Your opinion on this....

[Hally]

A close work colleague last night picked up his brand new Territory from a nameless Melbourne Ford dealer.

When he picked the car up at 5.30pm, it had the following problems:

1. Flat battery - dealer said this was normal, jump started it and said 'she charge up on your way home'.

2. The dash (I believe it to be the display screen surround) has a crack through it.

3. The rear bumper bar has a deep gouge/scratch in it, down near were the mud flap would go.

My colleague is a chilled kind of guy, so didn't make a fuss, but if I paid $42k for a new car I would have spat the dummy big time.

Have any others had similar experiences?

[Laminge]

No

That wouldnt be acceptable, what did the dealership have to say for themselves?

There is no way a NEW car should be delivered in that condition.

[The Yeti]

I would have refused delivery.
Dealers love the 5.30 delivery they no A the lights not good so detailing floors dont look as bad and you generaly just want to get out of there so you will accept minor porblems. The old sorry about that we'll fix that up for you at your first service is the first line in the car sales hand book. then on the 1st service no one remebers it and they try and tell you you must have casued that scratch in the car park etc.

If its wrong take your trade with you and go home till its right if theres no trade get them to call you a cab andd give you a cab charge docet.

IF you cant tell this kind of thing s me, I actuly let a few things slide on the 5.30 delivery of my fairmont and will never do that again.

[Nappa]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

I would have refused delivery.
Dealers love the 5.30 delivery they no A the lights not good so detailing floors dont look as bad and you generaly just want to get out of there so you will accept minor porblems. The old sorry about that we'll fix that up for you at your first service is the first line in the car sales hand book. then on the 1st service no one remebers it and they try and tell you you must have casued that scratch in the car park etc.

If its wrong take your trade with you and go home till its right if theres no trade get them to call you a cab andd give you a cab charge docet.

IF you cant tell this kind of thing s me, I actuly let a few things slide on the 5.30 delivery of my fairmont and will never do that again.

i dont know what other dealers are like but here the time of day makes no difference in how the car is presented for deliveries. Our cars go through PD and then we the salespeople check them over. when doing a late delivery we often are still there well after 6pm. We dont pack up and all the staff stay so that the customer doesn't feel like we are trying to get them out the door. if there is a hic-up we make sure the problem is documented so that the service depart knows what needs to be done before the car gets there for the first service.

But i guess it only takes one bad experiance to bitter the whole process of purchasing a car.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Nappa

i dont know what other dealers are like but here the time of day makes no difference in how the car is presented for deliveries. Our cars go through PD and then we the salespeople check them over. when doing a late delivery we often are still there well after 6pm. We dont pack up and all the staff stay so that the customer doesn't feel like we are trying to get them out the door. if there is a hic-up we make sure the problem is documented so that the service depart knows what needs to be done before the car gets there for the first service.

But i guess it only takes one bad experiance to bitter the whole process of purchasing a car.

I have purchased 7 fords from fro dealers 1 used a 20,000klm (9mnth old) NA Fairlane I'd just finished my apprentis ship at a holden dealer and was chashed up from years of being a tight , that car was nothing but trouble it turns out that my esigion to purchase a car which was an ex ford lease car and ha full log book servicing all at the selling dealers service department ha hadd so many back yeard style repairs it wasnt funny screws through heater flaps to save replaing blender motors by passes on leveling suspension fillter to name just a few.

After that I ha driven Veraddas a company vehicles for a few years, changed positions and had a choise of car so I chose an AU Fairmont ha what a joke the car in this case was a great car but the state it was delivered in was woful. and the service deptment didnt have a clue I ended up taking it to Winfords (another ford dealer) where the service was great. the next 4 were for other members of staff andd again the delivery condition was a little dissapointing but nothing too bad. then came my current BA, where do I start, the dealer was great he took me arroundd to all the people that were only too happy to shake my hand and say any thing you need in the future please call, the DP the circus manger and so on, however when the problems started what joke they were no where to be seen calls were not returned I was told I was too fussy and the pannels all fit badly in the end I turned up at 5pm when I new they wouldd have a few deliverys on the go and made a seen in the show room. an bugger me I got a drive car to take home they kept the car a week to fix every thing. I picked the car up a week later with most things simply tick fixed.

the next car I purchased for work was VZ commodore just as a test for wone of my techs to drive I did the deal I took delivery, and drove it for a week. the car was spotless on delivery there was an issue with the battery (funnely enough) but it was replaced while I waited I was asked to test ddrive the vehicle before I signed for it I got the usual meet and greet arround hte dealership. This car has now done 40,000klms and has only been back to the dealer for PM servicing.

