I was not planning to leave a review, but the experience with Winner Ford's service department has…read morebeen so unbelievably frustrating that I feel obligated to warn other customers.
What should have been a simple warranty transfer turned into a 6-7 week nightmare of misinformation, damage to our vehicle, and almost zero communication from the dealership.
This started in mid-January when we tried to transfer a warranty from another dealership. Jason in the Winner Ford service department told us he would look into it. Over the next 10-14 days, he repeatedly said he would call us back with updates. He never did. Every time we called him, he acted like it was the first time he had ever heard about the situation.
Eventually Jason told us to bring the truck in. When we arrived at Winner Ford, they insisted we did not have an appointment until we showed them the confirmation email.
Once they took the vehicle, Jason again promised he would call us with costs, timelines, and updates. Once again, we heard nothing. Every time we called, he said he would "look into it and call us back." He never did.
After more than two weeks, my husband told them we were leaving for Florida and needed the truck back by February 5. Jason said that would not be a problem.
We showed up, paid for the work that was not covered under warranty, got into the truck, and discovered that none of the work had actually been performed.
To make matters worse, the truck had been returned to us with a deep gouge across three painted panels that absolutely was not there before the truck went to Winner Ford.
When we went back into the service department to ask why the work hadn't been done, Jason's response was:
"Oh, I thought you said you needed the car back."
That explanation makes absolutely no sense. If the work wasn't going to be completed, why were we not called? Why were we not told? And why were we allowed to pay for work that never happened?
Jason then said he would "look into" having the damage repaired.
A week later we followed up. Once again he behaved as if this was the first time he had heard about the damage that happened while the truck was in Winner Ford's possession, said he needed to speak with his manager, and promised to call us back. As usual, he never did.
At that point I went into Winner Ford in person and spoke with the GM, who was polite and professional. He introduced me to the COO, Heather, and then the Service Manager, Kevin. I had to explain the entire situation three separate times.
After 2-3 more weeks of follow-ups (all initiated by us) Winner Ford finally agreed to repair the damage that was done to our truck while it was on their lot and complete the work we had already paid for a month earlier. We were also told that a loaner vehicle would be ready.
When we arrived for the scheduled appointment at Winner Ford, there was no loaner. No call. Just another example of the total lack of communication from this service department.
We eventually received the loaner 5-6 days later.
The truck was then supposedly repaired and sent to a body shop around February 27. Jason told me the estimate was sent to Ford that night and approved Monday morning.
That turned out to be completely inaccurate.
After chasing Jason repeatedly for updates--each time being told he would call back and never doing so--I contacted the body shop directly. They told me the repair was delayed because Ford didn't approve the work for six days, not three days like Jason had told me.
When I confronted him with the information from the body shop, his story immediately changed.
Jason later told me the truck would be ready Friday, March 13, and said he would confirm the pickup time and call me back. Once again, he never called.
When I contacted the body shop myself, they informed me the truck wouldn't be ready until Tuesday, because Ford had taken several days to send the bolts required for the repair.
Winner Ford has now had my truck for 6-7 weeks.
What started as a simple repair in mid-January turned into:
* Weeks of ignored calls and broken promises
* Work we paid for that they forgot to do.
* Damage to our vehicle while it was in Winner Ford's care
* Multiple contradictory explanations about delays
* Constant follow-ups that only happened because we chased them down
Instead of the pickup truck I purchased and pay for, I'm still driving a tiny hatchback loaner that felt like it was powered by a Dewalt 60V battery. (Sorry for the insult to Dewalt).
At the suggestion of the GM, I even emailed the President of Winner Ford about this situation. Not surprisingly, I never received a response.
The most concerning part of this entire experience is that no one at Winner Ford's service department ever seemed remotely interested in communicating with us or resolving the situation unless we personally chased them down again and again.
If this is how Winner Ford treats customers after the sale, I recommend taking your business somewhere else.