Long Wait Time for Vehicle Service - 3.5 Months!

[tcesni]

Gotta love the UAW vehicles

all ribbing aside, that is ridiculous. Most here only take their vehicles to dealerships if they’re under warranty. Even then you have to wait for service, that’s if they even order the parts, and when you get it back the issue probably won’t be resolved anyways.

I use an independent mechanic. The shop I use isn’t perfect, but above and beyond better quality than most certified [insert brand] mechanics around here because he actually fixes the problem, and if it’s something basic he will tell me what parts to order and talk me through how to do it myself to save money. He’s a whole lot more trustworthy than any dealership mechanic I’ve ever met.

I don't think it has anything to do with a UAW versus non-UAW vehicle, more to do with how busy the dealership is and its a big dealership. Twice when I did have a repair needed to get the car back on the road they were able to do so within 48 hours, which is weird when they are booked for 3 months for routine service.

[BillsFan]

Warning Language!!

And that's just how it's gonna be!

[BillsFan]

I don't think it has anything to do with a UAW versus non-UAW vehicle, more to do with how busy the dealership is and its a big dealership. Twice when I did have a repair needed to get the car back on the road they were able to do so within 48 hours, which is weird when they are booked for 3 months for routine service.

Look either your on board or not?

[lakefolk]

I can drive mine to the ford dealer fast lane and have "the works" done and be out in an hour, no appointment needed..
oil and filter change, rotate tires, top off all fluids, check brakes, belts, battery, hoses and a bunch of other stuff.. $69.95, add another 19.99 for OEM wiper blades if I want.. once in a while it'll take an hour and a half but they're always done before I get back from visiting with my buddy Scott and checking out all the new stuff on the lot

[BillsFan]

I can drive mine to the ford dealer fast lane and have "the works" done and be out in an hour, no appointment needed..
oil and filter change, rotate tires, top off all fluids, check brakes, belts, battery, hoses and a bunch of other stuff.. $69.95, add another 19.99 for OEM wiper blades if I want.. once in a while it'll take an hour and a half but they're always done before I get back from visiting with my buddy Scott and checking out all the new stuff on the lot

Sounds like the 50s minus the cost

[vatreefarmer]

I've had great service and wait from my local Ford dealership. Don't love the prices though. My best friend is my mechanic at his independant shop, but I do let the dealership see it once a year just to keep a relationship.

[Cbbassin]

Experienced a similar delay with Ram years ago and decided that was my sign to learn how to do it myself. Since saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars plus feel better knowing a lot more about our vehicles.

[lakebouef5]

Congress should pass a law protecting consumers on warranty crap. if they make you wait over two weeks for a part, they pay for the rental....and it it is 2 or 3 months, that time is added to the total time vehicle is warrantied.

[BMCD]

I am lucky enough to know enough, to not be taken advantage of. I can guarantee that many have been taken advantage of by dealers and mechanics telling you what the problem is.

[Highcentered]

It is for some, but I wish I would have taken some pic's of the thing's we saw from DIY repairs in my garage over the year's.

Yeah, many shouldn't even open the hood to take a peek. Some people fail to realize that even simple tasks are like rocket science to some. Wouldn't it be funny if the best brain surgeon in the world couldn't even change their own oil without messing something up?

[n2ratfishin]

Yeah, many shouldn't even open the hood to take a peek. Some people fail to realize that even simple tasks are like rocket science to some. Wouldn't it be funny if the best brain surgeon in the world couldn't even change their own oil without messing something up?

My wife has more degrees and "C" Level experience than most, but I assure you she has next to zero mechanical ability. Would you want a master mechanic doing brain surgery?

I was a mechanic for at least ten years. I just don't enjoy doing the work anymore. Actually I still enjoy it, but I sure don't enjoy the pain for a week after.

Our local Ford dealer seems to cater to farmers and commercial accounts. No biggie, they keep the lights on in this area.

[Highcentered]

My wife has more degrees and "C" Level experience than most, but I assure you she has next to zero mechanical ability. Would you want a master mechanic doing brain surgery?

I was a mechanic for at least ten years. I just don't enjoy doing the work anymore. Actually I still enjoy it, but I sure don't enjoy the pain for a week after.

Our local Ford dealer seems to cater to farmers and commercial accounts. No biggie, they keep the lights on in this area.

