Like a lot of folks, I try to avoid having to bring a vehicle in to the Ford dealership, due to my perception of the increased costs involved, but having an issue that my local shop has been unable to decipher, I decided to cut my losses and lean on the Fugate Service Department's in-depth expertise and diagnosis tooling to solve the intermittent errors my Escape has been experiencing.
Getting an appointment was the worst part of the process; I had a 28-day wait to get into the shop, which seems to be the case for most auto work done. Not having a backup vehicle while my SUV was parked in the driveway, I got pretty good at Uber'ing for essentials. Finally, the day of my appointment arrived.
Dropping off the vehicle was easy; the scheduling admin verified my vehicle and took the keys, along with some notes regarding what work I had recently done to diagnose the issue. Being assured that I could get any parts replaced back after the work was done, I hitched a ride back home to wait for the results.
Eric, the Service tech assigned to my job, was very communicative, and successfully completed early diagnostics. The quote to proceed with repairs was a bit steep, so I asked him his professional perspective on that particular engine, and the likelihood of getting a good RoI on the cost involved. He patiently went through all of my concerns, and left me with a peace of mind to be willing to proceed.
The parts were ordered, the work completed the next day, and I came by at 5pm to pick up the vehicle. Unfortunately, the box of removed parts (barely used parts I had just replaced at the other shop) were not with the scheduling admin, who told me to ask the cashier for the box. The Cashier did not know what I was asking for, and directed me back to the service department. They gave a call out to the tech who worked on my rig, and i was told I could pick them up on Monday.
Thus began a series of phone calls to the service department, with no return calls. I am left with the impression that this just isn't a priority with them. Not a big deal, since I probably am unable to return them anyways after installation, but it's the principal of the matter for me, and if one of these parts fails in the future, I have the replacement already on hand.
Overall, I'm very happy to have my vehicle running effectively, and appreciate the courtesy of the staff involved. I just wish there wasn't such a backlog of work orders, and that non-drive-able vehicles could be prioritized ahead of recall-type work. Also, improved communications within the shop seem to be an opportunity for improvement. read more