Best service department threads?

[phildickerson]

I’m wondering if there are threads about good (or bad) service experiences? I can’t find any.

i’m in Raleigh, NC and looking for a good dealer for the TSB and CSP work on my 2023 Lightning. Not sure how much I like the dealer I bought from!

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[carys98]

Capital Ford seems to be getting better. The first few times I tried to get something done they were clueless but when I called about the battery/BECM update they wanted me to bring it in for the SW update right away. They will also pick up and return your truck to your home.

 

[djwildstar]

I took my Lightning to Wade Ford for its 10,000-mile tire rotation and multipoint inspection. I specifically asked if they could do the BECM CSP work at the same time -- it's less than an hour of shop time with FDRS. The service advisor told me that they were unable to do any CSP work -- they specifically said that they have been unable to use FDRS since early September (so 5-6 weeks at that time), and cannot get parts from Ford for any work except safety recalls.

So I got the tire rotation and inspection done, and will probably need to wait for the OTA update that addresses the BECM.

In general I had good luck with Wade Ford -- they were locally owned, and I've bought 3 vehicles (and 10 years of regular service for both mine and my wife's vehicles) from them. I found out that between when I bought my Lightning and when I took it in for its 10,000-mile checkup, Wade Ford was bought by Lithia Motors, so now it's part of one of the big nationwide chains. This does not strike me as a positive development.

So I think I'm also in the market for a new Ford dealer. If the service advisor was telling the truth, then a shop that can't use FDRS for weeks at a time and can't reliably get parts isn't really much better than a big chain car-care store. If it was a lie (for example, because they need to have all customer-paid work to make the shop's numbers look better), then that's no better -- trust is the most important attribute an auto shop can have. A shop that will lie to me about that will also lie to me about other things that will improve their bottom line at my expense.

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