Happy with City ford Zetland

[tcrowdey]

Results of patience. After Brent Polites took control of my plight, I am now a happy customer. I have had the loan car 2 weeks, in that time they tried some things on my car but got no improvement, and I agree with what Brent has said. My car after the engine was replaced has a different feel and that is permanent and cannot be corrected. He has located from Ford Headoffice a black Zetec with similar miles to mine and brought it to Sydney. It is a newer model WT to my WS, he has allowed me to accept or reject it and find another. I saw and drove it today and could not be more happy with the vehicle, it is beautiful and vibration free, and I have told him I am more than happy with it. He is doing all the changeover papers and it will have no effect on my finance. I feel I have been nicely compensated for monies I have outlaid on my original in so much as I now have a newer vehicle with a higher resale value.
I must give Mr Polites high praise for some things. In that at all times that I have dealt with him directly that he has always totally accepted responsibility and never made excuses for mistakes made, and he has always thanked me for my patience. It has always fallen apart only after his men could not resolve it. In the end he took total control himself, gave me a replacement vehicle and even offered for me to use one to drive to the Snowy Mountains when I told him I had been hoping to get there. I must admit there was a time I was feeling isolated and deserted by Ford and was feeling a lot of bad feelings.
He has single handedly restored my faith in himself, City Ford and Ford ownership. Yes mistakes were made, unsolveable problems turned up, but he has replaced my car. My original impression Of Mr Polites was that he was a extremely likeable and professional man, fortunately for me that has turned out to be true.
I now have absolutely no hesitation in recommending someone buy a car from City Ford ( a far cry from how I felt a month ago) Thank you Brent Polites.
I have never used a forum before, but I have to say it is a great place to vent ones frustration, and I thank everyone here for their kind thoughts

[robjh80]

Congratulations on finally getting it all sorted out mate, must be a load off your mind, nobody needs that sort of stress after buying a new car! .. so glad you had a good outcome on this one,

.. and well done Brent Polites, good job! ..

[gcg2503]

Great result!

i hope many happy years of motoring ensue

[Fiesta_Man69]

Congratulations. It's great to hear you're happy with the result.

However, before everyone gets carries away with congratulating Brent Polites, some issues must be considered.

At the end of this sorry saga, all Mr. Polites did was ensure Australian Consumer Law was followed: i.e. provided tcrowdey with goods in working order as he had originally ordered and paid for.

Some questions need to be asked.

If Brent Polites is such a good bloke, why did this saga stretch for over 12 months? (in his first post tcrowdey states it had already been 10 months and counting).

Did Brent Polites ever pay for the tow truck that he said he would? (again, in the first post).

One assumes that the service manager and the mechanics at fault have been fired (for example, the mechanic that destroyed the facing of the wheels, or the one that stated that City Ford would eventually find the problem before the 5 year warranty ran out), if Mr. Polites is genuine about ensuring this never happens to any other City Ford customer. Bet he hasn't. Perhaps tcrowdey can inform us - when he goes to pick up his replacement car - whether the same fellows that destroyed his original engine are still working there.

One assumes that tcrowdey's original WS with the new engine but same old vibration is to be written off. What's the bet it's sold as a demonstrator to an unsuspecting customer (more than likely - and yes this is generalising but - a female who won't be clued up or tenacious like tcrowdey) so a lot of the costs can be recouped. Of course we will never know, but use your head.....

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it is obvious that Mr. Polites only took action in this case because tcrowdey was so resourceful (less than 5% of Ford owners ever use this forum), tenacious and wouldn't take the bs that City Ford handed out. There can be no doubt that if this was the case 20 years ago - i.e. before the internet - the result would be have been different. What was established through this thread was that Mr. Polites trawls this site and when his dealership was getting (rightly) criticsed for unbelievable incompetence, he realised it had the potential to harm sales (especially now as Falcon fleet sales can't prop up floundering dealerships) and maybe even put him out of business.

I'd also be concerned with the WT you are receiving. You say it is of similar milage to your WS. Therefore, one can only assume it is a demonstrator (unless it's pre-owned therefore making it a second hand or used car). Demonstrators are flogged to death and sold off before anything major goes wrong. Think about it: they are there to 'demonstrate' the capabilities of the Fiesta - acceleration, braking, handling - and when I drove several, yes I took them to the redline and slammed on the brakes to see how the ABS worked, as did the bloke before me and the one before that. When the rusted components of my Fiesta were being replaced the demo WS that Ford were obliged to give me had only 8K on the clock but the suspension was absolutely shot to pieces - it felt like a car of 100K (turns out it was the dealerships runabout car that I saw in Carsguide being sold as a demonstrator for big money 2 months later (same number plates were on the car). Some poor bugger ended up with for only $1K less than a brand newie.

