Happy with City ford Zetland

tcrowdey · 04-08-2011, 11:14 PM

My history with City Ford Zetland after purchasing newFiesta Zetec 2010. From new the airconditioner compressor would shut down on hot days, worked when cold but not whenhot. First visit to service failed to fix the problem . Second visit to servicethey removed the compressor and ordered new one from Melbourne 2 days later putnew one in, gave me the car back. 50km of driving later loud noise came fromunder bonnet and engine stopped dead in the middle of traffic. Pushed car downside street called Ford they said get a tow truck myself and they would pay forit (they did not). Called me the next day and told me my motor was destroyed.Told me when they changed the compressor they forgot to replace the drive beltas required by Ford Australia. And it was that belt that broke and flew underthe main drive belt, threw out the timing and seized my motor. The dealer ownerBrent Polites advised me that they would be putting a brand new long motor(complete with all accessories fitted) into my car. Guaranteed me that the FordField Engineer would oversee the job and make sure it was perfect. I agreed ifhe extended my warranty and the job was done and took 4 days. Picked up my car,noticed immediately there was a strange vibration and car wanted to wander tothe right. Called service and was told that the Fiesta was a 1 wheel drive sothat they all do that?? sic They did a wheel alignment which made it a littlebetter but it still wandered to the right. Many visits to service later was toldthe vibration was normal??sic They balanced the front wheels (no help) then Itook it back to have the rears balanced. I went to pick up the car was told allfine and they gave me my keys and tried to send me on my way. However walkingup to the car I noticed the wheel faces were all damaged, whoever balanced mywheels ground big circular marks into my wheels and they tried to get me to gowithout noticing. Pointed it out to the service guy Bob and he agreed theirmachine had done it also the wheel nuts were all mangled, he said that theywere a “shit design” and you could not take them off without damaging them.They sent the 4 wheels away and had them all fixed and supplied new wheel nuts.Car still had vibration they kept the car for 2 days just to say again therewas no problem. However their work order to Ford showed 1 hour work, why didthey have it 2 days? Was told by service guy don’t worry about the vibration asI had a 5 year warranty and they would find it eventually. These guys are justa joke but it gets worse. Took the car back again for vibration, finally a newservice guy called Fred agrees I most definitely have a problem. Keeps car 2days replaces front engine mount and reseats the other mounts. Fault noticeablyimproves but only lasts 50km then returns. All this time Brenda from FordAustralia Customer care calls me each week to see if problem fixed. It is now10 months after engine replacement problem still not fixed, Brenda asks me to take car to another dealerfor another opinion. I take it to Alto Ford North Sydney, I do not tell theservice manager the problem, I just ask him to start and rev the car. He asksme if I had ever had the engine out of the car, I then tell him the story, hetells me the car obviously has a problem and that it was most likely from theflywheel and or the harmonic balancer being incorrectly refitted when theengine was done. Agrees I absolutely have a problem with vibration. I thenexplode in a email to the owner City ford Brent Polites and threaten taking himto Dept of Fair Trading, he assures me that if I bring the car back in he willget the Ford Field Engineer in and his guys will do all necessary to remove thevibration. That day I arrive at service none of the service guys wants to talkto me, service manager on holidays, second in charge Fred not there, Fordengineer not there but I leave car in good faith. Get call 4pm told “no faultfound” the Ford Engineer was there 15 minutes, started the car got into anothercar started it said they were the same and left. He and they did not exploreany aspect of the engine at all. Alto Ford service manager picked the problemin 30 seconds and I have had to endure the problem for 10 months and that isthe effort they put into fixing it. So all I can assume after all of mypatience is that City Ford Zetland has no idea and no desire to fix my problemand even worse that the man that should sort this whole sorry mess out thedealer principal and owner Brent Polites is a liar. Which really surprises mebecause if I know my ford history he is the son of Mr Polites who was the headguy at Ford Australia during quite asuccessful period in Ford history. And speaking to him He was so nice andpleasant and I would never have guessed he would have let me down. This car doesnot represent what I paid for and therefore I would expect City Ford Zetland tosupply me with a replacement vehicle. Of equal age mileage specification andcolour. Or a refund.

GoesLikeAZetec · 05-08-2011, 12:43 AM

Another sad to hear story about stupid ford dealers. Let us know how you go with getting it replaced.

