Brought a prospective ST into the Ford dealer to get looked at, some minor fun ensued…

[SpeedandPower]

Initially the dealership quoted me $330 and it would be done same day but can take about 3-4 hours. Okay, no big deal. Drop off is very easy.

Get a call about 30 minutes later, the quote is now $430. I told him that wasn’t what I was quoted, he changes it to $330 and there isn’t much push back. But that’s annoying. Then he tells me they might need the car overnight. I explain I can’t as I need to bring it back to the dealership I brought it in from and I was also told it would be same day. Again, no pushback and tells me he will make sure they get it done by about 3 pm. Again, not a big deal but still annoying.

Car is done about 3:30 pm. Has some issues, but nothing major. I see the car parked when I arrived so I head out when I’m done and hop in. I think man this car is more best than I remember.

Then about 10 seconds to me being in the car a digitized voice says “Security recording. Recording will continue for 30 seconds.” I think “What the hell did they do to my car… that won’t start?”

I get out to double check I am in the right, old and used black FiST. They didn’t have the license plate # on the paperwork but they do have the VIN. Aaaaaaand they don’t match. 🤦🏻‍♂️

So I just happened to get into a used black FiST that was also at the service department same time as I am picking mine up. So some random person probably has a security recording of me trying to figure out why the car won’t start and what is going on. Lol

I figure out where my car is and as I am walking over I see a woman getting into her red Fiesta. She’s probably mid 50’s. I think, “Nice color, and man it’s clean. Oh, it’s an ST!”

So I stop and ask if she minds if I ask some questions. We chat briefly and I ask her if it’s an 18 or 19, because it is super clean. She tells me it’s actually a 14 and that she works for the state, they gave her a company car and she has another, so she doesn’t use it that often.

I ask “How many miles?” She says, “Oh, only about 3,000.” 😳 I immediately ask. “Are you interested in selling it?” She miles and says, “No, not right now.”

Damn. I tell her if she ever interested here is my number and tell her to have a good day.

Get back to the dealer and bring up the issues, transmission leaking, ac actuator is broken, rotors are glazed, axle fluid is leaking and the fan belt should be replaced due to mileage. They offer to fix it or knock $1,000 off.

I passed. So the hunt continues, but at least it was fun!

 

[Stubborn Approach]

You probably offended her by calling her molten orange Fiesta, red.

 

[dhminer]

Initially the dealership quoted me $330 and it would be done same day but can take about 3-4 hours. Okay, no big deal. Drop off is very easy.

Get a call about 30 minutes later, the quote is now $430. I told him that wasn’t what I was quoted, he changes it to $330 and there isn’t much push back. But that’s annoying. Then he tells me they might need the car overnight. I explain I can’t as I need to bring it back to the dealership I brought it in from and I was also told it would be same day. Again, no pushback and tells me he will make sure they get it done by about 3 pm. Again, not a big deal but still annoying.

Car is done about 3:30 pm. Has some issues, but nothing major. I see the car parked when I arrived so I head out when I’m done and hop in. I think man this car is more best than I remember.

Then about 10 seconds to me being in the car a digitized voice says “Security recording. Recording will continue for 30 seconds.” I think “What the hell did they do to my car… that won’t start?”

I get out to double check I am in the right, old and used black FiST. They didn’t have the license plate # on the paperwork but they do have the VIN. Aaaaaaand they don’t match. 🤦🏻‍♂️

So I just happened to get into a used black FiST that was also at the service department same time as I am picking mine up. So some random person probably has a security recording of me trying to figure out why the car won’t start and what is going on. Lol

I figure out where my car is and as I am walking over I see a woman getting into her red Fiesta. She’s probably mid 50’s. I think, “Nice color, and man it’s clean. Oh, it’s an ST!”

So I stop and ask if she minds if I ask some questions. We chat briefly and I ask her if it’s an 18 or 19, because it is super clean. She tells me it’s actually a 14 and that she works for the state, they gave her a company car and she has another, so she doesn’t use it that often.