No doubt I wouldn't want a mechanic doing brain surgery. We all know plenty of people who are incredibly book smart but don't have enough mechanical ability to check their tire pressure or oil on the dipstick. It's all in how the brain is wired. I've even gotten to the point where I'm going to start paying to have my oil changed again and just take it to a friend of mine and have him knock it out real fast on the lift. Will probably be an after hours thing and I'll make sure his brother-in-law (shop owner) gets his cut to help with overhead. I can do it fine but just hate doing it. I did fire the previous place I used for decades after they changed owners and a drain plug screwup happened that shouldn't have. I now own a very nice set of Irwin extractor sockets after removing a rounded off drain plug that had to of been removed with an extractor a few times and then run back in with the impact on KILL to torque the plug and get the extractor off at the same time.

[PJ-Rohlf]

It took me 13 months to get an intake manifold for my f150. That was fun.

[ajZX225]

Yea have a 2023 Ford F350 king ranch that the 4x4 went out on, called 3 different dealers here in Stlouis all where 3 months out to even look at it, called ford they said the sorry that's the standard wait time. I ended up having the local shop fix it luckily just a vacuum line so it was cheap, but this will be last new Ford. Why buy new if you cant use the warranty.

[Mill Creek]

I can drive mine to the ford dealer fast lane and have "the works" done and be out in an hour, no appointment needed..
oil and filter change, rotate tires, top off all fluids, check brakes, belts, battery, hoses and a bunch of other stuff.. $69.95, add another 19.99 for OEM wiper blades if I want.. once in a while it'll take an hour and a half but they're always done before I get back from visiting with my buddy Scott and checking out all the new stuff on the lot

Me too, except my "works" is $100 for full synthetic. I drop it off and walk 20 minutes home and pick it up later that afternoon.

I always went to independent shops until we moved about 15 years. Our local dealer doesn't upsell you and does what they say they're gonna do.

At 65 years old, I'll pay a bit more for convenience.

[castforcash]

Yea have a 2023 Ford F350 king ranch that the 4x4 went out on, called 3 different dealers here in Stlouis all where 3 months out to even look at it, called ford they said the sorry that's the standard wait time. I ended up having the local shop fix it luckily just a vacuum line so it was cheap, but this will be last new Ford. Why buy new if you cant use the warranty.

None of the auto companies are immune to this frustrating issue regarding lead times on new parts.

[Fishing Addict]

23 Ram company truck, battery was dead, jumped it and drove it to a local dealer to be informed that I could leave it there for two months and they’d try to get to it.
couple of days later and I’m working in a very small NC town. Come out of the hotel to go to work and battery is dead again. Jumped it off again and watched as the voltage dropped to 8.8 before the dash went blank. If I tried to put it in gear, it would put itself back in park. Then, I noticed it overheating on the “mechanical” gauge, as well as steam from under the hood.
I shut it down and called fleet services.
Had it towed to the nearest dealer, about an hour away. They diagnosed as a bad starter and had it replace in about 48 hrs. Picked it up and drove back to the hotel. Next morning, battery is dead again. Called the dealer direct who said they’d get right on it when it arrived. I jumped it again, watched for voltage drop, (none, charging at 14.0 V), and told them I was on the way. As promised, a tech was waiting for it. This time, bad battery, replaced it and sent me on my way. Fast forward a few weeks to this past Tuesday, I got an overheat warning on the dash. Once I got to the office and it cooled off, I checked the coolant, empty.
called 3 dealers to try and get it in. The earliest appointment is June 17. If I drop it off, the “might” be able to look at it in about 2 weeks.
This is again, a work truck. And currently has less than 7k miles.

[Bimmer]

Called a moment ago to get my 2019 Expedition serviced. August 15th was the first available date. Ford is not making me happy as of late. Have any of you left Ford recently for another manufacturer?

We went through arbitration and had Ford buyback our Explorer. Between the crap vehicle and terrible dealers I will never touch another Ford.

[rb]

Just called my Toyota dealer for my Tundra 15K service. He said come on down

[Gthunter5]

a couple years ago I made a thread about doing it myself

ive been loving it. only cracked one filter housing on my Toyota Sienna - $80 later I was back in business - ive since bought a lower end torque wrench to help with that. lol

I do oil changes, tire rotations, brakes, serp belt, diff fluid (truck), spark plugs, etc.