Don't Trust Your Ford Dealers Service Department

[Deleted member 11730]

I brought my 2022 MME Premium RWD in to my dealer this morning for the 10K tire rotation and after five minutes they came into the waiting room and called me over and said we are so sorry but the valet crashed your car while parking it in the lot. Unbelievable, Ford cannot even get competent drivers who know how to drive an EV or MME properly. I immediately asked to speak to the service manager who told me do not worry we will take care of everything and we will just log it as a scheduled maintenance and will not report it to insurance. They provided me with a loaner vehicle and told me they would call me with an estimation of when the car will be ready as soon as their body shop determined the extent of the damage.

 

[4sallypat]

Ouch!

Hope they replace the parts and not just spray paint & bondo it...

Had that happen when I had a Land Rover - they backed it into an overhang.

Range Rover loaner for a month was not a bad deal.

 

[azerik]

Ouch!

Hope they replace the parts and not just spray paint & bondo it...

THAT exactly. They should be able to order the pre-painted part. I wouldn't let them bork up the front end with manual paint on a 1 yr old car. The wheel arch should be no problem. The front bumper might be able to touch up and buff. I'd ask for the front to be PPE'd for your time/trouble/depreciation.

 

[ElectrikPony]

My car also was damaged at the dealer. It’s been an ugly situation.

 

[Deleted member 11730]

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree I would want all new parts. No bondo. I think the headlight lens is cracked also. So I want a new headlight too.

 

[heisnuts]

Wow, that really sucks. I am sorry.

However, at least it sounds like they are doing the right thing by coming forward right away, taking care of it on the spot and not reporting it to Carfax as an accident.

 

[Maquis]

I won’t trust your dealer’s service department. Mine is just fine.

 

[Logal727]

Sounds like they were pretty upfront about it.

 

[timbop]

That sucks, and I get you're upset. But WTF does Ford Motor Company have to do with it? Do you not understand that dealerships are not "company stores"? Even if they were, to expect perfection all the time is ludicrous.

That valet could have worked for any company anywhere and made the same mistake - even working for a Tesla service center. I bet you've even screwed up at your job at least once.

Seriously: it sucks but one accident does not a trend make

 

[WNKent]

Not sure I can indict all of them, but MINE... I bought the Ford back bumper guard PPF and paid for them to install it, which they did and it was full of air bubbles I took the car home, thinking that the bubbles will dry up and they never did. I went back, showed it to my service advisor, who was completely embarrassed. He said they would take care of it; on day #2, I got a call to come to the dealership, when I arrived, I was taken into a back office and was told that there was an "issue" with removing the film. The guy heated the film to remove it and apparently, ripped it off and in doing so, ripped off the paint! They had to repaint the whole piece. 10 days later, it was painted and sent out to a shop that had experience of applying such film and it's perfect. I travel for work and roller bags are in and out of the back of the car, weekly. In reality the film is unnecessary, even in a scenario removing a bag from the back of the car, wheels would never touch that area. If your're tinking about getting this accessory, don't bother.

 

[scoopman]

My take on this is that you should follow your own advice in the title of your post and NOT TRUST THE DEALER to fix the damage they caused.

If you really want to make sure it is fixed properly, you tell the dealer that you are taking it to the body shop of YOUR CHOICE and the dealer will be paying for the repair in full without any insurance involved.

You are to get this pledge from the dealer in writing along after providing the dealer with the estimate from your body shop.

Anything else, the dealer will give it to the body shop they have a relationship with for cars that are damaged by the dealer, and the dealer will instruct the shop to cut corners where possible to save the dealer money.

Of course, your other option is to just take the dealer's insurance information and tell the dealer you will be making a claim against them that includes diminished value.

Just my 2 cents, that's how I would be handling it.

What happened to the dingbat who can't park your car? What did they hit with your car? Someone else's car in for service?

 

[timbop]

My take on this is that you should follow your own advice in the title of your post and NOT TRUST THE DEALER to fix the damage they caused.

If you really want to make sure it is fixed properly, you tell the dealer that you are taking it to the body shop of YOUR CHOICE and the dealer will be paying for the repair in full without any insurance involved.

You are to get this pledge from the dealer in writing along after providing the dealer with the estimate from your body shop.

Anything else, the dealer will give it to the body shop they have a relationship with for cars that are damaged by the dealer, and the dealer will instruct the shop to cut corners where possible to save the dealer money.

Of course, your other option is to just take the dealer's insurance information and tell the dealer you will be making a claim against them that includes diminished value.

Just my 2 cents, that's how I would be handling it.

What happened to the dingbat who can't park your car? What did they hit with your car? Someone else's car in for service?

Really? The lowest paid guy - who has nothing to do with the body shop or the mechanics - screwed up, and you discard the whole department? That sounds a little extreme, doesn't it? Doing what you advocate does not mean that another careless guy at the "body shop of his choice" doesn't screw up.

The dealership screwed up and they're admitting it and willing to make it right. Shouldn't he give them a shot at it first?

 

[scoopman]

Really? The lowest paid guy - who has nothing to do with the body shop or the mechanics - screwed up, and you discard the whole department? That sounds a little extreme, doesn't it? Doing what you advocate does not mean that another careless guy at the "body shop of his choice" doesn't screw up.

The dealership screwed up and they're admitting it and willing to make it right. Shouldn't he give them a shot at it first?

I wouldn't.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

My Toyota dealer's driver did this to my Tacoma. I asked to talk to the driver and in front of the manager, gave them my card and told them that this happens and that's what insurance is for. If the manager did anything to punish them, I wanted to know.

The dealer paid for the repairs done by an independent body shop and gave me a loaner Tacoma (which I used to tow my travel trailer for a week-long camping trip as they did the damage just as I was getting ready to leave on said camping trip).

Accidents happen. If they're making it right, then they're doing the right thing. If they had refused to acknowledge the damage or pay to have it fixed, then I would agree with your title, but it sounds like they're going to do the right thing.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Sorry this happened to you.

It shouldn’t be reported as an accident since their General Liability insurance should be taking care of this since it took place as a part of their work on your car, just like if a gardener damaged your house as a result of mowing your lawn.

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