I love my fords but man but I dont want the ford dealer crap, my BA is up for replacment in 3 months time and I have no idea what to get I want a territory but I dont want the . can any one recomend a dealer in north western Sydney that isnt going to give me all the "the cheques in the mail" and "I'll still love you in the morning crap" It will be a hard slog to sell me though, these dealers dont seem to understand the time it takes out of my day trying to get a simple thing fixed again and again and again

In case you hadnt noticed I'm still pretty ****ed

[GT-P BOSS]

I would have refused delivery and demand a new one.
He can use it as a demo model.

[Hally]

I agree with the comments above, and would have walked away and come back when the problems were fixed (the dash issue would have given me the most concern).

It is dissapointing to hear problems like this. I have been looking to buy a car over the last couple of months, and unbiasedly I must admit that Holden dealers have been a lot better than Ford dealers as it relatesto customer service, willingness to do a deal, advice on service back up etc. The best so far has been Honda though, who have been responsive without being pushy. A lot of promises have been made re service backup and at this stage could only be taken on face value. If we go for a Honda (likely) I wll give an update on there performance.

[HOON69]

wouldnt of taken delivery would of told em to get me a new one,or fixed it right then and now

gotta be P@ssed when they do that kinda crap :(

[Racecraft]

even a second hand car with a flat battery would have me jumping up and down for a new one.. The rest is also unacceptable.. what was the odometer reading when he took delivery?

[Hally]

7km.

Car was driven to panel shop to get the bumbers clour coded to the body.

[AWD Chaser]

Originally Posted by Hally

7km.

Car was driven to panel shop to get the bumbers clour coded to the body.

Isn't that a factory option?

[Ringo]

He shouldn't have taken it......

[2fishingdogs]

I would have kick up such a stink and demanded it be fixed or else

[henry 351]

Turned up at the local Subaru dealer to pick up a new STI a few years ago, I let them run through the whole "we love you, here is you new car " routine.

I then let them know there was one small problem. The car in front of me was white, not steel blue mica.

Needless to say, I left in the trade in... In Sweeney talk, eventually "it got sorted"

[XRated]

Originally Posted by henry 351

Turned up at the local Subaru dealer to pick up a new STI a few years ago, I let them run through the whole "we love you, here is you new car " routine.

I then let them know there was one small problem. The car in front of me was white, not steel blue mica.

Needless to say, I left in the trade in... In Sweeney talk, eventually "it got sorted"

Hhahaha sorry! But that had me laughing!!

How did you end up with the GT? Your other rides sound unreal too.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by Hally

1. Flat battery - dealer said this was normal, jump started it and said 'she charge up on your way home'.

Maybe that is normal. Mine was exactly the same. Doesn't mean it's acceptable though. Despite my concerns I took it home like that, I'd been waiting too long to get it as it was and I also picked mine up late, so no service guys there anyway. The battery continued to give trouble during the first week and was promptly replaced when I complained (with a higher cranking unit as they readily admited the battery in them from the factory is marginal).

2. The dash (I believe it to be the display screen surround) has a crack through it.

I hope your mate at least made mention of this. A clear warranty claim.

3. The rear bumper bar has a deep gouge/scratch in it, down near were the mud flap would go.

Pretty standard damage given the monkeys they seem to have fitting these accessories. Mine had a butchered hole for the towbar.

None of it's acceptable and it all should be rectified without fuss.

Maybe one day Ford will realise their shoddy dealers are costing them return business. This sort of thing even gets a mention in the latest Wheels mag with their long term test TX.

[charles_wif_xf]

I would have done nothing less than walking and wouldn't turn up until they had a brand new untouched example. The audacity of some people. Which dealer was it? Would be good to know to steer clear from this mob

[Kenaz]

Personally I wouldn't care about the battery, but the other stuff would have me asking some serious questions.