Long story short - you should be receiving a brand new Fiesta: if Mr. Polites was genuinely sorry for your treatement the extra $ it would cost him wouldn't be an issue. Get the WT thoroughly checked out before accepting it (make sure it hasn't been bingled, drives true etc.)

True, it's easy to say that all's well ends well, but think about the stress tcrowdey had to endure, for over 12 months. Again, if Mr. Polites was as genuine and such a good bloke as he trys to make himself out, the problem would have been solved much, much quicker.

I recommend anyone with such issues to use Fair Trading (as I did) for it forces Ford to act faster and do the job properly as they know Fair Trading's mechanical experts will be inspecting the final product.

Even though tcrowdey was influenced to change the title of this thread, anyone reading over the facts he provided from the start, it is still very easy to state "Don't buy from City Ford Zetland."

[Caydus]

I'm glad it was resolved for you, after so much pain. Definately gives me much more confidence in my dealer.

[tcrowdey]

Well written post Fiesta man69 and I agree with everything you bring up and people should take it all in and make their own judgements. Here is some extra information in regard to my plight.
The saga did go on for too long partially my fault. When his staff did not resolve each time I left my car, I did not immediately go back to Brent as I was just too busy. Mostly however I was determined to have mine fixed because I did not want the new model because it does not have the red dash, stupid I know but I loved that dash. My biggest complaint was his staff not letting him know they could not fix it, as I have said each time I went back to him, he would jump to trying again.
No he did not pay for the tow truck but we did agree that he would pay for a 5 year warranty, which he did instead.
I would never expect a guy be sacked for a mistake, only that they learn from the mistake, I just hope that they have (one can only hope).
My cars vibration was not horrendous, it was just worse than when it was new so from my viewpoint was not the car I paid for, hence why I wanted satisfaction. I'm sure anyone else who drives the car when thinking to buy will make their own judgement on whether they like it or not, they may find it fine, it is just not what I bought.
The WT I am receiving is a execs from Ford HQ in melbourne. It is from the pilot built that first came to Australia build October 2010. The car has independantly been put over the pits and given to me to drive as much as I liked before I made my decision. I was freely allowed to reject the car if I saw fit.
I have driven a few WT's now including the loan vehicle he gave me which had 600km on it. To my shock the WT from melbourne is by far the tightest build of any of them, extremely impressive example of the breed, and lightyears better than the WS I owned. Maybe pilot builds have more care taken, either way I loved it and was happy to accept it. I will point out that my request to him was for a Black Zetec manual with similar miles as a replacement or a refund, so in that regard he fulfilled my request.
Yes I went over it with a fine tooth comb and the drive was so impressive, I said yes no problem.
Now don't get me wrong I am not here to blow wind up Mr Polites (you know what) mistakes were most definitely made and I truely hope that things have been learn't from it. As for my personal position, he has made me very happy and I hope that this is to be the end of it and I give praise only that I believe he finally deserves it.
For those who did notice, it was I who requested the administraters of this site reword my posts title. I did this freely and without request from Brent Polites because I was happy with my result and now considered it harsh. In fact I am so pleased with my result I would consider buying a car from him in the future.
As for your post I hope all who read it take it in and remember the points you raise, because you make enormous sense and your points are very valid and should be remembered if others ever get into a situation with a dealer.
It sounds like you must have had a nasty problem as well, hopefully yours has been resolved as well.
I hopefully will be driving to Thredbo this weekend so will post again after on what I think of the new (demo) car. Cheers

[tcrowdey]

