FordReviews 28

I lost my faith in Ford as I became a victim of across the board sleaziness. This extends beyond the fast talking salesman. It includes inferior warranty repair work leading into to brand new repairs for things that were working just fine until you got your vehicle back. This also hinges on those special warranty programs or extended warranties which turn out to be as bogus as the ones offered by used car dealers. SO, much of my beef is with Ford Motor Company which creates chaos in their own backyard.

Ford has typically sold decent quality vehicles. Fast forward 2019 where auto vehicle sales are down according to JD Power https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/04/01/Figures-show-new-car-sales-in-US-way-down-in-2019/*******493/. The biggest slump in 5 years. Dealers feel the pinch so neither they nor car salesmen can be trusted. The average price of a new car is $36,000 and car payments vs. the wages for many are out of whack. But, what I would really caution people to watch out for are Extended Warranty Repair Plans. Don't buy the hype that they save you anything. They're sold because they typically make a lot of money for Ford and the dealer. Here's why:

Ford will tell you that the average consumer saves a lot of money for each of its plans. Since most vehicles don't experience a lot of problems for years other than unanticipated recalls, that claim is for those that got stuck with a lemon ~ the robot that assembled it has been drinking too much. So since you'll be out of warranty after 36,000 miles, you might opt for a plan to protect your investment. Here's where the greedy dealer gets you:

Dealers get paid a lot less for per labor hour from Ford on any warranty repair than from the customer with a routine repair. They have to tie up their service bays and make peanuts. However, as part of many repairs, there's often a particular part that is essential but NOT covered by the warranty. So the sleazy dealer unnecessarily replaces the uncovered part and profits on the markup, and then shifts as much labor as possible onto the replacement of the part that was probably fine to begin with. They now get their full labor rate, Ford Motor Company pays out very little warranty labor, if any, and the customer gets sand bagged. Since the dealer often claims there were other parts that went bad also, by not allocating labor to each phase of the repair, they shifted the expense to the consumer. And sometimes, it gets worse. If you notice something different when you pick up the vehicle, the service tech set the stage for a new problem which enable them to come back for a brand new déjà vu.

What can you do? Plenty! Most states have a DMV unit that monitors dealerships. Watch the dealer like a hawk when they do the repair and see if they are replacing a lot of parts. Notice if you have to quickly return the vehicle because the repair wasn't done right because there must have been another failing part that seemed alright but is now on the blink. And if you want to avoid wasting time if you're waiting during the repair, hold them to a reasonable timeline. I've walked to the service bay after a couple of hours only to find that nothing had been looked at. Remember, the customer keeps the dealer and Ford Motor Company in business since you're buying their vehicles. Ford owes its allegiance to you first, not the sleazy dealer. And as a final note, write to FORD and tell them that when you receive a final invoice, you want to see what the itemized cost of each part replaced and its labor is, along with the savings that the warranty claims you received. Dealers always hide that information, particularly the labor since you would CLEARLY know if you were picking up an unfair share.