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Should I Visit Dealer Before I Start the Mods?

Quisp

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#21
I think being deceitful and covering up and lying is the honorable thing to do. After all the cost just gets spread around to others.
 


Ford ST

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#22
You always know? Hmm you may suspect but I am not sure I would take your word on you always know,




You do realize some mods are perfectly legal and having nothing to do with blowing engines up. I.E. uprated intercoolers on our cars for instance. Everyone knows including Ford the factory intercooler is not enough in warm climates like SoCal.

Plus Ford Performance sells the Mountune and it is warranty friendly as well as their intake. Their are parts for Mustang, FoST,FoRS as well.

You seem to assume a lot. Its the reason I take my car to Galpin for service. A lot of sevice writers assume a lot at most dealerships assume a lot. Galpinare mod friendly and don’t jump to conclusions just because of mods.

FiST’s from 2014 have been known to destroy engines because of a mistake by Ford , as Well as the whole headgasket Fiasco with RS’s.
From your description of denial it seems like you do not fully investigate before denying.
If I am wrong excuse me but you stated it this way.

I also would not brag about stuff like that on a forum like this either as people might not take kindly to it.

Just saying.
Fully agree a guy that's on a car enthusiast forum denying people for mods, I couldn't do that for a living no way.

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jmrtsus

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#23
A "service writer" does not work for Ford. Ford provides your warranty, not the dealer. Too many service writers are on power trips and sometimes need Ford to clean their clock for them. Many spend so much time BS'ing people they start to actually think they know something about cars. If you have tunes other than the MP-215 and have engine problems you can legally be denied coverage on your engine if the failure is related. If you have a dealer that is refusing to work on your car and the problem has nothing to do with the mods Ford will cover it. Take it elsewhere, your dealer is an independent contractor for Ford service. Your dealer is NOT the Ford warranty authority, Ford is. There is a-hole dealers and good ones. If you buy from a mom and pop dealer that sells mostly f-150's and SUV's you can expect grief from them. If you buy from a Performance dealer with lot's of ST's, Mustang GT's and Shelby/Roush cars and a parts department that stocks and a service department that installs Ford Performance parts you will have zero problems. STOP blaming Ford for bad service writers that get their jollies from jerking people around to help their weak ego. Do not settle for a "service writers" BS. Ford customer care folks have fun telling them what they will and will not do. They have zero "authority" over your warranty. The dealer IS NOT obligated to work on your car if they do not want too! But Ford can "convince" then to do it! It becomes a question of do you really want people working on your car that do not want to do it? Most "service writers" have seen very, very few ST's, one dealer I stopped to car shop for a Fusion Sport had salesmen coming out to see my car because the had never seen one. In 2017! Not a dealer to take my car in for service at. On the other hand where I bought mine is a Roush dealer, had several Shelby's in stock and had 9 Fiesta ST's when I bought mine. They gave me a price which included the Mountune MP-215 installed along with the RMM but ended up doing them on my own and registering them with Ford. If I have problems I feel sure I will get zero grief for those or other normal mods like exhaust, OCC or FMIC at that dealer. Because my MP-215 is listed on my warranty I will have no problem once the dealer makes the call to Ford if they question it. Most dealers know zero about the Mountune stuff. So if you have an asshole dealer/service writer call Ford and raise hell or take it to a dealer that sells and embraces mods. But keep this in mind...most of the "techs" doing warranty work are part time and beginners. New car dealers are where beginner mechanics get "experience". My son got his at Ford, Nissan, Subaru and GM and seldom saw 40 hours a week. His true stories are down right scary. One that terrifies me is the sweepings from the service area and how many nuts, bolts, screws, lug nuts and plastic clip parts that did not get put back on cars. My experience on warranty work has been a missing oil drain plug and zero oil in the car, my new Buick Turbo was 4 weeks old when it sat D.O.A. at the dealer for over 2 months waiting for a new wiring harness. But they did offer to RENT me a car! That was the last GM car in this family! My new Capri RS made it 6 blocks from the dealership when I pick it up before the entire clutch pedal assembly fell to the floor. Never had a bolt in it from the factory, I paid out the butt for "Dealer Prep" and they never even drove the car! Or Nissan telling me my rear drums were worn out but front disks were "like new" at 60K. I told them to change both....then the front rotors needed turning (not) and the beginner turned them so thin they grabbed and pulsed. Took it back and they offered to give me my money back and I could take it to a brake place because they "didn't really have anyone with brake experience"! At a large Nissan dealer! My car (2016) has not seen the dealer for any reason yet. But I have to get a new Sync 3 system so no choice. My experience is the majority of "service writers" would need a manual on a screwdriver to operate it and when they learn to operate it they can get a raise and work on the cars! And we will not go into how many times the "Service Writers" attempted to or did rip off my mother, wife and daughters! So called "Upgraded" my mother to Nitrogen in her new tires for only $75.00......a-holes! I put them between a slug and a used car salesman in the evolution chain, just in case there is any doubt about my feeling for them!
 