Last sunday I drove the replacement Fiesta to Thredbo and Perisher, a 1000km round trip over 14 hours. The car was a revalation on just how normal a car should feel. It was wonderful and I could not be more happy with it, once again I got to enjoy what a car should be. The trip was long but so enjoyable and reminded me on why I like the Fiesta so much. I have now officially put behind me all bad will I had for City Ford and as I said to Brent Polites, everything starts afresh with this car. Hopefully things have been learn't by City Ford and my ongoing experience with them will be normal.
My impressions of the WT Fiesta are that it is built just as well, it is much quieter and the seats are infinitely more comfortable. The gearing of the car has been improved so it runs 400RPM less on the highway and it is much more stable in tracking in the straight ahead. They have made a very neat change in the way the motor holds revs for a moment when you change gear, to make gear changes much smoother. The suspension is firmer in the WT Zetec as is the steering. All in all it is a better car than the WS but most of all I am now free of that wierd vibration that was in my old car that was like a itch you could not scratch. It is obvious to me now that you can not replace a motor in a modern front wheel drive and expect it to feel the same. Hellaluya is all I can finally say.

[Fiesta_Man69]

If only City Ford's incompetent mechanics hadn't destroyed your original engine in the first place (no one in their right mind would service their vehicle there after reading your tale of woe)...... it would have saved you over 12 months of stress and heartache....

It's good that your happy with the WT: I guess anything would be an improvement over a horribly vibrating car.

Happy motoring:just curious - will you be getting your WT serviced at City Ford or have you learnt your lesson?

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

... (no one in their right mind would service their vehicle there after reading your tale of woe)......

In my opinion the dealership I use is not much better. On the basis that Brent Polites is approachable, I'd consider speaking with him to explain why he was getting my business and hope for a better experience all round. The approach worked for me once before (elsewhere), the good relationship lasted for about 8 years.

Nothing to lose by talking.

[tcrowdey]

As I have said to Brent Polites I am starting afresh with them and see how things now go. There are no Ford dealers other than them for huge miles around so I need to hope things improve. However once bitten twice shy so I think servicing will be done by NRMA service for the near future and warranty handled by them until I feel confident again. So far I am so happy with the new car that I can only smile at the moment, and thats a good thing.

[Caydus]

Yea, fair nuff about the servicing.

I'm still looking to find a place to service for my 15,000k. I would do it at my local mechanic as i do my oil changes, but he won't be able to adjust the gearbox or reflash the firmware.

[trumpy73]

why do you need to reflash the firmware? That's just a marketing gimmick they use to suck you into dealerships.

there's gearbox adjustments at 15K? It's just an oil/filter change and some tyre kicking.

[Caydus]

pretty much, but there's some funky sounds coming out of that gearbox i want them to check out, and a weird headunit bug that's coming up.

[trumpy73]

that should be fixed under warranty so no need to service your car there as well. I know they typically tell you 'we'll check it out' during your first service but that's simply another trick.

[Caydus]

Which is why I'm looking for a good dealership to get it fixed at, not just for my 15k. I need a dealer who I can trust to not fob me off with a "it's a characteristic of this gearbox" or "wait till your next service".

I know they can still do it when i service it there, which is why I won't go to just any dealer. This gives them the least amount of excuses


Just to clarify on the two issues:

When the car shifts into 2nd gear (Powershift Auto box) it makes a burbling grinding noise all the way through the low revs in that gear, peaking at when it first engages, then dissapearing by the time it's about to shift into 3rd.

For the headunit bug, it's just the part where if you switch the dimming function of the dash for when you have the headlights on or not to "Daylight" the Central Locking and Hazzards button lights turn off completely when the headlights are switched on.


The second one is pretty minor, but it's a niggle I'd like sorted out. The first could be major or minor, dont know until a mechanic has a look at it. I'll keep driving on it, but if it blows up, Ford will definately have to get involved. Lets just hope it doesn't blow up a day after my warrenty karks it.

[Fiesta_Man69]

I'd get it serviced at your local mechanic - buy your own synthetic oil and filter and pay labor costs. He'll probably do a better job and you'll have better oil in your car and save hundreds. Warranty is not affected; irrespective of what Ford will try and tell you.

As far as PCM updates go - I just got one from Sinclair, the car feels like it has a fair whack more power (perhaps its got the Focus 1.6 96kW ECU update to compete with a few of the Fiesta competitors that are pushing over 100kW now....?) and was definitely worth it.

It cost me nothing, Ford are obliged to update the software (they claim labor time back from Ford Australia under warranty costs). Do not let them tell you otherwise (I have no doubt that they will try and scam extra bucks out of those who they feel they can). Just ring them up, tell them you're aware of a software update and book your car in.

