Happy with City ford Zetland - Page 2

Fiesta_Man69 · 08-08-2011, 06:21 PM

It is the dealer principals job.

He is in charge.

Saying there are other people to blame is nothing but a cop out.

The buck starts and stops with the dealer principal. It is why they command the highest salary in a dealership.

Mr Polites should be on top of any problem (especially after such extensive problems as tcrowedy has encountered).

From this account he obviously hasn't been.

The fact that he trawls this forum and hasn't joined to offer his side of the matter (there are always two) only strengthens the fact that tcrowedys account must be spot on.

Ask yourself this: would you be happy slapping down $70K on a GTP at City Ford tomorrow?

There's your answer...

Mercury 8 · 08-08-2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

Mr Polites is responsible for his dealership. He is responsible for the people he employs. If they aren't up to scratch or aren't doing their job properly it is his fault. The way in his dealership - and therefore he himself- has treated tcrowley is beyond a joke and no one reading this thread (on the biggest Ford forum site in Australia) will consider doing business with City Ford. Considering sales of fleet Falcons (which usually prop up dealers) continue to plummet I think some concern should be taken.

The very fact that Mr Polites trawls this site should tell people a lot.

The sad fact is Ford Australia continue to treat customers with such contempt is now costing them big dollars. They need to join the 21st century. It used to be that a disgruntled Ford customer would just tell Fred and Tom down at the local over a longneck or two. Now there's this thing called the Internet: everyone contemplating doing business with City Ford or buying a Fiesta in general can read this: and sales plummet (Fiesta sales are down massively on this time last year). Also consider that most people have Facebook. Average friends: 300. Put your Ford disaster story up on Facebook (as I did) and suddenly hundreds if not thousands are aware of Fords "service" capabilities. Like I've stated previously, a friend was considering buying a Focus - set on buying it - and asked my advice; all I did was point them to the Focus Lemon thread - they bought a Mazda 3 instead.

Anyways, perhaps Mr Polites could man up and actually fix tcrowleys issues instead of stalking unhappy customers online and firing off emails.

What? A Ford dealer manning up and taking action? Wouldn't that be a story!

Mate you really need to give it a rest.The same old whinge is getting very boring.

I've read your posts and you know what, i'm about to order a new Fiesta for the missus.My daughter is eyeing off a 2010 model as well.Guess all your crap hasn't worked as well as you seem to think it has.

Fiesta_Man69 · 08-08-2011, 07:03 PM

Good for you. I hope you have a great experience with the Fiesta. Like I've said, when it's working, the Fiesta is a great car.

Since you've read the many horrendous stories on here - mine is but one - you will be very well aware of what lies ahead of you should you have any problems.

Obviously you feel the way that tcrowdey and the bloke with the Focus Lemon has been treated is acceptable. I don't.

Difference of opinion is what make the world go round.

Mercury 8 · 08-08-2011, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

Good for you. I hope you have a great experience with the Fiesta. Like I've said, when it's working, the Fiesta is a great car.

Since you've read the many horrendous stories on here - mine is but one - you will be very well aware of what lies ahead of you should you have any problems.

Obviously you feel the way that tcrowdey and the bloke with the Focus Lemon has been treated is acceptable. I don't.

Difference of opinion is what make the world go round.

Can't recall saying that the above mentioned threads were acceptable mate.Don't assume things on my behalf thanks all the same.Your trolling of these threads to put the boot into Ford is just becoming more than a little annoying.For the amount of Fiesta's being sold compared to all those horrendous threads, lol, no different to any other manufacturer at the end of the day.I bought a new XR8 back in 2003 so I think I it is fair to say I have had my share of warranty issues.

Instead of spaming these threads why don't you sell the car and move on.

Fiesta_Man69 · 08-08-2011, 07:49 PM

"I bought a new XR8 back in 2003 so I think I it is fair to say I have had my share of warranty issues." And yet you're about to buy two more Fords after having said warranty issues? Good for you.

