Dealership service denied

[Bmadda]

You guys are kinda starting to see the big picture now! When I was working in the dealership we used to (half jokingly) say "warranty=slavery". Nobody is ever gonna care tho, till customers complain, then Ford will listen! Threads like these are heartwarming! The dealership i bought mine from wants NOTHING to do w/me service wise...and I guess I get it...they know once I'm out of warranty I'm gone cause I do my own work, but to a certain degree that hurts other departments in that dealership. I have bought 2 vehicles there, and I'm a wholesale parts customer, and can't help feeling a little "put out" by the attitude I get from the service dept. Sure feels wierd wearing "customer shoes", but I totally get what you guys are saying!

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[MannyG20]

@Ford Motor Company - this is going to become more and more common. You need to fix it somehow. If I buy from a local dealer and then move and can’t get service from another dealer I will sell and go to another brand.
increase pay for warranty service.
open up warranty service to independent mechanics.
do something.​

 

[indio22]

Assuming you have no idea what it takes to be a technician today. 1st you have to good with your hands and be willing to get dirty. 2nd you need to willing to start out making very little money. Not to mention you'll need to invest about 100 grand in tools. And you'll need to be smart enough to work on the modern car that's a rolling computer. Not many people have all of those qualities

I've always wondered, what's up with the tools thing? Every job I've worked, the employer provided the tools, including all my manual labor jobs. I work in IT now, and my employer doesn't expect me to pay thousands in computer hardware and stuff to do my job. Having to buy 100K in tools would bite.

 

[redvettx2]

This is exactly why I have not bought a Ford in 25 years. Their dealers suck and Fords warranty is the worst in the business period. If I spent 60K at a dealer and they refuse to work on it I would fire that bitch up, call the local news and through the dealerships front window it would go. I am week away from purchase and I already had enough Ford. The shitty dealers and the lack of communication is horrible, and I have not even bought this POS. I am flipping and staying clear of Ford. They have destroyed the whole purchase process. I still can't get a straight price from my dealer because Ford is so fucked up their own dealers can't figure out there fucked up pricing system.

 

[Todd308]

So what happened to all the techs? They didn't all die from covid, they certainly didn't all retire, did they all just move onto better jobs? I doubt hard working folks that were techs before covid all just decided to be lazy and sit on the couch now.

Did they get better jobs in other mechanical fields, did they move onto dealers that pay better, etc.?

Just curious really, we have a couple other brands of cars, and while during covid there were of course issues getting service, parts etc, but those dealers seem to have recovered in terms of reasonable service times. You might not get the old "Sure bring it in this afternoon" response but wait times are reasonable as long as they have parts.

Does it fall into the same area we're starting to learn about a lot of industries where it's really not about shortages, it's about the companies make higher profits with much lower overhead keeping demand high and cutting service quality while still getting to blame Covid.

 

[FLSTFI Dave]

Dealer I bought mine from is a 6 week wait for service, even warranty. Pretty much all dealers in the area are 4 to 8 week wait. All are short staffed.

 

[Calm horse]

Mercedes dealer just told me same thing...they are not interested in working on if you have not purchased from them or have been an existing customer...it was most likely a good thing as I found a great bavarian shop to work on it.

 

[Bmadda]

So what happened to all the techs? They didn't all die from covid, they certainly didn't all retire, did they all just move onto better jobs? I doubt hard working folks that were techs before covid all just decided to be lazy and sit on the couch now.

Did they get better jobs in other mechanical fields, did they move onto dealers that pay better, etc.?

Just curious really, we have a couple other brands of cars, and while during covid there were of course issues getting service, parts etc, but those dealers seem to have recovered in terms of reasonable service times. You might not get the old "Sure bring it in this afternoon" response but wait times are reasonable as long as they have parts.

Does it fall into the same area we're starting to learn about a lot of industries where it's really not about shortages, it's about the companies make higher profits with much lower overhead keeping demand high and cutting service quality while still getting to blame Covid.

I don't know if this is the norm everywhere else, but I quit in 2004 (so not quite 20 years ago). Currently there is only one tech still at that dealership that I know from back then. I don't know how many are employed there now, but the dealership itself has grown substantially, and has nearly completed building a second location. When I started I was Hired by a service manager who had been there 30 years, trained by a fella who had been in the dealership 20+ years, and virtually everyone in that shop had been there 10+, one guy had been there 30+, and retired after 45 years. This just isn't the way it goes anymore it seems, the dealerships are getting bigger, the customer base is growing, but this business is not at all attractive to new people...there are just so many easier ways to make your money. Jobs that require zero skills or investment pay equal or better. Each time the labor rate went up we would ask for our share, and get told we can't have any more, meanwhile cost of living went up as well, and pretty soon what was a profitable career turned into us working just to say we had a job. Maybe things will improve in years to come? Who knows? I'm glad I'm out of there tho!