[Hally]

Re the bumper, the car is an SR that didn't come factory with the colour coding, hence why the need for panel beaters.

[Smoke Pursuit]

50% of the reason why Ford will never see me again, no attention to detail and the sad part is most of the problems are there before the cars even leave Melbourne..

[vino3o2]

I would'nt have a problem in buying a new car with a flat battery, but the rest like the bumper, Id spit the dumby!! He shouldn't have taken it...$42 grand is alot to pay for a car, you'd expect a perfect car along with excerlant service from the sales people there..

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Hally

1. Flat battery - dealer said this was normal, jump started it and said 'she charge up on your way home'.

While the other problems are clear warrenty issues, the dealership claims flat batteries back to Ford Oz.

[BPXR6T]

I bought a second hand AU XR8 from a Ford Dealer in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne and had a similar experience. We test drove the car and agreed on a price. The dealer said while I go get the money sorted they'll take it down to the workshop for a free service.

I got back and waited for hours for the service being told they were just busy. So after four hours my car comes back. I jump in and head off to my parents place at Gembrook.

I get to Gembrook and my mum points out some significant damage on the passenger door and mirror. The damage wasn't there hours earlier when I bought the car. Someone in the workshop had crashed it. I called the dealer and they refused responsibility. So basically I was up for a $1000 repair bill.

[Marhleet]

I think if I'd just paid $42k for a new battery, I'd like it to be not flat.

[BENT_8]

My inlaws were the first in their country town to take delivery of the then new EF falcon sedan.
They bought a cardinal red GLi and when it arrived at the dealership everyone wanted a look.
We couldn't believe it when it rolled off the back of the carrier with scratches down the passenger side running the whole length. It looked as though whoever loaded it scraped it along the side of the truck.
As you can imagine my inlaws were spewin when they saw it and demanded a new car but they said as they were allocated by vin no. they had to have that one.
After some heated words the car was sent to be repaired and eventually delivered.
The last straw was when the car was returned under warranty for wind noise in the tops of the doors. The mechanic grabbed the door and bent the top inwards which i can assure you didn't go down well.
As a result of the way they were handled by the ford dealer they promptly sold the car and bought a 96 touring series vienta which was a very good car and wish they still had it.
As these people buy a new car every 2 years and this happened 12 years ago, Ford have lost considerably.

[coyote]

As has been stated I would nt take it would have written down the VIN number and made sure it was not represented, it is a second hand car and should be sold as such.

If you buy a new car it should NOT be touched up why pay new prices for second hand paint.

let them sell it as a demo.

These people rely on the emotions of the purchaser, let me tell you my emotions are simple I buy new NOT second hand. If I find a defect I will not accept delivery.

No car is perfect (and I know I have pre-delivered Fords holdens BMw's and Merc) But if you find such blatent faults and such poor attention to detail don't take it home.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

The last straw was when the car was returned under warranty for wind noise in the tops of the doors. The mechanic grabbed the door and bent the top inwards which i can assure you didn't go down well.

Send your in laws to Ford, Holden or Toyota to see how these cars are built, that happens to almost every car that comes down the production line.
But Ford shouldn't have let them see what they were doing.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Send your in laws to Ford, Holden or Toyota to see how these cars are built, that happens to almost every car that comes down the production line.
But Ford shouldn't have let them see what they were doing.

I agree with you completely and have done this "minor adjustment" many times myself under warranty but what got me was the arrogance of this guy to do it in front of us and tell us they do it to all of them.
Not a good look!

[QualityCounts]

What your colleague went through is unacceptable. The dealer should have done the pre-delivery check and fix the faults. When I picked up my Rav4 two months ago, I spent more than an hour going through it and couldn't fault it. The only thing that caught my attention was what looked like a light scratch on the LCD display but on closer examination the scratch was actually on the protective peel-off film on the LCD. Well, I've done 1800 km so far and have nothing to complain about the Rav4. I remembered when I picked up my new Civic a decade ago, I couldn't fault it. However, I was upset with the Honda dealer when I found some scratches from them washing the car in my first service.

[RSgerry]

That is a large part of the reason why I sold my Falcon and bought a Mazda. It is disgraceful that any dealer should deliver a car in that condition. If the battery is flat, it should have been replaced beforehand. Just what do you pay $1000+ for dealer delivery for?