Mercury 8 · 08-08-2011, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

"I bought a new XR8 back in 2003 so I think I it is fair to say I have had my share of warranty issues." And yet you're about to buy two more Fords after having said warranty issues? Good for you.

LOL.Moved on from there,life is to short.Have bought a couple more new Fords since the BA.Latest one was April last year.

svo supporter · 08-08-2011, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

It is the dealer principals job.

He is in charge.

Saying there are other people to blame is nothing but a cop out.

The buck starts and stops with the dealer principal. It is why they command the highest salary in a dealership.

Mr Polites should be on top of any problem (especially after such extensive problems as tcrowedy has encountered).

From this account he obviously hasn't been.

The fact that he trawls this forum and hasn't joined to offer his side of the matter (there are always two) only strengthens the fact that tcrowedys account must be spot on.

Ask yourself this: would you be happy slapping down $70K on a GTP at City Ford tomorrow?

There's your answer...

I'm not insinuation Mr Polities shouldn't cop the serving he has. The fact he hasn't responded just adds to the guilt, in my opinion. (that is of course he has actually been on this forum and not just had the op's email address from the get go and having the communication from there)

What I'm saying is, big dealerships (all of them, not just this one) have various managers that do the hiring and firing of staff. In this particular case, the service manager (which is where the car is going) should be giving the mechanic/s the boot, but he isn't. So what should happen is Mr Polities should be sitting down with this service manager and finding out why the mechanic/s are still there and causing Mr Polities all this grief.

tcrowdey · 08-08-2011, 10:50 PM

Met with Brent Polites today. Have to say I feel happier, he was obviously genuinely concerned and I have to admit instead of being so patient I probably should have had a face to face with him earlier. I have great respect for the man that he did not shirk the blame and asked me what would make me happy. I asked that he break the bad cycle I was having with his service dept. by having Alto Ford take over the repair. He said no problem and that he would pay. Respect. There is no gaurantee they will fair better but a fresh approach is what I was hoping for and he gave it freely. I do feel it is right for him to be in forums and good on him if he was but a friend probably alerted him to my tale of woe.
It would be my hope that me going public with my woe may be used as a teaching tool for his service people to maybe approach customers from a different tack. At the end of the day I love Fords love my Fiesta but just want my problem fixed. I have seen for far too long Fords market share slip and its not for the want of good cars, as they make them. Maybe it is time for Ford Australia to dedicate a fist full of millions to run service department training camps so things like this do not happen. Then both they and me would be happier. I will keep you informed how I get on. And if Brent does read this post then for now I say thanks mate, hears hoping.

tcrowdey · 09-08-2011, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caydus

Actually the problem of pulling to one side...

I know the Fiesta's got Active Nibble Control. It stops the wheels from getting affected by grooves in the road, especially if the grooves aren't exactly parallel with the direction of the road itself.
Aka, stops the car from being pulled to one side, following the grooves on the road instead of the road itself.

The system, as far as I know is entirely software, controlling the electric motor powering the power steering.

Wonder if it's the parameters in the software that's causing the problem and not a matter of the physical wheel alignment, weights, etc.

I have never heard of this system on the Fiesta but if true might explain something, if minor changes were made to the front end during the engine install. As the sensation is a strange one that feels like the steering is pushing slightly against my hand in the right hand direction. I will bring that up with Alto Ford and thank you for mentioning it.

Fiesta_Man69 · 09-08-2011, 05:36 PM

A few points:

1. You say Mr Polites will pay for the repairs. Truth is he won't pay a cent. Repairs carried out under warranty are paid for by Ford Australia. So in effect, Ford will pay Alto Ford to carry out the repairs. For Mr Polites to claim he will be out of pocket and is paying is false.

2. If Mr Polites was so genuine and so concerned then why did it take so long to get any action? Hmmm. Me thinks he was only concerned because City Ford Zetland was getting slammed on the world wide web and had the potential to harm sales. Did he say he had fired/warned any service managers or mechanics? If he was genuine the service manager would be long gone. Bet he's still working at City Ford.