 

[Rednek]

The struggle for trained dealer techs is real,I'm a working shop foreman and the only transmission and ev trained tech within 100mile radius and i am booked out 2-4 weeks and only getting worse.We are seriously short staffed with 3 techs moving on since Jan this year (thanks ford warranty times!) the explanation i've gotten from these techs is they can't cut it on flatrate warranty so going to aftermarket shops for straight time.Thank goodness i only have 10 years till retirement

 

[Gnomad]

I knew a guy who ran a trade school for mechanics. Basically he trained techs to get the skills needed at a dealership and once they had enough dealer time and experience they went to work at indie shops for some real money.
Too many techs are making McDonalds wages while having to pay for their schooling and tools, and HF tools aren't going to make any money for the techs. It's kind of like the field I work in, where one has to be computer savvy, but still be willing to get dirty. Everyone wants to be a tiktok star instead of doing the work that keeps the country actually functioning. It's a generalztion in people's minds, but this entire thread is kind of proof that it's happening and the best we can hope for is the robots to learn repair as well as manufacture.

 

[RagnarKon]

So what happened to all the techs? They didn't all die from covid, they certainly didn't all retire, did they all just move onto better jobs? I doubt hard working folks that were techs before covid all just decided to be lazy and sit on the couch now.

Did they get better jobs in other mechanical fields, did they move onto dealers that pay better, etc.?

Can only speak for myself... but...

For me it was simple economics. Starting wages in the auto tech field when I was coming up through school was $18-$20/hr... or roughly $37,000 a year... often with no sick pay or retirement. Starting wages as a mechanical engineer was $55,000 with full benefits. It cost me $18,000 to go to a 4-year university and get an engineering degree... so... yeah. Easy choice. School pays for itself after the first year in the engineering field.

To be honest I wanted to be an automotive technician going through high school. And if money was not a factor I probably would be much happier as an auto tech compared to what I'm doing now. But I'm sitting here seeing that wages for auto techs maxes out at around $100k - $110k (those in the field can correct me if I'm wrong). Meanwhile I was making $110k only five years into my engineering career... so... it's really no contest.

Would not all be surprised if those currently in the field had some extra time to consider their life while sitting at home during Covid, and decided to make a change. And obviously kids coming up through school now have very little incentive to go into the auto tech field.

 

[Morrisattack]

Can only speak for myself... but...

For me it was simple economics. Starting wages in the auto tech field when I was coming up through school was $18-$20/hr... or roughly $37,000 a year... often with no sick pay or retirement. Starting wages as a mechanical engineer was $55,000 with full benefits. It cost me $18,000 to go to a 4-year university and get an engineering degree... so... yeah. Easy choice. School pays for itself after the first year in the engineering field.

To be honest I wanted to be an automotive technician going through high school. And if money was not a factor I probably would be much happier as an auto tech compared to what I'm doing now. But I'm sitting here seeing that wages for auto techs maxes out at around $100k - $110k (those in the field can correct me if I'm wrong). Meanwhile I was making $110k only five years into my engineering career... so... it's really no contest.

Would not all be surprised if those currently in the field had some extra time to consider their life while sitting at home during Covid, and decided to make a change. And obviously kids coming up through school now have very little incentive to go into the auto tech field.

We just talked about this the other day. You really need a mechanical engineering degree to work on the modern car. If you had that why would you work on cars? Like I said in a earlier post you'll need about 100k in tools to make any money. And If you was good at it I'd say it would take you 10 to 15 years to make A hundred grand a year

 

[Broncoman23]

Our golden retriever needs grooming; called the groomer and got the answering machine that said they had no appointments until June (2 months out) and they would call me back at the end of the day. Guess his spa day is a ways off. Oh well.

 

[timhood]

I purchased my month old 2023 Wildtrak about 30 miles from my home and the dealer has a sister dealership closer to my home. I made an appointment at the closer dealership to have my HVAC issues addressed (under warranty) and have to wait until end of April for a loaner - yes, a month since I made it in March. It was interesting they had no idea I owned the vehicle. Apparently the owner of the dealerships (4+) doesn't work off a shared system...so be it.

While waiting, I went to a closer Ford dealer near my home (not owned by the dealer I purchased from) to see if I can get an appt sooner address the issue - with or without a loaner. They asked me if I bought the car there (which I didn't) and told me they would not perform any service on my vehicle, other than a quick oil change. I asked why and was told they have limited resources and would only work on purchasing customer cars. Seriously!? What kind of service is this? I should be able to bring my vehicle to any Ford dealership, especially for warranty work. I cannot believe Ford (corporate) would allow dealers to turn away Ford vehicle owners. Am I missing something? Anyone else having a similar experience?

Your thoughts @Ford Motor Company?

Call again for service and this time, tell them you did buy it from them.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I purchased my month old 2023 Wildtrak about 30 miles from my home and the dealer has a sister dealership closer to my home. I made an appointment at the closer dealership to have my HVAC issues addressed (under warranty) and have to wait until end of April for a loaner - yes, a month since I made it in March. It was interesting they had no idea I owned the vehicle. Apparently the owner of the dealerships (4+) doesn't work off a shared system...so be it.

While waiting, I went to a closer Ford dealer near my home (not owned by the dealer I purchased from) to see if I can get an appt sooner address the issue - with or without a loaner. They asked me if I bought the car there (which I didn't) and told me they would not perform any service on my vehicle, other than a quick oil change. I asked why and was told they have limited resources and would only work on purchasing customer cars. Seriously!? What kind of service is this? I should be able to bring my vehicle to any Ford dealership, especially for warranty work. I cannot believe Ford (corporate) would allow dealers to turn away Ford vehicle owners. Am I missing something? Anyone else having a similar experience?

Your thoughts @Ford Motor Company?

Hey there! This doesn't sound like the experience we want you to have. If you send over a DM, I can assist with your concern on my end.

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