I ask “How many miles?” She says, “Oh, only about 3,000.” 😳 I immediately ask. “Are you interested in selling it?” She miles and says, “No, not right now.”

Damn. I tell her if she ever interested here is my number and tell her to have a good day.

Get back to the dealer and bring up the issues, transmission leaking, ac actuator is broken, rotors are glazed, axle fluid is leaking and the fan belt should be replaced due to mileage. They offer to fix it or knock $1,000 off.

I passed. So the hunt continues, but at least it was fun!

Yikes that dealership is either some crooks or morons.

 

[SpeedandPower]

Yeah, unfortunately pretty par for the course here in the states. Which is why most people hate car dealership in the states. They are just full of absolute tomfoolery. I’d use other language but don’t want to get in trouble.

I went to another dealer earlier in the week to test drive an RS, and while it was just a test drive, once they realized I wasn’t salivating at the price and took issue with the curbed rims, rust on the undercarriage and inside the engine bay, and they their lifetime powering warranty (which is actually really nice) didn’t cover the turbo, they immediately changed their attitude with me and were ready to have me leave.

They weren’t rude, but pretty much were like “So what else are you waiting for then?” Aka if you’re not buying jog on.

I’ve only ever worked with one dealership that had changed their tactics and had done away with the dinosaur hard sales tactics approach. I guess it still works for dealers, sadly.

 

[dhminer]

Yeah, unfortunately pretty par for the course here in the states. Which is why most people hate car dealership in the states. They are just full of absolute tomfoolery. I’d use other language but don’t want to get in trouble.

I went to another dealer earlier in the week to test drive an RS, and while it was just a test drive, once they realized I wasn’t salivating at the price and took issue with the curbed rims, rust on the undercarriage and inside the engine bay, and they their lifetime powering warranty (which is actually really nice) didn’t cover the turbo, they immediately changed their attitude with me and were ready to have me leave.

They weren’t rude, but pretty much were like “So what else are you waiting for then?” Aka if you’re not buying jog on.

I’ve only ever worked with one dealership that had changed their tactics and had done away with the dinosaur hard sales tactics approach. I guess it still works for dealers, sadly.

Oh I’m aware, I’m American lol. Every dealership I’ve purchased from, I just tell the salesman straight up I have no desire to talk to them, I know exactly what I’m looking for and I just need the keys to see if this car is it. Had a couple try to give me lip so I started walking away and said ok guess this ain’t the one. They always go get the keys and fuck off.

Just as info, the flag on here is tied to your IP address so VPN use will change your flag. Sometimes I’m British, sometimes Swiss, others I’m Israeli, but I live in NC. Just gotta avoid big brother spying on me as much as possible.

 

[Intuit]

the dealer and bring up the issues, transmission leaking, ac actuator is broken, rotors are glazed, axle fluid is leaking and the fan belt should be replaced due to mileage.

Transmission and axle seal leaking are likely the same thing; and is common. "Leaking" is probably overstated. There's not even enough to ever reach the pavement. They likely just noticed a little greasiness around the axle at the transmission side. Not really anything to worry about.

Rotors being glazed... heh? Dun even know what that is supposed to mean. All used rotors have the potential to appear a little shiny; potentially with some groove pattern. Unless it has a blue tinge or something, nothing to worry about.

As far as I know, passenger cars haven't had fan belts since the 80s. This has a serpentine belt which pretty much last "forever". The timing belt is spec'd for 150k. No reports of issues and the lot of us drive aggressively; further boosted even. Doesn't hurt to replace at 135k (10% sooner).

If that's all there is, I wouldn't let that stop me. My areas of concern are, any changes from stock... aka "mods" and "mod-reversals". It's not easy to see programming changes but if there's no evidence of alterations then it should be a good candidate. I'm assuming the one you peeped at is an 18 or 19.

 

[Intuit]

Oh, regarding the A/C, you can have the dealer fix that as apart of the purchase. Since you have an estimate, you have the option of deducting that amount from your purchase price and taking it to a place you trust to do the work correctly.

