Martian

I can see it from the dealer's side, too, though. I work on cars in my off time. I might tell someone I can take in their car on X day, but if I'm still working on the one I already had, I'll tell them that's no longer possible. I'm not going to rush the work or skip things, especially if I found new problems, on the car I already have. I either give quality work or nothing at all.

shizzu

this is standard dealer practice in interior alaska. =(

Blue_Oval_Boy

My boss had this exact experience when he was trying to get some warranty work done on his truck (not a Ford). He's not a huge fan of dealerships to begin with, and he got a heck of a runaround when it came to diagnosing his truck.
His regular mechanic had already determined the issue, so he made an appointment. It took him 90 minutes just to get the truck dropped off. They had the truck for 4 hours before they called him to tell him that the part his mechanic had already diagnosed was in fact defective and would be called under warranty. Of course they didn't have the part in stock, so he would have to repeat the process a second time to actually get the work done.

Me, I have an 8:00 appointment at my Ford dealer and my truck is usually in the bay by 8:05. Some people just have bad luck I guess.

dave91gt

My 14 f150 developed a wrench light and check engine light randomly. Code reader said "shift solenoid e". Made appt for the Friday of July 4th weekend. Mechanic called Friday and confirmed the code and TSB said to clean the lead frame and add a filter. He thought it best to change the parts and not drop the pan twice. I agreed to leave the truck over the long weekend. Called Tuesday and they hadn't finished. Got a call Wednesday that truck was done. Dropped by (dealer is 35 mins away) and they were very nice. I spoke with the mechanic and asked what all he changed. His reply? "Fluid and filter. Also added a filter to the connector". I just about came unglued asking why he didn't change the lead frame. He said Ford bulletin told him to check the connections first and road test. He drove it three times. Mind you- this was a very intermittent problem to begin with. So, I was cordial in saying it best be fixed and they told me to call if any problems. The drive home showed a trans temp of 217. Way higher than normal. The following week, I'd have random hard shifts into second. I mean jolt the truck and hear the driveshaft ringing hard shifts. Then it would randomly start clicking at low speed. Called dealer and they said to put more miles on it. Adaptive learning. I left work that day and it was slamming, grinding, whining, etc. called roadside assistance to tow it in. Dealer called next day and apologized. Trans is bad (surprise) and it would be down a minimum of two-three weeks and he'd get me a loaner. The second set of symptoms didn't happen until they worked on it the first time. Now my truck is down for almost a month.

joe mcmillan

Wow, not an issue here with Brondes Ford here in Toledo and Maumee...
Make an appointment and get service as per schedule.
Not perfect but pretty good.
My truck is beyond normal warranty but has been scheduled for recall repairs.
Car just finished 7 years of warranty and always a timely event.

Mod (Ret.)

I also agree that if an appointment is made, it should be honored for the day it was issued. Now if they provide a loaner (for free), then no worries. But if you are expected to have to leave the car so it "has a place in line", then it becomes nonsense, and costly to you, since you use the truck for your work lively hood.

I have the same issue when going to a doctor; if I make an appointment for 2:00 PM, and I wait longer then 15 minutes, I inform the receptionist that I'm leaving, and ask he/she to reschedule me for a time that they can see me within a time frame they schedule me for.

cal50

iTrader: (1)

I prefer making an appointment ( set time ) to avoid long waits or luck of the draw when you walk in. My local dealer has done an excellent job for service related issues on my past vehicles. A few other local dealers service department are incompetent and night and day different even though the same blue oval is outside.

SilvSurfer

The service manager used to have a doctor's office.

berty

That's strange. Find yourself a new dealer, I always thought dealers were bad but I've enjoyed mine. Prompt service, fun and easy to talk to, no questions asked they give me a loaner car and fill up the gas tank for me (even said they would reimburse me if I run low and need to add gas). Hell the loaner car was a fully loaded, brand new showroom floor Ford Focus too lol had only 15 miles on the odometer when they gave it to me.


Long story short, find yerself a dealer you like and likes you.

Blank102

Change dealers. An appointment isn't supposed to be"we'll get around to your car when we feel like it". A dealer that does that is a crappy dealer.