Isn’t the Escape Ford’s most-recalled model ever?
Again I can’t speak for Ford, but we have the oppsite problem. We decide to have a recall on Monday, word gets out on the internet. Tuesday morning we have customers calling the dealer and we have not even had a chance to order the upgraded parts yet, much less ship them out. :smack:
then of course all of those customers think we are assholes.
Bumping due to posters’ request for an update- I hope that this doesn’t violate protocol.
I just got off the phone with the guy whose last name happens to be the name on the dealership- he’s normally a pretty straight shooter, and respects my family’s buying history there (I bought the Happy Scrappy Malibu there because my dad, who is a piss-poor haggler [sorry, Pop, you are] walked out of there three times with a decent car and minus about the right amount of money).
So, I told him that I had taken a day off work to drop my car off based on the time estimate of the service guy, at the time designated for my repair by the service guy, only to have the service guy tell me that he had neither the time nor the parts to do the recall repair he made an appointment with me to do. If you’ve ever spoken to me, I have a pretty genial voice until I get riled. I gave him the “riled” voice, and, well, let’s just say that they’re going to take care of it tomorrow afternoon while I fly off to spend the weekend in Ontario.
Bitches better wash it, too. And I need some new floor mats. Yeah, floor mats.
Wow, that sucks! I miss the dealership where I used to take my car before I moved. They were awesome. Last time I had a problem, I called them, and I got it in the same day, and they had it done in the exact time they said they would, by the end of the day, plus when I picked it up, they were all, “we saw in the computer that there was a recall out for your car, so we went ahead and fixed that too, and we noticed that random thingie on my windshield wiper needs replacing, so you’ll want to do that soon, but we went ahead and tightened it up so you can get by for a little while longer, and we saw that your tire was low, so we checked that out and patched it, all at no extra charge.”
Another time, I desperately needed a fan installed for my heater. I was going on a long, unexpected car trip, and it was winter, and my dad was going to install it for me, I just needed the part. It was a Saturday, and I was calling all over the place, and just about everywhere was closed. I stopped by there, and their parts department was closed, but one of the sales guys knew of a store that was open, so he called for me and even got me a sizeable discount. I’d never bought a car there, hadn’t even brought my car there for service yet.
So if anyone’s in the Rochester, MN, area, I highly recommend Viking Olds.
If I may join in on the “tales of dealer crap”?
When I took my Camaro to the local Chevy dealer for work, their lot-monkeys thought I was gone and laid down rubber moving it into the shop. I casually asked to test drive a new Camaro, and managed about 4 blistering, smoking donuts in the lot before the saleshole reached over and turned off the key. Sauce for the goose, as it were.
I received three recall notices in the year following my purchase of 2004 Toyota Sienna. So after I scheduled laser surgery, I called the Toyota dealer to arrange an appointment for the same day of my surgery, knowing that I wouldn’t need the van. I gave them three weeks notice that I was bringing in the van.
I picked the van up on the day after and when I went to check out I noticed that the print out said “Service not complete - part not in stock” next to one of the line items. I questioned it and the manager shrugged and said that they didn’t have the part and that I could bring it in at my earliest convenience to have the repair done. No apology, just a shrug.
They say this as if being without your car for three hours is akin to having your oil changed. Screw that. Dropping off your car for three hours is a major hassle, especially when the dealer is a half an hour away. Needless to say, I was not happy and told the manager that if a customer gives three weeks notice for a scheduled repair, the damn part should be in stock.
I still haven’t taken the van in again. I suppose I’ll wait for the next three recalls before I make another appointment “at my earliest convenience.”
Rat bastids.
I wondered myself, but I didn’t think anyone could remake the magic of the death rays 
They did once. In 1960.
Ooh! Ooh! Can I add my dealership-recall story ?
I’d gotten a recall notice for my t-bird (faulty headlight switch) and had taken it to the dealership to have that replaced. Driving home that night I suddenly found myself without headlights. I checked the reciept they gave me (I know now that I should check these things before leaving) and saw the note “No problem found, no work performed.”
WTF? says I. And the car ends up back at the dealership the next day. The service manager has no idea why the recall work wasn’t done and agrees with me that the switch should have been replaced whether or not the mechanic found a problem. I get the car back, but I wasn’t able to pick it up until after the sercive dept had closed. Checked the reciept; yep: “No problem found, no work performed.”
I was pretty pissed. The next day, I called Ford at the number listed on one of the recall sites and gave them the dealership’s name and location and explained what had happened and that they were apparently unwilling to perform the recall work. They directed me to call the dealership back and let them know that I’d called and was giving them one last opportunity to correct the problem. I then called the service manager back and told him that I was pissed; I’d brought my car in twice to have recall work done (i.e. no toubleshooting needed, just replace the damned part) and would have to bring it in a third time to have this relatively simple repair done. I’d missed two days of work and would now have to miss a third (no car=no work for me at the time). He told me that they had a policy of not compensating customers for time missed from work. I asked if they had a policy of not performing recall work; he didn’t appreciate that at all. I ended up speaking to the owner of the dealership who, after what seemed a long conversation but probably wasn’t, offered me $100 credit (which I spent on custom floor mats, as I’ll never again let them near the workings of my car), which was more than I really thought I 'd get out of them. I think he wanted to make sure that this didn’t end up back with corporate.
In typing this, I realize I’m still pissed about it, so fuck you very much, Thoroughbred Ford!