Dealer scratched rims bad during alignment

[jwheeler]

I just went through the pain and agony of watching the dealership scratch the hell out of my rims during a alignment. This is the second time I've been through this. The first time they scratched the rims just a little bit and I let it slide. But this time after warning them that they need a special adapter and standing there watching them like a hawk I witnessed them do it, and I mean bad. I went right back up to the service adviser and grabbed him and showed him the damage. He then went to talk to the service manager. He came back from his little visit and pulled out a hunter catalog and showed me that there was no special adapter listed for the Marauder. So I asked him if what the position was for fixing this and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders. I then told him that many people in our club have had the same thing happen, and they got new rims out of it. He told to find out what dealerships replaced them for the customer and weather not Ford covered the cost or the dealer did. Why I have to do the leg work on this I will never know. So, Cyclone03 I guess I'm asking who your dealer is and how did you go about getting the new rims? Did you yourself have to call Ford and complain or did the dealer step up and take the issue to them?

:mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

-J

[cyclone03]

I THINK Ford paid for my rims.
The dealer that damage mine went back and forth with Ford, the only thing I did was let them know I would except NOTHING but 4 new rims,I NEVER wavered from that stance.
IMHO the dealer did not lobby on my behalf,they were in CYA mod the whole time.

The last time I talked with the service manager I'm sure he was reading me an email from Ford becauase at one time he said "Fmc will cover the replacement of costomer wheels this one time.."to me that sounded like a message to the dealer.

Good luck.
My understanding is FMC notes if specail tools are needed for a repair,no such notes are listed for the Marauder.

[yorks]

I just had an alignment done last week. There definitely is an adapter that fits on the inside of the 18" wheels that we have. I've seen a picture of it. Unfortunately, it would take my dealer 6 months to get it up to Canada, and due to the fact that they're only servicing 1 possibly 2 MMs, it's not worth their while. They explained it nicely, and I agreed.
In a case like this, have them put Grand Marquis Wheels on, and use the MM specs which are readily available to the service tech.
Then put your wheels back on to road test it. Mine came out fine, feels tight/runs true.
They even cleaned my wheels inside and out while they were off, no charge! I just changed dealers for service purposes as the selling dealers were a'holes in the service department.
Good luck!

[martyo]

After the rim issue is resolved, consider doing what I did. Find someone local who has the Hunter equipment. That's how I found the guy who did (an excellent job, by the way) mine after the spring install.

Maybe if you contact Hunter, they can give you the names of the local shops with the "right" equipment.

[jwheeler]

I understand that they don't have the right equipment and such, but still the wheels were damaged by the dealership, and I feel that they should replace them. Am I out of line here? Also, I need new tires like yesterday, and after seeing how that they take tires off and put them back on, I'm a little concerned about further damage. Any thoughts on this topic?

:mad2:

-J

[cyclone03]

Make sure they know THEY damaged your wheels.
Stand up and ask them what they are going to do about it.
NEVER agree to letting them repair the wheels,listen to everything theysay,then when the service manager (SM) stops talking say"ok,when are my NEW wheels coming in".Repeat this everytime the SM talks to you,remind them that you did not cause any damage to your car so you are not responsable,liable,for any damage,or any % of such.
They screwed up.

Repeat after me...When are my NEW wheels coming in?

IT took less than a week before my new wheels came in.

[jwheeler]

I'm going back tonight to tell them to get in touch with Ford and get me some new rims!

:fire:


-J

[cyclone03]

Don't show your anger.
Make sure they know WHO caused the damage.Not YOU.

If you want PM me your phone number and I'll call you.

[bryanknie]

How does the adapter work? On the inside of the wheels as stated above? Do they take the wheels off?

When I had my alignment done, due to front inner wear after 11K miles. I told the dealship to make sure they used the MM specs and the 18" adapter. My serivce advisor stated they did and the car does drive and handles better now. There are about 4 little scratches on each wheel now (not worth complaning about IMO) about 1/8 inch on the edge of each wheel, 2 on top, 2 on bottom, like something was mounted there or forced between the rim and tire.

I dont belive my wheels or tires were taken off or unbolted from the car.

[cyclone03]

And now you have damaged wheels......
The adapter a local non Ford shop uses grabs the tire from the back,just soft plastic "tabs" touch the wheels.

