MAJOR Dealership Problem - Damaged Car

[SilentScope]

I'm with this guy.

I mean it sucks what happened but I highly doubt in the amount of time he was driving the car he did serious damage. Letting my girlfriend drive my car probably did more damage than what that guy did. I also have over 400whp and 65k on the completely stock clutch. Be mad at the dealer but stop being paranoid about the car, its only going to piss you off..

Right? If he only knew what valets do to the cars. Holy shit.

Seriously going after a dealership because he "thinks" his clutch has been fried because it got stalled a few times.

 

[5.0H]

valets don't return your car stinking of clutch so much that it takes a half hour with the windows down to get rid of the stench...

 

[SilentScope]

valets don't return your car stinking of clutch so much that it takes a half hour with the windows down to get rid of the stench...

yeah because they tear the shit out of the car, park it, and give it back to you 4 hours later.

The wear done to the clutch just from driving it since the "incident" is more than what could have been done in during said incident.

It makes no sense. These are mechanical, operational parts that are designed and engineered to withstand abuse for years.

Why do you think Ford advertises the car doing burnouts all the time?

FFS people, stop always trying to blame someone else. Idle minds I tell you.

 

[Xorak]

I agree with everyone saying that he should never let anyone drive his car without going with them...the fact of the matter is that they did not have consent. He handed them to keys so that the salesman could run and grab the exact mileage off the dash while he sat down with the other salesman. At no point in time did anyone say anything about a test drive.

handing the keys over is consent enough. i have bought and sold MANY cars and there are two important reasons to NEVER turn over your keys until you're signing papers and get the keys to the new car.

1. they will drive your car. this is ok for an appraisal, but be present for it. never let them take it out on their own. did they let you take their car out by yourself? of course not (i know there are exceptions to this).

2. it's a sales tactic to stall you. if you have your keys, you can leave at any time. if they have your keys, you're not going anywhere until they say you can.


most used car managers are going to test drive a trade in. especially Mustangs. if you wouldn't give your key to a complete stranger in a parking lot and let them joy ride your car for 10 mins, don't give it to the complete stranger at a stealership that wants to joy ride your car for 10 mins.

they are not going to take care of your car like you or a fellow enthusiast would. to them it's just another unit to be turned.

that's exactly why i am a repeat customer at my local Ford store. they know when i come in i'm serious about buying. they know how well i take care of my cars and know they just have to park it on the used car lot without doing any refurbishing to it. when i got my 2012, the salesman put a dealer tag on the one i picked out, handed me the key, and said "see ya when ya get back" lol. the key to my 2010 was in my pocket while i was gone on the test drive. they didn't get the key to my 2010 until i signed papers and got the keys to the 2012. i just wish their service dept was as good as the sales dept is there.

 

[tjm73]

But so many people respond positively to being treated like shit. Why do you think the biggest, busiest dealerships always have some asshole screaming at you on the radio every 5 minutes to come buy a car? The fact that Kav's friend still stayed at the dealership for an hour after the asshole took his car is just more proof that most people will allow themselves to be walked on and still sign on the dotted line.

A lot of truth in that. My father owned his Ford dealership for 35+ years and never treated people the way the city dealerships do. He had customers that bought every car they ever owned from him. But too many people believe the guy that advertises and screams he has the best deal, is the best place to buy. They get bent over and then say thank you for the fucking. My Dad ran an honest, honorable business. The kind everyone says they want to do business wit, but then goes someplace else. I guess that's why he got squeezed out of the business when the economy soured.

 

[GOTTORQ]

Use the warranty to have it fixed if it's actually broken. You get a new clutch after they screwed you

 

[Xorak]

warranty isn't going to cover a worn clutch

 

[Wlkn Tal]

I would have been totally pissed and probably would have not contained myelf if I had gotten yelled at, there may have even been some police involved. But what's done is done, you have to caulk it up to a lesson learned, you bet your friend won't let it happen again. Get the car fixed and move on.

 

[Chally72]

Hi guys, I am the OP at AFM.

I tried to respond to people at all the forums these threads popped up on, but I only just got approved to post here. My apologies for being late.

Just to knock down a couple questions here-

I cornered myself by leaving the dealership. Stupid thing to do. Oops. Next time I run into this, I'll stay. Learn from my bad example.

The e-brake in the car was not up when they went to take the car. The first three cars I drove (1967 Plymouth Valiant, 1972 Dodge Challenger, 1984 Porsche 944) didn't have functioning E-Brakes, so I hardly ever use it unless I'm on an incredibly steep hill. Nope, that was all amateur stalls, folks!

