Complaint Review: Don Davis Ford Service

On April 20, 2001 our 1995 Ford Escort gave up on us so we had it towed to Don Davis Ford in Arlington, TX. This was on a Friday evening. We told the service tech that our car was stalling out at lights or when ever you came to a stop and that it also was making a knocking noise under the hood.

Saturday afternoon we get a call from a service tech by the name of Alan who told my husband "the car starts everytime we try it." To which my husband replied that of course the car started. It always started. It just didn't keep running while driving it. He also asked Alan if he heard the knocking noise under the hood? When Alan replied that he did hear it, my husband actually had to tell the guy to find out what it was!

Monday came and we still had no idea what was up with our Escort so my husband took a day off work and we went to Don Davis to try to find out what was going on. No one seemed to know anything!

Finally, after an extremly long time there, we were told that the Escort would need a new motor and that we were looking at some where between two and three thousand dollars for it. Not wanting to sink that much money in to a 1995 car, we went to the sales area to see what we could do regarding getting a new car. We had wanted to get a new car but we weren't looking right at that time. Now we were forced to being our old car was past help.

The salesman (Patrick) was wonderful. He is the only good thing that we have found over there. He went out of his way to help us and we still appreciate his help:) He's not the problem - the finance and service areas are.

Once we made up our minds to get a 2001 Ford Focus, we proceeded over to the finance area. The man we dealt with there had no personality at all. He also didn't go in to any explaination as to what was being included on the contract. He said we were getting disablity coverage like it was something that was included. He said it so matter of factly that we thought it just came with the contract. Only later, when we read the paperwork over at home, did we notice the extra charges for this and a couple other things on the contract. We were upset but we figured being it is our first new car, we'd go ahead and keep the extras. We just would have liked the option to choose them is all.

Back to the service department. On Thursday, May 3rd, 2001, I took our brand new Ford Focus in to the service area to have two problems taken care of. The passenger window made a rubbing noise when you put it down and the windshield washer didn't work. When you pushed it, either nothing happened or it spit some fluid on to the window.

I sat in the service waiting area for 3 1/2 hours for this!!! At one point Alan came in and told me they were waiting on the part and he told me not to worry about it though as they weren't going to charge me for it! Excuse me??? Of course I wasn't going to pay for this as the car wasn't even two weeks old and we are paying for the extended 5 year bumper to bumper warranty as well. He seemed surprised when I told him that. See, he was dealing with a "woman" so he most likely thought this would make him look good. You know - not charging me for the repairs.

I was so mad at this that I called my husband. He immediately spoke to the service manager named Chris. I thought the attitudes shown to me up to that point would surely change now but I was wrong.

I was told that the part would be in by 10:30 am and that it would then only take 15 minutes to put it on. They also told me they were going to lubricate the window to stop the rubbing. Lubricate? No - they put a new belt on it. Later on when my husband questioned them about the "not charging" us and the "lubricating the window," they had the nerve to tell him that there must have been some misunderstanding between myself and Alan. Translation?? Being seh's a "woman" we never said it - she just heard it all on her own.

When the car was finally done, Chris took me by the hand (like a child) and lead me over to the cashier to sign the needed paperwork. How humiliating! But I grabbed the car, checked the window and washer and tore on out of there.

Two days later, as we are driving and it starts to rain, my husband reaches for the veriable intermittent wiper switch and - guess what - it's not there. Yep, they put the wrong part on our car! So, on Saturday, May 5, 2001 it was back to the car dealer once more!

We ended up in a rental car and finally got our car back later that afternoon. We will drive how ever far needed now to another Ford dealer just to insure that we NEVER take our car back to this service (or lack there of) department again!

My husband has reported them to Ford Motors and we are warning everyone we know to stay away from Don Davis Ford in Arlington, Texas.

We will NEVER purchase another car from them again and - due to the problems with have encountered with them - sadly, we will never purchase another Ford product again either.

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