 

[SVTBob]

The AC issue is a touchy one for me. Bought my ‘19 from a dealer out of state. The car looked great online and turned out to be very well cared for by the original owner. Being in AZ where triple digit heat can last for weeks, I inquired about the AC. Said, no worries, their multi-point inspection assured that the AC worked properly. When I finally decided to buy the car, I called them and said that I wanted someone to go out to the car and test the AC while I was on the phone; I had to fly to the dealership and I was not about to drive it home without AC in July. After about 15 minutes, someone comes back on the phone and tells me it works perfectly. So I fly to the dealership and they try to hustle me into the sales office to sign all the paperwork. I said not before a test drive and test of the AC. So, they get the keys, car starts right up, runs fine but NO AC coming out the dash ! I quickly realize the AC is actually working but the only airflow is coming out the side window vents. They panic, do a quick diagnostic, determine it’s the blend door actuator, but that it will take a few days to get the part. Tell them that I am not going to wait around for them to fix it. They say, no problem, if you take it to a local Ford dealer at home, we’ll pay for the repair. Since the AC works, I agree and while it took longer to cool off, once it did, the car was comfortable to drive. I get home, take it to the local Ford dealer and ask them to please order that part to reduce my wait time. They say, sorry, we have to run our own diagnostic before ordering parts. I say ok, they take the car. At the enof the day, they tell me that the other dealer was wrong, that the evaporator housing is faulty and needs to be replaced and that, since it it will require 4 days and pulling the dash, front seats and console out, that I should replace the evaporator as well. They ask me to sign a commitment to pay for the parts ($1800) before ordering. Since it’s not my dime, I agree but I call the original dealership and offer to pay for half the shipping if they will buy the car back from me since I do not want a car that has had the dash ripped out. Stupidly, they refuse, say they will pay the cost of the repair ($3700 total). While waiting for the parts to arrive, I realize that something is wrong; how can the evaporator housing be causing this problem ? I look up the blend door actuator, find it’s only $30 for the upgraded part, decide to replace it. It arrives, takes me about an hour to install, AC then works perfectly. I wrote a letter to the dealership, told them they could shove my commitment for the parts cost, said they were either grossly incompetent or crooks, that I would never go there again. Never heard back from them.

 

[Intuit]

Goood point @SVTBob. The blend door actuator failure is extremely common, cheap and relatively quick to replace DIY. Get the Dorman brand replacement part instead of OEM. I haven't read of any repeat failures on the Dorman brand blend door actuator.

Yes, I have my own stories. I KNEW better than to take mine to a dealer but the only reason I did, was for a warranty issue. (still a mistake) I'm tacitly convinced that dealer service center's ultimate goal is to roll you over to the sales dept to sell you another vehicle. If the help is incompetent, it's probably by design.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The AC issue is a touchy one for me. Bought my ‘19 from a dealer out of state. The car looked great online and turned out to be very well cared for by the original owner. Being in AZ where triple digit heat can last for weeks, I inquired about the AC. Said, no worries, their multi-point inspection assured that the AC worked properly. When I finally decided to buy the car, I called them and said that I wanted someone to go out to the car and test the AC while I was on the phone; I had to fly to the dealership and I was not about to drive it home without AC in July. After about 15 minutes, someone comes back on the phone and tells me it works perfectly. So I fly to the dealership and they try to hustle me into the sales office to sign all the paperwork. I said not before a test drive and test of the AC. So, they get the keys, car starts right up, runs fine but NO AC coming out the dash ! I quickly realize the AC is actually working but the only airflow is coming out the side window vents. They panic, do a quick diagnostic, determine it’s the blend door actuator, but that it will take a few days to get the part. Tell them that I am not going to wait around for them to fix it. They say, no problem, if you take it to a local Ford dealer at home, we’ll pay for the repair. Since the AC works, I agree and while it took longer to cool off, once it did, the car was comfortable to drive. I get home, take it to the local Ford dealer and ask them to please order that part to reduce my wait time. They say, sorry, we have to run our own diagnostic before ordering parts. I say ok, they take the car. At the enof the day, they tell me that the other dealer was wrong, that the evaporator housing is faulty and needs to be replaced and that, since it it will require 4 days and pulling the dash, front seats and console out, that I should replace the evaporator as well. They ask me to sign a commitment to pay for the parts ($1800) before ordering. Since it’s not my dime, I agree but I call the original dealership and offer to pay for half the shipping if they will buy the car back from me since I do not want a car that has had the dash ripped out. Stupidly, they refuse, say they will pay the cost of the repair ($3700 total). While waiting for the parts to arrive, I realize that something is wrong; how can the evaporator housing be causing this problem ? I look up the blend door actuator, find it’s only $30 for the upgraded part, decide to replace it. It arrives, takes me about an hour to install, AC then works perfectly. I wrote a letter to the dealership, told them they could shove my commitment for the parts cost, said they were either grossly incompetent or crooks, that I would never go there again. Never heard back from them.

