War Eagle Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Guys, Wanted to give you a heads up on this because it could be a serious problem. As you know most of our 2010 GT500s are having to be purchased out of town because the local Dealers do not have an allocation. I had to buy mine in Macon Ga. an 11 1/2 hr round trip away. My car had a very minor factory assembly error. On the right side pasenger AC vent they installed a chrome GT trim ring instead of the correct brushed finish Shelby part. The local Dealership is a 30 minute drive from my house but I went by there last week, they looked at the car and ordered the correct part. This morning I got a call telling me to bring the car in, that the part had arrived and it would be a five minute job to change it out. I made the 30 minute drive over, met with the service writer who punched it in the PC and then told me that they could not repair the car. Ford Policy is that any factory assemby errors had to be returned to the original Dealership where the car was purchased for repair. After discussing it with her for 15 minutes I got to see the Service Manager (who she had already checked with) and he told me he was sorry but they would not be reimbursed for the work if they did it. I asked if I could take the part with me and install it myself and he said no because they had to pay for the part. I explained to him that it was an 11 hour round trip to Macon and just could not drive it to have that small problem corrected. I left and will just leave the car as is because it just is not practical to have it replaced. My warning to all of you guys is this: If Ford will not replace a small plastic vent ring what will happen if you have a major assembly error on your car and don't catch it untill your car is home and a long way from the Dealership you bought the car from. What if you had the car shipped? I can imagine that there could in fact be serious errors made under the car that you might not catch till later or untill a problem shows up. The morale of this story is check your cars carefully before taking delivery or it could cost you big time. The irony of all of this is that I was there over thirty minutes discussing a five minute problem. After waiting since May on an initial order done without an allocation, a misaligned hood, major paint flaw on the right fender, rust underneath the car and now this I am really not feeling any love for Ford or this GT500 right now. Best Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisSD Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Insane isn't it? Ford has an Iron Curtain in front of it. They absolutely will NOT break their stupid little "policies". No flexibility whatsoever. Ford should have a system in place to override this BS and let any dealer fix BS like this. Why is the buyer always the "2nd Class Citizen" in Ford's eyes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torched10 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Man that sucks!!Id talk with the zone rep for Ford on that one.Ive had sveeral new cars in the last 10 years and have always had warranty work done at a different dealer--The Jag i own needed a head gasket and another dealer did the work.Someythings not right here.Michael Morris can you give us some input there.And they wouldnt give you the part--how much could it cost?/Wish i could help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Man that sucks!!Id talk with the zone rep for Ford on that one.Ive had sveeral new cars in the last 10 years and have always had warranty work done at a different dealer--The Jag i own needed a head gasket and another dealer did the work.Someythings not right here.Michael Morris can you give us some input there.And they wouldnt give you the part--how much could it cost?/Wish i could help!! This is not warranty work there is a difference. The service manager told me if the part was broken he would fix it but could not fix a factory assembly error. I am going to leave the part in so I can look at it every day to remind me not to ever buy another Ford product. What is really bad about this is that this is a $50,000 car and a $5.00 part. The mis matched part is of no consequence at all it is so minor. It has just been too much drama all the way with this 2010 GT 500 from start to finish and I am done with it. Just thought I would add that the Ford Dealership is Cook Whitehead Ford Panama City Fla Service Manager: Jay McPhail I bought a lot of cars and trucks from them and never had a problem. This however was a car I did not buy from them as they had no allocation. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisSD Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Ford's refusal to remove a simply retarded policy costs them a customer who buys $50,000 Mustangs. Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekheavy Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 This is not warranty work there is a difference. The service manager told me if the part was broken he would fix it but could not fix a factory assembly error. I am going to leave the part in so I can look at it every day to remind me not to ever buy another Ford product. What is really bad about this is that this is a $50,000 car and a $5.00 part. The mis matched part is of no consequence at all it is so minor. It has just been too much drama all the way with this 2010 GT 500 from start to finish and I am done with it. Just thought I would add that the Ford Dealership is Cook Whitehead Ford Panama City Fla Service Manager: Jay McPhail I bought a lot of cars and trucks from them and never had a problem. This however was a car I did not buy from them as they had no allocation. Steve Why not just buy the part and install it yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlloyDropTop Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Ford's refusal to remove a simply retarded policy costs them a customer who buys $50,000 Mustangs. Brilliant! I will say it again....this is why my two cars that I drive daily are Lexus and Acura. You all bash me everytime I rewrite this, and you all claim that they are all the same, and I will repeat.... this BS is why I don't frequent domestic dealerships for anything other than toys like GT500's..... All I drove for many years were Fords, Jeeps, and Chryslers. Everyone of them treated me like I was damn lucky they would even talk to me. I started with Lexus and then Acura about 10 years ago, and they have had a damn near perfect attitude and customer service. I don't have the time or interest in dealing with this type of incredibly short sighted, non-customer oriented behavior, that is so out of place in an industry with such strong competition. I view it as a spit in my face attitude, that they really don't care about the customer, but rather some stupid ass shit about who gets paid for what..... Sorry....this crap gets me cranked up..