A fun tale from my local Ford dealership

[dnjones161]

I know it's been a while since someone has ignited the truck war on here, but at the risk of a new 20 page thread of the newest Ford / Chevy /Dodge memes, I have to share with you my most recent snafu at the dealership.

Now before anybody starts I know: I should just change my own oil and rotate my own tires because the yoo-hoos that they hire to work at quick Lane are just that: yoo-hoos. Apologies if there are any Ford employees out there that are on the ball: I salute you and I tell you this, which I'm sure you already know, you are a rare breed.

So this week I ran out of time and hit the 3,000 mi mark between oil changes. I know this seems excessive, but I've always been taught oil changes are cheap insurance and fresh oil is the life blood of your motor. My truck sits just a little too high for the jack stands that we have to get the wheels off the ground, so rotating the tires turns into a very painful exercise of moving the jack around to every corner. I've been meaning to order taller jack stands since the last oil change, just one of those things that gets put on the back burner. So I called out to my local Ford dealership and scheduled an appointment for "the works".

I go in, I do some paperwork while they change oil and rotate my tires, everybody's super nice and all in all seems to be a decent experience. They finish my truck, I run 20 mi down the road to run a wrestling practice and when I get out and pull my gear out of the back of my truck. At this point I realize that the covers on my plug-in for my trailer lights/brake is ripped clean off and there are some semi significant scratches on the backside of my bed.

Of course I immediately call the dealership, the guy apologizes and says that it's likely the car wash grabbed the covers and ripped them off. Side note: you would think if this was a common problem they wouldn't run trucks through the car wash, but I guess that's not the policy.

So I take my truck back out yesterday for the manager to look. Super nice guy, says he'll look into ordering whatever part needs to be ordered to replace the plugin or cover, and ask me if anything else was wrong. I point out a couple of scratches that I didn't think were there when I showed up, but ultimately it's a 5-year-old truck and I know I'm probably just going to eat that. I also make note that as per usual, my oil was overfilled. Now I've come to expect this, and just realize that after I get my oil changed at the Ford dealership I'm going to have to go home and let some oil out. But here's where it gets good.

The service manager apologizes, then ask if I mind if he pulls the dipstick to see just how bad it was. Now mind you I have just pulled into the Ford dealership about a minute and 30 seconds before. I of course say no problem, pop the hood for him and watch him pull the dipstick. He looks at the dipstick, goes oh shoot yeah that's pretty bad, and attempts to place it back in the truck. He struggles a little bit because again, the truck's a little higher than normal so I take it from him jump up on the tire, wipe it off and stick it back in. Of course because of the truck was just running, it looks like there's about three extra gallons of oil in my motor.

At this point he offers to pull the truck around and let some oil out, which I politely refuse. He then makes it right by going in to the office, and writing me a coupon for another free "works package" on the back of one of his business cards.

Now again I appreciate the effort, but the idea that I would bring my truck back to this particular Ford dealership after all of this...well frankly the whole thing was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but chuckle to myself on the way home.

At any rate, does anybody have a set of tall jack stands or a reasonablly priced scissor lift for a full size pickup truck that they like?

 

[Admin]

 

[JTW]

I know it's been a while since someone has ignited the truck war on here, but at the risk of a new 20 page thread of the newest Ford / Chevy /Dodge memes, I have to share with you my most recent snafu at the dealership.

Now before anybody starts I know: I should just change my own oil and rotate my own tires because the yoo-hoos that they hire to work at quick Lane are just that: yoo-hoos. Apologies if there are any Ford employees out there that are on the ball: I salute you and I tell you this, which I'm sure you already know, you are a rare breed.

So this week I ran out of time and hit the 3,000 mi mark between oil changes. I know this seems excessive, but I've always been taught oil changes are cheap insurance and fresh oil is the life blood of your motor. My truck sits just a little too high for the jack stands that we have to get the wheels off the ground, so rotating the tires turns into a very painful exercise of moving the jack around to every corner. I've been meaning to order taller jack stands since the last oil change, just one of those things that gets put on the back burner. So I called out to my local Ford dealership and scheduled an appointment for "the works".

I go in, I do some paperwork while they change oil and rotate my tires, everybody's super nice and all in all seems to be a decent experience. They finish my truck, I run 20 mi down the road to run a wrestling practice and when I get out and pull my gear out of the back of my truck. At this point I realize that the covers on my plug-in for my trailer lights/brake is ripped clean off and there are some semi significant scratches on the backside of my bed.

