Dealer Apathy

[TRP]

Just a bit of a vent...........................


Will there ever be a day when the service department at any given Ford dealer is up to speed on EV's? My latest experience says they have a long way to go. Dropped car off, no service writer available so a (I don't know what you call them....car jockey ?‍ )took my key fob and I told him what it was in for and to have the service writer call me when they were available so we could get on the same page. 2 days later I hear back from said service writer explaining that they had actually forgot that my car was an EV and that there was only 1 EV tech and they would get to my car as soon as possible and would follow up the next day. I asked about the charge cord lock repair and was told they would look into that as well. No call the next day. Finally got a call today at the end of business, after they have had car for 6 full days, saying they actually couldn't get the part from Ford yet for the HVBJB and I'd have to bring it back later.

When I made the appointment I was told they would have to order the part first so we made the appointment a few weeks out so they had time. I was told that they would call back if there was an issue getting the part. No call back, so I drop car off at assigned time and date.

Asked about the charge cord lock update and was told they would have to do that another time because the customer has to ask for it to be done first. What? I did that 3 days ago when we talked.

Sorry for the rant.......I'm sure you don't want to hear it, or have had a worse experience. At this point I think this will be the last EV I purchase from Ford. I love the car but the dealer/service experience has not been stellar, to say the least.

I'm coming up on 80k miles soon and will drive the car well past 100K over the next 2 yrs, I'm sure. Then, I'll see what's available in the EV world and move on.

I am aware that living in rural TN is a big part of my issue.

A side note on charging at dealers...................I was in KY recently over a really unusual cold snap. I needed to get charged up to get home and the only available charges within my range were L2. I called the local Ford dealer to see if they had a charger. They did, (L2) but questioned me about why I needed one and did I purchase it from them, then reluctantly agreed that I could use it because my car was a Ford. Seriously? Then they had to move an ICE out of the way so I could actually use it when I got there too.

Seems to me that dealers just don't care anymore.

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[RickMachE]

I'd be on the phone to the dealership's GM.

 

[Tampamike]

Yep, I’ve seen all that. Just today, “let me call you back in a few.” Any guesses if I got that call?

 

[Dustus]

I have to say all these posts have me worried but I'm optimistic. My dealer called me about the recall before I could call them. They have scheduled a rental for me for the two day HVBJB repair. They are showing up at my house Wednesday morning to pickup my car and drop off my rental for me. They have the new junction box in stock already. They actually canceled on me once because the part showed that it was back ordered but then it arrived the next day anyway so they put me back on the schedule. So far so good. Great service. I will find out two days from now if it all pays off or all falls apart. Crossing fingers.

 

[AliRafiee]

I don’t see why it’s the dealer’s responsibility to provide charging of any kind. Free or not. Would you call them for a gallon of gas!

 

[TRP]

I'd be on the phone to the dealership's GM.

I intend to have a conversation with them............if they'll even talk to me

 

[TRP]

I don’t see why it’s the dealer’s responsibility to provide charging of any kind. Free or not. Would you call them for a gallon of gas!

This is a seperate issue from the dealer apathy, but "kinda" does fit the bill still

To be an EV certified dealer they need to have customer facing chargers, free or otherwise. I've never used one prior to that trip and will most likely not use one again.

It was just the attitude when I even asked if there was one available. At first I was directed to a few local L2 chargers that I was already aware of. Then I got the "did you purchase it here speech", then I was told, "well, I guess you can use ours since you own a Ford". I attempted to use the publicly available chargers first, all locations full. Reluctantly I went to the Ford dealer as it was my only option to get enough juice to get to an EA location.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Similar story rant here:

