Feeling very taken advantage and upset......
10-08-2008, 09:46 PM
#1
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: WV
Posts: 4,460
Feeling very taken advantage and upset......
I purchased a set of FRPP 3.73 gears from Summit Racing in Ohio a little while back for my white gt.
I tried to do what I thought was the most sensible choice and took the gears to my local Ford dealership (where I purchased the car from) for the installation. I figured, "who better would know how to install gears on a mustang?"
I don't drive the car super often...and shortly after getting the car back, I began to notice a very slight whine in the rear end. This whine became progressively louder and more noticeable.
I took the car back to the dealer today, and after a "pleasant" 4-hour wait, I am told:
"There is nothing wrong with the install. The mechanic that did your gears is the best we have and has never made a mistake in 25 years. The reason you have the whining noise is because the gears you bought are defective. We think they are 'soft' gears".
I asked how they could tell the gears are 'soft', and he could not give me an answer.
Bottom line...after spending much time attempting to negotiate some type of resolution I was told;
"You have a bad set of gears, and we aren't replacing them. Talk to the manufacturer".
I am now out the tune of nearly $800 dollars and have a set of whiney gears, (almost $200 for the gears, and $533 for the installation).
I feel I have been basically taken advantage of for my limited amount of knowledge about the gears, and I am really upset about the whole deal. I have purchased two mustangs from this dealer, and I cannot believe they aren't willing to do anything more than tell me that I basically wasted my money.
I decided to take the car to another dealer (Ford) in a different town for a second opinion....are these really faulty gears or was this an improper install?? My appt is on Wednesday.....
Anyone have any insight on an issue like this?
I tried to do what I thought was the most sensible choice and took the gears to my local Ford dealership (where I purchased the car from) for the installation. I figured, "who better would know how to install gears on a mustang?"
I don't drive the car super often...and shortly after getting the car back, I began to notice a very slight whine in the rear end. This whine became progressively louder and more noticeable.
I took the car back to the dealer today, and after a "pleasant" 4-hour wait, I am told:
"There is nothing wrong with the install. The mechanic that did your gears is the best we have and has never made a mistake in 25 years. The reason you have the whining noise is because the gears you bought are defective. We think they are 'soft' gears".
I asked how they could tell the gears are 'soft', and he could not give me an answer.
Bottom line...after spending much time attempting to negotiate some type of resolution I was told;
"You have a bad set of gears, and we aren't replacing them. Talk to the manufacturer".
I am now out the tune of nearly $800 dollars and have a set of whiney gears, (almost $200 for the gears, and $533 for the installation).
I feel I have been basically taken advantage of for my limited amount of knowledge about the gears, and I am really upset about the whole deal. I have purchased two mustangs from this dealer, and I cannot believe they aren't willing to do anything more than tell me that I basically wasted my money.
I decided to take the car to another dealer (Ford) in a different town for a second opinion....are these really faulty gears or was this an improper install?? My appt is on Wednesday.....
Anyone have any insight on an issue like this?
10-08-2008, 09:55 PM
#2
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston
Posts: 1,371
unforunately this is what usually happends at dealerships regardless of how much money you have spent there, i have definately been in your shoes before. The only advice i can give is find the nearest s197 tuner/installer that gurantees no whine and use that shop; thats what i had to do anyways.
10-08-2008, 10:05 PM
#3
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: DFW
Posts: 463
I bought a whole new axle assembly from newtakeoff.com so that I could avoid this. I even pulled the original assembly and installed the new one myself. They sell S197 take-off axles with gears all the way up to 4.10's in them. No whine whatsoever.
10-08-2008, 10:13 PM
#6
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 987
Damn Saddle that really sucks, but I would say try talking to the general manager, maybe the sales manager, as they might care about previous purchases, the service people don't.
Even though I don't really think much would come of it, you may get lucky and have a general manager willing to help keep a loyal customer happy.
Even though I don't really think much would come of it, you may get lucky and have a general manager willing to help keep a loyal customer happy.
10-08-2008, 10:14 PM
#7
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Honolulu, HI
Posts: 6,130
sorry to hear about that, Saddle. it's unfortunate that the dealer is not standing by their work. it's weird how they didn't notice the bad gears when they put it in, only after it went bad. IMO if they were bad, and the installer has 25 yrs of experience, he shouldve seen the bad quality before putting them in. that is a lot of money to be out, and i hope you get it worked out.
10-08-2008, 10:15 PM
#8
sorry to hear about your horrible experience. hopefully the other dealer will give you better service, and if you feel like they don't know exactly what they are talking about, I would do exactly what a couple of the others above said and find a good performance shop
10-08-2008, 10:26 PM
#9
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: WV
Posts: 4,460
A big problem is where I am located, there really aren't any solid, reputable performance shops even relatively close to me. (southern WV)
Today I tried talking to the service manager, sales manager, even the general manager.....but with no luck.
One bit of positive information (at least I hope!) is when I took it the other dealership...the service manager and technician both took the car out for a drive. Both said the whine sounds like the "backlash" is wrong or not "shimmed" properly. It was getting late in the afternoon, and I had to schedule an appt to bring the car back for them to actually take the car into the shop and look at them.
I was at least smart enough to get it in writing from the original dealership that after examining the gears they were found to be "defective".
Now....if the other place also says they are defective?? I will accept that I had some bad luck and got faulty gears. If they say the were incorrectly set......this is a different story, and I believe I would have some sort of recourse.
Today I tried talking to the service manager, sales manager, even the general manager.....but with no luck.
One bit of positive information (at least I hope!) is when I took it the other dealership...the service manager and technician both took the car out for a drive. Both said the whine sounds like the "backlash" is wrong or not "shimmed" properly. It was getting late in the afternoon, and I had to schedule an appt to bring the car back for them to actually take the car into the shop and look at them.
I was at least smart enough to get it in writing from the original dealership that after examining the gears they were found to be "defective".
Now....if the other place also says they are defective?? I will accept that I had some bad luck and got faulty gears. If they say the were incorrectly set......this is a different story, and I believe I would have some sort of recourse.