Was the original dealer you bought this car from Fred Beans in Doylestown, Pa.??

 

[SVTBob]

No, it was Bob Ruth Ford.

 

[XR650R]

Yikes that dealership is either some crooks or morons.

Most are both. They'll charge you a fortune and fuck your car right up.

 

[SpeedandPower]

[

Oh I’m aware, I’m American lol. Every dealership I’ve purchased from, I just tell the salesman straight up I have no desire to talk to them, I know exactly what I’m looking for and I just need the keys to see if this car is it. Had a couple try to give me lip so I started walking away and said ok guess this ain’t the one. They always go get the keys and fuck off.

Just as info, the flag on here is tied to your IP address so VPN use will change your flag. Sometimes I’m British, sometimes Swiss, others I’m Israeli, but I live in NC. Just gotta avoid big brother spying on me as much as possible.

Ah, haha got it. Makes sense. I only use my VPN while sailing the high seas. I don’t see the point otherwise. The gubment already knows what we’re up to and I doubt they care about a bunch of FiST geeks discussing new mods.

Yeah I hear you about dealerships, seems like being committed to walling is the only option we have. That and doing what my friend did when he bought his cars new, group email as many local dealership’s online sales department as you can and let them fight over giving you the best price. Has worked for him three times in a row now.

 

[SpeedandPower]

Transmission and axle seal leaking are likely the same thing; and is common. "Leaking" is probably overstated. There's not even enough to ever reach the pavement. They likely just noticed a little greasiness around the axle at the transmission side. Not really anything to worry about.

Rotors being glazed... heh? Dun even know what that is supposed to mean. All used rotors have the potential to appear a little shiny; potentially with some groove pattern. Unless it has a blue tinge or something, nothing to worry about.

As far as I know, passenger cars haven't had fan belts since the 80s. This has a serpentine belt which pretty much last "forever". The timing belt is spec'd for 150k. No reports of issues and the lot of us drive aggressively; further boosted even. Doesn't hurt to replace at 135k (10% sooner).

If that's all there is, I wouldn't let that stop me. My areas of concern are, any changes from stock... aka "mods" and "mod-reversals". It's not easy to see programming changes but if there's no evidence of alterations then it should be a good candidate. I'm assuming the one you peeped at is an 18 or 19.

Good to know about the first two items, and I did mean timing belt, not fan belt. And it was just a recommendation because it had 114k miles on it. The AC actuator was also making a clicking noise and from what I’ve now read here it needs to be replaced, but apparently not with the OEM part.

But they wording budge more than $1,000 on their price so I just walked. I didn’t have my heart set on that specific one anyway, I just need a car now, so I was going to have fun with it and have it hold me over until I found the FiST I really want. That being an 18 or 19 with Recaro seats and ideally rust orange, envy green, red, white or blue. But the color isn’t as high a priority and gladly would take any color and probably just wrap it. Hell I’m going to wrap it regardless, just with a clear wrap if I get the color I want.

I’ve read from others that mods shouldn’t really be a concern for the most part with a few exceptions?

