Dealership Ruined my S3 - Now What?

[zzzipperhead]

Old username was 'gina_and_todd'. Gina accidentally killed email for that account, and we had to make a new one...

Don't really know what to do except post my little story and see what kind of advise I get back.

Bpurchased an 06 (new) in July 2006. Black with silver stripes. Had a list of items in writing from dealership that needed to be fixed. The next week, I took it in for service, and they only fixed one item. They said they would reschedule when they got the rest of the parts in.

After about 2-3 months, I'm calling them weekly to gind out what's going on - and finally just drove back down there and parked int he service bay until the Director came out to talk to me. H wrote down the list (for about the 5th time since I took the car off the lot), and then things started coming together for me.

They scheduled a time to bring it back in, and said that they had to get Roush warranty and Ford warranty stuff worked out, and they were sorry for the long wait. Seemed clear enough to me.

I take the car in - and they say we'll keep it for 4 days....so I'm like okay...no biggie. As long as it's right when I get it back. Well....2 weeks go by and I'm still waiting to hear back from them. I start calling them again, and they tell me everythings done, all work is completed (except for one thing, the camber castor plates weren't needed to correct the cupping affect on the front tires, and no tires were purchased due to the specs being good onthe alignment from Roush). So I'm like - GREAT! When can I get it back? 2 days. So I wait 2 days. No word from them, so I call again. They say that there's a problem witht he paint, that there's something that tapped the rear bumper and they need to repaint the rear bumper. OK......I wanna see this.

I find out where the cars at, and it's in some graphics shop where they removed the pealing stickers, and were to replace them with Roush factory stickers.

I see that the tap on the rear bumper can probably be wet-sanded and buffed, and that's it's probably gonna be ok. The part that concerns me is that no other work is competed. The windows are down in this body shop where my interior has been filled with dust and debry. The rear spoilers under some stuff on some guys work bench, and the hood scoop is under the car so nobody steps on it.....not to mention that there are spider scratches that nearly cover the entire car. Looks to me like the sticker shop guy crawled all over it so he could remove the stickers. I almost forgot one thing - the front bumper has a bunch of chunks of paint missing that covered the 14 inch stripewhere the paint pulled off when they removed the sticker. They haven't even taken off the double sided sticky tape where they removed the hood scoop and spoiler. They tried telling me they could match the BLack paint and only needed to paint the bumper....but like I said....haven't returned a phone call yet. Oh yea - I've made 87 phone calls on this stuff per my cell phone bill...and now the cars in worse shape then when I bought it....

To top it all off - the sticker guy takes me back to the 'clean room' to show me the "nicest one they got"....it's the none Super Charged Saleen.... I almost threw up!

Here's the list of things that Ford currently has....the ones at the bottom of the list are the things I added since I saw the car. Any advise will be great here....oh...also....they will not return my phone calls since I told them about the damages that have been incurred...:

· Recall Repairs for the following items:
o Strut Recall
o (a) Roush branded front struts as a stand-alone component. The struts are marked as Part # R06020048-13-AA or R06020048-13-AB. sold under Retail Part # 401297, with Shipping Label #R06020064-13-AA.
o (b) Roush branded front struts as a suspension kit. The struts in the kit are marked as Part # R06020048-13-AA or R06020048-13-AB. They are sold under Retail Part # 401296, with Shipping Label #R06000019-13-AAR.
o Red colored struts are for Roush built Stage 3 Vehicles Only. They are specially valved for the extra weight of the supercharged engine. They really are different than the blue units. Blue colored struts are for Roush built Stage 2 and 427R vehicles and Self installed Roush aftermarket suspension kits.
o Rear Shocks that are weeping oil may also be a point of interest and necessitate replacement.
· Missing Gloves (Trunk Tool Box)
· Floor mats in the car Were Stock, and Should have been Roush Racing Embroidered per the Sales ORder and Window Sticker
· Passenger Seat, Backside Handle (was missing when purchased)
· Both Seat Leathers are not attached under the thigh area of the seats
· Safety Recall: Airbag Sensor – Passenger Seat
· Passenger Seat Movement is very difficult.
· Jitter in Steering Wheel
· Cupping Tires on the front due to excessive camber/jitter in steering, causing owners to purchase tires for their vehicles every 5000-7000 miles. Replacements necessary
· Replace 'Peeling' Racing stripes down the center of the car.



· Rear Tires due to unacceptable driving methods while in Fords Hands.
· Rocker Panels are lose on both Driver and Passenger side
· Racing Stripes have a ‘peeling affect’ and require replacement
· Spider Scratches across 80% of the painted surface (roof, rear end, trunk lid, hood, front and rear fenders)
· Hood Scoop removed
· Spoiler Removed
· Mileage was 5878.3 when dropped off at the dealership for repairs.


