First Service

[lexrid]

Let them keep the car, maybe it'll count against the number of days out of service for the lemon law proceedings, if things get the bad.

Hope it all works out for you one way or another.

Thanks, VinceL.

I have decided that they're keeping the car for the weekend. I still have to go in and extend the paperwork for the loaner I've had for 4 weeks now. When I go in I'm going to hand them a very detailed list of expectations for their last attempt at fixing this. The last item of which will be DO NOT call me until everything is finished, completely detailed and they're confident that the paint is perfect and that there is no overspray or other indicators of careless paint work anywhere on the car. I want them to make sure the car is inspected by no less than 4 people, one being the sales manager as if it were there for a trade in.

I've been very reasonable with them up to this point but I see where that's gotten me.

 

[cnsheets]

I had some work done after I was rear ended and the body shop that did the work claims that they "return the vehicle to factory specs" and also have a lifetime warranty on all repair work. When I picked the vehicle up after the repairs, there were scratches in some of the body moldings, an area of paint chipped from them prying the moldings off, screw heads were gouged out and rounded out, bolt heads were rounded and paint scratched off, a sticky black residue everywhere...paint splotch on my dash, and the interior was covered in a fine dust. Worse, the paint did not match. I of course went off and asked how any of that was "factory spec" and told them no way in hell did it come from the factory like that. Needless to say, the body shop general manager took care of everything personally and a week later everything was taken care. They ordered and replaced all damaged moldings and screws and bolts etc...... You just have to keep the pressure on them and don't accept anything less.....

 

[FordService]

Thanks, Cory. I will PM you the details shortly...

You’re welcome, lexrid; in case you didn’t see, I shot you a reply.

Cory

 

[jrmexplorer]

Thanks, Cory. I will PM you the details shortly.

The service adviser just called me. He says that he met with the service manager and also the regional manager for the body shop. He says the body shop manager has acknowledged these issues and has asked for one more shot. Apparently, Ford will only pay warranty claims if this body shop does the work. So, the adviser wants this body shop to get another try now with the regional manager overseeing the repair. If they still can't get it right, they'll use a new body shop. I have expressed my concern with this body shop and that I'm not confident that this, being the 5th or 6th attempt they'll be able to get it right.

They've asked if I want to pick up the car for the weekend and bring it back Monday or just keep the loaner. I'm torn. I really want the Ex back, but the principal of the deal, why should I take a flawed car back just to have to drop it off again on Monday.

I've also expressed my displeasure with paying pretty handsomely each month for this car that I haven't had in 4 weeks and won't really have back for some time while they continue to try and get this right. They've not offered much consolation or any compensation for this time without my car and major hassle. Each time I mention it they brush it off.

Maybe contact from Cory will show them that I'm starting to bring others into this mess.

This sucks.

I'm a bit surprised that Ford would mess around with this particular shop anymore. If I were the dealer I'd ship it out to someone else ASAP just to protect my reputation.

 

[cnsheets]

Lexrid any updates?

 

[lexrid]

Spoke with someone at Corporate Ford Service Rep on Tuesday. In telling her about the multiple attempts to get the hood correct and about the damage that had been done to other portions of the car in the process, not to mention the carelessness with overspray and other issues that if not mitigated could potentially affect resale down the road. She responded with a little bit of surprise. Surprise that led me to believe that the folks she spoke with at the dealership/body shop hadn't been forthcoming about all of the details of this debacle.

She asked, why didn't I call corporate sooner. Reason, the dealership was taking a week or so for each attempt. So by the second attempt we're two weeks out. I told her that I didn't expect for this to get as out of hand as it has. I felt like I was being reasonable and giving them the benefit of the doubt that they'd actually get it right.

I also let her know that I've paid 1 (rather large) payment on the vehicle since the dealership has had it in this 5 week span of time and have another one coming due very soon. Her response was, they've provided you a longer car, correct. To which I responded with, yes, but it's not nearly as nice as my car nor is my car. She said she understood my frustration and they will discuss compensation with me once the car is finished and finished correctly, but sort of dismissively.

She informed me that the dealership told them (Corporate) that the vehicle would be finished and ready for delivery on Thursday. To which, I responded with surprise, because the dealership up to that point had not called me with an update and they were unwilling to even estimate time for this attempt.

The call with the corporate rep ended with, "I'd like for the Corporate Customer Service Manager to follow up with the dealership about these details that you've given me today. Please expect to hear from her on Thursday."

Here we are Thursday. Have not heard from the dealership nor have I heard from Corporate again. I'm not sure what to do at this point, I was hoping not to have to move forward with researching a Lemon Law claim but at this point it may be the only way to resolve the issue.

Wow, that was a long winded response, but I guess it's good to get all of this down in writing somewhere. I'll update when I've got more.

 

[EX-SV]

Amazing, but this started badly when they said wait 2 weeks for a loaner car.

 

[lexrid]

Just got a call from the dealership. They applied the new clearcoat today and it's currently curing. Their plan is to begin buffing in the morning. They claim the car will be ready tomorrow afternoon. But...this is the same call I've gotten on Thursday for the past few weeks, so we'll see if 1. it really is ready tomorrow and 2. if it actually looks correct.