Ford ST

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#24
Yeah the dealer I bought mine at sells Richard Petty mustangs and f-150s that can be supercharged to some crazy high power numbers and you still get a warranty. Service writers are definitely pretty scummy people I think you have to be a pile of trash to sell people services a car doesn't need just to make money. I'm sure that a few good ones exist though. Good read it was long but good.

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HardBoiledEgg

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#25
That's fine


Don't lie to your service advisor who is trying to help you lol. That's the mistake most make.
 


Dpro

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#26
I think being deceitful and covering up and lying is the honorable thing to do. After all the cost just gets spread around to others.
Lol I do not think most in this thread are codoning or suggesting what you wrote above. Glad to see sarcasm lives in all its glory. Lol

That's fine


Don't lie to your service advisor who is trying to help you lol. That's the mistake most make.
Hmm well that flows both ways as what has been pointed and I have also personally experienced service writers lie to customers to make money all the time. I have been told I needed services I did not need.

Like when my 2012 Focus was in for a failed TCM and the service writer tried to tell me I needed a fuel Injection system service at 34k .lol he tried to tell it would improve my gas mileage . Which by my monitoring was just fine. Lol
If I had not been a car guy who knew how to work on cars and my way around cars myself I might have said oh really lets do that. Lots of people do fall for that.

Perhaps just don’t lie to the customer, thats the mistake most make. Lol

I hope you get the irony of your own words. Service writers are quite often out to help their pockets. Its practically in the job description.

Two wrongs don’t make a right but I would wager service writer dishonesty is much higher that customer dishonesty.



I am not questioning your integrity either., but you are trying to defend a business( automtive repair and service weiting is part of it) known for bad ethics and practices in the past and present.

I do not disagree with what you said as well about just being truthful.

I do think honesty is the best policy on both sides of the table.
 


HardBoiledEgg

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#29
Had a friend blow the engine on his 2017, basicly hybrid turbo running Meth. Forgot to look at the Meth activating while running someone and it wasn't working at all. A couple of days later car started smoking a bit, so he swapped back the stock turbo and about a day or 2 later car started to rattle and it went, made a little window in the block similar to the one you posted but alot smaller. It was replaced under warranty luckly.

So just found this posted three threads under this thread......like I said. They (customers) try and get us all the time when shit goes wrong
 


Se7eN

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#30
So just found this posted three threads under this thread......like I said. They (customers) try and get us all the time when shit goes wrong
I used to work as a Service Writer in dealerships, a lot of the times the customer would put the car back to stock and try to pull a fast one. At least with VW their systems know if there was a tuned installed at any given time, I don't know if Ford does this. But if a GTI or Golf R would come with some sort of issue related to a tune and the tune history would popup it would automatically have the repair denied by VW.

My friend put his car back together to stock and went to the dealer and they passed it even though it still had the 3 inch MBRP exhaust and suspension mods and such. Of course he removed all the hard parts related to engine mods and put the tune back to stock. Technically it's the Techs job to inspect the vehicle and insure it wasn't tampered with.
 


Se7eN

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#32
Lol I do not think most in this thread are codoning or suggesting what you wrote above. Glad to see sarcasm lives in all its glory. Lol



Hmm well that flows both ways as what has been pointed and I have also personally experienced service writers lie to customers to make money all the time. I have been told I needed services I did not need.

Like when my 2012 Focus was in for a failed TCM and the service writer tried to tell me I needed a fuel Injection system service at 34k .lol he tried to tell it would improve my gas mileage . Which by my monitoring was just fine. Lol
If I had not been a car guy who knew how to work on cars and my way around cars myself I might have said oh really lets do that. Lots of people do fall for that.

Perhaps just don’t lie to the customer, thats the mistake most make. Lol

I hope you get the irony of your own words. Service writers are quite often out to help their pockets. Its practically in the job description.

Two wrongs don’t make a right but I would wager service writer dishonesty is much higher that customer dishonesty.



I am not questioning your integrity either., but you are trying to defend a business( automtive repair and service weiting is part of it) known for bad ethics and practices in the past and present.

I do not disagree with what you said as well about just being truthful.

I do think honesty is the best policy on both sides of the table.
Yes, Service Writes are paid to both be the face the customer deals with for issues with the vehicle and at the same time paid in order to sell dealer requested maintenance packages and add-ons to services.

As for Warranty, most of the Dealers I've worked at the Service Writer has NOTHING to do with approving or not approving warranty repairs so the hate in this thread goes to the wrong people and it's ignorant to think it's just down to one person if you case was denied. There is usually a warranty dept filled with 2 o 3 people who work directly with the requirements from the Manufacture for repairs to be made if they see something in the documents of the tech or the parts changed according to repair procedures that is not in line with what warranty pays it will be denied. Also on some occasions there is a requirement for a Inspector to go and verify that the vehicle is eligible for repair so they check for mods and damage that might have caused it that is not warranty.