Hopefully Alto Ford solves all your problems and your Fiesta is soon fixed.

It's a pity it took so long and so much trouble for the right thing to happen.

Keep us posted with your results from Alto Ford.

trumpy73 · 09-08-2011, 05:58 PM

hehe Fiesta Man, I share some of your issues but let it go. Something 'positive' has happened so let's leave it at that.

I don't know and don't wish to speculate about Polites motives however at the end of the day my philosophy is to give the small guy a chance to fix something but within a very short period go straight to the top if I don't see any action. In the OP's case, if he'd done that before all the grief he may have had a different outcome. Lesson learned I guess.

If you really really really want to be tehcnical, Polites will have to pay in the sense that he will lose (or not make) money. Warranty jobs are money for jam for dealers. Typically they like bloating the figures wherever they can. So essentially he's missing out on making more money. Either way it doesn't matter. Hopefully it'll get sorted.

svo supporter · 09-08-2011, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcrowdey

I have never heard of this system on the Fiesta but if true might explain something, if minor changes were made to the front end during the engine install. As the sensation is a strange one that feels like the steering is pushing slightly against my hand in the right hand direction. I will bring that up with Alto Ford and thank you for mentioning it.

I have previously asked whether your car has 2 nuts and bolts that hold the strut to the stub axle.

I am fairly sure, if this is the case, they would have been undone to remove and replace the engine.

So if you can stick your noggin underneath your car and let me know, I might have a solution for you, that a dealership and alot of suspension places say, can't be done.

tcrowdey · 11-08-2011, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

A few points:

1. You say Mr Polites will pay for the repairs. Truth is he won't pay a cent. Repairs carried out under warranty are paid for by Ford Australia. So in effect, Ford will pay Alto Ford to carry out the repairs. For Mr Polites to claim he will be out of pocket and is paying is false.

2. If Mr Polites was so genuine and so concerned then why did it take so long to get any action? Hmmm. Me thinks he was only concerned because City Ford Zetland was getting slammed on the world wide web and had the potential to harm sales. Did he say he had fired/warned any service managers or mechanics? If he was genuine the service manager would be long gone. Bet he's still working at City Ford.

Hopefully Alto Ford solves all your problems and your Fiesta is soon fixed.

It's a pity it took so long and so much trouble for the right thing to happen.

Keep us posted with your results from Alto Ford.

Thanks mate point taken. It may be different in my case as it was his mechanics that destroyed my first engine. Ford may not be coming to the party to pay for all my engine repairs. That may be why Alto seemed to think that Ford Australia would not pay them for their work. So I will be fair to Mr Polites at the moment and take at face value that he is paying Alto so they are not out of pocket, also that I did feel that he was genuinely upset at my plight. My car is booked into Alto on tuesday and I hope that a fresh approach will solve my problem. Will keep you posted. Thanks.

bingoTE50 · 12-08-2011, 10:02 AM

The sad thing is that the original problem , the air con compressor shutting down on hot days , probably was not really at fault. It would have been shutting down on a low pressure or high pressure control . It needed a proper auto air guy too put his gauges on to see what was happening. They have inadvertantly fixed it by changing the compressor and re-charging the system where it probably only needed to be evacuated , leak checked and recharged.
Amazing story though !

tcrowdey · 12-08-2011, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingoTE50

The sad thing is that the original problem , the air con compressor shutting down on hot days , probably was not really at fault. It would have been shutting down on a low pressure or high pressure control . It needed a proper auto air guy too put his gauges on to see what was happening. They have inadvertantly fixed it by changing the compressor and re-charging the system where it probably only needed to be evacuated , leak checked and recharged.
Amazing story though !

