99WhiteC5Coupe
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Also be sure to do some "diligence" with respect to dealers and service stations around you. Here's my gripe on this point, Ford is selling vehicles that cost as much as BMW X5's and even lower model X7's. Granted, those don't have the same room and some of the features the higher priced expy's have, but the dealer and service experience for good friends of mine that own those get is night and day from what we get. I know, I just spent another 5.5 weeks without mine, it's going back tomorrow because the tech replaced the wrong front axle shaft, and I still have to take it back once the parts are available for the front seat belt recall. All that being said, I love driving this thing but when there are, and there will be issues, the service experience is terrible for cars that can be $80K+. I'm not claiming BMW's are any more reliable, or less, I'm just saying the impact on my life was painful and there's more to come. Funny part, they wanted my loaner to initially be an escape, then a ranger, but luckily I stood my ground and had an F150 and a 2024 expy. I will say, I found numerous issues in both of those vehicles while using them for loaners, so I'm not inclined to say the quality is any better.
i.e. look at this. I know, it's just trim, but for a vehicle to have just arrived at the dealer, had 4.2 Mi on it, and this is what you see when open the drivers door? There was black, greasy hand prints on the headliner in the back. The F150 blew a shock at less than 1k miles. WTAF?
I actually preferred the screen in the F150, it was far more functional but the expy was only an XLT so it had the more basic screen. The F150 was far more loaded, but again it was higher up, still had plenty of functional buttons, and was larger but not the giant TV sized screen.
I also know that folks on here with the Navi are getting better service, a little more akin to what I see on the nicer imports, but that insane. Additionally, I get that some folks have 3-20 cars and so being without one isn't a big deal, it is more a big deal for me.
You make some very valid points regarding service.
I’ve owned and driven vehicles for 50+ years. I began buying new vehicles only in 1975. I have purchased a lot of new vehicles over the years - mostly GM and Dodge, with my first Ford (Expedition) in 2015. I’ve had a lot of warranty, recall and customer-pay work done at various auto dealers.
Without a doubt - Ford dealers consistently provide the worst service (warranty and customer-pay).
I’ve twice had to wait while my Ford was parked at the dealer for 3-months, awaiting repair parts from Ford (not drivable). I had to wait one year and one day for a safety recall Ford part.
The past several years Ford has had the highest number of safety recalls issued - and the highest number of vehicles recalled for safety reasons. This is a good indicator of the poor quality of Ford products. Even their CEO admitted publicly the safety recalls was his number one concern.
I don’t have an answer, but Ford continues to have a variety of major quality issues (the 10-speed transmission and cam phasers issues are just two examples of widespread issues that require major repair work).
My wife and I are preparing to replace our vehicles with new ones and I won’t be looking at a new Ford. I’ve been burned too much with my last new (and only) Ford vehicle and would not take a chance with them again.