Complaint Review: Koons Ford

My Letter to Ford:

I would like to tell the Ford Company about a recent experience I had at with the service department Koons Ford of Annapolis.

First, a little background information. My wife has a 2000 Ford Explorer Sport that is covered under an extended power train warranty. Recently (September 16th 2004), my wife was having trouble with her transmission, an internal part of the transmission had gone bad, rendering the vehicle un-drivable, so we had her vehicle towed to Koons Ford of Annapolis because it is the closest dealership to our house and the warranty she purchased with her vehicle covers the transmission. After 2 days without any vehicle to drive (September 18th) I decided to call to see if I could get a rental car (also covered under the warranty) for my wife.

My service representative, Chris Johnson told me that they had to inspect the car first to determine if the problem was covered under the warranty prior to allowing me a rental car. On the fifth day (September 21st), I called Koons back to get an update and see if I could get a rental for my wife. The response again was that they had to inspect the car first to determine if the problem was covered under the warranty prior to allowing me a rental car. Since it had been 5 days and no one looked at my car, and no one could tell me when it would be looked at, I called multiple times each day so I would know when I could come pick up a rental. On the evening of the 7th day (September 23rd), I was finally able to obtain a rental from Koons. I asked how long they thought the issue would take and the response was 2-3 days. Four days later (September 27th), I decided to call to find out the status. The response from Chris Johnson was we have to take the transmission out first. I asked why they waited 4 days to take out the transmission, but no one had an answer.

After my wife left numerous voicemails for Chris trying to get an update, on the 7th day, I called, and asked for Chris Johnson's manager. Chris' manager, Mike Harrington was understanding of my frustration and informed me that the technician told him the car should be finished Wednesday (September 29th) if there were no problems, however no call came on Wednesday. On Thursday Chris Johnson called and said it should be done that day, Thursday (September 30th), but again the car was not done on the date promised. On Friday (October 1st), I called Koons and spoke with Mike Harrington the service manager at Koons. I asked Mike what the problem was, why it was taking so long, why no one returns my calls, and if they treat all their warranty customers like this. Although I believe Mike is a nice guy he was unable to answer any of those questions. On Saturday (October 2nd), my car was finished, but when I looked at the invoice a total of approximately only 8 hours where spend repairing the car even though, it took 16 days to be completed.

The question I have to ask Ford, the company and Koons Ford, the dealership is why should I ever buy another Ford product if you treat your customers in this manner? As I said before my wife has a 2000 Ford Explorer and I personally own the same exact year, make, and model vehicle as my wife, only in a different color. I bought my car from Koons Ford in Annapolis. I will be in the market for a new vehicle soon. Personally, I love my Ford, but I hope to nothing serious goes wrong with it because I know what to expect from your company and its "service" department.

Matthew
Crofton, Maryland
U.S.A.