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| - Awful, awful service! We purchased a Ford Escape from another dealer for my 17-year-old daughter. About a year after we bought it, she had the same problem with the throttle cable sticking that killed the girl in Northern Arizona. We took it to Pep Boys, who immediately recognized that it was a recall item and suggested we take it to Ford instead. I checked with Ford on recall status. Other Escapes were subject to recall, but not our Escape.
After being told by Ford Motor Company that it was not a recall item, we took it to Camelback Ford for service. We needed to make certain the cable didn't stick again. They charged us $600, and then upsold my wife on a needless transmission fluid flush. Within a month or two of paying for the repair out of our own pocket, we received a notice from Ford that our car was now, indeed, part of the recall. Since there were some problems with the instructions on the original recall, they had to check the work again. We took it back to Camelback.
When we took it back, my wife asked to be reimbursed for the repairs that we had already paid for on the same issue. She was told that authorization had to come from Ford, and they would check. My wife emailed and called Camelback several times over a period of a week or two, finally getting a response that Ford had said "no." That annoyed me, but what can you do?
And then the sales calls started coming, "Hey, this is Larry at Camelback Ford, do you still have that Ford Escape?" The first call I got, I thought they were calling to tell me they had more info from Ford and our repairs were being reimbursed. Wrong. "We always need good used cars on the lot. What would it take to get you out of that car and into a new 2012." At this point I was being polite and told him I wasn't interested.
And the sales calls kept coming every couple of months. It's like the Jerky Boys are calling me, just to hear how pissed off I would get. Or, I can imagine a couple of veteran sales guys telling the new guy, "hey this is a good lead," and then laughing as I go off on the new guy. The last call I got I was angry, and I used the Eff Word at one of the guys, who then threatened to hang up on me if I didn't stop cursing. "Hang up! You called ME! That's not a threat, that's an outcome much to be desired." When I called back and asked to speak to the manager they would hang up on me. I called back again and asked to speak to the general manager of the entire dealership. I want off of the calling list. All I get are voicemail, hang-ups, and just the high-hat in general, I never get to speak with a manager.
So I did what any decent American would do: within an hour of the most recent call, I had a small claims lawsuit drafted, took it down to the Maricopa County Courthouse and sued Ford Motor Company. Camelback, in teeny-tiny one-point type on the service estimate, prints a binding arbitration clause. I didn't want this ending up before some arbitrator who is predisposed to finding in the dealership's favor. I had no contractual relationship with Ford, however, and since Camelback told me Ford Motor Company was responsible for the reimbursement decision, I sued them instead. They have offered to settle and I'm getting my $600 back. Why does it take a lawsuit to get the most fundamental level of customer service anymore? Rhetorical question.
Hopefully, Ford will take a look at their practices and set Camelback Ford straight, but I believe monkeys will fly out my butt before that happens.
Their service receipt says "if you aren't 100% happy with your experience today, let us know." Trying to let them know is like a TV in an empty room---nobody's listening.
When I'm driving east, I take Indian School or Bethany Home, just so I don't have to drive past this place. Truly an awful dealership.
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