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torched10 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Steve--as someone smarter than me said once "Dont le the bast***ds get you down.If you do,they win.You still have a great car,and living in Panama City a great place near the beach to drive it all year long.Go spin some tires,you'll feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SGT4578 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I would just order the damn trim ring, pay for it, and install it yourself. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I would just order the damn trim ring, pay for it, and install it yourself. Chris Chris, The trim ring does not even matter, it is of no consequence. The reason for the post was to alert the guys to inspect their cars carefully as many are having to buy them from out of town. I was not aware of this Ford policy and felt others might not know about it either. I would hate to see someone else end up with a major part/repair problem and have to go 500 miles to get it rectified. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SGT4578 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Steve, I did not mean for that to sound chitty towards you. I do however believe that it was chicken chit for the dealer to do that to you, but not a good reason not to ever buy another Ford product. Chit happens! Stuff like this has happened to me before too, sux, I just bought the part and fixed it myself. Also, kudos and Thanx to you for bringing this to our attention. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmurr Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Given it was just a vent ring. They should have explained the situation. Then replaced it anyways as a good faith effort to earn your business in the future. Too bad they were short sighted about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Given it was just a vent ring. They should have explained the situation. Then replaced it anyways as a good faith effort to earn your business in the future. Too bad they were short sighted about it. Heck I don't care the darn axle problem is being solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alansvt Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Heck I don't care the darn axle problem is being solved. Sorry about your issues. I hope in the end everything works out. Makes me kinda glad the route that I went. I had my dealership find me a gt500 I liked and they had it shipped from another dealership. So now they take care of all the issues I have. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmurr Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Heck I don't care the darn axle problem is being solved. Understandable given the cost difference between the two issues. However, I'm sure a lot of owners appreciate the insight into some non-cs friendly warranty policies. I was always under the impression I could get my car serviced at any Ford dealer nationwide under warranty, factory defect or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mere44 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 that's BS I work at a Ford dealer and I know that they could get this warranted. Take it to another dealer and have this repaired. If they treat you like this then they cannot expect to stay in business very long. Worst case, they could have eaten the repair just in order to earn your business. They can't hold it against you if you didn't buy the car there if they didn't have one for you to buy, and that would be a crappy reason anyway. That is very poor customer service and you should call Ford and report this incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT/SC2873 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Steve, I know what's done is done and you are dealing with it and I admire you for that....however, I would of left that dealer, drove around the block, cracked that d$#m vent ring then proceeded back to the dealer......I just hit the biggest pothole and look what happend...now replace the frikken vent....under warranty. My personal opinion....dealer jerked you on this one....all they had to do was take a pic and replace it ...no way zone rep would deny that. JMO....Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stpracer43 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Interesting issue/result you have there. Might be a different issue in my case, but I bought my '07 in Mobile, AL and had to have a stripe replaced due to air bubbles that had cracked. I had the new stripe installed by a dealer in Tucson, AZ. I'd try a different dealer, can't hurt. BTW: do you know what "AUBURN" stands for? Alabama Usually Beats Us Round November! ROLL TIDE ROLL! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlloyDropTop Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Steve, I did not mean for that to sound chitty towards you. I do however believe that it was chicken chit for the dealer to do that to you, but not a good reason not to ever buy another Ford product. Chit happens! Stuff like this has happened to me before too, sux, I just bought the part and fixed it myself. Also, kudos and Thanx to you for bringing this to our attention. Chris I agree with Steve. I let my past dealings get the better of me. This situation is just a bad dealer with a bad attitude. My past experiences were with a bad dealer with a bad attitude, too. We all just need to find the dealers that care and don't work off the bottom dollar mentality. My experience is they don't let bad dealers sell Acura and Lexus, so it is easier to find great customer service. Ford simply can't tighten the reigns enough, because for the most part, they peddle a commidity product. Back in the days of SVT specific dealers, I think things were easier to sort out. SVT dealers understood the mentality of us who are willing to part with more money because we like cars, and also want to take care of them, more than the people who buy mainstream cars. I wish that they would bring SVT dealers back, then make sure those dealers go above and beyond for use enthusiasts who are willing to part with $50K for a special Mustang. I get pretty good service from a local dealer that was an SVT dealer back when that meant something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Thanks guys, Like many of you I have been thru a lot trying to get this car dating back to May when I first orderd the first car. I had a few minor issues with it but this deal today really got to me, should not have let it happen but it did. Ford is a great Company with a great product line but they are pretty much at the mercy of the Dealerships for their customer service image. It has to be very frustrating for them to work so hard on making things better and have some (not all) Dealerships doing the damage that they are doing. My 2006 F-150 has been a perfect truck, owned it 3 1/2 years and never a single, not one problem with it. My 2007 Lincoln MKX , 2 1/2 years, also perfect. Even though I was mistreated today, I will still probably go back and buy another Ford simply because I like the Company and the vehicles they make. The strange thing is that every time I ever took any of my cars and trucks in for service that I have bought from them I got really good service and excellent treatment. I really believe that this Service Manager believed what he was telling me and did not have the authority to take care of me. I asked for the Sales manager that I always deal with but he was off and there was no one else I could talk to. The issue is closed for me and I will probably go back later and buy a trim ring and put it in myself. I just wanted you guys to be aware of the Ford Policy on Factory Assembly errors and check your cars well before taking them a long distance home. Case Closed Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmellSoGood Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Steve--as someone smarter than me said once "Dont le the bast***ds get you down.If you do,they win.You still have a great car,and living in Panama City a great place near the beach to drive it all year long.Go spin some tires,you'll feel better. I have to go back to some more recent posts, but there have been a few similar to yours with the theme "Ignore it. Paint it yourself. Drink a beer and forget about it". All these comments sound familiar to fanboy Ford fanaticals or similar (e.g. employees or union workers with Mustangs). I'm with War Eagle and Chris. The last American car I owned was a Chrysler 300M (1999) and the dealer declaring "the right of parlay" from Pirates of the Caribbean. so he didn't have to replace the entire dashboard and also window assembly failure after 4 months of owning the vehicle. I quickly sold the car. Taking your advice, I won't let Ford win if my Shelby arrives and it looks like shit wrapped in a $50,000 marketing handbag with Shelby's name on it. My advice is not to sugar coat minor problems by sleeping it off and going to DIY.com to repair these issues ourselves. Thanks for the words of wisdom above. I'll live by that and join any class action or petition to resolve major quality issues with other owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of GT Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Right, wrong, or otherwise, the reason (which is really a large pile of chicken feces in this case) why FoMoCo wants you to take the car back to the selling dealer is because the selling dealer got paid from FoMoCo to PDI the car, and in FoMoCo's point of view, that dealer overlooked the flaw during the PDI, which is also a bunch of crap. I PDI'd new Fords at a dealership when I was a young lad MANY years ago, and I can tell you that there would be very little chance that myself or my co-workers back then would have caught that flaw. Regardless of that, here is a possible solution... Contact the selling dealer, tell them what the issue is, ask them to mail you the part, install it yourself, tell the dealer to file the repair with Ford whatever way they need to in order to get paid, and you get the repair done without having to drive half way across the south to get it fixed. If that doesn't work, then I would either contact Ford Customer Service, or send an email to Alan Mulally's office and let him know how you feel about this bureaucratic Catch-22 that you are a victim of. What I don't understand in this equasion is why your local dealer ordered the part and then gave you "sorry Charlie". That's very odd if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 "Quote What I don't understand in this equasion is why your local dealer ordered the part and then gave you "sorry Charlie". That's very odd if you ask me. " The entire episode was odd. The first day a guy met me outside when I pulled up (a greeter) not a service writer and took me to the parts desk. The parts clerk came out to the car, verified it was the wrong part and took me back to the parts desk and orderd the correct part while I waited. He told me it would be in this week and they would call me when it arrived. I received the call this morning that my part was in and to bring the car in for the installation. When I first got there the same Greeter took me back to parts and I was told that somebody named Dave was gone to lunch but would be back in 10 more minutes. that Dave would have to take a picture of the incorrect vent. So I waited but "Dave" never came, then the young lady came up and started to help me, that is when she sat down at the PC and told me they could not do the work. The rest you know. I was there a total of about 40 minutes or so I guess. I