mweiland

i recently had a local dealership damage a part of my car (the steering wheel). they offered to get me a replacement part.

i'm reluctant to have them do the work replacing it (i've had a good number of problems with them) and they said they're fine with having another garage do the work but, when it's done, they need the old one back.

when i asked why, they said they need to send it back to ford. i've never heard of anything like that before. is this some standard procedure i don't know about?

Ech0

How badly did it get damaged?

mweiland

just cosmetic

Ech0

Don't see any reason for them to send it back then.. Like you said, it could just be a standard procedure they have. I wonder what ford will do with the steering wheel when they get it?

PSUSkier

I think they're probably going to try to put it under warranty so it's not cost to the dealership... At least every time I've gone to the dealership for warranty work on the transmission that used to be in my car they'd have to send back whatever they replaced with new parts.

pdonket

It's relatively normal for them to take back the other pieces, it's like when you get a laptop repair, they give you the replacement part and then take the broken piece with them. For example, you could resell your old steering wheel, and even if it's cosmetically imperfect, someone would likely buy it and Ford doesn't want that happening.

gtbillyb

In order for the dealer to get paid for the work they need the damaged piece..my guess is they are going to warranty it some how..

Art161

It sounds strange to me. I can understand that Ford might want the return of a genuine Cobra emblem in exchange for a new one, because they don't want genuine emblems all over the place. I can understand that Ford might want the return of a part that failed so that they could determine the reason for the failure. But a cosmetically damaged steering wheel?

I can understand that the dealer might want it in order to sell it. I think the dealer is entitled to it, since they are providing you with a new steering wheel.

If you do get an inquiry from Ford about any warranty work, tell them the part was damaged by the dealer.

Derf00

It's common practice (for any auto shop, not just Ford) to retain the old part if the orginal part is being replaced under warranty. The manufacturer requires the old part back to give the shop credit.

The dealer will get reimbursed the cost of the steering wheel under a warranty claim. Even if they damaged it.

MustangFirstCar

They sell the damaged part if it is not totally mangled. Especially with slightly damaged body panels like bumper covers and spoilers. Then, when you get in an accident, to save a little money the insurance company makes you get a repaired crap bumper instead of a new one.