You are absolutely right because I did not mention in my original post that the aircon failed again with the same problem. I took it back after the engine rebuilt and they told me no fault found. sic. Went back again pleaded that the head mechanic to do the job, and he found that the condenser was full of water, hence it was shutting down. Probably because the lines were exposed so long when the engine was out that it absorbed all the moisture in the air. Anyway they put a new one in and I have had no aircon problems for 4 months. Cheers.

greenfoam · 12-08-2011, 08:33 PM

I doubt the vibration and the pulling are the same issue, probably has the flywheel/clutch not balanced and another problem, maybe something loose / installed upside down in the suspension

tcrowdey · 19-08-2011, 07:42 PM

Dropped my Fiesta in to Alto Ford on tuesday as arranged. I must admit I was kind of expecting Ford to close ranks and the service manager there fall into line with the City Ford guys. So no surprise that when he greeted me he seemed rather frosty about exploring my problem too deeply. He did not fill me with confidence when he said my brake pedal had long travel because my car has 4 wheel disk brakes (as we all know the rears are drums on the fiesta). Anyhow I informed him I was renting a car up the road for however many days he needed. Three days later after no call from him, I decided to phone. Oh he said we looked around your motor could not see anything so decided the car was normal, but we did fix your brake peddle. Yes folks it took them 3 days and counting to fix spongy brakes and cast an eye over my motor. All this a long shot from when he said the motor should be separated from the gearbox and the harmonic balancer, flywheel and pressure plate checked. Yes the obvious reason my car has a imbalance and vibrates so badly, but no he did none of that. And me paying 3days for a renta car for nothing.
Ok guys, I get it Ford dealers are as thick as thieves and protect their own so now its on to Fair Trading. I have got to admit Brent Polites is a cool character, he leads you well and lets you down. Either that or he just has no idea whats going on around him or how to resolve my issue. Bit sad really.
And brave.
In this brave new world of the power of the internet, its a brave man who does not run his business well and do the right thing by his customers.

Caydus · 19-08-2011, 11:56 PM

Sorry to hear that mate. I guess warrenty doesn't mean much to Ford. I reckon they'll be all over your car if you offered to pay for their work though...

So probably I'm guessing Ford doesn't pay much (if at all) for warranty jobs.

Moorie · 20-08-2011, 07:41 AM

As much as the stories on A Current Affair and Today Tonight ***** me, you can't argue with the power that they hold over businesses. Drop them an email, with a link to this thread and see how things go.
All the best with it which ever route you decide to take.

bingoTE50 · 20-08-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote -pedal had long travel because my car has 4 wheel disk brakes (as we all know the rears are drums on the fiesta).

Well this really shows you how switched on they really are. What a ******.The sad thing is the clowns would be smug about brushing you and that the bit that riles me up , treated you as a fool. How many other ,customers do they do it too . Crazy stuff

Fiesta_Man69 · 23-08-2011, 07:43 AM

Unfortunately I expected as much. I really feel for you as I have experienced the same Ford "service." You just need to keep fighting and perhaps hit Brent Polites up and let him know how impressed you are with the Ford experience. Use the power of the net to hopefully embarass Ford in to actually fixing their lemon vehicles (like VW did with recalling 400 Polos for pinging - at least they take action) because we know Ford monitors this site. Good luck.

tcrowdey · 28-08-2011, 08:27 PM

Latest update. Friday I emailed Brent Polites telling him Alto did nothing for my car. He asked me to meet him Sat at City Ford where he made it clear he did not know that had happened. Asked me to leave my car with him for a week one more time to try and fix it, and promised if I was not happy after that he would work out with me a new car. He gave me a Fiesta as a loan vehicle for the week and waived the insurance excess for me. I could ask for no better from him and thanked him and shook hands on it. For the first time I do not feel isolated anymore and am confident that he has done the right thing. I have now driven his Fiesta for 2 days and in a way can see how if mechanics only spend 30 minutes on my car would think that mine was normal. My car and his car have the same vibration only with my car the vibration is twice as strong, only extended time in the cars reveals that. It is my hope that now finally they will delve deeper and maybe replace all the engine mounts that maybe mine will be brought into line. I would much rather keep my car than get a new one as I prefer the WS to the WT, mine is black and has the red dash and thats no longer available. Here's hoping.