saw the vent package they did in fact have the part. As I said before I have closed the case on it and will probably just buy a trim ring later when I have time and put it in. thanks for your comments, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlloyDropTop Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Right, wrong, or otherwise, the reason (which is really a large pile of chicken feces in this case) why FoMoCo wants you to take the car back to the selling dealer is because the selling dealer got paid from FoMoCo to PDI the car, and in FoMoCo's point of view, that dealer overlooked the flaw during the PDI, which is also a bunch of crap. I PDI'd new Fords at a dealership when I was a young lad MANY years ago, and I can tell you that there would be very little chance that myself or my co-workers back then would have caught that flaw. Regardless of that, here is a possible solution... Contact the selling dealer, tell them what the issue is, ask them to mail you the part, install it yourself, tell the dealer to file the repair with Ford whatever way they need to in order to get paid, and you get the repair done without having to drive half way across the south to get it fixed. If that doesn't work, then I would either contact Ford Customer Service, or send an email to Alan Mulally's office and let him know how you feel about this bureaucratic Catch-22 that you are a victim of. What I don't understand in this equasion is why your local dealer ordered the part and then gave you "sorry Charlie". That's very odd if you ask me. The major flaw with the reason, is it cares more about who got paid for what, than that of making the customer that dropped a massive amount on a Mustang happy. Simple as that. Ford needs to care more about the customer and less about their own internal accouting issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of GT Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 The major flaw with the reason, is it cares more about who got paid for what, than that of making the customer that dropped a massive amount on a Mustang happy. Simple as that. Ford needs to care more about the customer and less about their own internal accouting issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbyite Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 this is easily handled. Tell your ford dlr to advise you when the regional service rep for that area ia going to be at the dlrship. Tell the srvce mgr that you will discuss this with the regional rep ypurself. I bet that will get it resolved asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisSD Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have to go back to some more recent posts, but there have been a few similar to yours with the theme "Ignore it. Paint it yourself. Drink a beer and forget about it". All these comments sound familiar to fanboy Ford fanaticals or similar (e.g. employees or union workers with Mustangs). I'm with War Eagle and Chris. The last American car I owned was a Chrysler 300M (1999) and the dealer declaring "the right of parlay" from Pirates of the Caribbean. so he didn't have to replace the entire dashboard and also window assembly failure after 4 months of owning the vehicle. I quickly sold the car. Taking your advice, I won't let Ford win if my Shelby arrives and it looks like shit wrapped in a $50,000 marketing handbag with Shelby's name on it. My advice is not to sugar coat minor problems by sleeping it off and going to DIY.com to repair these issues ourselves. Thanks for the words of wisdom above. I'll live by that and join any class action or petition to resolve major quality issues with other owners. I totally agree man. No one here owes Ford a damn thing. Ford owes US a good quality vehicle. Yes I know a lot here got one. I did not and I sure as hell am not going to be quiet about it until they make it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelbyite Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I totally agree man. No one here owes Ford a damn thing. Ford owes US a good quality vehicle. Yes I know a lot here got one. I did not and I sure as hell am not going to be quiet about it until they make it right. i have been in the same boat with an F250 truck. It had am imperfection in the door panel and Simi valley ford where i didnt buy it from as dlr was 150 miles away told me to take it back to the original selling dlr which for obvious reasons was to far to go. I took the truck to the next closest dlr and the door panel was replaced no problem. Its the dlr not having his info correct etc. As i said in my previous post that if he contacts his service rep, they should be able to get it handled. The service mgr needs to put a little effort into this, make a few phone calls etc. Not just hold up his hands. I WOUDNT PAY FOR THE PART MYSELF AND PUT IT ON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 this is easily handled. Tell your ford dlr to advise you when the regional service rep for that area ia going to be at the dlrship. Tell the srvce mgr that you will discuss this with the regional rep ypurself. I bet that will get it resolved asap. This was a Dealer issue not a Ford issue. I sent a note to Ford, included a picture of the installed trim ring to let them know about it and they promptly responded and offered to pay for the part and install. The Service Manager could have accomplished the same thing with a phone call. All that waste of time, two trips, and stress over nothing. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 this whole issue is old news.. gt parts on cobras has been happening sine the beginning of SVT. Son of a GT is right. Sucky rules but they are there.. We all take certain risks when buying from non-local dealerships. And I for some reason am one of those guys that says fix it yourself if it's easy... I wont bring my car to a dealership unless it's an Expensive or VERY labor intensive repair. All valid complaints on your car but it's just reality of assy line workers. I suggest you go buy the other american 4 seater with 540HP. :jackinbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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