Typical dealer response

fresh coast
Sep 17, 2024

Rank II

Sep 17, 2024

So I really didn't want it to come to this, but here we are.
1st off, I love the bronco now that it's taken 2 yrs to shake all of the Ford shortcomings out of it.
I'm finally enjoying it and have it mostly setup the way I want for now.

So I blew out my front diff on day one of windrock on the trail heading to panther rock. Nothing hard whatsoever and it let loose going down hill with no obstacles😡

Anyhow, Szott warrantied it and the driver half shaft I had to gut as it was binding. Fast forward a month or so and I had to do my brakes. Got to the driver front and noticed my aftermarket UCA was beat to snot by what appears to be a hammer. They destroyed the cup where the ball joint presses in and compromised the boot. After bringing it to their attention with Crystal, she says she'd call right back. Well 3 wks passed with me calling 3 times and never got a call back. Then I called service manager and scheduled a time to come in while taking the day off work. Waited for 2.5 hrs and she says a new UCA will be here tomorrow. Confused, I ask where did you order the arm from? Her response was Ford. Lady we went over this multiple times it's aftermarket. She says they don't make aftermarket and I proceeded to tell her Ford don't, but there are multiple other companies that do. She then says well you can't prove we did it. Holy hell I almost came unglued and Keith the service manager tells me it was probably the installer or something I picked up offroading. Well it's funny how a rock just targeted the ball joint and didn't touch any of the surrounding areas.

So in my eyes they admitted guilt by ordering an UCA, even though it wasn't the correct one. Now that they saw it's going to cost them $450 they're ghosting me.

Looks like I eat it and drag them through the mud.


edit: forgot to fully name them, Szott Ford in Holly, MI

Attachments

Deano Bronc, the poacher

Don't Follow Me ,I'm about to do something Stupid

Sep 17, 2024

#1
You always run this risk whenever you install aftermarket parts and then have issues with anything connected to it. It's not just Ford. Yes if they truly did the damage they should fix it but most any dealer is going to use that " You can't prove we did it" line when dealing with aftermarket parts. It's part of the game and risk you take when modifying a vehicle that is still under warranty.
2Dr Badlands - MIC - Area51 - 2.7 Auto - MGV - Headliner - High Pkg
Reserved 7/20/20 Delivered 5/6/23
"Ford said, hey we're gonna fulfill all reservations and pre-orders before we build stock units."
James77, Bluestreak57

Rank II

Sep 17, 2024

#2
I fully understand your point, but uca's are all the same when it comes to install/removal. So this tech is out there not knowing what the hell he's doing and what side to smack on a ball joint to pop it. This is why i never go to a dealer unless it's for warranty
Rydfree, the poacher

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