Why is it, every time I take a car in to have something done, or fixed, it comes back with some kind of damage on it?

I bought my 2006 SES brand new. When the salesman and I were out for the first test drive we both noticed a loud squeak coming from the trunk. I had a buddy of mine ride in the trunk for a short distance and he told us that the squeak was coming from the audiophile sub woofer enclosure. So we take the car back to the dealer and I am "told" that it will be fixed. Later I go back to the dealership and I get the car. The squeak seems to be gone. I am told that one (1) bolt holding the sub enclosure was LOOSE. I am ok with that. So, I buy the car and go on my way. Later the next day I hear that same squeak coming from the trunk. My buddy, again, climbs into the trunk to take another ride. Again, he hears the squeak coming from the sub enclosure. This time "WE" take the cover from around the sub enclosure and we find a bolt missing from the top mounting bracket. One bolt is MISSING! I drive the car back to the dealership and I am pretty pissed off because the so called tech was too lazy to do a complete job and fix the problem the first time. They put a bolt in and so far, its been quiet.

The other day, I am cleaning the trunk and I find that "someone" has over tightened and wore the tops off of 5 of the 6 plastic screw on covers that hold the taillights on. These must have been messed with when the service man was in the trunk the first time, looking for the squeaking sound. We told the service manager that the noise was coming from the sub woofer enclosure! But I guess they tried to tighten everything in the truck! Today I paid over $12.00 to purchase new screw on covers. I put them in myself. I used a rag to cover them so they would not get all scared up. I used pliers. I don't know what the service man used but whatever it was, the original set was ruined. I know, this is a small thing, but what else goes on when a simple repair is done?

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n288/JayH7745/wingnuts.jpg

Damn.. sorry to hear all that!

On my 1995 Cougar XR7:
The Ford dealership broke my electronic seat control panel when I had the driver's side lumbar cushion replaced. They replaced the control panel, luckily. They also smashed a huge dent in the driver's door when it was in the shop (many many times) for a check engine light EGR NO FLOW code. I finally gave up on that. They completely repainted that door. Color does not match well. The car is silver metal flake. I also paid $275.00 to have the seal on the moonroof replaced and now it leaks worse than it did before the repair. I took it back and they said they adjusted the moonroof. Still leaks! All from a FORD DEALERSHIP!
I tried a different Ford dealer and they screwed up two of my rims on my 03 Focus. Can't win! But they replaced the rims with new ones. [8] [:(!] [B)] [???:)] [mad] [rolleyes] [:(] [?|] [V] [mad] [poke]

What amazes me is all the people who believe that the dealer is the BEST place to have their car serviced. [???:)]

I used to work at a Ford dealer and most of the techs did the absolute minimum possible work and if they could get away with leaving off a few bolts and screws to get the car off the rack faster, they would.

It was all about working as quickly as they could on as many cars at once as possible. The kicker is the service writer would charge the customers the FULL number of hours that the repair called for in the repair guides. Nice scam!

Originally posted by Strangewingz
What amazes me is all the people who believe that the dealer is the BEST place to have their car serviced. [???:)]

I used to work at a Ford dealer and most of the techs did the absolute minimum possible work and if they could get away with leaving off a few bolts and screws to get the car off the rack faster, they would.

It was all about working as quickly as they could on as many cars at once as possible. The kicker is the service writer would charge the customers the FULL number of hours that the repair called for in the repair guides. Nice scam!

I believe that they do that at dealerships. 100%

The only reason that I take the Focus to the dealership is because it's under warranty. That's the only reason! My 95 Cougar would be serviced best at a small private repair place but here in my area, that's like going to a hillbilly's shack and asking for a DELL PC. In my area, it's really hard to get anything done. Anything! Everyone around here thinks they are techs and can fix anything. When the truth is, they are all "lousy" shade tree mechanics, if that. I use to take the Cougar to a small place close by. They ended up replacing parts, over and over, hoping to find the problem. I was getting cheap auto parts store parts too. The only good thing about a dealership is you get Ford parts. And the dealer usually gives me parts at cost. The repairs are the problem!

Originally posted by JayH
On my 1995 Cougar XR7:
The Ford dealership broke my electronic seat control panel when I had the driver's side lumbar cushion replaced. They replaced the control panel, luckily. They also smashed a huge dent in the driver's door when it was in the shop (many many times) for a check engine light EGR NO FLOW code. I finally gave up on that. They completely repainted that door. Color does not match well. The car is silver metal flake. I also paid $275.00 to have the seal on the moonroof replaced and now it leaks worse than it did before the repair. I took it back and they said they adjusted the moonroof. Still leaks! All from a FORD DEALERSHIP!
I tried a different Ford dealer and they screwed up two of my rims on my 03 Focus. Can't win! But they replaced the rims with new ones. [8] [:(!] [B)] [???:)] [mad] [rolleyes] [:(] [?|] [V] [mad] [poke]

Slightly better than Beaverton Ford, for not playing "it's not our fault" bullshit

Anyways, photographs of damage, the front view of service dept and name and address of them for starter please?

"The kicker is the service writer would charge the customers the FULL number of hours that the repair called for in the repair guides. Nice scam!"

