...Hey there Bucko, you get that FX4 cluster installed yet?

others: I'm not really "slamming" my local dealership. More of a cautionary statement to those who might not be of the wrench turning variety.

 

Yes I did....really like it. IMO, it's the nicest cluster Ford made for the 2004 to 2008 trucks.

 

Yeah...don't ever send your woman to the dealer...mine would not of drove it away without all the fixes they said were required...lol

 

lol ya, her parents kinda throw away money when it comes to car repairs. Her camry had a hubcap brake and this guy was working on their brakes so he said hed get a new hubcap for $60 with labor!!! probably a $20-maybe 30 hubcap that snaps right on.....great deal! but her parents dont really care, they just pay up. I tell her, just tell me whats going on and how much, ill tell you if its a fair price.

 

oh ya and i took the truck in about a squeak in the rear, the guy tried to sell me exhaust hangers with steel wire in the middle which is "more secure". $90 for the set, i told him id look around no thanks lol

 

Ya allot of dealerships and other kinda auto places try and scare ppl into things they don't need,but like buco said,you have some nice places also that are straight forward.

The place i got my truck from tried to talk me into new ball joints,upper control arms,and a new battery when i took my truck in cause i heard rattling coming from my drivers side back door,i told them this and they didn't listen to me and came back with the ball joint,upper control arms,battery story saying i need them bad.I'm like really,well seeing is how i don't believe you i will wait to take it to my friend shop(i didn't originally take it to him cause he had been up north with his family and when i called his cell to tell him the problem,it was off for alittle)So waited till he got back took it to him,he checked over the ball joints,upper control arms and battery just the battery needed to be replaced(so hey at-least the dealership got one thing right)all the rest was fine,and the rattling was coming from the drivers side door,just the hinge bolts and tail gate bolts were loose,we tightened them up and rattling went away.Took it back to the dealership and asked to talk to a manager,thats when my bud from the shop talked to the manager and told him,the manager seemed embarrassed.Maybe it had something to with me not taking my truck their for ruitine maintenence after i purchased the truck from their a year ealier.And all the sudden i bring it their for a noise i hear.Hey what can i say,i prefer to take it to my friends shop and do it after hours and actually learn to wrench more than what i know

 

$900 for brakes all around, 4 tires, p/s trans and brake flush? I'd take that deal. My tires alone were over $900.

 

Yeah, thats if they actually do everything that they say they are gonna do for the $900. I have a guy that my family has been using for years to do their automotive work. He always fixes it the first time and he doesnt push anything on you. I would never go to the dealer for work unless i HAD too. And if i did, i would instruct them to call me when they found out what was wrong and tell me the price and what they were going to do before doing it. I dont want to come back to pick up the truck with other things "FIXED" also that i didnt take the truck in to have done with a huge bill awaiting for me. Been there, done that when i was a little younger and nieve.

My previous truck (Ford Ranger) had problems with the check engine light coming on. It did it once under warranty and took it to the dealer and they fixed it for free and told me that the year model i had was bad for fuses to burn out making the check engine light coming on. Well a year after warranty went out, truck is operating fine with good oil levels and all and check engine light comes on again. I take it in and they replace the fuse which was causing the problem and they said i also had a "dirty throttle body" that they went ahead and fixed unknowingly to me. Thanks for the $480 bill. I wont be back to any dealer.

 

Im personal friends with the manager at my local dealer and am on pretty good terms with some of the techs, and they know that i do most of the major work cus i cant afford to pay other people to do it. They sold us a 2007 Edge for a pretty good price and we take that and our 2007 150 there for oil changes (20 bucks, cant beat it). After we bought the Edge, they changed service managers, and we happened to need the oil changed. We took it in and when we went to pick it up they said it needed new cabin air filters and a new fuel filter, for the small sum of 400.00 with labor. I said "no thanks, ill do it myself for 40 bucks" and we left. Since i didn't know where the filters were, i asked the people on my Edge forum for the help. They informed me that the Edge does not have a serviceable fuel filter, and that its located in the gas tank. After finding this out, i got pretty pissed wondering what exactly the 400.00 was gonna get me. I decided to take a trip down to see my friend the manager and told her what happened and that as long as the new guy stays the service manager, i will never bring any of my vehicles back. Two weeks later, they had a new service manager, and i can go back for oil changes. Moral of the story is that you never truly know who it is that your trying to screw.

On a different note, if they fix something without your knowledge and try to bill you for it, you are not liable for the cost. I got a free brake job and tranny flush because "they saw that it was crucial to do so, and they figured i would have wanted them to do it". I said, nice try, but thanks for the free stuff!

 

^^ nice!