Stay away from "FORD OF CLERMONT"
 

Stay away from "FORD OF CLERMONT"
I took my 2008 GT in for warranty work and they damaged the front chin spoiler by running it into a curb. After 2 wks of the service manager, Claude Nadle, not calling when he said he would and then giving excuses as to why when I did call in to talk with him about the status of getting it fixed, he tells me that they decided that they didnt damage the vehicle and arent going to cover the repair. They did say that they would split the cost with me however.

I rarely drive the car as it sits in the garage, in fact Ive put 6,000 miles on the car since sept 2010. Everywhere I go I back the car in as to not curb the front end, so I know it wasnt damaged when I took it in.

Also, when they called to say the car was ready from the original service work, I told them "I will be in this afternoon to pick it up", however when I realized I wasnt going to make it before they closed I had my mother stop by and pick it up for me, without informing the dealership of this. When she got there, all she told them was she was there to pick up a gray mustang. They have never seen her before and didnt know who she was yet they gave her the keys and paperwork to my car without checking ID or having her sign anything.

Tell everyone you know dont use this dealer for anything as they are shady lying thieves

you should call ford cooperate and report this.

Call them back and threaten legal action if they don't cover the damages completely. Also get in writing if you can the fact that they would split the repair costs with you. The fact that they said they would pay half is a clear admission of guilt on their part. I'd definitely call Ford Corporate and report it as well.

Ive already written to corporate on this also.

What is it with dealerships and trying to screw the little guy? Doesnt the government do that enough to us? Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Matthew

of course your mom didn't damage the car when she picked it up. There's no way that could have happened. Once the car leaves their possession, it's going to be extremely difficult to get them to cover any damage to it. Did anyone complete a check-in sheet when you dropped off the car, noting existing damage on the vehicle, and was said check-in sheet reviewed at time of pick up? I'm guessing no.

As an owner, you need to insist that a SA walks around the car with you to go over old damage prior to you leaving the car with them, especially if you have something easily damaged like a bumper lip. It protects the shop and protects you from things like this.

As far as "who picked up the car", I don't think I've ever run into a shop that asks for ID when someone picks up a car. Is this bad business? Maybe. But usually the work orders are done by name, and that's what's asked for. I'd say this is peanuts compared to the vehicle damage. If they cover it for you, consider yourself lucky, if all you get is half, also consider yourself lucky. Either way, hopefully you've learned something from this.

She took it straight to her house and put it in her garage, 8 miles from the dealership. The damage is on top of the chin and was caused by running it into a curb flexing it downward, not driving over an incline due to low ground clearance

No one checked the car or filled out any type of checksheet. I walked in to give my info and by the time I was done a tech had already taken the car to the back.

And you were there to see the car when she got home?

I'm not trying to bust your balls here, I'm just trying to help you understand why they're not jumping up and down to pay for this for you. I've worked in several shops, and people make these claims all the time. Everything from dings to scratches to rust and dirt. Hell, I've had a customer complain that their engine was switched while it was in the shop.

That's why I encourage everybody to walk around the car with a shop representative before the car leaves their possession, and do do the same again when the car is picked up. A claim like yours is extremely difficult to back up, and is simply your word against the dealer's.

This isnt the first time Ive had issues with this dealership and I know of other that have had problems with them as well. A few years ago I took my 2000 mustang in for a CC alignment and they tried to tell me I need $1100 worth of stuff because it was bad when it had less than 5000 miles on it. They are a just very shady dealership.

so you've had several issues with the dealership, know of "other people" with issues, and yet you still decided to give them your money?