You will lose nothing by taking it to your local mechanic, and gain better oil/filters and save yourself hundreds (to spend on proper tyres )

tcrowdey: I'm amazed you're happy to hand over more cash for servicing to a place that has put you through so much for so long, but, if you're happy to do this - again, I'd find a local mechanic.

[trumpy73]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

Ford are obliged to update the software (they claim labor time back from Ford Australia under warranty costs)..

Do you happen to have a source for this. I'd like to go in with 'ammunition'

[Fiesta_Man69]

I've done it three times myself. Just be honest and tell them you want the latest PCM update and they're obliged to supply it: you do not need to have a service with the dealer for it to happen.

They may try and bluff you, in that case tell them you want the update under warranty because of (insert reason here: maybe rough start/stalling etc). I've never had to though: just being honest.

[trumpy73]

Thanks will try that. One question though. Is the PCM update different from the head unit update? I do have a legitemate reason for the head unit because of the hazard light 'bug' in daylight mode.

[Caydus]

Thanks for the tip on that one, bit of a hike to get to Sinclair, but now i know they'll do it, i might do a bit more asking around my local dealers though now i know they are obliged to do it.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Don't know if head unit will be fixed thru an update; sounds like a separate fault: just hand over the car to the dealer and tell them to fix the head unit fault under warranty as they are obliged too: caydus: just go to your local dealership in person as it's alot harder to fob you off in person. I had the first two updates done at Cumberland and third at Sinclair btw.

[tcrowdey]

I hear you loud and clear fiesta man69 No I have said I will get my paid servicing done by NRMA service for a while and just get Ford to do the warranty work. After a year of probs I just need a break for a while to catch my breath.

[Caydus]

Yep, called up and booked in an appointment Friday week at City Ford Zetland (not quite local, but it's where I bought the car to begin with) to have the transmission and head unit looked at.


I had a good listen to the transmission, radio off with windows up and down too. The previous was still true, so burbling grinding sound when 2nd gear is first engaged, quieting down as it approaches 3rd.
Looks like it's happening on 4th too, exactly the same sounds and volume going through the revs, more of it down low when it's just engaged and getting softer as the engine revs up more.

Can't feel any difference in power delivery, but feel a soft vibration in the car when the grinding starts, corresponding to the severity of the sound.

I'm guessing it's something to do with the #2 Clutch.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Er, Caydus, just checking - I may be mistaken, but did you say you booked in with City Ford Zetland? The same exact dealership that has been the topic of this thread? I also noted that you said you "need a dealer who I can trust to not fob me off with a "it's a characteristic of this gearbox" or "wait till your next service"." Maybe not the best idea to use City Ford, may I suggest? (or perhaps just mention you're on the Ford forums and are aware of this thread to guarantee they look after you?) Maybe its worth the drive elsewhere?

Anyways, good luck with the problems; I can understand how annoying these things are.

[Caydus]

*shrug* since it's a free checkup because of warrenty and they're the place i bought the car from in the first place, it'll be the first place i look and the location/time pretty much means i get to drive to work and get a day of free parking if all they did was stand around giving each other reach-arounds and snorting lines of coke off my hood.

My day job has a pretty big customer service component and I've done enough reading on it so they won't be able to fob me off too easily in person. But i suppose this is going to be step 1 in hopefully a short trip.

[trumpy73]

Please let us know how they 'fix' the dashboard problem as that's something I need to do as well.

[Caydus]

Had my mechanic mate have a drive around the block in the car last night. The problem seems to happen only when the transmission is hot/warmed up.
The whole car noticeably vibrates when going through the low revs in second and fourth. However, it doesn't seem to be as severe when you red line the car off the mark.

Anyway, it's going into the shop tomorrow, wish me luck :P

[Caydus]

Got word from City Ford just then and they told me that they updated all the software in the car and that apparently fixed the transmission issues.
They tell me it's a common issue and it's fixed quite easily with a software update.

Hmmm, will pick up the car after work tonight (after they close unfortunately) and see how it goes.

[Caydus]

So they were full of s***.

The PCM update did bugger all for my problem and it looks like they thrashed my car around the block for 11kms too, but they called it *fixed*?

Oh well, ended up getting a PCM update out of it and they fixed my fuel flap (was slightly bent off centre before).

Looks like i gotta keep pushing. Might try for a test drive tomorrow.

[trumpy73]

Did the PCM upgrade fix your dashboard light issue?