saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 326
From:
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
Thanks for the great info here. It's nice that Saleen *should* pay their dealers back for warranty work (I didn't know how that worked). It sucks if Saleen doesn't pay, and I could see how that could translate into a dealer not wanting to do the work. Sounds like they don't want to become a "warranty service center" instead of a "sales center." But I agree with everyone here that if the dealer wants to stay a dealer, they should just go ahead and do it. They'll be missing out on more sales and service work in the long run. (Or who knows? maybe there was something totally weird going on at the shop that day -- the service manager's wife was having a baby or something 
) Sometimes we forget that businesses are just a bunch of plain old people doing the best they can under the circumstances.
) Sometimes we forget that businesses are just a bunch of plain old people doing the best they can under the circumstances.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 901
From: Denver, CO
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
Say When, thank you for the valuable insight. I hope many current and future Saleen owners read your post, as it sheds important light on what can be a very frustrating experience. As with many things in life, it comes down to expectation management. A new Saleen owner happily drives into a Ford dealership that sells Saleens, maybe even the one where they bought the car, expecting all of those niggling minor warranty issues to be resolved, the oil changed, etc. and they'll have their car back tomorrow. Then they learn that either the dealer won't work on the car, or it will take a week (sometimes longer) to do work the owner believes could have been done in a day. The dealer might provide excuses but no real reasons. You gave us reasons and that's appreciated! I know the next time I take my Saleen in for maintenance and minor warranty work, given my last horrific experience and now having read your post, I will have a completely different set of expectations. It will still be frustrating, but at least I'll EXPECT to be frustrated!
1st Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 118
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
ORIGINAL: Say When
Just for the record, Saleen does have a full TSB system, I am not hear to argue, however I am going to state facts, Saleen dealers are supposed to work on warranty issues on all Saleens no matter were it was purchased, The dealers are paid for there work and parts, and if there is an issue the dealer cannot fiqure out we send out a tech. I know that there have been many people frustrated with warranty work they have tried to get, however I am sure you would find that really is related to the dealership itself and you would have the same issue in warranty service with any car you came to them with. We have techs on call for dealers to call for support, and a great Warranty manager Bill Vaughn. You will find that many times the dealership never even sends in the claim ,our makes the correct call in the first place to get parts or help. As was also stated the customer was able to get directly ahold of Carlos to help him, (try getting ahold of anyone of importance directly at the factory with any other manufacure) I also try to help when I can. Sometimes parts situations can occur which will hold up a change on a TSB. (IE the horn badge) As we had a large issue with this item we had to retool and then test to make sure the new part was going to work, I am afraid this does not happen over night. There is a very nice TSB bulletion that has gone out to the dealers on this item, and the fix has worked very well.While this car does have different parts then a std ford, the basic concept of a SC 4.6 is the same as there cobra , Shelby, & lightning,(a direct copy of our earlySC system)suspension parts are suspension parts, a exhuast is an exhaust. So if the tech is afraid to work on it, I would not want this untrained mech. doing any work any way. As Saleen uses all the same obd systems and codes as Ford, diagnosing is the same as they have. Just like Ford if they have to get into the engine they have another one shipped to them. So none of this is rocket science, it is more a matter of some dealers have great customer service and some dont,the ones who dont will usually fall to the way side as we dont keep dealers that cannot sell cars, I will not say we have not had issues in the past we have been a small growing company, however we have made a conserted effort to move forward and improve.
I am sorry that this incident came up, it will be cleared up, and we have moved along way from the quotes from the late 80s and early 90s, I think its almost 2007
Thanks
BT
Damn,
I should have been a vet or sell sewing machines for a living.
Just kidding.
There are always reasons why a certain dealer will turn away a Saleen Mustang.
Number one. Most of the people here ( and by no means want to offend anyone ) are relatively new to the "Saleen world" but Saleen is notorious for slow pay or no pay at all to Ford dealers for service performed on parts or systems not Ford related responsible. Sorry for the run on. It's the easiest way to explain. You see, Saleen is technically a manufaturer so they are resposible for their own repairs and where else can you get your Saleen Mustang serviced under warranty? The dealer. Saleen has to pay for ANYTHING that Ford will not.Saleen has been a slow pay or no pay at all since the late 80's early 90's. If you could believe it there was a time when you could purchase a Saleen Mustang at just about every other Ford dealer. After so many dealers got left hanging back then they dropped Saleen. Back in the day Steve Saleen had to travel from dealership to dealership and sell cars. No shi*.