I finally found a 19 I was almost instantly going to pull the trigger on. White, Recaro, $15,800 with only 30k miles. It was in Boston so I’d have to make the trip and get a PPI but it sold the same day I found it. Ugh.

 

[SpeedandPower]

Oh, regarding the A/C, you can have the dealer fix that as apart of the purchase. Since you have an estimate, you have the option of deducting that amount from your purchase price and taking it to a place you trust to do the work correctly.

Yeah they were willing to, but I didn’t trust them to do the work and they were only willing to knock $1,000 off. It was a 15 that I wasn’t set on, so I just passed.

 

[rallytaff]

I think I'm lucky with my dealership here in Glendale. I have a great relationship with them and they've never ripped me off or screwed around. I went to them because I was sold a lemon when I bought the wife a Fiesta SE from a N. Hollywood dealership who wanted nothing to do with my complaints. Neither did Ford in Detroit. I would never buy another used vehicle from them ever again!

 

[SpeedandPower]

I think I'm lucky with my dealership here in Glendale. I have a great relationship with them and they've never ripped me off or screwed around. I went to them because I was sold a lemon when I bought the wife a Fiesta SE from a N. Hollywood dealership who wanted nothing to do with my complaints. Neither did Ford in Detroit. I would never buy another used vehicle from them ever again!

Well the FiST I was bringing in was from just an independent dealer to a local ford dealer. So the independent dealer was the one I didn’t trust.

But the Ford dealer were the ones that gave me a different price than they originally quoted and changed the time frame on the turn around. So… yeah lol

 

[SpeedandPower]

The AC issue is a touchy one for me. Bought my ‘19 from a dealer out of state. The car looked great online and turned out to be very well cared for by the original owner. Being in AZ where triple digit heat can last for weeks, I inquired about the AC. Said, no worries, their multi-point inspection assured that the AC worked properly. When I finally decided to buy the car, I called them and said that I wanted someone to go out to the car and test the AC while I was on the phone; I had to fly to the dealership and I was not about to drive it home without AC in July. After about 15 minutes, someone comes back on the phone and tells me it works perfectly. So I fly to the dealership and they try to hustle me into the sales office to sign all the paperwork. I said not before a test drive and test of the AC. So, they get the keys, car starts right up, runs fine but NO AC coming out the dash ! I quickly realize the AC is actually working but the only airflow is coming out the side window vents. They panic, do a quick diagnostic, determine it’s the blend door actuator, but that it will take a few days to get the part. Tell them that I am not going to wait around for them to fix it. They say, no problem, if you take it to a local Ford dealer at home, we’ll pay for the repair. Since the AC works, I agree and while it took longer to cool off, once it did, the car was comfortable to drive. I get home, take it to the local Ford dealer and ask them to please order that part to reduce my wait time. They say, sorry, we have to run our own diagnostic before ordering parts. I say ok, they take the car. At the enof the day, they tell me that the other dealer was wrong, that the evaporator housing is faulty and needs to be replaced and that, since it it will require 4 days and pulling the dash, front seats and console out, that I should replace the evaporator as well. They ask me to sign a commitment to pay for the parts ($1800) before ordering. Since it’s not my dime, I agree but I call the original dealership and offer to pay for half the shipping if they will buy the car back from me since I do not want a car that has had the dash ripped out. Stupidly, they refuse, say they will pay the cost of the repair ($3700 total). While waiting for the parts to arrive, I realize that something is wrong; how can the evaporator housing be causing this problem ? I look up the blend door actuator, find it’s only $30 for the upgraded part, decide to replace it. It arrives, takes me about an hour to install, AC then works perfectly. I wrote a letter to the dealership, told them they could shove my commitment for the parts cost, said they were either grossly incompetent or crooks, that I would never go there again. Never heard back from them.

Can’t say I blame you. I read somewhere else that the upgraded non OEM part for the actuator is the way to go. Do you recall which company you bought it from or what brand?

 

[SpeedandPower]

Makes me sad I had to move out of the Bay Area and where I had one of the most trust worthy mechanics in all of the US. Not at all hyperbolic.