Just a note, might be an idea to change your story to have paragraphs. Makes it hard to read like that.

shevek · 05-08-2011, 01:10 AM

I almost bought from City Ford Woolloomooloo but ended up getting my WS Zetec from City Ford Rockdale in Feb 2010. Took it to William St for free service since it's closer but it was clear the place had problems. They were about to move to Zetland. Everything was a mess. The guys seemed a bit old. This is sometimes a good thing but my short impression was that they had issues with modern technology.
Anyway, decided to take it to Rockdale for the 10k. No problems. So far, so good (assuming the fix that Ford Audio issue - see below).

DBourne · 05-08-2011, 09:04 AM

what a crap situation.. depending on where you live, Sinclair Ford are a great mob, and I have no drama in recommending them.

Russ · 05-08-2011, 09:09 AM

Sorry to hear of your bad experience, it's just one of many recent complaints about poor service and issues with new vehicles. Personally from what I have read I think you have put up with enough bull!$it and as the whole process started due to the incompetence of the named dealers service dept. then I consider you have strong grounds to demand a new replacement vehicle. I would not mess around with the said dealer any longer as it's obvious they are giving you the runaround, simply contact the Dept. of Fair Trading and explain what has happenend, if you can't get a suitable resolution through them then mention that you will be taking this matter to the media ( ie Today Tonight or A Current Affair) and see what they think about that. I know that they have been trying to fix things for you but as I said earlier in my post, they stuffed it due to their incompetence, they are now obviously unable or unwilling to rectify the present issues, so it's time to try a different approach to getting your problem resolved. Best of luck with it all and I hope you get a good outcome

Yellow_Festiva · 05-08-2011, 09:22 AM

Bugger.....

Cashie · 05-08-2011, 09:50 AM

Not good dude, why not get Alto Ford to fix it?
Tell Ford CRC of Alto's findings too.

EgoFG · 05-08-2011, 09:57 AM

I once had a Good/Bad service thread with a Poll for the NW Sydney area, might be an Idea for your area
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=101296

bms · 05-08-2011, 11:58 AM

Don't forget we now have LEMON laws in Australia and you should speak to the
accc I think it is .
If the dealer can't fix the problem and the issue is an ongoing one like yours you
can demand they replace the car or give you your money back including your out of pocket expenses.
The dealer from what I understand has to pay you not ford as thats who you have the contract with.
This came in from January this year. Check it out mate

Buttnekid · 05-08-2011, 12:11 PM

bms - what statute was enacted to give these lemon laws?

Joe5619 · 05-08-2011, 12:18 PM

Not good to hear.. :( I’ll make sure I never go to this dealer after reading this!!

Is the car fixed now?? If not, just take it to a different Ford dealer to get fixed.. It should be under warranty at any Ford dealer?? Brad Garlic at Top Ryde are very good.. Is there a reason you keep going back to Zetland Ford, when you knew there weren’t fixing it probably?

bms · 05-08-2011, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buttnekid

bms - what statute was enacted to give these lemon laws?

Not sure mate but if you go online to the accc or consumer affairs or give them
a ring you will find more info.
There was a article in the West Aust about 3 months ago on it but must admit it
hasn't been widely publicised.

Smoke Pursuit · 05-08-2011, 01:12 PM

Its the new ACL - Australian Consumer Law.. None of its been tested in court yet with regards to motor vehicles I dont believe...

Caydus · 05-08-2011, 01:23 PM

Owch, I got my Fez from them as well. I guess I'm lucky and had no major issues with the car and haven't had to "depend" on them. Won't be trusting them with a service.

Samtheband · 05-08-2011, 01:52 PM

MUCH BETTER:

My history with City Ford Zetland after purchasing newFiesta Zetec 2010. From new the airconditioner compressor would shut down on hot days, worked when cold but not when hot.
First visit to service failed to fix the problem.

Second visit to servicethey removed the compressor and ordered new one from Melbourne 2 days later putnew one in, gave me the car back. 50km of driving later loud noise came fromunder bonnet and engine stopped dead in the middle of traffic. Pushed car downside street called Ford they said get a tow truck myself and they would pay forit (they did not).

Called me the next day and told me my motor was destroyed.Told me when they changed the compressor they forgot to replace the drive beltas required by Ford Australia. And it was that belt that broke and flew under the main drive belt, threw out the timing and seized my motor.