[bryanknie]

Is the Ford adapter the same? If so I will point out to my service manager what they did on my next trip.

[duhtroll]

J -

Is this the same dealer that is 3 blocks from my place? The same dealer that I have an appointment with on Friday AM?

If so, I JUST HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF THEIR SERVICE GUYS, that they need special equipment to align the MM, or they must use GM/CV wheels to do it. I also told them about not rotating the tires, which they also did not know.

I will definitely speak up on your behalf. They had foreknowledge of this, because I just explained it to them over the phone Monday when I made my appointment.

They have no excuse to do what they did.

That is, if we are talking about JD.

In either case, they damaged 'em, they bought 'em.

Just a thought. If LM dealers are now the only ones technically able to service our cars, are they not *required* to purchase any and all equipment necessary to do so? Maybe someone who knows more about this can answer that one.

Thanks,
-A

[duhtroll]

Sorry to "answer" my own post, but has someone (who has been on the list longer than I) been keeping a list of all of these funky requirements that aren't listed in manuals, etc.?

You know, like the wheel adapter for alignments (or using CV/GM wheels. Also included would be towing instructions (IIRC must use a flatbed). Are there any others we should be making a list of and keeping in the car for service trips?

I will also include tires at 30 PSI/28 PSI for mine since 32 doesn't seem to work.

Any more? Help is always welcome.


Thanks,
-A

[jwheeler]

Yes Duhtroll, it is JD! I actually went back to the dealer and told them that others had gotten new rims out of the ordeal. He gave me the Ford customer service number and told me to tell them that they were not told by Ford anywhere in there documentation for the car that they needed a special adapter. So, I gave them a call and told them the whole story all the way back to the first time that they scratched them right after I first got the car, and that it wasn't that bad so I looked the other way. I told them that they did the alignment the second time (against my protest because I told them that they needed a special adapter) because when they replaced my steering wheel for the leather coming unglued they did not put it back on straight. I new that they would damage the wheels further in the process. I stood right there and watched it happen and I mean bad. At this point they now had scratched all four of my rims. There were only scratches on the front one from the first time. I was told by the gentleman on the phone that it was the dealers fault for not having the right equipment and that they should have contacted Ford to see if they needed any type of special equipment for any new model that they had not serviced before. He basically told me that the dealer is at fault and they need to work with Ford and myself to make it right. He asked me what it would take to make it right and said FOUR NEW RIMS. He said that was a reasonable request and that he was going hand my case off to a regional customer service rep and have him contact the dealership within 24 hours to move forward. He also said that this is the first that Ford has heard about this happening. So, the dealers must have ate the cost for Zack and cyclone03's rims.

I think my dealer made a mistake in having me take it to the next level. Ford did not sound to happy about the whole ordeal. I will keep you all posted on the outcome.

-J

[duhtroll]

Sounds like I have something to talk to the dealer about when I go in tomorrow. If mine needs an alignment they aren't touching it until I agree they aren't going to ruin the wheels.

Hopefully I just need to mess with tire pressure some more to get them to wear evenly, so it won't be an issue. I will definitely mention that someone there should sign up as a member of this board because information about this car is not being distributed in a satisfactory way. THAT part is LM's fault. The dealer shouldn't have to constantly check for updates - the updates should be sent to them. What we don't know is who dropped the ball yet, and I can see it going either way.

All we need to do now is figure out whose fault it really is -- LM or JD. It certainly ain't yours, and someone owes you some rims.

Thanks,
-A

[cyclone03]

I know the Customer Service line say your the first to ever complain,but you always will be first.They will never addmit theres any kind of problem.

From what sounded like an email that the SM was quoting,"Ford has agreed to replace wheels THIS ONE TIME (?).This sounded to me like that because Ford did not supply the dealership with the correct info on allaining the Marauder they would cover the cost THIS TIME,next time the service tech needs to pull his head out!

In my case I did not call customer service,I made sure they(service dept.)knew it was they're responsiblity to make this right and right is not repairing the wheels.

Stay on the dealer SM know his name,call him 3 times a day,make sure he knows you will not be happy until you get your new wheels.
BTW he will NEVER return your calls if you leave a message.
After 2 days of not receiving a call back I walked in his office so he knew who I was!