 

[lexrid]

Got a call from the dealership today, they got the car back from the body shop. I stopped in on my way home from work to take a look. It certainly looks better than any of the previous attempts. I'll reserve final judgement until it's completely detailed and check it over one final time.

In order to get the drivers door correct they had to remove the B-pillar molding (driver door, so that includes the keypad). Apparently that piece doesn't come off easily and they ended up destroying it. They removed the piece on Monday and certainly knew at that point they were going to have to order a new one, but waited until today to order the new one for some reason.

So, now the Ex is sitting at the dealership until the part comes in on Tuesday morning. That gives them plenty of time to detail it and make sure it's very clean, I guess.

After 5.5 weeks this debacle may be close to an end.

Also, I've not heard anything more from the folks at Corporate. They claimed they'd call me on Thursday to discuss this situation further. Hopefully I hear from them on Monday. I'd like to discuss compensation for this mess before I take possession of the car again, given it really is acceptable on Tuesday.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

 

[lexrid]

Update time. At this point I'm not really sure where to go from here. I'm absolutely drained by this entire debacle and have become pretty numb to it.

Got a call from Corporate Customer Service early this afternoon. They had just spoken with the dealer, dealer says the car will be ready soon for pick up. They sent it to detail one last time after putting the new B-pillar molding on. She said that she'd like to follow up with me on Friday after I've had the car back a few days and we'll proceed from there, I said fine, because I wasn't confident the car would really be done.

Got a call from the dealership this afternoon, come pick up your car, it's done. I stopped in on my way home from work to look it over. The hood looks better than it has in the previous 4 attempts a few blemishes, but at this point, I'll take it. Then I take a closer look at the bumper. The last time I saw the car it was still covered in buffing compound and dust so I couldn't see every spot. Sure enough the scratches that the body shop had put into the bumper on try number one about 4 weeks ago were still there.

I'm going to cut out all of the stammering that happened for a while as I was describing to the service adviser that he was standing there when I pointed these out to the body shop weeks and weeks ago. I also added in a few, you've had my car for 5 and half weeks and this is what I get, over and over. He wanted me to wait a few minutes while he got the service manager and the area manager from the body shop to talk with me. As you know, I asked for this a week and a half ago.

Met with all of them around the car. Pointing out the issues still there. Assuring them that they caused this damage. I would never create things like this to get previous damage fixed because, 1. it's not right and 2. I have 0 confidence the body shop would get it right at this point. Area manager from the body shop says, oh those will buff out really easily. To which I responded, why hasn't that been done in the last 3-4 weeks that you've known about the issue! They marked with tape all of the issues I still had and said they'd buff them out and have the car ready by noon tomorrow.

The saga continues...

 

[EX-SV]

Have you had use of a decent loaner car all this time?

 

[lexrid]

Have you had use of a decent loaner car all this time?

A 2010 Taurus Limited. It's OK, but it's not the Ex. The wife has been driving it most of the time since the Explorer is her daily driver.

 

[lexrid]

Well, this mess is just about over. I picked the Explorer up from the dealership at lunch and after 5.5 weeks it is finally in my possession again.

The door looks good with the new paint and new B-pillar molding. The hood looks good. There are a few minor blemishes and spots around the edge of the hood that aren't 100% but at this point I'm probably the only one that will ever notice those spots. The bumper damage they caused has been buffed out of the painted portion. They ended up having to replace the black plastic trim piece around the front passenger wheel because of the scratches they put in that piece and couldn't get out.

When I speak with Corporate on Friday, I will discuss with them whether they're willing to compensate me for any of the time/effort/headache/lack of use, etc. Hopefully they'll offer something. My other option is to still go with a Lemon Law claim, which as I've mentioned before, I don't really want to do. Once that loop is closed I will finally be able to move on.

 

[lexrid]

Spoke with Corporate Customer Service today, after a little coaxing they've offered to reimburse me for the car payment that was made while the car was at the dealership.

They certainly could have told me to get lost, but I feel like they did the right thing. It's better than nothing at this point.

The end is in sight. Now that we've had the car back for a few days, we've been able to test some of the other fixes that were made.

The "tin roof" TSB seems to have not only fixed that issue, but has made a significant improvement on the "wind tunnel" issues from the bluetooth. They also updated us from 2.8 to 2.11, but in reading the other threads, that update did nothing for bluetooth issues.

So far, no peep from the new a-pillars, but it originally took a while for that one to surface, so I'll reserve final judgement for a few more months.

TSB to address the greasy window streaks appears to have done the trick as well.

Front door blackout film is good now, no more wrinkles.

Hood is aligned properly now.

Can't speak to the phantom wiper swipe yet. Seemed to happen most often driving from a shaded area into a sunny area and vice versa. Haven't been in that situation yet.

I hope this thread has helped someone. It certainly has helped me to be able to vent about the mess this past 5.5 weeks has been. Happy Exploring!