thestumper
Active Member
- Joined
- August 28, 2013
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2013 Ford Explorer Sport
This place scares me...
Lust a little
Had I found this forum before buying my 2013 Sport, I might have made a different decision.
I've come from a long line of Japanese iron, and without exception they have been rock solid from a reliability perspective. I can only remember one recall and a 3-4 annoyance issues (across 8 or so cars...) that were fixed promptly and politely by the dealer - no questions asked. I spent time on those forums in the past and it strikes me that there seems to be a disturbingly high proportion of problem-posts here, and what really concerns me is the cavalier/ignorant attitude of some of the dealers and Ford in general. I understand that problems happen, and I don't expect Ford to be like Infinity or Lexus with regards to their service process. However, I do expect them to at least be like Honda/Nissan/Subaru/Mazda and honor their warranty claims without a fight, stock (or at least have access to) common parts, and provide some sort of compensation (loaner car, etc.) for vehicles that are out of commission for more than a day or two. That's how I have been treated for the past 15 years and I don't think it's a stretch to expect the same from Ford, or any of the American manufacturers. That is simply the bar that has been set. Ford can build a 21st century vehicle, but it can't service and sell them like it's 1960 and expect customers to remain loyal.
So far my Sport has been rock solid, but then it only has 12,000 miles on it. I bought it because it met my needs better than anything on the market at this time. I like the styling, love the performance, and enjoy the amenities that abound in the vehicle. I had hoped that American manufacturers had turned the corner on reliability and customer service, but I'm starting to second guess that assumption. I don't have time to troll GM and Chrysler boards to see what issue pop up there, but again, every vehicle has problems. My concern centers around how those problems are rectified. I'm actually nervous about having to take my vehicle to my dealer if anything crops up. Will they hassle me? Will they have the necessary parts in stock? How long will the vehicle be down? I've never had to worry about this in the past.
Maybe it's just a confidence thing. I love my 'truck' and I'm hoping to get many trouble free miles out of it. I felt good about buying American after so many years on the other side of the fence, and I hope the decision turns out to be justified. Perhaps in time my paranoia will wane; after all, it's not like the vast majority of people without problems post up at random saying "My Explorer is great!!!" or "I had no issues with my Explorer this week!!!".
So let me be the first: My Explorer ROCKED... this week...
Lust a little
Had I found this forum before buying my 2013 Sport, I might have made a different decision.
I've come from a long line of Japanese iron, and without exception they have been rock solid from a reliability perspective. I can only remember one recall and a 3-4 annoyance issues (across 8 or so cars...) that were fixed promptly and politely by the dealer - no questions asked. I spent time on those forums in the past and it strikes me that there seems to be a disturbingly high proportion of problem-posts here, and what really concerns me is the cavalier/ignorant attitude of some of the dealers and Ford in general. I understand that problems happen, and I don't expect Ford to be like Infinity or Lexus with regards to their service process. However, I do expect them to at least be like Honda/Nissan/Subaru/Mazda and honor their warranty claims without a fight, stock (or at least have access to) common parts, and provide some sort of compensation (loaner car, etc.) for vehicles that are out of commission for more than a day or two. That's how I have been treated for the past 15 years and I don't think it's a stretch to expect the same from Ford, or any of the American manufacturers. That is simply the bar that has been set. Ford can build a 21st century vehicle, but it can't service and sell them like it's 1960 and expect customers to remain loyal. So far my Sport has been rock solid, but then it only has 12,000 miles on it. I bought it because it met my needs better than anything on the market at this time. I like the styling, love the performance, and enjoy the amenities that abound in the vehicle. I had hoped that American manufacturers had turned the corner on reliability and customer service, but I'm starting to second guess that assumption. I don't have time to troll GM and Chrysler boards to see what issue pop up there, but again, every vehicle has problems. My concern centers around how those problems are rectified. I'm actually nervous about having to take my vehicle to my dealer if anything crops up. Will they hassle me? Will they have the necessary parts in stock? How long will the vehicle be down? I've never had to worry about this in the past.
Maybe it's just a confidence thing. I love my 'truck' and I'm hoping to get many trouble free miles out of it. I felt good about buying American after so many years on the other side of the fence, and I hope the decision turns out to be justified. Perhaps in time my paranoia will wane; after all, it's not like the vast majority of people without problems post up at random saying "My Explorer is great!!!" or "I had no issues with my Explorer this week!!!".
So let me be the first: My Explorer ROCKED... this week...
Also my dealership has been exceptional as well.
