Ford Servicing

[rockafellqeinstien]

Car is all fixed. The loud knock iun the front end is all gone (tightened all bolts) and they sealed my tray up (which I was sure I was going to have to go back for).

I droped off a case of beer after it was all done ($30 is nothing to get that stuff fixed without any hassle)

Anyone looking for a good dealer to do service and warranty work should give the guys at peter warren smithfield a go.

Now I just have to change my turbo oil screen and then I am going to get some nice injectors and a tune

[tmac450]

You do know that dealers have nothing to do with Ford Motor Company don't you?

They're completely separate businesses.

Just like anything, there's bad ones and there's good ones. Luckily I have an awesome dealer and wouldn't even consider taking my car elsewhere. They do the job right and the prices are reasonable. Maybe the service is better in the country.

And here in lies the problem. Of course they are to do with Ford. They are a franchise, they carry the Ford branding and as such, are seen by the majority of customers as 'FORD' (especially since we don't have the option of dealing direct with FORD to buy or service a car). Every other franchise system in the world gives the parent company a huge amount of say in how a franchise behaves and operates, mainly because if a customer is treated poorly by one franchise, they generally don't deal with anything carrying that brand again. Can you imagine how long a Maccas franchise would stay in operation if they failed to meet guidelines, or refused toaddress customer ussues, etc.

Ford's complete lack of care and or understanding of this most basic of franchising principals is one of their bigest and most costly problems, and it stemms from their general lack of regard for customer service.

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER FORD! Stop blaming market downturns and higher fuel prices, start looking at you own, massive shortcomings.

I might as well name the first dealer as Power Ford Castle hill and with out going into details, they suck giant buffalo balls (I am still waiting for a call to bring my car back to fix stuff (it aint going back) and also a call from the service manager after my post service survey -(both were suposed to happen over a week ago - suprise suprise).

I could have guessed. I've never had a good experience with that mob. They even once tried to charge me for spark plug replacement on my Laser, when it was obvious they'd never even removed the boots.

[Adam]

I've missed your rants!

If KFC or McDonald's stuff my order up then it's the stores fault. Not KFC or McDonald's Australia.

If my dealer was no good then that's their fault. Not Ford's. Luckily I've got an awesome dealer!

[rockafellqeinstien]

I could have guessed. I've never had a good experience with that mob. They even once tried to charge me for spark plug replacement on my Laser, when it was obvious they'd never even removed the boots.

ahahahah- guess what one of the problems that I had was???????? (they charged me labour as part of the service for the plugs but atleast they didnt charge me for the actual plugs that never got replaced).

Regarding mcdonalds - they dont put up with bad service from their franchises. If they drop the ball maccas bust their arse. KFS own most/all their stores like red rooster and that model is even worse (imagine ford owning and running dealers - you wouldnt have to worrie about bad service because it would take 3 yrs to book your car in by which time the warranty would have expired

Ford should run their business like serive stations used to:

ford own the dealerships (property and banner etc) and franchise the dealer to manage it. If they dont perform they get booted and they give someone else a go. alot easier said than done (also $$$$$)

Edited 24/07/09 05:48 AM by rockafellqeinstien

[Adam]

I still think the easiest option is to find a good dealer. There's plenty out there.

[ForceFed]

Anybody have any experiences (good or bad) of Perth Ford Dealer called John Hughes - Park Ford in Bentley?

My BF will be up for 90k 'B' service in 2000 kays...or do I just go to Xtreme Ford Tuning in Midland?

Timbo.

[illys]

why dont you guys just service it yourself much easier and you know its done properly because your doing it yourself and its not hard changing the oil leads and plugs.

[Adam]

Leads?

Oil and plugs... Do you think that's all that gets changed on a service do you?

[wookie_666]

alright my rant, I bought my BA XR6 NA in april from thompson ford parramatta. Now I only bought from a dealer becuase I got a manual with leather interior and premui9m sound. I coul not find aother one anywhere. Any way, I got the 3 year warranty for free, so that didn't bother me too much. But they are telligme that I have to get is serviced by their own service centre every six months or ten thousand k's.

The guy on the phone said to me that it would cost about 1400 to replace my catalytic converter, and that warranty only covers 1000 max on anything at one time. There is also all these claus's that can void the warranty like if there is any impact damage to the cat its not covered, whether I did it or bought it like that. So I very politely told them to shove the warranty up their ass and I will be doing all my services myself. Its not that hard.

My reccomendations are, buy a gregory's book on your car. They can be bought from supercheap auto for 40 dollars. Its the only way that your going to learn how to do it.

[Adam]

Most after market warranties are setup that way.