I do NOT think that three stalls honesty smoked my clutch. That was further evidence ON TOP of the REEKING clutch smell that proves the guy who took it out could not drive it. It is NOT the sole reason I was so concerned with my car! I think that SOMETHING happened after that car got out of my sight to make it stink of clutch like that. I'll never know.

Also, I live in Eastern CT. Not LA or NY. If it is common to periodically hand your car over to a valet that beats the shit out of it and leaves it parked on a fire hydrant or something, then please excuse my cultural ignorance. In my little world, I think that anyone driving your car should darn well be accountable for how they treat it. They should ask before taking your car on a test drive, say please and thank you, and have you SITTING NEXT TO THEM. Lesson learned for me. (Shank the valet and park it yourself?)

I am updating the main AFM thread shortly. (Good news) There are a ton of forums linked to that thanks to my car club and mustang pals that were furious about what happened and know how I treat my cars. I thank you guys for offering your input, and hope that we all helped change some attitudes. The fact that several different people on different forums called their own dealerships, called Ford, etc, and brought these threads to their attention is huge. Thank you.

-Dylan

 

[weather man]

Welcome to the forum...sorry it had to be under such a crappy circumstance. There is a wealth of tech here. The search button works great!

 

[Chally72]

Thank you. I hope to get acclimated when all this settles down.

 

[GOTTORQ]

worn clutch at 15k miles? on a 2012. is the clutch slipping at all?

 

[MOTORCITYBADBOY]

Check to see if they have security cameras where the car was parked. Then tell them u want a sweet deal on the Boss or u will have to contact your attorney abou how they abused your vehicle.. ;o

 

[Chally72]

GOTTORQ: Clutch is good. Not sure of WEAR, just that flywheel is not glazed, nothing immediate/serious as far as drivetrain issues.


I'll be damned if I ever talk to any of them again. Unless they slap me with a Libel suit. I'll be contacting a lawyer tomorrow just in case. I'm sure it isn't helping that people in OTHER COUNTRIES even are talking to their ford dealerships/sending emails to dearborn/sending emails to Columbia Ford. Good job guys.

 

[5.0H]

here's dylan's update from afm...

Hi guys. Just wanted to post a big update here. First of all, I don't know if many of you know this, but there are a TON of forums linking to this thread, with discussions of their own. S197 forum, MustangCollective, even things as out there as VW forums and the FocalJet forums. I have many car club/mustang owner friends and they are all furious at how this went down, especially knowing how I treat my car. Many people from many different forums have so far called their local dealership, called Ford, sent emails, and raised huge awareness of how big this is online. Ford and the dealership cannot ignore this, and hopefully this will make them think twice before doing this ever again.

So, on to a bit of good news.

-I got the car checked for "Abuse" codes at a dealership I will not name because I have not obtained their permission. No abuse codes were thrown from Columbia Ford's Sunday test drive. Abuse codes are pretty extreme flags for the computer, including extended bouncing off the rev limiter, etc.

-Through another forum, I ended up talking to the GM at Hoffman Ford of East Hartford. Even having never done a bit of business with him, he set me up immediately with his service manager and allowed me to sit with a senior tech and go over my concerns with the car. That is after walking right in, by the way. Columbia couldn't even guarantee when their "mustang-pro" service techs could be free that day. Shows how critical the issue was to them.

The service tech's conclusion was I have a healthy mustang with normal noise levels and excellent clutch engagement. He does not think the flywheel is glazed or there is any other immediate issue. His words were, "document, document, document it all, and if you have a problem, then you can talk about a replacement covered by someone. But no reason to worry now." So either I had an extremely quiet Mustang before....or I was hypersensitive to sounds after the Sunday Episode. THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS.

So, on to the consumer lesson-plan of the day:

OBVIOUS LESSON #1: Never give your keys to the salesman unless you have considered the worst possible scenario, such as gremlins being fed chicken in your interior, and are OK with that happening.

OBVIOUS LESSON #2: Despite abiding by lesson #1, follow your keys around like a lost puppy dog.

OBVIOUS LESSON #3: Never leave the dealership. Throw things in the dirt, kick rocks outside, jog around the lot, grab your stress ball from the car...whatever you have to do to calm down. But stay there and make them stay there until it is right.

OBVIOUS LESSON #4: Bring a friend. If I didn't have my friend on Sunday with me to witness the stalls and clutch, etc...I would have NO leg to stand on and the dealership could've easily steamrolled over my complaints. I saw how easy it was to come up with "witnesses"

OBVIOUS LESSON #5: Don't get walked on. If I was smart I would have taken my keys and gone after they came back from the test drive. It didn't help my situation that we sat down in the dealership for another half hour. For someone whose clutch was smoked to a lesser degree, they might not even have noticed.....


