Service Experience (Comments Welcomed)

[cyled]

I have taken my car in for what seems to be the typical problems;

1) Periodic Puff of Smoke from passenger side (Dealer did not see it on start up and said they did nothing. I said you don't even pull a plugs to check to see if you notice anything? Response: Well they don't get paid unless they see something. They don't get paid for troubleshooting based on what I see and they don't)

2) Poping noise from right rear (Of course they can't find anything. I even gave them the area to look at)

3) Uneven tire wear both inside fronts and center rears (Took in yesterday and they didn't check the alighment because the rack was booked. That is why I scheduled it with them. Dealer agreed to keep the car and check it today. They are telling me if it is out of speck (meaning I knocked it our alignment) they will align it but can do nothing about the tires.)

So all they did was change the oil. I talked to the General Manager at the dealership. He said he was going to make some phone calls today to try to get more information on the situation. I explained to him that I am not trying to be a nagging customer, it just these are problems that are documented by other Marauder owners. I know it seems like going to the doctor and saying "I read this on the Internet and I think I have it." I told him that the car is showing all the issues that others are seeing.

Of course unless you take your car to the dealer for these things, Mercury has no record of the number of us with these problems and therefore think it is one offs and will do nothing.
I cannont stress enough, if you have any of these problems and want help from Mercury, everyone of us has go to the dealer and take the car in for service to have the paper trail.

The good news is, I got a 2003 Lincoln Town Car to drive! Amazing how much of what is in the Marauder is in the Town Car. Steering wheel controls, the seats (other then the leatherr), Alpine radio, and some others. Smart business on Ford's part.

Anyway any comments on how I should proceed next will be welcomed! I will post the outcome after I pick her up at the dealer today.

[MMM2003]

I'm taking the mine in tomorrow, for most of the same things. In addition they still have to fix my shifter linkage alignment (3rd try). My SM was pretty cool about the whole thing. I told him the same thing you did (Internet source; other owners, ...). He said they are willing to look at everything I show them and bring in. They do the same for the loal Cougar club, since they aren't well supported by Mercury either!

[67435animal]

The shifter linkage is an easy, easy five minute fix. If the SM can't fo it, I can.

Bob

[MMM2003]

I know it is, but I won't wrench on my car, as long as it is under warranty. They charged me plenty when I bought it, they should be able to take care of everything. Even if Ii have to show them the page from their own service manual (RTFM) !

[Warpath]

Originally posted by cyled
...The good news is, I got a 2003 Lincoln Town Car to drive! Amazing how much of what is in the Marauder is in the Town Car. Steering wheel controls, the seats (other then the leatherr), Alpine radio, and some others. Smart business on Ford's part...

Look underneath it too at the chassis. Same story.

[Mark McQuaide]

Cycled,

If we weren't in different states, I'd swear we had the same dealer!

[MMM2003]

Funny this just popped up. Took my MM to the Dealer this morning. Oil change and Shifter linkage adjustment. Took the directions and SM sheet in and showed them what was happening when upshifting.
Just got a call. According to my dealer there is no adjustment and what I experience is normal.
Go figure. !!!!!!! :mad2:
This was their 3rd and final attempt. I'll be looking for a new Dealer soon.

[AlabamaSS]

Question. Can you guys take your cars to the Ford dealers or just to the Mercury dealers?

The reason I ask is that if it were me and you could go to the Ford dealers then I would look for one that sells and services other high performance cars, as an example, the Saleen Mustangs, Roush Mustangs, etc. I would think that they might have more qualified people than say your average Mercury dealer. I don't mean to insult anyone here, it is just my 2 cents worth.

It seems to me that you guys are getting a lot of run-around from some of these dealers...or is it just me that thinks this?

One other note: My experience has always been that when you have a problem and you are not getting satisfaction, you keep going up the ladder to the next person until you find someone who could care less about your problem but DOES care that the people below let it get this far back the them and did not take care of it! You will see a difference then. I have had dealings with Ford before and that was what it took. Good Luck to you all.

:confused:

[MMM2003]

I hear you loud and clear. Some members already attempted that and they were denied service. For reasoning please refer to that thread, but apparently there is some gorund for denial of service. I'm planning on going to the local Ford/Saleen Dealer. I had talked to them previously and have to see if they are willing to work on my MM. Otherwise I have one another option, but that's 45 min drive. The dealer belongs to the same Dealership group, but is an authorized F/L/M and a SVT dealer! That's my last resort, hopefully I won't have to go that far, to get my car serviced.

Thanks for the info!

