Nice retort. If it were up to me, I'd give you your lifetime warranty just for that...

 

I agree...great reply!!! I still wouldn't give ya the warranty though. It's the "principal" of it.[8D]It sucks, but sometimes, when we need to blame somebody when things don't go the way we want, we need to look in the mirror.

 

Vandal, At least(lol) you are a good sport. I didn't take it as a personal assualt. I know alot of dealers are worthy of the term stealership. Just wish the bad apples didn't spoil it for us that don't deserve the negative reference. A quick side story about dealers ripping you off... My mom is almost 70 years old. She has been driving Fords for as long as I remember, bought them all at the same dealer. Been going to this dealer forever, gets all her oil changes there, all her service there, had the body shop fix her car on numerous occasions. Her Grand Marquis had 35,8xx miles on it and the check engine light came on. She called me (I live an hour away) and I told her to take it it because it was still under warranty. They told her that they could find no problem and reset the light but to call back if it came back on. At 36,9xx miles the light came back on. She dropped it off there again and two hours later they called her to say that it need $650.00 worth of repairs to fix the problem. I drove to their shop to see what was going on (didn't tell them that I work at a dealer) They said that her gas cap was bad, that the throttle body needed cleaning, that her trans needed repairing. I ask for a price break down. I knew the tech so I talked to him and he said all that was needed was a gas cap, that the other repairs were up-sales. They wanted $65.00 for the gas cap and $71.00 to screw it on. I have 2 Ford dealers on speed dial on cell phone who both said a gas cap was $14.00. I asked why this was not fixed free and was told she was out of warranty. Less than a thousand miles out of warranty, even though the problem arose while under warranty. I told them to back her car out and put the old cap on. I could not believe that they were willing tolose a good customer just because they thought she is old and would buy anything. This really opened my eyes to customer service. Once the owner found out who I was and what she had spent with his business in the last 30 years, he offered to do all the repairs for free. She hasn't had to pay for anything at his store for the last 4 years. He uses her experience as a training tool for his service people. At least the owner stepped up. BTW, the advisor that wanted to screw her over is now working at Autozone. Sorry for the long rant.

 

Parts/Service

That's a "life lesson" and a great story &example, of how tofinally, take care of customers by the owner.

 

sorry for getting off topic but here is a similar story. my neighbor owns a gas station/inspection station. i've known him for years and bowled in a league with him. i took my wifes '96 ford windstar (this was about '99 so it was still pretty nice) in for its annual inspection. while there he asked if i'd want to bowl on his team. after inspecting the vehicle he removed my old sticker and applied the new one. after putting the new one on he noticed the passenger wiper blade was ripped. he told me i had to replace it. i said no problem. i'll go get one now. he said that he couldn't let it leave with a torn wiper and that he already put the sticker on. if i wanted to leave then he would have to pull the old sticker off and i would be left without any. i asked how much for a new one. $12. for a $2 refill. i understand this is a small amount but the fact was that he screwed up by not catching it during the inspection. a wiper blade in PA is very minor and most stations don't bother to even check them.
i ended up paying the $12 and told him he would never see me in there again. i could run out of gas in front of his station and i'd walk a mile to get to the next one before i'd give him another penny. i don't even wave to him when he drives by.
he lost my business and friendship over a $12 part and his mistake.

 

PARTS/SERVICE- excellent story. I left a post on another thread to have the guy talk to the general manager/owner for a problem he was having with a shady repair dept. It seems,especially at a big dealership, that the owner/GM may not even be aware of the manner in which his employees are treating his customers. Where does this "attitude" come from? Are the service writers paying for the repairs? LOL! Anyways your story restored some confidence in me as we have 2 Dealerships nearby and one is still pretty Cust. Serv. oriented. By the way how did that meeting go where you tookour suggestions?

TOPCOP - I take it by your name that your in Law Enforcement. I am as well. I would have left the inspection station while laughing in his face. HOW IN THE HELL IS A (no offense to gas-pumpers) HACK LIKE THAT GOING TO TELL YOU THAT YOU CANNOT LEAVE. Dumbass should have checked it before he put the sticker on. 12 bucks for a windshield wiper...F#$%'in nutjob!!!!!

 

The term comes from their greed in markup, and unfortunately ALL dealers deserve the name. Example: needed an alternator for a caddy, couldn't get the right one from jobbers, so I had to go to the stealer, price was over $400. I said funk dat and put my ear to the ground, and got the word out to friends that I needed it. Got a reply from a friend at a chevy parts desk, he told me he could get it at cost+10%(standard employee pricing). He got it for me for $160. I'd say that the markups alone qualify all dealerships to be called stealerships.

 

hawk, yes i am in LE. i'm a constable in PA. we serve warrants for the district courts. and yes, i should have laughed in his faceas i walked out the door. i think that i was in more shock than anything but ishould have told him to take the sticker back off and shove it. with any luck i would've gotten pulled over for no sticker then i would've reported him to the DOT. it would've been easier to take had i not known him and was a stranger but this guy has known me for about 15 years. he knows i used to race cars and that i take care of my equipmentor wasn't some undercover guy or something.