[futameca]

Anyone have any insights as to which might be better: Lincoln/Mercury or Ford dealership. Here's why I ask.

1) I took the Escape in to the local Lincoln/Mercury dealership for a free oil change we had coming. There was one other car there. The shuttle to work consisted of me. I get a call 30 mins after I get to work informing me it was done, I hadn't even gotten through my emails yet. And they offered a shuttle back to retrieve the Escape.

by contrast...

2) When I take the Escape into the local Ford dealership (it's BIG) where it is normally serviced there will be 1-2 dozen cars and trucks there already. And more coming in after me. The shuttle to work may have 4-6 people in it take 30 -45 minutes to drop everyone off. Sometimes I will not hear from them all day and I need to call to find out when it's done. And no shuttle back to retrieve the Escape, need to bum a ride. I'm not saying the Ford experience is horrible but I thought it was the norm until I went to the L/M dealership.

All things being equal (the technicians at both are trained the same, Ford parts are used, let's just say service pricing is the same, ect.) I'm going to L/M from here on out. Reasonable?

 

[Colleen]

The Ford dealership (Clinton Family Ford, Rock Hill, SC) where we purchased both our Escape and Mariner, has outstanding service in my opinion. I have been taking the Escape there for oil changes and tire rotations since we purchased the vehicle in June,07. The Mariner only has 2800 miles on it so it has not yet been in for servicing. They have what they call a fast lane for oil changes and tire rotations. There is no appointment necessary for this, but you can still make one if you like. I usually arrive when they first open. There is a waiting room where coffee is served and they have a couple of computers set up in there where you can play online. :yahoo: EVERYONE at this dealership is always very friendly to me. Our salesman usually spots me when I am in there and comes over to chat. I have never had to wait longer than 45 minutes for them to finish servicing our vehicle. The time seems to fly while I am waiting. Hmmmm.....that might have something to do with being able to play online :lol: .......or maybe the friendly conversation .......or perhaps a combination of both.

 

[Squishy]

It really depends on the specific dealership's service department. In some areas the L/M dealership will have better service than the Ford dealership, but you could also have it the other way around. I'm not sure if parts prices differ as well.

 

[rehctelf]

As far as I can tell Ontario has only ever had Ford dealers that sometimes carry other lines, so it's really just one dealer network.
Of the half dozen dealers in the area I only deal with my favourite dealer, Highbury Ford, they do a lot of fleet maintanance work and the mechanics there really know their stuff.
The service from most of the dealers is good but Highbury just seems to go that extra mile.
I found some of the smaller dealers are really nice but don't always have the same services and expertise.