What type of oil...?

[kooldawg6]

Now I don't know how true this is, but...I heard from my Brother-in-law who has been a mechanic for about 7 years now, most places give all the oil/filter changes to the rookies, leaving the more in depth work to the regular guys... Sure this doesn't ease anybody's mind that has had the problems like Marine One had, but thought I'd share that with you here.

For the past 15 years I have been changing my own oil and a few times I have had 2 mechanics I've known in that time to do it when I don't have the time. They are good guys that I can trust.

 

[Marine One]

The trip to the dealership proved interesting. I gave the keys to the car over to one of the ticket writers as the service manager was in a closed door with a customer (seems that he does a lot of that). The ticket writer called the service mgr and told him that I was there and that I had left a message on the service mgrs phone. This was NOT what I told the ticket writer-I told him that I had spoken to the service mgr earlier in the day (anyone see a problem with listening skills here?). I gave the idiot my key and my car disappears into the bowels of the service garage. After 30 minutes I still don't see my car and I do not see it inside the main service bay so I start walking around. Much as what kooldawg6 explained above, in a separate building is an obvious second stringer working on my car; no better than Jiffy Lube or Wal-Mart in my opinion. The car has already been up the lift and back down. The service manager is there as well checking the oil level. I asked him how much oil had been drained out of the engine and he points to a container and says "between a half and three quarters of a quart." I said, "I want a service receipt documenting the fact that Sanders Ford overfilled the engine of my new car on its first oil change." He didn't say anything. Once he was done and I was satisfied with the oil level, I walked back to the front of the building and waited for the car to arrive. When the serv mgr brought the car around he attempted to give me the keys back and get rid of me on the spot. I told him again that I needed a receipt. We went inside and I again told him that I needed this documented after he said that a half quart of oil "shouldn't hurt anything." His response was "you do what you need to do." NOT ONCE did anyone at this dealership come even remotely close to apologizing to me for the trouble or time that this cost me, not to mention the potential damage to my engine. My frustration is that it is apparent that the people who work in the service dept of this dealership appear to know how screwed up they are and that they just accept it as status quo. I get the distinct impression that their business philosophy isn't as much about a satisfied customer experience as it is about separating customers (most of whom are junior Marines) from their hard earned cash. I have intentionally held off on sending in my initial customer survey until my first service. They're gonna get it with both barrels, and they deserve it.

 

[kooldawg6]

Good luck Marine One on blasting them on the survey and getting anywhere with it. I work with a guy who bought an '04 V6 vert. After only 6 months the front wheels would shake violently while applying the brakes. He took it to the dealer and they told him the rotors were warped(he knew that, but now had the confirmation from the dealer). Not only did he want brand new rotors, he wanted it done under warranty eventhough wear related parts are not covered. He pleaded his case that this was by no means normal wear and tear. All the dealer did was turn them(which got rid of the warpage...for now). He then asked them what would happen if his rotors were out of spec from being turned already when he replaces the front pads. Their response...buy new ones. WTF!?!?!?!? Here is a car just short of it's first scheduled oil change and the rotors may already be out of spec due to Ford service and the only compensation you get is to buy new ones at your first brake job????? He sent letters to main HQ and tried calling them, but never got through...

 

[Marine One]

I'm not expecting any miracles here. I just want to document the fact that the service dept is inept to the point that they can't properly perform a simple oil change. I'll check the blocks in the survey and conclude my letter with something to the effect that "based on my experience with the service department I cannot and will not recommend this dealership to anyone" and see where it goes. I may even send a courtesy copy of the letter to the dealership.

 

[kooldawg6]

That is a good idea sending a copy to the specific dealer. Good luck.

 

[Marine One]

That is a good idea sending a copy to the specific dealer. Good luck.

Yeah, I'm sure he'll just love me for diming him out to FoMoCo, particluarly given all of their financial bad presss as of late.

 

[Art161]

Your choice should be based on what type of driving you do. If you drive in extreme cold or extreme heat, then full synthetic might be the way to go. While the car is in warranty, stick to the recommended weight and oil change interval. When you get out of warranty, you might go for a longer mileage interval between changes than the factory recommendation. You don't want to wait too long in months, because synthetic oil will become contaminated with water and other junk, just as much as other oils. The oil itself will be fine, but the contaminants are bad for the engine. Also, you have to consider the oil filter. It's no good to have long life oil in the engine if the oil filter is designed to last for fewer miles.

Some people think that you should go with dino or full synthetic, and that a blend is just a waste. Others say that the blend gives you the performance of a full synthetic, except it needs to be changed more frequently.

In my area, Castrol blend is less than a dollar more a quart than Castrol dino. The full synthetic is a lot more. Full synthetic is not worth it for me, because I drive in moderate temperatures and change the oil based on months, not miles. With the relatively small difference in price between dino and blend, I think I'll go with the blend.