The dealer/owner Brent Polites, advised me that they would be putting a brand new long motor(complete with all accessories fitted) into my car. Guaranteed me that the FordField Engineer would oversee the job and make sure it was perfect. I agreed if he extended my warranty and the job was done and took 4 days.

Picked up my car,noticed immediately there was a strange vibration and car wanted to wander to the right. Called service and was told that the Fiesta was a 1 wheel drive sothat they all do that?? sic

They did a wheel alignment which made it a little better but it still wandered to the right. Many visits to service later was told the vibration was normal??sic They balanced the front wheels (no help) then I took it back to have the rears balanced.
I went to pick up the car was told "all fine" and they gave me my keys and tried to send me on my way. However walking up to the car I noticed the wheel faces were all damaged, whoever balanced my wheels ground big circular marks into my wheels and they tried to get me to go without noticing.

Pointed it out to the service guy Bob and he agreed their machine had done it also the wheel nuts were all mangled, he said that theywere a “**** design” and you could not take them off without damaging them.They sent the 4 wheels away and had them all fixed and supplied new wheel nuts.

Car still had vibration they kept the car for 2 days just to say again therewas no problem. However their work order to Ford showed 1 hour work, why didthey have it 2 days? Was told by service guy don’t worry about the vibration asI had a 5 year warranty and they would find it eventually. These guys are justa joke but it gets worse.

Took the car back again for vibration, finally a newservice guy called Fred agrees I most definitely have a problem. Keeps car 2days replaces front engine mount and reseats the other mounts. Fault noticeably improves but only lasts 50km then returns.

All this time Brenda from FordAustralia Customer care calls me each week to see if problem fixed. It is now 10 months after engine replacement problem still not fixed, Brenda asks me to take car to another dealerfor another opinion. I take it to Alto Ford North Sydney, I do not tell theservice manager the problem, I just ask him to start and rev the car.

He asks me if I had ever had the engine out of the car, I then tell him the story, he tells me the car obviously has a problem and that it was most likely from theflywheel and or the harmonic balancer being incorrectly refitted when the engine was done, agrees I absolutely have a problem with vibration.

I then explode in a email to the owner City ford Brent Polites and threaten taking him to Dept of Fair Trading, he assures me that if I bring the car back in he will get the Ford Field Engineer in and his guys will do all necessary to remove the vibration.

That day I arrive at service none of the service guys wants to talk to me, service manager on holidays, second in charge Fred not there, Fordengineer not there but I leave car in good faith. Get call 4pm told “no faultfound” the Ford Engineer was there 15 minutes, started the car got into another car started it said they were the same and left. He and they did not explore any aspect of the engine at all. Alto Ford service manager picked the problemin 30 seconds and I have had to endure the problem for 10 months and that isthe effort they put into fixing it.

So all I can assume after all of mypatience is that City Ford Zetland has no idea and no desire to fix my problemand even worse that the man that should sort this whole sorry mess out thedealer principal and owner Brent Polites is a liar. Which really surprises me because if I know my ford history he is the son of Mr Polites who was the head guy at Ford Australia during quite asuccessful period in Ford history.

And speaking to him He was so nice andpleasant and I would never have guessed he would have let me down.
This car doesnot represent what I paid for and therefore I would expect City Ford Zetland tosupply me with a replacement vehicle. Of equal age mileage specification andcolour. Or a refund.

GoesLikeAZetec · 05-08-2011, 09:15 PM

lol cheers

paulo7 · 06-08-2011, 10:13 AM

Not a good story at all, I really feel for you.
I had minor issues with a dealer when I had a focus, and decided that after the first free service I wouldn't go back to a dealer again. For a few years now I take my car to a mechanic around the corner near my work and he does the services for a little cheaper and by the book. Everytime I've asked him to check something he's done it and reported back and not charged me the extra time - the fee was within $10 of the last service.
So it can be done!
You don't have to take you cars to dealers for a service and warrenty issues!

trumpy73 · 06-08-2011, 01:13 PM

Yes you do (for warranty)

Yellow_Festiva · 06-08-2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trumpy73

Yes you do (for warranty)

Nope. Unless you have a dealer specific extended warranty.

