I had just finished installing a suspension lift on my 97 F-150 and I needed a front wheel alignment. What better place to have the work done than a ford dealer, right? I took my truck to Earnhardt Ford and told them I put new front springs on for a 2 1/2" lift and needed an alignment now. Left them my truck and went on my way. After the whole day went by and no phone call I decided to give them a ring. They said they found some recall work that needed to be completed and they were still working on that. I thought they should have called me but hey great they are taking care of me.
About 5pm they called me and told me the truck was done and come pick it up. When I arrived they told me that they weren't able to align my truck due to the aftermarket springs. Duh, I told them this was no longer factory when I dropped it off. They should have been able to tell me when I dropped it off whether or not they could do the alignment. They said they put it on the lift and because of that I had to pay for the alignment they didn't even touch. I said why can't they do the best they can. They told me that if they can't get into factory specs then they can't touch it. When I removed factoy suspension there are no factory specs anymore! The alignment was about 40.00 so I paid it and left.
Months later I noticed I had a coolant leak and it appeared to be coming from the timing cover gasket which is the warranty/recall work that they had performed w/o my authorization. I first took the truck to a good mechanic friend of mine and showed him their work order and then had him check my truck out to make sure it was coming from that spot. He thoroughly checked my cooling system and said take it back to Earnhardt since they did that work. I did and the next day after checking the truck they called me to tell me it was my water pump and it would cost about 350.00 to replace.
My friend checked my water pump and I am not stupid when it comes to vehicles the leak was not coming from my pump. I called my buddy asking what should I do they are saying my water pump is bad. He got furious amd told me to call them back and get it back on the rack and check it again because it is not my water pump. An hour or two later they called me back and what a surprise it wasn't my water pump after all! At that point I told them I don't want them working on my truck and I'll be down to pick it up and have my friend do the work.
He then told me that I would need to pay for the diagnostic fee. I went down later that afternoon to pick up my truck w / my mechanic friend who began to do all of the talking. They wanted me to pay for a new water pump and then I'm sure once that was "fixed" oh we found another leak that I would have to pay for too. They said no we would have put your old pump back on when we found it wasn't the problem.
I don't think so, there is too much time invested in changing water pumps and coolant. Anyway we spoke w / the manager and also brought up my alignment that they never did and charged me for. After much argument the manager finally refunded my alignment and waived the diagnostic fee that they wanted to charge me. Feeling better about the situation my buddy left as they were bringing my truck around. I hopped into my truck to see a key that I keep in my ashtray sitting on the seat. I thought this was odd so I opened up my ashtray to put in the key when I noticed all of my change was stolen from my ashtray. I only kept silver in there so there was maybe 10.00 or so. I do realize that they are not responsible for items left in vehicle but this is just icing on the cake.
I told one of the attendants about this and wasn't expecting anything but just wanted to inform them. They gave me a free oil change that I would never use. Would I want them to break something or steal something when I go in for an oil change? Never will I do business w / any Earnhardt dealer. I now go out of my way not to do business w / Earnhardt Ford.
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