I had a horrible experience with this service department…read more
My car was at the dealership for a total of almost six days across two separate drop-offs. I originally scheduled an appointment because I assumed the entire point of making an appointment was to avoid long wait times and have your vehicle serviced quickly. Instead, it sat there for two full days without being touched.
That was incredibly inconvenient. I could've continued driving my car and dropped it off once someone was actually available to work on it instead of being without it for no reason.
Once the issue was finally diagnosed, I was told the repair would take about eight hours. Since I couldn't continue being without my car, I picked it up and paid for the diagnosis, parts, and labor for the work that would be completed when I brought it back.
I later found a time when being without my vehicle would be the least disruptive and dropped it off again. Even though I'd been told it was an eight-hour repair, it ended up taking almost another three days.
At the end of the second day, I was told, "If people would leave the tech alone and let him work on it, it'll be done." I honestly couldn't believe that was said to me. That response made it sound like either the department was too disorganized to let a technician finish the job or there just wasn't much concern for the customer's time.
Later that day, I was told the car still wasn't finished, but that I'd have it by noon the next day. That mattered because I had work-related client meetings starting at 1:00 p.m.
The next morning, I was told it wouldn't be ready because someone had just been sent to get another part. I don't understand how my car could've been there for several days, after already being diagnosed during the first drop-off, before anyone realized another part was needed. They also knew I needed the car back for work.
They did provide me with a rental, which allowed me to get to my meetings. But when I returned the rental and finally came to pick up my car, I was told that what I'd already paid was only a deposit and that I owed another $2,300. That brought the total cost of the repair to nearly $4,000.
This was never clearly explained to me in any of my conversations with the service department. I genuinely believed I had already paid for the parts and labor, so being hit with another $2,300 after days of delays and poor communication was infuriating.
The issue I was having with the car was a minor inconvenience. Had the full cost been clearly communicated to me from the beginning, I would've passed on the repair entirely or waited until I was financially prepared to spend that much. A nearly $4,000 repair shouldn't be something a customer only understands by closely examining the fine print. Clear and honest communication should be a basic standard, especially when that much money is involved.
I understand that parts can be expensive and that repairs don't always go exactly as planned, especially for a Mustang Mach-E, which is a less common and more specialized vehicle. That isn't the main issue. The main issue is the lack of clear communication, the repeated delays, the inaccurate promises about when the car would be ready, and the nonchalant attitude about how long I was being left without my vehicle.
Maybe this dealership considers this a normal or acceptable way to handle service, but I don't. Customers should have the total cost and payment expectations clearly explained to them, be informed when anything changes, and have their vehicles serviced within a reasonable amount of time after a scheduled appointment.
I'll never return to this dealership for service or to purchase a vehicle. I really hope this experience isn't representative of Ford dealerships in general, because the entire process made it feel like my time, money, and trust didn't matter.