Samtheband · 28-08-2011, 08:30 PM

I hope it's sorted soon for you mate. I really do.

Fiesta_Man69 · 29-08-2011, 07:00 AM

How many more chances do you want to give Mr Polites? I thought he was genuine about fixing your car before.... Just don't let continue to string you along: if he actually cared your car would have fixed/replaced months ago. The chances of you getting a new car to replace your old is virtually zero as City Ford would have to take a $20K loss as Ford Australia wouldn't buy back the problematic WS. I suggest you read through this thread again and especially look at your own posts where Mr Polites has promised time and time again to fix your car: you are still at square one.

I think all that can taken from this thread is never ever buy a car from City Ford or indeed Alto Ford due to their subsequent pathetic behaviour.

I hope I am wrong for your sake. I hope Mr Polites finally mans up and takes responsibility for his lemon vehicle (although it's taken too long) and you get the result you're after. Keep us posted.

XWGT · 29-08-2011, 08:37 AM

Wow
Thats all I can say

well maybe pathetic, embaressing for Ford and outright disgraceful service come to mind as well.........

Caydus · 29-08-2011, 10:10 AM

The last update was very encouraging. From a customer service point of view, he took ownership of the problem and promised resolution within a predetermined length of time, whether by repair or by replacement.
The most you lose is 1 week's worth of a loaner car (sans excess I might add). Unless they somehow destroy you car and put the blame on you, or Brett flat out lied in your face, you'll have a perfectly fine Fiesta by next week!

Congratulations!

svo supporter · 29-08-2011, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

How many more chances do you want to give Mr Polites? I thought he was genuine about fixing your car before.... Just don't let continue to string you along: if he actually cared your car would have fixed/replaced months ago. The chances of you getting a new car to replace your old is virtually zero as City Ford would have to take a $20K loss as Ford Australia wouldn't buy back the problematic WS. I suggest you read through this thread again and especially look at your own posts where Mr Polites has promised time and time again to fix your car: you are still at square one.

I think all that can taken from this thread is never ever buy a car from City Ford or indeed Alto Ford due to their subsequent pathetic behaviour.

I hope I am wrong for your sake. I hope Mr Polites finally mans up and takes responsibility for his lemon vehicle (although it's taken too long) and you get the result you're after. Keep us posted.

If you read the thread, it appears Mr Polites was being fed info from his puppets and the info was a load of bulldust. Now it appears Mr Polities has stuck his bib in and making sure his puppets do the job properly, by him being hands on, rather than an ear at the end of a phone.

It's not good enough to start with, yes, but at least Mr Polities is trying to solve the issue for good. Be it a new car or fixing the old heap of junk

FgNewbie · 07-09-2011, 06:24 PM

any news ?

tcrowdey · 09-09-2011, 08:44 AM

No news, hopefully is good news. I have lived with the loan Fiesta now for 2 weeks and can absolutely confirm my original position. The engine vibration this car and my car has is the same TYPE however the AMOUNT of vibration in my car is around 3 times higher. I have driven 3 other Fiestas now and can describe it as this. In the other cars you quickly loose any perception of vibration and do not notice it in only a few minutes. In my car this does not happen and only feels worse and worse till it gets to the point of annoying the hell out of you. Especially felt as a vibrating accelerator peddle, gear stick and through the floor and centre console. So much so that after 20 minutes driving my right foot starts to go numb. My ask has always been that they pull the gearbox and check the flywheel and replace all the engine mounts. Hopefully they are doing this now. I will email Brent Polites monday if I have not heard from them and see how things are. And thank you everyone in this forum for your thoughts. I will keep you informed.

tcrowdey · 13-09-2011, 08:17 PM

Brent Polites has so far proven true to his word and totally taken direct control of the situation. In a couple of days I will report the outcome, as what I heard from him today made me very happy. But I will not preempt good news till it is confirmed in 3 days. Fingers crossed.