Most of the time the dealersdon't even want to touch it.
Number two.
They are afraid of the car and don't have any techs that want to be responsible for even attempting to fix or reapir the car. Even if you bring your car in for a "clunk" from your suspension or a rattle from your exhaust, the TSB is not coming out of a repair memo from Ford because they don't have a fix especially if they only sell a handful of Saleen Mustangs every year. FYI, Saleen does not even have real TSB's They can't afford it. things like your steering wheel decal coming off and Saleen offering a new metal reaplcement is word of mouth recall. From past experience the dealershipswould rather send you on your way. It's not worth it for them. Trust me. 99% of the time you bring a Saleen in for something they don't know what the problem is, they guess and say they ordered a part that they have not or tried and were unable to.
I'm not defending dealers here just trying to get the public to understand that if you buy a Saleen mustang and it has warranty and you want to be assured of good warranty service make sure you live close to a reputable Saleen dealer like Ron Ward or Jacky Jones. That's the difference. Otherwise you are on your own.
Just for the record, Saleen does have a full TSB system, I am not hear to argue, however I am going to state facts, Saleen dealers are supposed to work on warranty issues on all Saleens no matter were it was purchased, The dealers are paid for there work and parts, and if there is an issue the dealer cannot fiqure out we send out a tech. I know that there have been many people frustrated with warranty work they have tried to get, however I am sure you would find that really is related to the dealership itself and you would have the same issue in warranty service with any car you came to them with. We have techs on call for dealers to call for support, and a great Warranty manager Bill Vaughn. You will find that many times the dealership never even sends in the claim ,our makes the correct call in the first place to get parts or help. As was also stated the customer was able to get directly ahold of Carlos to help him, (try getting ahold of anyone of importance directly at the factory with any other manufacure) I also try to help when I can. Sometimes parts situations can occur which will hold up a change on a TSB. (IE the horn badge) As we had a large issue with this item we had to retool and then test to make sure the new part was going to work, I am afraid this does not happen over night. There is a very nice TSB bulletion that has gone out to the dealers on this item, and the fix has worked very well.While this car does have different parts then a std ford, the basic concept of a SC 4.6 is the same as there cobra , Shelby, & lightning,(a direct copy of our earlySC system)suspension parts are suspension parts, a exhuast is an exhaust. So if the tech is afraid to work on it, I would not want this untrained mech. doing any work any way. As Saleen uses all the same obd systems and codes as Ford, diagnosing is the same as they have. Just like Ford if they have to get into the engine they have another one shipped to them. So none of this is rocket science, it is more a matter of some dealers have great customer service and some dont,the ones who dont will usually fall to the way side as we dont keep dealers that cannot sell cars, I will not say we have not had issues in the past we have been a small growing company, however we have made a conserted effort to move forward and improve.
I am sorry that this incident came up, it will be cleared up, and we have moved along way from the quotes from the late 80s and early 90s, I think its almost 2007
Thanks
BT
Damn,
I should have been a vet or sell sewing machines for a living.
Just kidding.There are always reasons why a certain dealer will turn away a Saleen Mustang.
Number one. Most of the people here ( and by no means want to offend anyone ) are relatively new to the "Saleen world" but Saleen is notorious for slow pay or no pay at all to Ford dealers for service performed on parts or systems not Ford related responsible. Sorry for the run on. It's the easiest way to explain. You see, Saleen is technically a manufaturer so they are resposible for their own repairs and where else can you get your Saleen Mustang serviced under warranty? The dealer. Saleen has to pay for ANYTHING that Ford will not.Saleen has been a slow pay or no pay at all since the late 80's early 90's. If you could believe it there was a time when you could purchase a Saleen Mustang at just about every other Ford dealer. After so many dealers got left hanging back then they dropped Saleen. Back in the day Steve Saleen had to travel from dealership to dealership and sell cars. No shi*.
