This morning, I braved a snowstorm to drive to a scheduled appointment at Basil Ford in Cheektowaga. I made the appointment on-line and received a confirming email.
Description
20000 mile Maintenance Bundle
• Rotate and inspect tires; check wheel end play and turning noise
• Perform multi-point inspection
• Change engine oil and replace oil filter (up to 5 quarts of oil)
Additional Comments
PLEASE CONTACT BY EMAIL ONLY…THANK YOU.
Front brakes are pulsating AGAIN after having being serviced at 12778 miles. Brakes are grabbing when wet and cold. Feels like rear brakes are locking when sitting for a long time in wet cold weather.
When I got to the dealer, my name was not on the list of “scheduled” appointments. Why? According to the service advisor…”sometimes the satellite doesn’t send us the information”. But the email I received in return tells me the appointment was confirmed (in nice large green letters). Notice to Chuck Basil….some of us are much more computer literate than your service advisors. You don’t need a satellite uplink to get service appointments. You might want to talk to my friend Greg who has a really cool idea for automotive customer service.
After sitting in the waiting room for hhmmmm…..and hour or so, my truck was ready. Yup, the tires were rotated…the oil looks fresh so it was probably changed…as for the other items, I’ll have to trust they did what they did….”Replace EFI Pressurized Fuel Canister” and “Replace Air Filter”. But the brakes……..
“Nothing wrong with them.” Oh wait…”we live in an area where there is lots of moisture and salt.” “You must have hit the brakes hard…and caused a hot spot.” “Once the damage starts, that’s it.” “I’ve had vehicles with 10,000 miles that need brake jobs.” “If you want to replace the rotors, it will be $399.”
Chuck…get your act together. You are the first line of contact. You’re responsible for the actions of your service advisors. Let me explain something to you Chuck…I have been driving for 36 years. I take care of my vehicles. I used to pay 29 cents a gallon for gas. But there is no way in heck the rotors should be warped to a point where they are pulsating at 18,533 miles especially considering half of my driving is on the highway and I brake more with the clutch instead. And my wife’s Maxima gets more abuse on the road with mostly local driving, although more tender loving care in the driveway and after 24,000 miles the brakes are as smooth as her legs.
AND, ESPECIALLY since you serviced then on 06/2007 at 12,778 miles for the very same reason, FREE OF CHARGE. The bottom line is…the rotors are defective! Your service advisor decided it was easier to tell me that the “warranty ran out….its one year or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.” Or maybe there was a “bottom-line” incentive.
Rather than “care about the customer”, your service advisor sent me on my way without even SUGGESTING recourse. Maybe there is a problem…maybe we should touch base with Ford to see if there is a problem that needs addressing. But your service advisor didn’t do that. Instead, the service advisor sent me on my way, back into the snowstorm we’re having, pondering what to do the next time the brakes start to pulsate.
Chuck…sorry dude, you just lost a customer…
You used to pay TWENTY NINE CENTS A GALLON?? How old are you, anyway??? ;)I can remember it being under a dollar in the 80s sometime…but that’s about it.
Sounds like your afternoon was about as enjoyable as mine (hmph). I’d take my business somewhere else, too…you gotta have brakes!
I’m in awe…two blog posts in one day? Almost fell outta my chair when Google Reader informed me. You mad blogging man, you!
Its time to get our new cars this spring, our Honda’s and never have to worry about basil ford again!! Love Steph:)
I can remember 19 cents a gallon. Car dealers are about the least trustworthy of all, right up (or rather down) here with politicians. Lots of dealers wonder why people don’t come back but they don’t look at their service departments to answer the question. With fewer sales, they should have their service people really try to make people happy. I have a 2000 chrysler concorde, and the THREE dealers nearest me are gone.