[cyled]

Well the story is the alignment was in spec (though on the outer limits of the specs) and was "tweaked". Of course they are going to do nothing about the tires (at this point). They pulled the plugs and all look good (so that is a good thing). Of course they couldn't find the pop or klunk coming from the rear still.

I have called Mercury Customer service once again to get the disapproval documented. I was informed that engineering recieves a copy of the complaint, the regonal rep, and the dealership. Engineering is suppose to forward the infomration over to the National Transportation and Highway Board, in which if they see enough documentated cases will launch their own investigation.

I really hate to beat a dead horse.... but those of you posting with the same issues, nothing will be done without getting it documented at the dealership and then a call to customer service so it will get hopefully some more attention. I am not being rude to anybody through this, I am just being persistant. That is what it will take if we want Mecury to own up to some of these issues....


"Was it over when the German's bombed Perl Harbor... Hell No! Who's with me????" -Bluto in Animal House

[Warpath]

Originally posted by MMM2003
Funny this just popped up. Took my MM to the Dealer this morning. Oil change and Shifter linkage adjustment. Took the directions and SM sheet in and showed them what was happening when upshifting.
Just got a call. According to my dealer there is no adjustment and what I experience is normal.
Go figure. !!!!!!! :mad2:
This was their 3rd and final attempt. I'll be looking for a new Dealer soon.

Ford pays dealers a set price for each type of repair. I have found out that some dealers will not perform a repair if they don't make money on it (and its not safety related). In other words, if they can't fix it in the time Ford allows, they won't do it.

[Bigdogjim]

Originally posted by AlabamaSS
Question. Can you guys take your cars to the Ford dealers or just to the Mercury dealers?

The reason I ask is that if it were me and you could go to the Ford dealers then I would look for one that sells and services other high performance cars, as an example, the Saleen Mustangs, Roush Mustangs, etc. I would think that they might have more qualified people than say your average Mercury dealer. I don't mean to insult anyone here, it is just my 2 cents worth.

It seems to me that you guys are getting a lot of run-around from some of these dealers...or is it just me that thinks this?

:confused:

Well as far as I know you can take it to the local Ford dealer. I go to an SVT dealer so they know the engine. Ford and L&M can cross reference the computer so that is not a problem.

I think some guys don't have a Ford near them?

If any thing the Marauder has pushed home the fact that the DEALER really does makes the differance................

Mercury dealers have not seen a car like this in 33 years... years....................:(

[67435animal]

I have not taken mine to a dealer yet, but Todd (TAF) strongly recommends a local SVT dealer in Marietta (Team Ford). I have spoken to the mechanic and he is very knowledgeable. I'll be using the Ford dealer rather than the Mercury dealer.

I cannot believe that you wer told that the shifter could not be adjusted. If you raise the car, the adjustment is intuitive.

Geeze, some people are just plain lazy.

Bob

[MapleLeafMerc]

WELL WELL WELL :mad2:

I have had my MM since Nov/02 (built Oct/02). Canadian model with TC but no heated seats. Last Monday I called the Service Manager at a local dealer. I explained my concerns about the well documented (at least here) problems with the MM. We discussed my concerns for 30 min, and I also described the TSB/SSM's I'd seen here for the first 2 items below. Made an appt to see him 7AM Wednesday.

My list was

a) PCM flash
b) water inside headlights
c) stereo rattle/vibration ( a tech heard it)
d) knocking sound, under dash in front of driver (tech heard it)
e) flat spot on windshield (wasn't raining that day)
f) oil change

After making the Monday call with the service manager, then a half hour conversation with him again on Wednesday am, guess what they did on Wednesday?

If you answered 'f) oil change', you are correct!!! I've concluded that the minute I left the shop Wednesday, he completely forgot about me and my car. I was so mad when I picked up my car at 5PM that I can't remember everything he said. One comment I do recall was when I asked about the stereo, and the SM turned to a mechanic and asked "Did that stereo guy come in?" He didn't even know.

I have drafted 2 letters to the Q/C manager at Ford- (I thought that a good place to start)- One will document the service issues unaddressed. (If I added comments about the things the selling dealer had to do like repainting the hood and having a failed shot at the stereo, the letter would be too long.

Another letter will describe my profound disappointment with the MM I got versus the MM that was advertised. I was going to talk about misleading advertising, but my friends have advised that I reword that. Let's just say that, as far as I know, every ad for the MM mentioned performance and said nothing about economy. Hello! I bought it for performance! What they delivered was a performance car that had been emasculated for mileage.

At this point, (esp w/o the money for mods and lack of MM dealer know-how in this area) what I'd really like is to get out of this car and into an 04, with the dual knock sensors, new tranny, heated seats. poss better PCM tuning, etc., etc.

Don't think I'll ever buy the first year of a car again.