Most of the time the dealersdon't even want to touch it.
Number two.
They are afraid of the car and don't have any techs that want to be responsible for even attempting to fix or reapir the car. Even if you bring your car in for a "clunk" from your suspension or a rattle from your exhaust, the TSB is not coming out of a repair memo from Ford because they don't have a fix especially if they only sell a handful of Saleen Mustangs every year. FYI, Saleen does not even have real TSB's They can't afford it. things like your steering wheel decal coming off and Saleen offering a new metal reaplcement is word of mouth recall. From past experience the dealershipswould rather send you on your way. It's not worth it for them. Trust me. 99% of the time you bring a Saleen in for something they don't know what the problem is, they guess and say they ordered a part that they have not or tried and were unable to.
I'm not defending dealers here just trying to get the public to understand that if you buy a Saleen mustang and it has warranty and you want to be assured of good warranty service make sure you live close to a reputable Saleen dealer like Ron Ward or Jacky Jones. That's the difference. Otherwise you are on your own.
5th Gear Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,118
From:
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
ORIGINAL: SAR
Great , I ended up placing my rants in the quote,
Oh well you should get the drift
Have a great New Year
SAR
Great , I ended up placing my rants in the quote,
Oh well you should get the drift
Have a great New Year
SAR
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 901
From: Denver, CO
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
SAR,
It isn't my place to speak for Say When, but my heart tells me that he didn't mean to offend you or anyone at Saleen. Recent experience showed me that 95% of the "issues" regarding warranty and maintenance work are dealer issues, not Saleen issues. It is unfortunate but realistic that both dealers and customers have long memories when it comes to problems (like those in the 80s) and short ones when it comes to seamless positive experiences. With only a couple of minor exceptions, I can vouch for Saleen's attention to problems and willingness to resolve issues. I was one very unhappy camper a couple of months ago and Saleen had about 10% responsibility for what happened, which they willingly shouldered and worked to resolve. With the perspective that only time and new experiences can provide, my view of Saleen is a positive one whereas my trust in dealers is not. It is possible that Saleen has some PR and QC work to do regarding its dealer network. I fear at the dealer level, Saleen is the scapegoat for dealer incompetence. That stinks but it is what it is and only Saleen can resolve that. You specifically have made major strides in customer satisfaction for Saleen, at least where the participants of this forum are concerned. I have nothing but respect/gratitude for you and my impression of Saleen is much higher because someone like you is in their employ.
No one wants to turn the clock back two months and go through all of that again!
At the risk of rambling on, here is my latest story: at the checkout counter of AutoZone a few weeks back, the guy ringing up my sale asked how I liked my car. I replied that I loved the car and my only issue was finding a dealer I could trust to work on it while it's still under warranty. I gave a brief recounting of my dealer tale of woe. Mid-story, another AutoZone guy walked up. He said "oh, you must have taken your car to XXX dealer!" (and believe me, this dealer isn't in the neighborhood). He was right! Their shoddy work and horrendous customer service is so well known that even an AutoZone guy working 40 miles away could tell just by the elements of my story that I had taken my car to them! And guess what!? Not only is XXX a Saleen dealership, but when they so badly bungled the care of my car, they blamed SALEEN!! I know better now, but I sure didn't then! It's a red flag that Saleen should act on, SAR. Most Saleen owners aren't on this forum and they don't know about people like you. What are they hearing from the dealers without the benefit of digging for the truth?
I'm a fan of Saleen the car and Saleen the company. Neither is perfect, but nothing is! I want to protect the product and the company from unfair, ill-advised blame that seems to be perpetuated by sub-standard dealers! The majority of the work, however, will have to come from Saleen in the form of active and proactive PR to both owners and dealers. Word of mouth is powerful, but considering the only Saleen owners I correspond with are those on this forum, more may need to be done by Saleen itself. Sad but true.
Happy New Year all!
