had to write off one because they screwed me over on a Mustang I was going to buy from them (And their GM threw a fit and yelled at his own people before storming out of the building and leaving). They have a 2.5 or 2.6 out of 5 rating on Google...another one did sell me a Mustang and lied about knowing it was in a serious wreck, showed me a clean Autocheck and played stupid about it when I came in later and asked about it. Long story short, there's only one Ford dealer I even slightly trust. They notoriously can't ever replicate the issues I'm having, and since on my Mustang and the F150 they've been "strange sounds" I just accept that's what they do. It helps they're not super noticeable or I'd press on the matters more. I just had an AC odor fixed, it's better but I still get it for a second or two when I first turn on the AC...still not sure if I should take it back for that or leave it as is since it used to smell bad for minutes.

GM dealers are hit or miss, some are real shyster but there's at least a couple in my area that are pretty good from my dealings with them. Dodge dealers all seem to be run by clowns and crooks, if I could get over my dislike of their cars and huge depreciation I wouldn't be able to get over those bad dealers...I'm not brand loyal to anyone. I had a Nissan and loved it, but the new Nissans are awful and CVT trans are the worst and that's just about all they use. And there's a special ring of hell reserved for the marketing team behind those awful Chevy commercials...

Pandaz3

I sold my first new car, a '68 VW bug as I was returning to Vietnam and the steering gear failed at 17,000 miles. I got a new '70 Ford XL Sportroof when I came home, but the Army wanted me back in RVN, and I sold it, an okay car that did not excite me. Then I had new Subaru. Liked it, but I was rear ended three times and got a new Fiat (Terrible experience, but the gas crisis allowed me to make money) I have had a new Chevy 1500 (ordered in'73), I have had new Buicks, Oldsmobile's, VW again, and used Mopars, GM and Ford. My first new Ford utility was a full size '81 Bronco with a big 6 and 4 speed manual with Overdrive. Loved it. Loved my next Ford, a V8 Mustang, too.

I had a new '88 Jeep Comanche Pickup that would suddenly fail the lights while driving a country road on a dark moonless night.... That get's your attention. Turn the vehicle off, restart and lights would work. Service (AMC/Jeep, Chrysler/ Plymouth) tried many times and went way over the warranty budget. They test drove and replicated the problem, but could not illicit a solution from the factory. They eventually added a auto-reset circuit breaker to the fuse box. It worked, while I did not have what I wanted, they did do their best.
I like my current Ford service dealer, though I have never bought a vehicle from them. Just go back and I get taken care of

ericbe45

I am a 35 year ford tech (with the same dealership) made me smile to read your post

InvertedAerials

I cannot speak for others, and yes, I may have paid a slightly higher price, but I don't care, when it comes to a $70,000 vehicle, $2,000 isn't going to make or break a deal What will is quality of service. My hometown dealer in Stouffville, Ontario, CAN is nothing short of amazing! They are so easy going and happy to help. When my '14 had seat issues, they gave me a '15 demo to drive for a month! Not I think it was a tease, but it worked, my 17 just arrived! Pick her up this weekend!

It is the people that work at the Dealership, that make the dealership. It is a two-way street. If you treat them well, they will do their best to help. If you aren't happy with their service, tell them and do it respectively. Not at 7am when they have a line out the door.

Lot's of Ford's in the Family, and I fell i am part OF my ford dealer's family. A great feeling for sure!

Should give them some Free Publicity!

Bill Houston Ford, Stouffville Ontario!

Gozzie

Yep, this landed in my email junk box so I replied.
Look at my join date and how many posts I have responded to. This one was important to me.
Our Ford dealer is horrendous and I don't mind saying it. Again I am not bashing Ford, just the dealership.
Ultimate Ford, Mtn Home Arkansas 72653
Have a nice day.

Shadowblack

Exactly...........plus 1 for Bill Houston Ford, in Stouffville!

kendive

I just don't do the survey at all. Most of the time it would not be a good one anyway. I rather just stay out of it and avoid the dealer unless the truck is just dead in the water.

The dealers have a long way to go and alot to learn. I know there are a few good ones out there but I have not seen one yet.

When safelite replaced my windshield he wiped down everything and cleaned as he worked. I could not tell he was working on the truck afterwords. I have been to my ford dealer a few times and after the truck looked like a bomb when off in there. I have the tan ford leather (fake leather) and it shows everything.

Dealers at least respect other peoples things....