Oil changes - what is correct guideline?

[stevedebi]

flyingcheesehead, I completely agree with everything you just stated but want to add just a few things.

 

Ford dealerships, at least mine, have been attacked by the same cost cutting that has plagued corporate America. I do not think they allow for proper training but it is still probably expected to happen (mandated). So this leads to a customer experience where I go to pick up my car and the service advisor has 10-15 keys and work orders scattered about his desk. He is answering questions from people who are there, frantically entering in mechanic's notes into the system, resolving the billing (they let the cashier go 2 years ago and moved that responsibility to service rep), and tracking down parts, etc. 

 

All three; the mechanic, the service advisor, and the service manager all stared at me with a blank look on their face on various questions I had on a car that is now almost 4 model years (3 calendar years) old -- apologizing that they just don't understand how the systems work. 

 

One of my fears in buying $40K car from Ford is that the dealer experience would be far from what I was use to experiencing (@ Acura & BMW my last 2 cars) and so far that is realized. And this is a shame because this really is a wonderful car. It does not appear like like they are not trying, just too few resources and improper training.

 

When they started and announced the whole EV certified dealer program it sounded promising. Wonder what happened? Ford seems to be in a wait and see what happens mode. I would guess they do not want GM to get too far ahead, but at the same time are looking at the lay of the land and notice low fuel prices will harm this market for the foreseeable future. This paid off, but had gas been @ or near $4/gal when GM came out with the Bolt and Ford was still sitting there with an 80 mile Focus... they would have been scrambling. 

 

It might take a carbon tax to put more interest in the electric car market, current political climate does not favor that approach. 

 

At the end of the day I still enjoy plugging my car in and driving around on electricity. As long as the battery lasts the projected 10 years and it is not too costly to replace I will be very happy overall with my purchase. I am just happy that Tesla is out there pushing this market or it probably would have faded away some time ago. 

I'm fortunate to have Galpin Ford here nearby. They are the largest volume dealer in the US. If anyone in SoCal is having problems that your dealer can't fix, I'd bring it here. They have had lots of hybrid sales since 2005.