Amy
It isn't my place to speak for Say When, but my heart tells me that he didn't mean to offend you or anyone at Saleen. Recent experience showed me that 95% of the "issues" regarding warranty and maintenance work are dealer issues, not Saleen issues. It is unfortunate but realistic that both dealers and customers have long memories when it comes to problems (like those in the 80s) and short ones when it comes to seamless positive experiences. With only a couple of minor exceptions, I can vouch for Saleen's attention to problems and willingness to resolve issues. I was one very unhappy camper a couple of months ago and Saleen had about 10% responsibility for what happened, which they willingly shouldered and worked to resolve. With the perspective that only time and new experiences can provide, my view of Saleen is a positive one whereas my trust in dealers is not. It is possible that Saleen has some PR and QC work to do regarding its dealer network. I fear at the dealer level, Saleen is the scapegoat for dealer incompetence. That stinks but it is what it is and only Saleen can resolve that. You specifically have made major strides in customer satisfaction for Saleen, at least where the participants of this forum are concerned. I have nothing but respect/gratitude for you and my impression of Saleen is much higher because someone like you is in their employ.
No one wants to turn the clock back two months and go through all of that again!
At the risk of rambling on, here is my latest story: at the checkout counter of AutoZone a few weeks back, the guy ringing up my sale asked how I liked my car. I replied that I loved the car and my only issue was finding a dealer I could trust to work on it while it's still under warranty. I gave a brief recounting of my dealer tale of woe. Mid-story, another AutoZone guy walked up. He said "oh, you must have taken your car to XXX dealer!" (and believe me, this dealer isn't in the neighborhood). He was right! Their shoddy work and horrendous customer service is so well known that even an AutoZone guy working 40 miles away could tell just by the elements of my story that I had taken my car to them! And guess what!? Not only is XXX a Saleen dealership, but when they so badly bungled the care of my car, they blamed SALEEN!! I know better now, but I sure didn't then! It's a red flag that Saleen should act on, SAR. Most Saleen owners aren't on this forum and they don't know about people like you. What are they hearing from the dealers without the benefit of digging for the truth?
I'm a fan of Saleen the car and Saleen the company. Neither is perfect, but nothing is! I want to protect the product and the company from unfair, ill-advised blame that seems to be perpetuated by sub-standard dealers! The majority of the work, however, will have to come from Saleen in the form of active and proactive PR to both owners and dealers. Word of mouth is powerful, but considering the only Saleen owners I correspond with are those on this forum, more may need to be done by Saleen itself. Sad but true.
Happy New Year all!
Amy
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 310
From:
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
ORIGINAL: SAR
As was also stated the customer was able to get directly ahold of Carlos to help him, (try getting ahold of anyone of importance directly at the factory with any other manufacure) I also try to help when I can.
As was also stated the customer was able to get directly ahold of Carlos to help him, (try getting ahold of anyone of importance directly at the factory with any other manufacure) I also try to help when I can.
The information he passed on to me was helpful to me as well asthe (superb, BTW) non-selling dealer who did the fix on my car.I also had top-notch help from the tech line folks at Saleen.
BT, thanks again, and to everybody else, here's at least onesatisfied owner whose warranty service experience was an excellent one.
I ♥ Acer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,394
From:
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
saleens, like roushes are fords.. .their warranties are carried through ford... so you dealer should be able to fix, esp the one you bought it from. Fixing hardware isnt tuning and its not nearly as complicated.. the tech book says do XXX, so you do XXX and its fixed. Almost any half assed tech could fix almost any car. If youre under warranty then FORD has an obligation to get it fixed, and saleen has interest in maintaing their brand name... Saleen and Roush are like brand name cerals, with Ford being the manufacturer... depending on certain parts etc I know saleen makes some parts, like roush - but alot of it is made through affliates, anyway... if your car is under warranty, then call ford direct, call the owner of the dealership, call the headman at saleen, call the BBB and get somebody's a$$ fired. You didnt spend 60k on car to get the run around, If I were you and some alcoholic service manager gave me the run-around I'd be in jail right now.
I ♥ Acer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,394
From:
RE: saleen dealer refuses to do my warranty work!!!
however on the topic of saleen, Im doing a car right now and their part fittment and finish/matieral quality has been sub-standard, and is costing me much more time than it should.