The dealer makes money from the manufacture for repairs and of course the techs also get paid for worked ours so they benefit from working on your car.
 


Dpro

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#33
Yes, Service Writes are paid to both be the face the customer deals with for issues with the vehicle and at the same time paid in order to sell dealer requested maintenance packages and add-ons to services.

As for Warranty, most of the Dealers I've worked at the Service Writer has NOTHING to do with approving or not approving warranty repairs so the hate in this thread goes to the wrong people and it's ignorant to think it's just down to one person if you case was denied. There is usually a warranty dept filled with 2 o 3 people who work directly with the requirements from the Manufacture for repairs to be made if they see something in the documents of the tech or the parts changed according to repair procedures that is not in line with what warranty pays it will be denied. Also on some occasions there is a requirement for a Inspector to go and verify that the vehicle is eligible for repair so they check for mods and damage that might have caused it that is not warranty.

The dealer makes money from the manufacture for repairs and of course the techs also get paid for worked ours so they benefit from working on your car.
I am not sure if the statement above was directed at my comment, but...I do not think anyone said or implied service writers were the sole decision makers beyond perhaps hardboiled which is what I and others were responding too orginally, where he said he denied warranty claims.

I and others did comment on the shenanigans they are known to pull, and my own personel experiences.

Sorry man but you come in here like you have an axe to grind. We were all commenting about service writers based off Hardboileds own comment and ya he is a service writer.

Oh and whatever you say does not hide the dishonestly of a lot of car dealerships and manufacturers.

Hell Volkswagen decieved the public as well as the EPA and CARB at a corporate international level. Which dealers gladly went along with.

While you may have worked at reputable dealers there are a lot who aren’t.

There are two sides to this coin.
 


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#34
Wow, Someone piss in your cheerios this...

Sorry man but you come in here like you have an axe to grind. We were all commenting about service writers based off Hardboileds own comment and ya he is a service writer.
Maybe I missed something but I don't think Se7en's comment was particularly out of line or offensive, certainly not personally.

Anyways really enjoyed reading all the experiences and feedback from both people on both sides of the service isle


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M-Sport fan

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#36
I used to work as a Service Writer in dealerships, a lot of the times the customer would put the car back to stock and try to pull a fast one. At least with VW their systems know if there was a tuned installed at any given time, I don't know if Ford does this. But if a GTI or Golf R would come with some sort of issue related to a tune and the tune history would popup it would automatically have the repair denied by VW.

My friend put his car back together to stock and went to the dealer and they passed it even though it still had the 3 inch MBRP exhaust and suspension mods and such. Of course he removed all the hard parts related to engine mods and put the tune back to stock. Technically it's the Techs job to inspect the vehicle and insure it wasn't tampered with.
Ford DOES also have this capability with their scan tools as well, the main reason I will hold off on any tunes (as well as turbo/down pipe/intake upgrades) until after the power train warranty expires, or I pay the (0% interest) loan off.

I have much less disposable income than most on here, but much more patience. [wink]
 


Se7eN

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#37
I am not sure if the statement above was directed at my comment, but...I do not think anyone said or implied service writers were the sole decision makers beyond perhaps hardboiled which is what I and others were responding too orginally, where he said he denied warranty claims.

I and others did comment on the shenanigans they are known to pull, and my own personel experiences.

Sorry man but you come in here like you have an axe to grind. We were all commenting about service writers based off Hardboileds own comment and ya he is a service writer.

Oh and whatever you say does not hide the dishonestly of a lot of car dealerships and manufacturers.

Hell Volkswagen decieved the public as well as the EPA and CARB at a corporate international level. Which dealers gladly went along with.

While you may have worked at reputable dealers there are a lot who aren’t.

There are two sides to this coin.
Wasnt directed at you though, just quoted cause it wasnt all hate
 


Se7eN

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#38
Ford DOES also have this capability with their scan tools as well, the main reason I will hold off on any tunes (as well as turbo/down pipe/intake upgrades) until after the power train warranty expires, or I pay the (0% interest) loan off.

I have much less disposable income than most on here, but much more patience. [wink]
Yeah, i actually held off going with a turbo mod after the warranty expired just in case. Also never ran a DP until that point. Just in case. Now well just send it lol
 


danbfree

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#40
I was thinking more like to ensure I had the latest ECU updates, but then I thought about it some more and since I'm adding a Cobb AP, the existing factory settings will get overwritten anyway. Guess it was a pretty silly question...
The existing settings all get completely backed up and when you take it in to the dealer you simply choose the Uninstall option right at the bottom of the main menu and it will flash you back to 100% stock, as it was from the time you originally installed the AP... At this point, you are good for warranty in general, but if you have other mods and you are trying to warranty an engine, they may check your ignition cycle count, which does get reset back to zero. Then you can always claim you used an OBD tool to reset your ECU to see if it would help with your issues and they would be forced to prove that your mods caused it, which by THIS guide seems pretty easy unfortunately, they have a big legal team with lots of precedence set.
 


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