Alternatives To Ford

[Kev of Cov]

Love my car, dealer really really poor. Two questions.

If any other busness had simular standards they would have little custom, how is it they survive? Is it the fleet market?

Does anybody have experience of other make dealers, do any give professional service - bmw, merc etc

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Dealers, ah we could write pages about them. There is no logical reason why a dealer is good or bad. Many Ford dealers get poor write-ups on this site. The Ford dealers I have come across appear to be bad for various reasons - lack of "customer care skills" being the main one, technical incompetence not personally experienced by me, poor availability of spare parts also a factor. However - I have also had poor experiences with other makes - a Citroen dealer in early 1980's who performed a warranty repair and left my speedo not working, despite taking the car for a test-drive immediately before handing me the keys back (the cable had not been re-fitted to the head so it definitely was not working when they test-drove it; I reconnected it myself, less hassle this way), a Honda dealer who changed me for re-aligning a door that leaked (not sealing correctly on a car bought new in 1985) - money later refunded with no apology when I said I would write to Honda UK asking why a leak was a standard feature.

 

Curently my parents have a new Volvo V70 on order - deposit paid in mid-July and delivery to be 3rd week of September. No phone call from dealer yet; my dad will wait 2 more weeks then phone and ask for his deposit back if he hears nothing before then.

 

Perversely enough, the best service I have come across was from a Renault dealer from where I bought the Scenic that my wife now runs. This despite many posts eg on the Honest John site that criticise Renault dealers for bad service - and they are part of a large group, not a family-owned business. Strangely the Renault garage from which I bought is now a Ford franchise, so if they were not quite so far away, I might have risked using them for work on my Galaxy.

[Andrew T]

My one experience with the local Ford dealer left me reasonably impressed, when I put our Gal in for diagnosis of an Aircon Fault. For the quoted price of the dignosis they found and also rectified a broken feed to the compressor which had eluded an Aircon specialist. The work was done in the time quoted and I was phoned when the car was ready. The dealer is in a small country town, where they probably service few fleet vehicles, and people round here are not noted for throwing their money around.

 

On the subject of Honda dealers (who always do very well in Customer Service polls), four years ago when I put my Civic in for service I was told it need new suspension bushes before the next MOT at a cost of

[MrT]

If you have a friend who works for BT, they may be able to get your car serviced at their fleet workshops at a competitive price and a high standard of workmanship. My wife get her Fiesta done there and I have been impressed by the work.

[Kev of Cov]

I have just read with interest that trading standards has prosecuted my local ford dealer for a second time for poor service - fined etc ;) Ford are you listening :unsure:

[Guest Trevor]

Hi Kev,

My Gal is due for a service now, have you found any where to get yours done yet as I am not happy with the local dealer in Coventry either.

 

Trevor.

[katman]

when I put my Civic in for service I was told it need new suspension bushes before the next MOT at a cost of

[Guest Paul Collins]

If you have a friend who works for BT, they may be able to get your car serviced at their fleet workshops at a competitive price and a high standard of workmanship. My wife get her Fiesta done there and I have been impressed by the work.

Quite a few utility company workshops do "private" jobs, with the full knowledge of the company.

 

I had an oil & filter change, rear pad inspection (he did take the wheels off), brake light switch replacement and cambelt & tensioner change.

 

 

[shefki]

On the subject of Honda dealers (who always do very well in Customer Service polls), four years ago when I put my Civic in for service I was told it need new suspension bushes before the next MOT at a cost of

[johnb80]

I've had mixed experiences, my local Ford dealer in Gainsborough I would not let them service my garden wheelbarrow. My Galaxy goes to Lincoln Ford who's customer care is terrible but their workmanship I can't fault. Strange contrasts, I have a

[Guest Paul Collins]

Recent main dealer problems I've heard about.

 

Oil change - left cap off engine, not noticed until red light comes on.

 

 

Articulated Tractor Unit - first corner taken after leaving dealership, a rear wheel bounced off, hitting three cars, thankfully not hitting any people.

 

 

Customer advised to replace engine after fault diagnosis, well over 3 grand on parts alone. Fault still there!

[Guest MATT]

shefki, gosh, what a story.

 

i have been looking at the Voyager and grand voyager, but decided against them because of the make 'chrylester' not to keen on it.

 

much rather have a 10% ford/90% VW Galaxy!

 

also had a look at the Kia people carrier (just out of interest)

[Ivor_E_Tower]

There will be a new Kia Sedona soon but it is unlikely to make the UK until next year apparently (mentioned in this week's Autocar magazine).

It is supposedly a vast improvement; long wheelbase version is going to the USA but not the UK and it looks like it's gone into production first, ahead of the shorter European version :P

[Guest vr6galaxy]

 

i have been looking at the Voyager and grand voyager, but decided against them because of the make 'chrylester' not to keen on it.

 

the latest version is a great improvement over the last model! it has fold flat seats that dissapear into the floor :P no more huge three seater sofa to lift out and store when you need the boot space :P all three rows of seats now have side curtain air bags! yo get an adjustable over head storage bin system :o

[Guest ajc]

For a change, I have found a Ford Dealer that I do rate highly. John R Ford in Shefford, near Biggleswade really seem to know their stuff and have always done a very good job on my car. Their Chief Technician as they call them these days is excellent.

 

The other local dealer is a Ford and Rover dealer who have a reputation second to all. I haven't used them since a previous company car that I had came back from service only for the oil filter to fall off and empty the contents of the sump all over my garage floor.

 

I also had a tussle with another dealer in Milton Keynes (no longer a Ford dealer) over my step-daughters car. A car which had done 8000 miles since purchase from them (used) needed new brake discs and pads. One pad was down to the metal and the other had 7mm left. They tried to say that this was normal and brakes needed checking between service intervals in Milton Keynes because of all the roundabouts which caused uneven brake pad wear. Eventually got her money back after involving Ford Technical Services and writing a stinking letter to the MD asking why if this was a common probelm, they had not reported it to Ford since it was a major safety issue? Of course it was due to rusty channels on the calipers which they hadn't checked when they supposedly serviced the car.

[curiousdad]

Don't bother with my local ford dealer ALLEN FORD I think there service is C**P.

Take our galaxy to Nationwide Autocentre, Warwick. Absoluteley brilliant, miles cheaper than Ford dealers with better service. Plus you get gallons of Tesco clubcard points which makes it even cheaper in the long run.