Of course I immediately call the dealership, the guy apologizes and says that it's likely the car wash grabbed the covers and ripped them off. Side note: you would think if this was a common problem they wouldn't run trucks through the car wash, but I guess that's not the policy.

So I take my truck back out yesterday for the manager to look. Super nice guy, says he'll look into ordering whatever part needs to be ordered to replace the plugin or cover, and ask me if anything else was wrong. I point out a couple of scratches that I didn't think were there when I showed up, but ultimately it's a 5-year-old truck and I know I'm probably just going to eat that. I also make note that as per usual, my oil was overfilled. Now I've come to expect this, and just realize that after I get my oil changed at the Ford dealership I'm going to have to go home and let some oil out. But here's where it gets good.

The service manager apologizes, then ask if I mind if he pulls the dipstick to see just how bad it was. Now mind you I have just pulled into the Ford dealership about a minute and 30 seconds before. I of course say no problem, pop the hood for him and watch him pull the dipstick. He looks at the dipstick, goes oh shoot yeah that's pretty bad, and attempts to place it back in the truck. He struggles a little bit because again, the truck's a little higher than normal so I take it from him jump up on the tire, wipe it off and stick it back in. Of course because of the truck was just running, it looks like there's about three extra gallons of oil in my motor.

At this point he offers to pull the truck around and let some oil out, which I politely refuse. He then makes it right by going in to the office, and writing me a coupon for another free "works package" on the back of one of his business cards.

Now again I appreciate the effort, but the idea that I would bring my truck back to this particular Ford dealership after all of this...well frankly the whole thing was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but chuckle to myself on the way home.

At any rate, does anybody have a set of tall jack stands or a reasonablly priced scissor lift for a full size pickup truck that they like?

That’s why the color yellow smells like fresh cut grass!

It makes more sense than using that redemption!

 

[oldfortyfive]

All too often a normal experience at a dealers. I once had them tell me the coolant overflow tank wasn’t part of the cooling system when I went in for a flush. Had some recall work on the front end of my little Lancer. They left the steering wheel 90 degrees off center.
I normally use my friendly local garage and don’t see those problems.

 

[jwfirebird]

every dealership experience ive had has been terrible, especially maintenance type stuff, the wreck stuff had stuff stolen a couple times the dual tips from our old Bonneville and a hitch. had better luck from the walmart honestly. i do every maintenance and repair myself now, i have a local owned shop i found when i was calling round trying to find some one to set the timing on my old yukon which is a special tool thing and he said " yep cam retard i can do it for half hour", been taking my cars there for alignments and inspections ever since, he really knows his stuff and is reasonable. all the dealers basically had no idea what i was talking about

just got some cheap plastic ramps i use never had a problem even with the truck, i got this big heavy duty jack from harbor freight, only this that has gone after about ten years use is the spring is broke so the handle wont stay up on its own

 

[JACKAL]

I know it's been a while since someone has ignited the truck war on here, but at the risk of a new 20 page thread of the newest Ford / Chevy /Dodge memes, I have to share with you my most recent snafu at the dealership.

Now before anybody starts I know: I should just change my own oil and rotate my own tires because the yoo-hoos that they hire to work at quick Lane are just that: yoo-hoos. Apologies if there are any Ford employees out there that are on the ball: I salute you and I tell you this, which I'm sure you already know, you are a rare breed.

So this week I ran out of time and hit the 3,000 mi mark between oil changes. I know this seems excessive, but I've always been taught oil changes are cheap insurance and fresh oil is the life blood of your motor. My truck sits just a little too high for the jack stands that we have to get the wheels off the ground, so rotating the tires turns into a very painful exercise of moving the jack around to every corner. I've been meaning to order taller jack stands since the last oil change, just one of those things that gets put on the back burner. So I called out to my local Ford dealership and scheduled an appointment for "the works".

I go in, I do some paperwork while they change oil and rotate my tires, everybody's super nice and all in all seems to be a decent experience. They finish my truck, I run 20 mi down the road to run a wrestling practice and when I get out and pull my gear out of the back of my truck. At this point I realize that the covers on my plug-in for my trailer lights/brake is ripped clean off and there are some semi significant scratches on the backside of my bed.

Of course I immediately call the dealership, the guy apologizes and says that it's likely the car wash grabbed the covers and ripped them off. Side note: you would think if this was a common problem they wouldn't run trucks through the car wash, but I guess that's not the policy.