Worst part is that I'm about to make a monster car payment, and it's looking like the total time they will have my car for the initial warranty repairs and 'ooopsies' is about 5-6 weeks....I can just picture all the dust that's gonne fly outta the seats everytime I sit down, or when I turn on the AC. It still had that new car smell when I dropped it off... IMO - I They can't give this car back to me and claim it's in the same shape it was when I bought it or dropped it off....this is tota BS...and I can just feel the ram-rodding I'm gonna take on this deal....I'm screwed huh?

Any suggestions?

Zzzipperhead

[UIN2IT]

What dealership is this again!? I woudl call FORD Customer service adn tell thenm what is going on.....and BE SURE That everything is done correctly when you get it back. Next time go to a different dealership, if you can.

Good luck, I hope everything goes well for ya! Sounds like a new paintjob comming! It is hard to match black! so I hear!?

[Frank3]

Todd, sounds like a horror story. Sorry to hear you story and your frustration. I can feel you pain… OUCH

What to do? Good question. I would start by talking to the dealership’s owner, general manager or whoever is the highest manager you can talk to. Make sure and let them know that the way your situation if being treated is unprofessional and just not right. Ask them how they are going to make this right for you! If you get an unsatisfactory answer, I would call Ford (you should probably do this anyway).

Call Roush and let them know that they are not doing their Roush customers right. Maybe Roush can encourage them to step up.

You might also try contacting your local news station and see if they can help. Here in AZ, they have this service (not sure what to call it) called “5 On Your Side” where you can take your story to the news and they will help you. It’s a story for them and they help by going to the dealer and questioning them. Your dealer probably wouldn’t like this kind of (bad) publicity and will hopefully make thing right.

Other than that, I’m not sure. Hopefully someone else will have some good advice.

Good luck and make sure to let us know how it turns out...

[mkeane]

Sorry for your troubles, i would contact a lawyer or news station and tell the dealership they just bought a stage 3 cause they can have it back

[SMOKE]

Originally Posted by mkeane

Sorry for your troubles, i would contact a lawyer or news station and tell the dealership they just bought a stage 3 cause they can have it back

Agreed, I'd seriously discuss this with the GM because this sounds unacceptable.
Hardly a good Christmas story.

[zzzipperhead]

How do you get a hold of Roush?

I've been talking to the third in charge at the dealership, and he hasn't returned my calls in 3 days. I'm in georgia....the Dealership is Gwinnett Place Ford...I'm waiting to talk to them on Tuesday when I take a drive down there with my camera....see what they say then when I start handing them documented proof, likewhat an attorney would ask to see.....

Zzzipperhead

[khill]

You have done a good job with documination so I would put it all together and schedule a meeting with; the service manager and general manager/dealer principal. While this is happening, call Ford and open up a customer relations case.

In your meeting, give them all your documintation and give them a timeline to fix it. "I expect you to have it fixed by XX date." Read your warranty, see if you qualify for lemon law status. If the car is not fixed by the date you agreed upon, then call Ford back and ask for a meeting with the distrcit service manager asap. (Call your news stations if you want, but that always made us NOT want to fix the far)

.02

Ken

[05-1947]

Rear Tires due to unacceptable driving methods while in Fords Hands.

Are you saying that they did burnouts in the car?

[Shay]

Boy this sounds like my first 3 months of ownership with Future Ford in Roseville, CA!

Do your best to get through it, hire an attorney if you have to. Call everyone on the planet, run a full page add in your local paper showing your car with lemons taped to it. Get them thinking you are an FN-NUTCASE that is ready to go postal on them. That is how I finally got Future Ford in line.

After the storm, enjoy your car because it is awesome!

[zzzipperhead]

Originally Posted by 05-1947

Are you saying that they did burnouts in the car?

Looks like it. I pulled shaved rubber from the rears (burnt, kinda stuck to the tires) and could see easily the rotational pattern indicating spinning. Hard to prove I know, but witnessing the service techs spinning in other cars too... Didn't witness mine though...

[spindlecone]

As above, stick it out.
My first 3 mos.Strut recall, they put on the wrong struts, than back for the correct ST3 struts and new rear shocks.
Told them to pls use new strut bearings, they did not, two weeks later the front end starts to knock bigtime.
back to the dealer for new strut bearings, month later, new clutch packs in the rear diff, new fuel pump.
All is well now, dealership has been great about the whole thing, no complaints

[NorCalRoush2]

Originally Posted by zzzipperhead

Looks like it. I pulled shaved rubber from the rears (burnt, kinda stuck to the tires) and could see easily the rotational pattern indicating spinning. Hard to prove I know, but witnessing the service techs spinning in other cars too... Didn't witness mine though...

I would start bring a camera, better yet a video camera if you have one around and start recording video and audio of your conversations with the dealer and the condition of the car. Then you have video documentation of events, and if you can catch the techs spinning in other cars then you would have a good case for getting them spinning them on your car as well.

Best of luck, doesnt sound like a good situation.