atec77 · 06-08-2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcrowdey

My history with City Ford Zetland after purchasing newFiesta Zetec 2010. From new the airconditioner compressor would shut down on hot days, worked when cold but not whenhot. First visit to service failed to fix the problem . Second visit to servicethey removed the compressor and ordered new one from Melbourne 2 days later putnew one in, gave me the car back. 50km of driving later loud noise came fromunder bonnet and engine stopped dead in the middle of traffic. Pushed car downside street called Ford they said get a tow truck myself and they would pay forit (they did not). Called me the next day and told me my motor was destroyed.Told me when they changed the compressor they forgot to replace the drive beltas required by Ford Australia. And it was that belt that broke and flew underthe main drive belt, threw out the timing and seized my motor. The dealer ownerBrent Polites advised me that they would be putting a brand new long motor(complete with all accessories fitted) into my car. Guaranteed me that the FordField Engineer would oversee the job and make sure it was perfect. I agreed ifhe extended my warranty and the job was done and took 4 days. Picked up my car,noticed immediately there was a strange vibration and car wanted to wander tothe right. Called service and was told that the Fiesta was a 1 wheel drive sothat they all do that?? sic They did a wheel alignment which made it a littlebetter but it still wandered to the right. Many visits to service later was toldthe vibration was normal??sic They balanced the front wheels (no help) then Itook it back to have the rears balanced. I went to pick up the car was told allfine and they gave me my keys and tried to send me on my way. However walkingup to the car I noticed the wheel faces were all damaged, whoever balanced mywheels ground big circular marks into my wheels and they tried to get me to gowithout noticing. Pointed it out to the service guy Bob and he agreed theirmachine had done it also the wheel nuts were all mangled, he said that theywere a “shit design” and you could not take them off without damaging them.They sent the 4 wheels away and had them all fixed and supplied new wheel nuts.Car still had vibration they kept the car for 2 days just to say again therewas no problem. However their work order to Ford showed 1 hour work, why didthey have it 2 days? Was told by service guy don’t worry about the vibration asI had a 5 year warranty and they would find it eventually. These guys are justa joke but it gets worse. Took the car back again for vibration, finally a newservice guy called Fred agrees I most definitely have a problem. Keeps car 2days replaces front engine mount and reseats the other mounts. Fault noticeablyimproves but only lasts 50km then returns. All this time Brenda from FordAustralia Customer care calls me each week to see if problem fixed. It is now10 months after engine replacement problem still not fixed, Brenda asks me to take car to another dealerfor another opinion. I take it to Alto Ford North Sydney, I do not tell theservice manager the problem, I just ask him to start and rev the car. He asksme if I had ever had the engine out of the car, I then tell him the story, hetells me the car obviously has a problem and that it was most likely from theflywheel and or the harmonic balancer being incorrectly refitted when theengine was done. Agrees I absolutely have a problem with vibration. I thenexplode in a email to the owner City ford Brent Polites and threaten taking himto Dept of Fair Trading, he assures me that if I bring the car back in he willget the Ford Field Engineer in and his guys will do all necessary to remove thevibration. That day I arrive at service none of the service guys wants to talkto me, service manager on holidays, second in charge Fred not there, Fordengineer not there but I leave car in good faith. Get call 4pm told “no faultfound” the Ford Engineer was there 15 minutes, started the car got into anothercar started it said they were the same and left. He and they did not exploreany aspect of the engine at all. Alto Ford service manager picked the problemin 30 seconds and I have had to endure the problem for 10 months and that isthe effort they put into fixing it. So all I can assume after all of mypatience is that City Ford Zetland has no idea and no desire to fix my problemand even worse that the man that should sort this whole sorry mess out thedealer principal and owner Brent Polites is a liar. Which really surprises mebecause if I know my ford history he is the son of Mr Polites who was the headguy at Ford Australia during quite asuccessful period in Ford history. And speaking to him He was so nice andpleasant and I would never have guessed he would have let me down. This car doesnot represent what I paid for and therefore I would expect City Ford Zetland tosupply me with a replacement vehicle. Of equal age mileage specification andcolour. Or a refund.

So have you considered getting a consulting motor engineer to write a report and lodge a complaint with the principle and the accc to get the ball moving , it will be fixed then

Fiesta_Man69 · 06-08-2011, 06:51 PM

Yet another tale of woe from Ford. This pathetic tale, plus the Focus Lemon thread plus my own problems (pinging, 10K of rust in a brand new car) are just 3 reasons why I amongst so many others will never buy a Ford again (also prob why Hyundai has slipped into 3rd overall in the marketplace at Fords expense).