• Booked an appointment two weeks ahead of time and when the day came no EV tech was available
• Car stayed three days waiting...
• I finally went back and asked for the car back (if was Friday) and they gave me a Lightning loaner for as long as I needed it
• Still could not figure out what was wrong - it won't change on an L2 at anything higher than 32A - but they don't have an L2 powerful enough to test it
• Blamed it on an OTA in June without naming which one it was, but I think they were blaming it on the "derating" temp sensor issue
• Had the car a week, didn't solve the problem, I'm not sure they really even understand it
• All this was after the dealer I bought the car from wouldn't even look at it, and said it was my charger, or my wiring, or software and told me what's wrong with only being able to charge at 32A? Answer: because it used to charge at 40A with no issues....fuktard.
• At least I got to drive a Lightning for a week

I randomly found a local-ish YouTuber who needed some emergency repairs at a dealer about an hour away (they have a 48A L2 and the big Connected Home or whatever it's called) so I will be heading there. He raved about the EV tech so it's worth a shot.

But it's an unmitigated disaster right now.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Just a bit of a vent...........................


Will there ever be a day when the service department at any given Ford dealer is up to speed on EV's? My latest experience says they have a long way to go. Dropped car off, no service writer available so a (I don't know what you call them....car jockey ?‍ )took my key fob and I told him what it was in for and to have the service writer call me when they were available so we could get on the same page. 2 days later I hear back from said service writer explaining that they had actually forgot that my car was an EV and that there was only 1 EV tech and they would get to my car as soon as possible and would follow up the next day. I asked about the charge cord lock repair and was told they would look into that as well. No call the next day. Finally got a call today at the end of business, after they have had car for 6 full days, saying they actually couldn't get the part from Ford yet for the HVBJB and I'd have to bring it back later.

When I made the appointment I was told they would have to order the part first so we made the appointment a few weeks out so they had time. I was told that they would call back if there was an issue getting the part. No call back, so I drop car off at assigned time and date.

Asked about the charge cord lock update and was told they would have to do that another time because the customer has to ask for it to be done first. What? I did that 3 days ago when we talked.

Sorry for the rant.......I'm sure you don't want to hear it, or have had a worse experience. At this point I think this will be the last EV I purchase from Ford. I love the car but the dealer/service experience has not been stellar, to say the least.

I'm coming up on 80k miles soon and will drive the car well past 100K over the next 2 yrs, I'm sure. Then, I'll see what's available in the EV world and move on.

I am aware that living in rural TN is a big part of my issue.

A side note on charging at dealers...................I was in KY recently over a really unusual cold snap. I needed to get charged up to get home and the only available charges within my range were L2. I called the local Ford dealer to see if they had a charger. They did, (L2) but questioned me about why I needed one and did I purchase it from them, then reluctantly agreed that I could use it because my car was a Ford. Seriously? Then they had to move an ICE out of the way so I could actually use it when I got there too.

Seems to me that dealers just don't care anymore.

I’m sorry you had to deal with this. I don’t think this is a Tennessee issue. Dealers are bad everywhere. And unfortunately not only Ford dealers are bad. Most dealers are bad. I personally had terrible experiences with Chevy, Audi, Dodge, Acura, Toyota and Ford dealers.

My strategy is to buy a relatively inexpensive car that is the most reliable, find the best “service dealer” I could, and constantly remind myself that I will be disappointed every step of the way. That’s my way of coping with this bullshit.

I think this country has a real problem with many technical / mechanical fields of work. We are simply incapable of up-skilling people and instilling a good work ethics in them. They look down on their jobs and take zero pride in them.

That’s my rant.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I live in the SF Bay Area, which is an EV hotbed. I had problems getting the dealer I took my car to for an HVBJB replacement to call me back (as in the service writer never called me back, no matter if I sent him a text, left a voicemail, left a phone message with the receptionist, or sent an email) when I asked for status. When I got fed up and went there physically, the response I got was: "Huh, your car was done yesterday." I don't think it's just being in a rural area that's the problem. I think that a lot of the service writers are lazy as heck. ??

 

[Deleted member 19354]

Just a bit of a vent...........................