Now for dealer lesson time:

OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #1: Always ask to take a test drive. I don't care if it is a trade-in and it is very obvious you have to drive it. Ask. Cars are generally second only to houses on the list of most expensive thing a person owns. Don't treat it like your right to drive them, or you'll find that your customer learns THEIR right to go elsewhere PRETTY DAMN QUICK. (Though not in my case.)

OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #2: If you do not follow OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #1, then APOLOGIZE. By being defensive and denying the validity of the customer's complaint, you ESCALATE THE SITUATION.

OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #3: This could all have been put to bed Monday had I not been lied to. An apology from Dale would've smoothed things over further. Instead, I was told that I was essentially full of S**T, but would I like to get my car looked at there anyways? Because, after telling me they had 3 false witnesses, they would CERTAINLY report any damage they found. Or just use the time on the lift to take more pictures of my car and threaten to send it in to ford as proof of abuse. Which brings me to....

OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #4: Do not play CYA! Here I am still at the dealership, waiting to work it out, and he's taking pictures of my car and tire tread. Why? Because he possibly thinks I will not be satisfied with his answers? That he has already decided he has reached the end of what he is willing to do for the situation?

OBVIOUS DEALER LESSON #5: When you have a customer that has major concerns about damage done to their car by an unauthorized test drive from an employee, don't toss that customer on the waiting list. If you have techs that are "Mustang Pros", pull them off whatever the heck they are on and put them on the car! Don't tell that customer that they should be available shortly. What is at the head of that waiting line? A blown engine because of a test drive? Why should I even have to be asking if this can be done immediately instead of "In the next day or two"?



Finding out my Mustang is considered fine by two other dealerships definitely tempers all of my concerns about possible damage done on the test drive. Perhaps a mod can even remove the reference from the thread title.

My concerns with how I was treated remain. Why lie? It is such a stupid thing to lie about, and it instantly threw out any chance of mending bridges. I'd say I was MORE than patient and MORE than willing to work with this guy. If he thinks that I was being too difficult and making unreasonable demands, then I guess he needs to find other customers willing to meet him farther on his side of the bridge. Those same customers won't be bothered by the context of these threads.

Thanks again for the support guys. I have a weight off of my shoulders right now, and can put this 3 day hell trip behind me, for the most part.

 

[beefcake]

We test drive 99% of the cars we take in trade.

Unless it only has very few miles, it's getting driven.

13k miles are not a few, especially on a stick car.

There are normal wear items such as clutches, brakes, etc.. that are not covered by warranty.

My other question is this? Were you with him?

Typically dealerships do not have managers appraising cars that can't drive a car.

I'll be honest, something smells a little fishy.

Also, he handed them the keys to appraise the car. What did he think they were gonna do with the keys? You don't need keys to look at a car.

Like someone else said. I doubt the clutch would be damaged on a manager appraisal.

Again, most dealerships aren't going to have someone in a management position out there beating cars.

Even if he did "a burnout or something" which I don't believe happened. I doubt seriously the car was "damaged".

I took my 06, 08, and 10 mustangs on stock clutches to the dragstrip for quite an exteneded period of time doing multiple burnouts without issue.

It doens't take much to get a little clutch smell anyway.

I think your buddy is making way too much out of an appraisal.

 

[5.0H]

We test drive 99% of the cars we take in trade.

Unless it only has very few miles, it's getting driven.

13k miles are not a few, especially on a stick car.

There are normal wear items such as clutches, brakes, etc.. that are not covered by warranty.

My other question is this? Were you with him?

Typically dealerships do not have managers appraising cars that can't drive a car.

I'll be honest, something smells a little fishy.

Also, he handed them the keys to appraise the car. What did he think they were gonna do with the keys? You don't need keys to look at a car.

Like someone else said. I doubt the clutch would be damaged on a manager appraisal.

Again, most dealerships aren't going to have someone in a management position out there beating cars.

Even if he did "a burnout or something" which I don't believe happened. I doubt seriously the car was "damaged".

I took my 06, 08, and 10 mustangs on stock clutches to the dragstrip for quite an exteneded period of time doing multiple burnouts without issue.

It doens't take much to get a little clutch smell anyway.

I think your buddy is making way too much out of an appraisal.

did you read the threads or just the last post?

 

[skwerl]

did you read the threads or just the last post?

I think he just read the thread title and skimmed through half of the first post.

 

[DDTCM]

I'd be texting this from jail!!!

Dude! How do you get your phone into the jail......oh wait........gross man.

 

[beefcake]

i read the first page, then gave my opinion

okay, read the 2nd page, what am i missing

synopsis,

gave keys to car to get appraised, smelled a little clutch "supposedly",

car "checked" nothing is wrong with the car.

where is the problem