Complaint Review: Apple Ford - Columbia Maryland

Well I bought a used ford explorer from apple ford in October of 08. Problem after problem has happened. First, when I bought the car, I was given hard tags the day of the sale. Alright, PERFECT...I dont have to go back and worry about getting hard tags.

Well 2 months later I get a call from a service advisor telling me that they needed to do some "tag work". So I said alright, Ill bring it and you can do an oil change at the same time. They said probably about 45minutes to an hour. About 3 hours after I dropped off the car, I go to check on where my "45 minute fix" had went. The first person I ask tells me they ran out of oil filter. The second person tells me they dont have any more air filters (wait, i was just getting my oil changed right?). The third person tells me its going through a MD state inspection.

Well the 1st two people lied. The MD inspection part was true too. Turns out they sold me the car with an expired MD inspection AND gave me hard tags, but failed to register it with the MVA. So I was driving a car around for 2 months with "illegal tags" since they werent registered anywhere. So 6 hours after I got there..I get to leave. Turns out they replaced the fuel filter, air filter, wiper blades, rear axle seal...since they all failed inspection. And no..I never signed for them to do any of this..they took my car and wouldnt let me see it.

So I called the MVA and got in touch with an investigator, who went out there and said everything seemed to be in good shape with the inspection process and that everything would be straightened out. NOT.

So the next oil change I have done..I get the car back and the rear defroster and rear windshield wiper dont work. I go and complain about that and they decide to fix both of them, but refuse to give me paperwork for the rear windshield replacement. So I have no record it was done.

So at this time I contact the MD Attorney General and the MVA investigations office again. The MVA investigator goes out and says he was going to ticket them and see what all was going on. That was about 2 months ago. I have been trying to contact the investigator since, with no response. The MD attorney general contacts me and says there is nothing that can be done since apple ford is "cooperating". Sounds like someone is getting paid off up top.

I also found out in January that my title had the wrong leinholder on it, so apparntly some bank owned it that I didnt even know about.

So just to add to my service issues.

My next oil change-- I tell them dont take it through the car wash, because I have aftermarket lights on the front that cant go through car washes. So what do they do...TAKE IT THROUGH A CAR WASH (free for life with purchase of car). The light breaks off and they tell me it was like that when they got it. I had taken pictures a couple of hours before the service, and once I showed them the pictures...they gave me money for the replacement light.

A couple weeks ago I go in for service, and 1 day later..the car starts sputtering and check engine light flashes with "misfires" on all cylinders. I pull the plugs and change the wires..and find the plugs to be a blue-ish/purple-ish/reddish color. Granted, the car had 65000 on it, but still. Cost me around 50 bucks since I did it myself, but kinda a coincidence they broke the day after my service.d

So just last week I go in to have my tranny fluid flushed. About 2 hours after the service began, I see my car pulled around into the pickup area. I was talking with a guy, and got distracted, but after a 1/2 hour I wondered why I hadnt been called. I go up to my advisor and he says, well we lost your paperwork. 5 Minutes later they find it in the cashiers area. When I get my car back, I go outside and its all wet...and clean. So I go back into the service advisor and ask him why they put my car through a car wash when its written on my file not to. he said, oh, I told them not too and they didnt. So my response was, "so my car just sweats?". Luckily nothing was broken off this time.

I have met with the service managers, as well as the owner Mr duetsch, and Mr. duetsch was rude and didnt want to talk to me. The service manager, Mike Sheckells, was nice, but still accomplished nothing.

If you talk to anyone waiting in the service area, everyone has a horror story. Soemthing is up and needs to be done. If anyone wants to start a case against them, or take some sort of action, please contact me.

This is ridiculous that everytime I need to have service done...soemthing comes out broken.

Austin

West Friendship, Maryland

U.S.A.