29th Apr 2007, 19:03
Hello I own a Ford E450 van, with the Triton V10 engine. I’ve have had nothing, but great luck with it. We put 30,000 miles since I bought it and not a single problem. It a pleasure to drive and ride in. Ford did mail us a recall notice, I took it into the dealer and everything was done real quickly. Great power for the mountainous terrain does real well in the rain.
30th Apr 2007, 05:17
I have a "02 e-250 with 76k.I have not had any trouble with the 5.4 triton yet, other than changing the oil.However, I have had many trouble with my brake rotors warping. I had then ground down twice and still can feel that they are warped.: (
As far as my dealer experience. The dealer where I bought it was fine. I had a few problems that were resolved under warranty. The way it should be. I took my vehicle to another dealership and I must say they were the worst. They and Ford Mo Co are the reason why I will never ever buy another Ford. My van has now cost my business over 5 grand in repairs in the last 18 months (Rebuilt tranny+bad catalytic converter) Big ticket items that should last at very least 100k.I had no vehicle for 4 months waiting for a dealer only part from Ford. Then just getting lip service from Ford/dealership.I do not beat on my truck and do above and beyond in upkeep. Its too bad, I like their trucks.
NO MORE FORD'S FOR ME EVER!
18th Aug 2007, 10:15
I'd like to thank the mechanic who posted above, explaining flat rate verses hourly at a dealership. Flat rate definitely does not lead to quality repairs.
I used to work as an auto technician, was factory trained and everything, but left the entire profession because I could not deal with not being given enough time to do the job right. I refused to send something out the door if it was not right, but by taking the time to do the job the way it needed to be done, took a lot of hits on my pay and had a lot of angry service writers on my back. Yet I was one of only a handful of people in the shop who never had a customer come back.
I left the dealership because I could not cheat the customers. Opening my own shop was way too expensive. I went back to school for the next nine years, got a masters degree in engineering, am practicing in that profession and am much happier for having done that. But I still remember my days at the dealership, and as a result will NEVER bring my car to a dealership for anything.
2nd Dec 2006, 14:59
Why I see your point, the reality is some manufacturers place greater emphasis on customer service than others, and I have never ever had a good experience with Ford.
In fact, when I first bought a slightly used Festiva and took it in (under warranty) for an oil changed I asked about the rattles in the dash. FIRST thing out of the mechanic's mouth was that I was out of the basic 12 month/12K warranty for "rattles" and that I was s*** out of luck. Charming. Luckily I found a competent independent mechanic whose #1 goal was not to bleed the customer dry.
Friends have told me similar Ford stories. You are always treated with contempt when you attempt to resolve even the smallest issue.
That said, I've had horrible Scion, Toyota, and Honda dealer experiences. But those are really individual dealers vs. every dealer as with Ford.
If there is a good Ford dealer out there that will actually back up a warranty claim and not say "they all do that" with every issue, I've yet to find it.
Yes, dealers are independent businesses separate from the manufacturer, but Ford can set the standards high for customer service and refuses to. Which explains why they are where they are now:
Lousy cars + lousy dealers = lousy market share.