So I take my truck back out yesterday for the manager to look. Super nice guy, says he'll look into ordering whatever part needs to be ordered to replace the plugin or cover, and ask me if anything else was wrong. I point out a couple of scratches that I didn't think were there when I showed up, but ultimately it's a 5-year-old truck and I know I'm probably just going to eat that. I also make note that as per usual, my oil was overfilled. Now I've come to expect this, and just realize that after I get my oil changed at the Ford dealership I'm going to have to go home and let some oil out. But here's where it gets good.

The service manager apologizes, then ask if I mind if he pulls the dipstick to see just how bad it was. Now mind you I have just pulled into the Ford dealership about a minute and 30 seconds before. I of course say no problem, pop the hood for him and watch him pull the dipstick. He looks at the dipstick, goes oh shoot yeah that's pretty bad, and attempts to place it back in the truck. He struggles a little bit because again, the truck's a little higher than normal so I take it from him jump up on the tire, wipe it off and stick it back in. Of course because of the truck was just running, it looks like there's about three extra gallons of oil in my motor.

At this point he offers to pull the truck around and let some oil out, which I politely refuse. He then makes it right by going in to the office, and writing me a coupon for another free "works package" on the back of one of his business cards.

Now again I appreciate the effort, but the idea that I would bring my truck back to this particular Ford dealership after all of this...well frankly the whole thing was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but chuckle to myself on the way home.

At any rate, does anybody have a set of tall jack stands or a reasonablly priced scissor lift for a full size pickup truck that they like?

Even the Silvergaydo drivers want a Platinum, good god posers, at least square up the badging with the taillights

 

[DG Rider]

Don't know how it is all around, but if it's like this area, they are basically hiring what are probably burger flippers.

For years I have been trying to get into a Mopar dealership level job. I was warned that this may be something I did not like, but I wanted to see for myself. Earlier this year it seemed that it might finally happened at the local Chrysler dealership. After some back and forth, there were management changes and I was told they were cutting some fat from the service dept, and there was a hiring freeze...so it was unlikely I'd get one. I took the job I currently have.

A day or two later, they call me unexpectedly, and offer me a job. I had already accepted this one...but the temptation was enough to prompt me to ask the pay. I expected it to be good...spinning wrenches at a dealer service area (maybe I'm ignorant), so I was stunned when they offered $15 an hour. This was NOT a lube tech job...but a full on "pull the heads on the Pentastar" service tech job.
Being an hourly pay, I expect it to be somewhat lower than flat rate...but $15? I had just finished working a seasonal job with Amazon that paid $15 that you could probably train monkeys to do.
I was stunned. And a bit heartbroken. If thats what it pays to wear the ole "m" on the shirt, then it will never happen for me.

The point being, if you want good, experienced techs who can fix things right, you've got to pay them, or somebody else will. And that dealership probably isn't.

 

[Mopower58]

Don't know how it is all around, but if it's like this area, they are basically hiring what are probably burger flippers.

For years I have been trying to get into a Mopar dealership level job. I was warned that this may be something I did not like, but I wanted to see for myself. Earlier this year it seemed that it might finally happened at the local Chrysler dealership. After some back and forth, there were management changes and I was told they were cutting some fat from the service dept, and there was a hiring freeze...so it was unlikely I'd get one. I took the job I currently have.

A day or two later, they call me unexpectedly, and offer me a job. I had already accepted this one...but the temptation was enough to prompt me to ask the pay. I expected it to be good...spinning wrenches at a dealer service area (maybe I'm ignorant), so I was stunned when they offered $15 an hour. This was NOT a lube tech job...but a full on "pull the heads on the Pentastar" service tech job.
Being an hourly pay, I expect it to be somewhat lower than flat rate...but $15? I had just finished working a seasonal job with Amazon that paid $15 that you could probably train monkeys to do.
I was stunned. And a bit heartbroken. If thats what it pays to wear the ole "m" on the shirt, then it will never happen for me.

The point being, if you want good, experienced techs who can fix things right, you've got to pay them, or somebody else will. And that dealership probably isn't.

Not sure about the Mopar techs around here but the Ford techs I know are making 32-35 per hour. The dealership charges 100.00 per hour. We always hired "burger flippers" for maintenance type work. These ford techs are on commission and are Master ASE certified.

 

[DG Rider]

Not sure about the Mopar techs around here but the Ford techs I know are making 32-35 per hour. The dealership charges 100.00 per hour. We always hired "burger flippers" for maintenance type work. These ford techs are on commission and are Master ASE certified.

That's closer to what I would have expected. I am a former master tech ( mine are expired ). I'd expect the lube techs to make that much. Maybe it's just the area.
I turned down $26hr f/r in an indie shop for too much of a commute up to Phoenix. Carvana was doing $25 hourly if I redid my certs, but again, a 2 hour commute each way.