The use of flat rate manuals for labor charges has been SOP in the industry for decades. The theoretical idea is that (a) why should the customer be penalized if the mechanic is slow and conversely, (b) why should the shop/mechanic be penalized if the mechanic happens to have better than average skills and works faster than other mechanics. Of course, the use of flat rate does put an incentive on fast work, which can lead to shoddy work, but in the end, it all boils down to how skilled and honest the shop is. If they are dishonest, they will find a way to screw you, flat rate or not. And if they are honest, the flat rate will ensure that you do not have to pay more just because the new, inexperienced, and slower mechanic in the shop happened to get your repair job.

that sux...

but i've interchanged my sedan tails like 5-6 times and i just do it by hand..lol

Originally posted by poisonivory
that sux...

but i've interchanged my sedan tails like 5-6 times and i just do it by hand..lol


That's a good point! If a regular person (owner) can remove those 6 plastic pieces to change out the taillight lens, then why should a dealership tech do so much damage just tightening them.

I also changed the taillight lens on my 03 ZTS to euro lens and I didn't do any damage to the screw on plastic fasteners.

Because of the service tech, I had to change these six screw on fasteners on my 06 with new ones. At least they aren't damaged "now" It's not really a big deal, but it's a pain in the butt. This sorta thing bothers me, so I replaced them.

The servicemen just want to get a job done and get the car out of the repair bay. They could at least take pride in there work and be careful "not" to do any damage.

Penguin, you're correct - I was just privy to a LOT of shoddy crap and when I said something I was told, "Hey that's what EVERY dealer does!" I mean when all the mechanics are called into a meeting and told you gotta tell every car that comes in that it needs shocks/struts cause we got a shock/strut special going on, that isn't in the best interest of the customer! And you could substitute _______ for shock/struts depending on what the dealer/Ford was pushing that month.

More damage! I took the car in for the first oil change and to have the computer updated. I noticed yesterday that the plastic panel that covers the passenger side seat belt has a large scuff mark on it and the edge of the upper panel is damaged so badly that the upper and lower panels will not snap together. I took the car back in today and showed the service manager the damage. They are going to fix it free of charge Thursday morning. I am fed up with them. I am in the process of trading the 06 off for the new 07. After this, I am not going to have any of my cars serviced at this dealership. I hope I can get the 07 away from this place before anything happens to it! I special ordered it and its still on the assembly line somewhere at Ford.

Your lucky you got away with minor damage...thats alot better than what happened to my 00 zx3, I had a recall on my fuel pump and when I got it back from the dealer it ran fine until about a night later when I filled up my tank and was driving with 4 friends in the car. All of a sudden we were driving around 30 on a local street and all of a sudden we heard a loud Bang followed by a scraping sound. At first thought I thought it was my exhaust...no problem... After we all got out of the car and went to the back of the car and saw that it was my gas tank that fell out of the car and was dragging on the ground. I am just glad that I wasnt doing 70 on a highway when it happened... When I had it towed back to the dealer they gave the excuse that the bolt must have backed out..BS... ever since this my gas tank wont go down to empty and runs out of gas a little bit over the E on my gauge... Ford Dealer shops suck...

Originally posted by tludbluezx3
Your lucky you got away with minor damage...thats alot better than what happened to my 00 zx3, I had a recall on my fuel pump and when I got it back from the dealer it ran fine until about a night later when I filled up my tank and was driving with 4 friends in the car. All of a sudden we were driving around 30 on a local street and all of a sudden we heard a loud Bang followed by a scraping sound. At first thought I thought it was my exhaust...no problem... After we all got out of the car and went to the back of the car and saw that it was my gas tank that fell out of the car and was dragging on the ground. I am just glad that I wasnt doing 70 on a highway when it happened... When I had it towed back to the dealer they gave the excuse that the bolt must have backed out..BS... ever since this my gas tank wont go down to empty and runs out of gas a little bit over the E on my gauge... Ford Dealer shops suck...

The bolt must have backed out? That really is BS! That is the best excuse they could come up with? WOW! Someone could have been killed. That is the best thing they can do, just make up BS to cover themselves? The service tech must have been an idiot! After the screw up and what they didn't do correctly, they should have replaced "everything" new!

Glad you and your friends were not hurt!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by JayH
More damage! I took the car in for the first oil change and to have the computer updated. I noticed yesterday that the plastic panel that covers the passenger side seat belt has a large scuff mark on it and the edge of the upper panel is damaged so badly that the upper and lower panels will not snap together. I took the car back in today and showed the service manager the damage. They are going to fix it free of charge Thursday morning. I am fed up with them. I am in the process of trading the 06 off for the new 07. After this, I am not going to have any of my cars serviced at this dealership. I hope I can get the 07 away from this place before anything happens to it! I special ordered it and its still on the assembly line somewhere at Ford.

Thursday,
I took the car in again today. They hadn't ordered the replacement panels or anything. Not worth the time I took to drive over. They tell me today that the parts are on order "now" and will be in soon, 2 days or so. ? Glad I enjoy visiting with the dealers in the showroom. Worthless appointment!
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