Quicksilver
10-03-2018, 02:31 PM
My father in law drives a 2012 Lincoln MKZ with all wheel drive. He bought it new and it currently has 55000 km on it. HE is 88 years old. I've driven it to Florida 3 times, so at least 1/3 of the mileage is by me.
recently it was reluctant to go into reverse. My father in law(Harry) took it to my brother-in-law's(Shelly) mechanic. Shelley has been going to this guy for 20+ years. Harry hasn't been to a mechanic in decades because he's always had new cars. Shelley, who is a really great person (and a vice president of a major computer company), is not a car guy and has not got a clue about things mechanical.
the mechanic (who shall remain nameless) diagnosed it as a blown transfer case (the car has all wheel drive). He wanted $3000 plus tax to replace it. This was supposed to be a "family" discount.
They were about to give the go ahead, when my wife Rhonda heard about it. I guess my car-guy-ness must have rubbed off on her over the years, because she immediately questioned it. After some in-familia "discussion" the car was removed from said mechanic and towed to Heritage Ford(it was bought from Yonge Steeles Motors, whose service department was singularly unhelpful: their response was that it was time to trade it in). With Bill Aitken's oversight, the service manager diagnosed it as a faulty PTO. (To be honest, I didn't know an all wheel drive car had either item). The price was $3300 installed. Heritage offered an $800 discount because of Bill, and our continued patronage.
At this point, Rhonda got on the phone to the customer service department at Lincoln. After explaining that the the warranty ran out only 3 months and 3000 km ago, Lincoln took less than a day of deliberation to offer to cover half.
The upshot is that my father in law, who was prepared to pay $3000+ to the mechanic of 20 years, will now have to cover only $1250, because of my wife's intervention. Thanks are due to Heritage, Bill, Lincoln, and Heritage's service manager.
recently it was reluctant to go into reverse. My father in law(Harry) took it to my brother-in-law's(Shelly) mechanic. Shelley has been going to this guy for 20+ years. Harry hasn't been to a mechanic in decades because he's always had new cars. Shelley, who is a really great person (and a vice president of a major computer company), is not a car guy and has not got a clue about things mechanical.
the mechanic (who shall remain nameless) diagnosed it as a blown transfer case (the car has all wheel drive). He wanted $3000 plus tax to replace it. This was supposed to be a "family" discount.
They were about to give the go ahead, when my wife Rhonda heard about it. I guess my car-guy-ness must have rubbed off on her over the years, because she immediately questioned it. After some in-familia "discussion" the car was removed from said mechanic and towed to Heritage Ford(it was bought from Yonge Steeles Motors, whose service department was singularly unhelpful: their response was that it was time to trade it in). With Bill Aitken's oversight, the service manager diagnosed it as a faulty PTO. (To be honest, I didn't know an all wheel drive car had either item). The price was $3300 installed. Heritage offered an $800 discount because of Bill, and our continued patronage.
At this point, Rhonda got on the phone to the customer service department at Lincoln. After explaining that the the warranty ran out only 3 months and 3000 km ago, Lincoln took less than a day of deliberation to offer to cover half.
The upshot is that my father in law, who was prepared to pay $3000+ to the mechanic of 20 years, will now have to cover only $1250, because of my wife's intervention. Thanks are due to Heritage, Bill, Lincoln, and Heritage's service manager.