As for going to the accc and getting an engineers report - don't bother, Ford will stonewall you.

Best advice: sell, take the loss and buy another brand.

Yes, every brand has lemons. However, it's the way Ford deals with lemons that is the massive issue. The sad fact is once they have your cheque and you take delivery, they don't care.

Btw, wouldn't touch Ford Rockdale: was offered $17K trade in on R32GTR, came time to do business, trade in changed to $8K: waste of time - at the end of the day all Ford dealers are the same: they are privately owned, buy cars off Ford and don't want to know about warranty issues.

It's a pity, when it's in good nic the Fiesta is a great car. Pity there's so many lemons out there. Considering 95% are bought by women who (in general) wouldn't know rust, ac probs, pinging, pulling to one side etc if their Fiesta had it... One has to wonder how bad the problem is....

I'm selling up before warranty ends. That's my advice: they have too many lemons and treat customers with utter contempt. I wish you all the best with Ford.

Caydus · 06-08-2011, 07:46 PM

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.

tcrowdey · 07-08-2011, 09:42 PM

Will be seeing the dealer principal Monday. I have stuck with them because no other Ford dealer for huge miles around me and hey i'm a trusting soul never thought it would come to this. The Fiesta is a awesome car it has just been massively spoilt by idiot dealer. I am not shy about using Fair Trading as have just had a huge win with them solving a problem for my mum. Why not to Alto Ford? The service manager worried he may not be paid by Ford Australia, obviously internal politics there. Surprisingly I don't want a new car I love the one I got I just want the vibe fixed. Think the next step will be a deal with them to get Alto Ford to fix it. I need to be careful because I don't want to jeopardize a refund claim against City Ford by having others work on it. Thanks for your thoughts BTW

tcrowdey · 07-08-2011, 10:26 PM

Just read a email from Brent Polites. He seems less upset about me having such a horrific experience at his service department than me using the word LIAR in my post. So let me make this absolutely crystal clear. I only use the term "liar" because it is the only assumption I am left to make when I have been waiting with such rediculous patience for so long for something to be done. I reinforce what I said before. I have found that Brent Polites sounds like a very reasonable man who seems to genuinely want to help. However his staff do not seem to live up to his expectations. If Brent is genuine then I unreserveably retract the term liar and apologise. But Brent mate do something about this crap, my partner now refuses to drive my car and I am starting to loose sleep over it.

svo supporter · 07-08-2011, 10:34 PM

On the issue of this pull to the right. 2 queries.

One, does this model Fiesta have struts that have 2 bolts holding it to the stub axle? (My memory fails me here)

2ndly. if it does, did they remove the stub axle/s from the strut, when they did the motor change?

Answer this and I may have the answer to your pulling problem.

GoesLikeAZetec · 07-08-2011, 11:17 PM

sounds pretty cheeky to be lurking in here reading your post and then having a go at you for it.

instead of lurking maybe the time would be better spent fixing the guys car? no? to straight forward?

or how about you put your own side of the story up, if tcrowdey is making his story up?

ferrari458 · 08-08-2011, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoesLikeAZetec

sounds pretty cheeky to be lurking in here reading your post and then having a go at you for it.

instead of lurking maybe the time would be better spent fixing the guys car? no? to straight forward?

or how about you put your own side of the story up, if tcrowdey is making his story up?

Not to mention losing potential customer who maybe reading these posts. Ford's dealer service doesn't exactly have the best reputation as it is.

EgoFG · 08-08-2011, 01:15 PM

So Mr Polites Jnr should probably join up, and post here what he plans to do to rectify the situation.

That way he can undo some of the damage done to City Ford's Reputation by his team's inattention.

To quote a recent ad. - Man Up!

Fiesta_Man69 · 08-08-2011, 06:49 PM

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!

svo supporter · 08-08-2011, 07:10 PM

Fair enough blaming Mr Polities for this situation, but does Mr Polities actually get told by his staff that some others aren't doing their job properly?

Most big dealerships have various managers who do all the hiring and firing, not the owners. (ie Mr Polities in this instance). So it might be better to name and shame the service manager, that way Mr Polities can have a quiet word to this manager about the staff under him.