[spindlecone]

May sound Anal, but when my car go's to the dealer,I do a walkaround with my service manager Darrin, at frontier ford,He drives my car to the bay, he makes sure my car is kept in a bay if overnight.
When I go to pick it up,He brings my car out and parks it off to the side, away from the lessor cars
Do a walk around again,I always note the before and after Mileage.
Darrin also calls me a week later to make sure all is well.
Sorry for all your problems, hope all gets resolved, if so never take it back to that dealer, are good ones out there.

[RSHWNBE]

Originally Posted by spindlecone

May sound Anal, but when my car go's to the dealer,I do a walkaround with my service manager Darrin, at frontier ford,He drives my car to the bay, he makes sure my car is kept in a bay if overnight.
When I go to pick it up,He brings my car out and parks it off to the side, away from the lessor cars
Do a walk around again,I always note the before and after Mileage.
Darrin also calls me a week later to make sure all is well.
Sorry for all your problems, hope all gets resolved, if so never take it back to that dealer, are good ones out there.

Even with my fake Roush I always get this kind of treatment at Dublin Ford. No one moves my car but my service manager, and I always get a ton of calls the following week from the service managers all the way up through the QC managers in the head shop. They're good people.

[spindlecone]

Must be a kali thing

[RED ROUSH WA]

I hear your pain...I no longer will go to EMPIRE FORD OF SPOKANE, WA due to there "Bull and Crappy Service and Abuse to Customers Cars!!! "A law is out there for each state but best go to the top contact Ford and ask for corp. managment under customer service. Ask what to do about this local dealer putting a bad name to Ford.I know it will stir up feathers and let them know next step is with a attorney. Good luck I just moved on to another dealership for repairs.Also tell Roush about that dealership and see if they will put some fire under them.Roush doesn't like poor dealerships that rep them.

[Scarface]

O.K O.K O.K , I have the solution for you. My co-worker was in the same situation. She bought an 06 GT convertible. A couple of weeks later someone took a knife and cut her convertible top. She brought it to the dealer to have a new top installed. 5 months (yes 5 months!!!) later and her top is still not installed. It was one excuse after another, the first top was the wrong part, waited a few weeks, the second top was torn from the factory, waited a few weeks, the 3rd top was't installed correctly and was damaged by the mechanic, waited a few weeks, the 4th top was damaged from being dragged off the truck, waited a few weeks, blah blah blah. In the meantime they gave here a rental Chevy Aveo to drive. One day during lunch, I noticed that she was really upset and asked her what was wrong, she told me that she paid for a brand new GT Mustang (monthly payment of $450) and she only had it for a few weeks before it was at the dealer for almost 1/2 the year. We checked into the Better Business Burea regarding the Lemon Law, unfornately, it doesn't fall into that catagory. I went down the dealership with her (the infamous Future Ford!!) and we sat down with the Service GM. We told him that we contacted the BB regarding the Lemon Law, we also told him our next step is to contact Channel Seven ( "On Your Side" segment) for them to do a story on this. Finally, I told him that I don't cared about our the excuses, the fact remains that she paid five car payments for a car that's been sitting at the dealer. The end result, she got a check for 5 car payments plus one free month. Try this approach and good luck.

[RSHWNBE]

Nothing like embarrassing a dealer to get what you want. A little stong-arming never hurts!

[Mustanger]

When we bought the 94GT here in Oregon it had 29k miles or so.. two weeks later some bearing in the transmission went out (5spd man.) Danny had it repaired in Calif as it wouldn't make it home, $400...the Oregon dealer at first refused to help at all...I went to the owner, after 5 trips, and being very pleasant but firm at all times he finally cut me a check for $200...I have since bought 4 more cars & a truck from him...I told him good customer relations paid off!

All the sales & service managers laughed & kept telling me I'd never get anything back...I went down there 3 times a week for more than a month, made appointment after appointment & bugged them politely constantly asking for fair treatment, in front of other customers too!. Since he would have repaired it for free his cost was around $200 & I was satisfied.

[Angel]

Originally Posted by RED ROUSH WA

I hear your pain...I no longer will go to EMPIRE FORD OF SPOKANE, WA due to there "Bull and Crappy Service and Abuse to Customers Cars!!! "A law is out there for each state but best go to the top contact Ford and ask for corp. managment under customer service. Ask what to do about this local dealer putting a bad name to Ford.I know it will stir up feathers and let them know next step is with a attorney. Good luck I just moved on to another dealership for repairs.Also tell Roush about that dealership and see if they will put some fire under them.Roush doesn't like poor dealerships that rep them.

First try the GM of Service with a scheduled meeting and presentation of your facts and documentation. [Show] them the evidence and use only your copies thereof. If this is not fruitful by a mutually agreed date, try RedRoush WA's approach.

Roush has gotten very strict about Dealer Compliance and here in Houston one Dealer was knocked out of Roush for it and had to smarten up and re-apply. Almost two years later, they are finally being re-considered for Roush Dealer Status. After, resolving all issues to Roush's satisfaction.