Will there ever be a day when the service department at any given Ford dealer is up to speed on EV's? My latest experience says they have a long way to go. Dropped car off, no service writer available so a (I don't know what you call them....car jockey ?‍ )took my key fob and I told him what it was in for and to have the service writer call me when they were available so we could get on the same page. 2 days later I hear back from said service writer explaining that they had actually forgot that my car was an EV and that there was only 1 EV tech and they would get to my car as soon as possible and would follow up the next day. I asked about the charge cord lock repair and was told they would look into that as well. No call the next day. Finally got a call today at the end of business, after they have had car for 6 full days, saying they actually couldn't get the part from Ford yet for the HVBJB and I'd have to bring it back later.

When I made the appointment I was told they would have to order the part first so we made the appointment a few weeks out so they had time. I was told that they would call back if there was an issue getting the part. No call back, so I drop car off at assigned time and date.

Asked about the charge cord lock update and was told they would have to do that another time because the customer has to ask for it to be done first. What? I did that 3 days ago when we talked.

Sorry for the rant.......I'm sure you don't want to hear it, or have had a worse experience. At this point I think this will be the last EV I purchase from Ford. I love the car but the dealer/service experience has not been stellar, to say the least.

I'm coming up on 80k miles soon and will drive the car well past 100K over the next 2 yrs, I'm sure. Then, I'll see what's available in the EV world and move on.

I am aware that living in rural TN is a big part of my issue.

A side note on charging at dealers...................I was in KY recently over a really unusual cold snap. I needed to get charged up to get home and the only available charges within my range were L2. I called the local Ford dealer to see if they had a charger. They did, (L2) but questioned me about why I needed one and did I purchase it from them, then reluctantly agreed that I could use it because my car was a Ford. Seriously? Then they had to move an ICE out of the way so I could actually use it when I got there too.

Seems to me that dealers just don't care anymore.

Multi dealers in the Seattle metro region have also been disappointing. Either business is so great they can pick and choose or they don’t care. I guess I was spoiled by Cadillac

 

[iam-s-Hon]

I live in the SF Bay Area, which is an EV hotbed. I had problems getting the dealer I took my car to for an HVBJB replacement to call me back (as in the service writer never called me back, no matter if I sent him a text, left a voicemail, left a phone message with the receptionist, or sent an email) when I asked for status. When I got fed up and went there physically, the response I got was: "Huh, your car was done yesterday." I don't think it's just being in a rural area that's the problem. I think that a lot of the service writers are lazy as heck. ??

I’m inclined to agree with this, with a dose of no real accountability for errors.

I, too, called ahead then brought the car in last Wed for hvbjb, charge cord and 30k tire rotation when informed the part was in. Only to be told Sat am (after trying to find out status on Fri afternoon) that they goofed on a part order and waiting for it. I’d prefer to know up front than find out by pestering. I will say something upon pick up if there is anyone who cares to hear a complaint intended to help the next customer.

and I’m only loaned a basic escape. The best thing I can say is that it has heated seats. Otherwise it’s barely 50% of my MME experience, if that.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

• At least I got to drive a Lightning for a week

What were your impressions of the Lightning? I usually get a POS Ford Gas SUV as a Loaner!!

 

[Old_Norm]

I don’t see why it’s the dealer’s responsibility to provide charging of any kind. Free or not. Would you call them for a gallon of gas!

Look up new technology, customer relations, good will gesture and intelligent marketing.

 

[curtisfinney]

I’m sorry you had to deal with this. I don’t think this is a Tennessee issue. Dealers are bad everywhere. And unfortunately not only Ford dealers are bad. Most dealers are bad. I personally had terrible experiences with Chevy, Audi, Dodge, Acura, Toyota and Ford dealers.

My strategy is to buy a relatively inexpensive car that is the most reliable, find the best “service dealer” I could, and constantly remind myself that I will be disappointed every step of the way. That’s my way of coping with this bullshit.

I think this country has a real problem with many technical / mechanical fields of work. We are simply incapable of up-skilling people and instilling a good work ethics in them. They look down on their jobs and take zero pride in them.

That’s my rant.

I live in Minneapolis and Bloomington Subaru is a great dealer. There are some good dealers out there, but it’s definitely not the norm.

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