I don't know if there's enough money to pay me to work on Fords all day...

Oh...and I should clarify: it was a CDJ/GM dealership.

 

[Mopower58]

Back in the late 80's or early 90's Ford decided to use ASE certifications as their standard. As a service department all of our techs studied and took the tests. I managed to come away with a Master auto and Master truck tech. Seems like I had to take tests two different times as time would not allow for certification on both in one night, too many tests to take. Well like you I let them both lapse. I think it's 5 years isn't it? Then Ford and all their wisdom decided to certify their techs and not use ASE anymore. All this happened at the time that the SBDS was implemented and a lot of the schools and test could be taken online.

 

[DG Rider]

Back in the late 80's or early 90's Ford decided to use ASE certifications as their standard. As a service department all of our techs studied and took the tests. I managed to come away with a Master auto and Master truck tech. Seems like I had to take tests two different times as time would not allow for certification on both in one night, too many tests to take. Well like you I let them both lapse. I think it's 5 years isn't it? Then Ford and all their wisdom decided to certify their techs and not use ASE anymore. All this happened at the time that the SBDS was implemented and a lot of the schools and test could be taken online.

5 sounds right...

 

[dnjones161]

Well for the record I'm a pharmacist with no mechanical training and a bad habit of stripping bolts by over tightening and even I'm aware that you need to wipe the dip stick and place it back in the motor to get an accurate level

... And that you should NEVER run a vehicle through a brushed car wash.

 

[Plumber32]

Well that one good thing about my dealer, they have 1 guy that touches the diesels, he make over $100 grand and people come from all over for him. Plus its cheaper than I can buy the materials for.

 

[DG Rider]

Used Diesel oil is nasty s***.

 

[Mopower58]

Used Diesel oil is nasty s***.

I had three 55 gallon drums at my shop for used oil. Had a guy that bought my used oil for .20 a gallon. He sold it to a pavement contractor for use in asphalt.Used diesel oil is nasty for sure,if it's really used up the black will stain your skin. I had dry skin and it was attracted to staining!

 

[DG Rider]

I had three 55 gallon drums at my shop for used oil. Had a guy that bought my used oil for .20 a gallon. He sold it to a pavement contractor for use in asphalt.Used diesel oil is nasty for sure,if it's really used up the black will stain your skin. I had dry skin and it was attracted to staining!

I've been told the best way to clean the stuff off is with Diesel fuel. Never tried it.

 

[Mopower58]

I've been told the best way to clean the stuff off is with Diesel fuel. Never tried it.

I always used brake clean in a spray can. Dries fast and doesn't have the smell that lingers like diesel.

 

[DG Rider]

I always used brake clean in a spray can. Dries fast and doesn't have the smell that lingers like diesel.

Brake clean is magical stuff but it burns like hell in cuts or sensitive areas. I had some drip on my titty through my shirt the other day...and DAMN!

 

[Mopower58]

Brake clean is magical stuff but it burns like hell in cuts or sensitive areas. I had some drip on my titty through my shirt the other day...and DAMN!

I used that stuff by the case. Great to use spot cleaning the floor,kills wasp. It is great stuff for finding an oil leak,dries instantly on a hot engine. It does burn on an open cut, never sprayed it on my titty!

 

[DG Rider]

I used that stuff by the case. Great to use spot cleaning the floor,kills wasp. It is great stuff for finding an oil leak,dries instantly on a hot engine. It does burn on an open cut, never sprayed it on my titty!

Don't forget spiders, and fuel alternative on suspected dead pumps. Most of the places I've worked (including current) had 55 gallon drums, and use it in sure shots.

But, my previous garage employer was an old-school guy who apparently never saw the light. He wouldn't even let us use it on drum brakes. Only oil leaks or something else deemed urgent. We had to sneak it off the shelf and use it when he wasn't looking. It was a real handicap not having the stuff to use freely.

 

[Mopower58]

Don't forget spiders, and fuel alternative on suspected dead pumps. Most of the places I've worked (including current) had 55 gallon drums, and use it in sure shots.

But, my previous garage employer was an old-school guy who apparently never saw the light. He wouldn't even let us use it on drum brakes. Only oil leaks or something else deemed urgent. We had to sneak it off the shelf and use it when he wasn't looking. It was a real handicap not having the stuff to use freely.

I tried the 55 gallon route, it was a lot cheaper but I ran out of room pretty quick, plus the cans seemed more convenient. I used this.