Problem w/ Dealership & valet taking your car out?
 

Well I am pretty pissed off right now so I figured I would ask y'all if you have had any personal experiences like I just had.

I dropped my car off at Dealership X to have them check why my air bag light on the drivers side is on. I dropped the car off at 7:30 am yesterday morning and got it back at 5:30 last night.

They had to "take apart" the interior to discover why the sensor was going off and ended up ordering a part that will be here sometime next week I assume.

When I dropped the car off I ask my service department guy if FOR ANY REASON my car would have to leave the dealership, He told me no it would not.

Well after waiting around all day & calling twice I finally went to pick it up. They pulled my car out and took the plastic off the seats and the paper mats on the floor (I was happy to see they had did this) but I immediately pulled into a parking spot and checked everything. Here is the list I discovered to be wrong with my car.

1. My e-brake had about 40% play in it and did not start engaging until about half way up (had no play whatsoever when I dropped it off)

2. 1/4 tank of gas is missing

3. My avg MPG is 6.4 yes 6.fucking4 It was well over 18 when I dropped it off

4. The bass on my radio had been turned all the way up (had it in the middle)

5. It was dirty as hell, clearly driven in the rain and they did not wash it before they returned it.

I jumped out of my car with steam shooting from my ears and nostrils and gave the service guy a piece of my mind.

Keep in mind this is the FIRST TIME I have dropped my car off to have any work done. The service rep told me he would fix my e-brake etc. But I made it clear it shouldn't have needed to be fixed in the first place and I wanted to know who took my car out.

I'm assuming someone took it out when the rain started coming down and did some drifting in it, I only wish one of my wheels could have gotten damage so I could get some Roush wheels.

I told them they should give me a chrome set for free (yeah right)

So I just wanted to know if any of y'all have had an experience like this and how you handled it?

What do you do when you have to leave your car for service? Do you valet?

I'm pissed but I know this happens to cars like this all the time.

Share your experience!:boti:

Stuff like this happens all the time. Talk to the service manager, not service advisor, other than repairing whatever is wrong, apologizing and maybe giving you some sort of free service there's not much else they will do. If you're car is still under warranty you will probably get a survey about your experience, this is a huge deal to dealerships, bring that up to the service manager as well. It's very unlikely they will tell you who was driving your car but a good manager will fire the kid. Best thing to do is keep your cool, as soon as you get hostile they will tell you to eat shit and leave. If it's a dealership you plan to use regularly, make friends with a service advisor and use the same one every time, it will almost always benefit you in the long run.

Good advice there about keeping my cool. I did keep my cool and yes I am under warranty.

It came with a 100k mile powertrain and I purchased the 100k mile bumper to bumper.

They sent me an email with a survey on it so I plan to look at that today and figure out the best way to go about filling it out without being a dick.

You make a good point about becoming friends with the service manager. I plan to do this soon.

I know it's not a 2013 or a roush or shelby but it's my little slice of heaven and it really sucks to see something you have worked hard for and taken extreme care of be treated the way it was. Just ethically wrong.

I'm not mad, Just disappointed

I worked at a dealership for 5 years, I can't say I'm not guilty of it , but I didn't do it to customer cars, just brand new ones off the truck (not that that's any better.) As for the survey, just fill it out truthfully, burn the tech, not the whole department if they tried to make things right. As for them ragging on your car, it wouldn't matter if it's a POS ranchero, it's not their toy and hopefully if someone did beat on it they get fired for it.

Sorry man but I couldn't help myself. Your car was so much fun to drive in the rain. I wanted to feel like I was in fast n furious Tokyo drift.:D

I saw your car at TS and peed in the gas tank. Maybe that's why it locked up:owned:

I have no proof of what happened but I know my car.

I told the tech it was like leaving my gf at a buddies house and when I got her back it didn't feel right.

I'm very tempted to stick my go pro or some type of recording device in my car next time I drop it off at the dealership for extended work

Guy in a camaro did that a while back and busted the techs working on his car, saw the story on yahoo or something. Any service more than routine maintenance and I take it to my buddies where I used to work, no worries about someone ragging on it and I know he does good work.

ha, i saw that story on svtp.com a little while back...totally busted.

i dont trust anyone with my car, i dont even like my wife driving it to be honest, she's already been in a little fender bender since ive been gone. some jackhole hit her from behind but all was fixed.

i do my best not to valet park it ever and so far all services ive had done was short enough i stood there and watched.

5 more days and she will have her Outback and leave my car alone until i get home for good!!

I have the services managers name#, & email. I'm going to wait until I can meet with him personally and get to know my face with a name.

I'm planning on getting all my service done at this dealership and I am looking to upgrade to a newer, better, faster car in the next couple years.

Hope my service gets mucho improved

I wish I could say the same, I get home in Feb. for 3 weeks but not done until July 2013. And my wife decided a curb is just a suggestion so I feel your pain on letting her drive, it's scary at times.

i wont be home until September 2013 but it will be a huge load off of my mind with her not driving my stang, i can tell you that.

be safe out there

You too man, I hated Bagram, hate the cold. Mountains look awesome in the spring though.

Anxiously awaiting Steve's arival...

and here i thought i was the only one :naughty:

This is the first thing that flashed thru my thoughts....

If how they treated your car makes you mad, then don't take it there again and give them a terrible review with Ford.

Take it to Grapevine. Every time my car goes in for service, it comes back just like I left it. And they will clean it for FREE anytime I want, but they have the courtesy to ASK me if I want it washed or not when I drop it off.

I can't say enough about how well I've been treated by them. I recommend them to all of you.

I'd armbar the whole dealership!

Thought that joke was old.... :boxing:

It's very old. I just made it before someone else did. lol

Should they go to jail for 30 days for making old jokes. :poker:

I Mykey my car for Valet and I will use the handheld at set the RPM limit at 2500 if going into the dealership if I have to leave it overnight. The Owner, GM, Service Manager, Sales Manger and most of the techs at my dealership are either family friends, which is why I get things so cheap, or good friends. I dont trust anyone to drive my car but a few buddies and Toby and Sean at TS. Im not to sure about Tims driving habbits. lol

I've considered the MyKey option before. But I don't want to limited myself to the settings of that key in case I lose my main key. I've thought about getting another to do just what you said, Slow6, but I honestly don't valet my cars much, at all. I think I do that with my truck ONCE in 8 years of owning it, 5 of which were here in DFW. Just not me. I'd rather park my car than someone else that's never driven it.

You can change the MyKey settings in just a few minutes. I used to use it as a "Sandbagging Race Key" I could limit different setting and detune the car with just a key instead of breaking out the tuner at the track. Roadcourse not drag. I also use this alot when I let other people drive the car. I dont Valet my car much either but its nice to know when I do it is limited. You can use it for the dealership too.

Update***

Still haven't heard anything from the service department about the part coming in.

Have a feeling it won't be until after Christmas or possibly even New Years.

I'm totally going to leave a voice activated recorder in my car when I take it in. Haven't even brought her in for her first oil change yet, but I know what kids will do if given the opportunity....

I myself used to work for a Firestone during college. I was low man on the totem pole and did all the tires, brakes and oil changes. But I did pride myself in perfect zeroed out balancing of all new and rotated tired I touched. New tires would include a quick trip around the block to ensure absolutely no vibration at higher speeds. I would sometimes speed, but never did I abuse a vehicle. I did get alot of loyal customers however.