Eagle Corner Ford - Passing the buck to the customer

I had my car at Eagle Corner a couple of weeks ago to have them fix the front bumper that started peeling after they had it resprayed and to sort something out with the exhaust.

When I got my car back it was scratched on the driver's side rear fender and I noticed the aircon wasn't working anymore. I also noticed they did +-60km with the car. Probably driving it to the panelbeater and back. I phoned Belinda at Eagle who assured me they'd sort it out and made a booking for my car. The time came for me to take my car back but I got a call saying they don't have any courtesy vehicles available, I should bring it back that Thursday. Well, I drove all the way to Eagle that Thursday and to my disbelief I was told that they didn't know I was coming, no one knew who phoned me(female voice) and they didn't have a car for me. I should come back the next Thursday.

So before the next Thursday I get another call telling me they're still waiting for parts, I should come back the following Monday. Fine. That was yesterday and the car was booked in to fix the aircon, scratches and exhaust shield.

Soon 12/12/2006I get a call from the service adviser telling me it's going to cost R2500 to fix the aircon as there's a hole in the condenser and they need to replace the seals and re-gas it! I spoke to the technician who confirmed.

Shortly after this I got a call from Richard, the service manager telling me that I need to pay the R2500 as it's not they're problem if a stone hit the condenser. Now I tried explaining to him that the aircon WAS working when I gave the car to Eagle Corner and it WASN'T working anymore when I got it back. Obviously something happened in the 60km they've driven with my car.

Now this looks to me like Eagle Corner is trying to make me pay for something they've broken. I took my car in to have something fixed which they didn't do properly the first time and got it back with 2 things broken and they want me to pay for it!

Yesterday, 13/12/2006 I get a call from the service adviser telling me that my car is ready for collection so I asked him about the aircon to which he replied that they won't touch it as I'm not willing to pay and they won't pay for it either. I called one of the service people, Belinda Jimmy after that to find out what was going on. I Was told that they were still discussing the matter with the dealer principle.

Soon after that I got a call from Richard Tooze, the service manager telling me that it was my fault and they won't pay unless Customer Care told them to do so. I was also told that they were still waiting for customer care to give them a call.

Today, 14/12/2006 I got a call from customer care telling me they've got Richard on the line. This guy then starts telling me that there is just no way that it was their fault and it must've happened while I was driving the car. A heated debate followed and on asking how exactly a stone big enough to go through the condenser can hit the car without leaving a mark on the bumper or anything. I was told thhat the stone must've gone straight through the grill(which is a honeycomb grill with very small openings) and through the condenser. Does he honestly expect anyone to believe that?

He went on to tell me that cars are booked in at the client's own risk and whatever happens while they have it is the customer's problem. This basically means that if they drive and crash your car, it's YOUR problem and they'll wash your hands off it without offering ANY assistance or accepting ANY responsibility. How convenient!

It's basically my word against his and I could see that the argument was going nowhere so I asked him to show some goodwill and pay 50%. He refused. Explaining to him that he's not losing just one customer didn't faze him either.

After more words I eventually told him to just fix the aircon, I'll pay for it as I've had enough and he was wasting my time. As if that isn't bad enough, I've received an email telling me that the supplier is closed and they can't fix it this year. I'm going away on holiday to Limpopo province where the temperature reaches 40 on some days.

Does this mean that we should just accept PATHETIC service from Eagle Corner Ford or anyone? No, tell the world about it!!
One thing is for sure, Eagle Corner isn't doing the Ford brand any favours and Richard Tooze's arrogant, rude and don't care attitude towards the customer is appalling.

28 workshop bays, a superbly trained team of technicians and an outstanding workshop manager, all means one thing.quick service and attention to detail. - yeah right!

Update:
I had the aircon fixed at a cost of R5500 and as it turns out a stone did hit the condensor but it did not cause a leak. The actual fault was a pipe rubbing against the chassis, so this is obviously a defect and the Ford warranty should have paid.

More reasons to avoid Eagle Corner