mweiland

i'm looking for opinions on what others would do if they were in my position. i apologize for the novel length post.

i have a blk 05 v6 manual. other than a few chips in the paint and 2 or 3 tiny dents, about the size you'd get from a golf ball hit, the car is in about mint condition.

not long after i got the car, i bought gt take off wheels, sway bars and a single axle back. i don't have any workspace (condo complex. the homeowners association doesn't allow it...) or tools, so i brought it all in to the dealership for installation. the next day, about 100 mi from home, i hear a banging sound under the car. like someone was taking a hammer to it. the dealership forgot to locktite the front passenger side bar and it came loose.

another time, i brought it in to have an aftermarket grille with center mount lights installed and wired. they drilled a hole in the light switch plate and must have slipped because there was a 1/2" long, 2-3mm deep gouge in the plastic next to the new toggle. they also scratched the hell out of the driver side quarter panel, i'm assuming while leaning over doing the wiring. they gave it back like that. they also noticed that my coolant was low and in checking it out, found out that on a previous visit, they put the wrong radiator cap on. it didn't fit. so they replaced it with a new one. i picked up after the garage guys were gone, so it was either take it as is, or have no car for work the next day.

i didn't have time to bring it back to get the switch plate gouge or the paint fixed right away. that is, until my car started spraying coolant. i took the day off work and brought it in. they told me my thermostat was bad and replaced it. i had them replace the light switch plate and buff the scratches out of the quarter panel. they returned it with swirls in the paint all over the q panel and chunks of buffing compound sprayed accross the windshield and hood. again, all the the garage guys were gone when i picked it up.

a few weeks ago i found out at the last minute that i needed to make a 250 mi drive for a weekend trip. i was overdue for an oil change so i brought it in and, because i didn't have time to pick one up myself, change the air filter. about 175mi into the drive, a few hours after the work was done, the car stuttered and died at about 70 mph on 81. so no power steering or brakes. luckily, i was in the right lane and there was an off ramp about 100' ahead with no traffic on the ramp or the intersecting road. between the incline of the ramp and the hand brake i managed to slow it down and steer it into a shallow ditch off the ramp. i cleaned my shorts and popped the hood. the car would start but would immediately die unless i held it at 50%+ throttle. i tapped the MAF and it started right up, so i finished the drive.

i called the dealership but it was after hours on fri, someone from sales got my message and called me back the next day. they said they'd email the service manager with what happened and told me to bring it to a nearby dealership (where i was staying) on monday morning to have it checked out. they also told me to have this dealership call my the service manager at my dealership before starting work. they tried calling my dealership for an hour and no one was available, so they checked it out anyway. they found lean codes but nothing obviously wrong. so i drove it home. no problems.

when i got back, i called my dealership's service manager and went off. the history of screw ups, the swirls in the paint and the 'coincidence' that i had the air filter changed there and developed the only problem i've ever had with the MAF a few hours later... and could have easily wrecked the car because of it. he had me come in for a meeting. i never asked him to, but he repeatedly mentioned changing the MAF (in case it was their fault...) and offered to detail the entire car to fix the swirls and basically try to settle me down by making the car shiny. when they called to say it was ready they told me they didn't replace the MAF, they cleaned it. that they found dirt on it. when i got the report, it said 'long fuel trims were slightly elevated and no build up on the sensor' so they basically just followed an ssm and cleaned it anyway. i was pissed but with no concrete proof that they caused the problem, there's nothing i could do (as far as i know).

last night was the first time i've driven the car since, other than driving it home from the shop. 10 minutes into driving, i noticed a dent across one of the aluminum 'spokes' on my steering wheel. from one side to the other in a straight line. i didn't notice it until it was dark and the reflection of passing streetlights on the wheel brought it out.

at this point, i don't know what to do about it. i'm pretty convinced that if i bring it back, they'll wreck something else and at this point, i'm pretty sure i'll end up doing something that'll result in jail time.

other than telling me i'm an idiot for ever going back after the first problem (and paying dealership prices for basic maintenance) anyone have any opinions? i've considered a lawyer but i'm not sure what i could even accomplish with one. i can't prove that they caused my MAF issue but considering the problem developed within hours after they worked on that area of the car, it looks pretty bad. and now the steering wheel... can the aluminum 'spokes' be replaced individually or am i looking at a whole new wheel?

bakerjd

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that you've had to put up with this type of stuff from your shop. That's terrible. Good news is you can replace the aluminum spokes no problem or do them yourself for a lot less like Alec did recently (link to thread:https://mustangforums.com/forum/2005...el-pieces.html

As far as going back there or getting a lawyer involved I would just cut my losses and move on to another shop. I would also let EVERYONE in the area know my thoughts on their work but that's just me. I would consider speaking with the service manager and get him to completely replace the MAF though because that's what he said he'd do in the first place but even with that I'd be worried they'd screw something up again.


here's a link to replacement spoke covers: http://www.actionautoaccessories.com...roducts_id=369

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

MustangFirstCar

Have you thought about tossing some improvised incendiary weapons through the window of the dealership? I would be ready to kill if ANY of that, much less ALL of it happened to my car.

yourmyboybh1026

Large jug of thermite and a flair. Or just set up a gas leak somehow.

notsofast

No matter what you do with the dealer in terms of resolution, you absolutely need to find another shop. There must be plenty in SE PA.

Blacksmoke

I agree. Take it elsewhere. Even if they did fix it sounds like they'd to a half *** job because they did not want to fix it in the first place.

caaraa

have a look ..
upup

2005Redfire6

What a joke, I'd be pissed as well. Sounds like they are doing stuff like that on purpose in a way, I would avoid that dealership and let it be known!