Billy Howell Ford Lincoln

Reviews 3

FR

Fred St Laurent

We have had three factory Ford transmissions installed by a premier, local mechanic, we have been going to for 10 years. All three transmissions were from Billy Howell parts department. The first went 98 miles before it broke, the second under 20,000 and it died and the third less than 9,000 miles and started slamming and now, they will not stand behind this one. ***UPDATE (AS of today, my mechanic, Scotts Auto Center, paid to have the third transmission rebuilt, as well as paid for a rental car for us and what they found was amazing! SEE below for the update. I highly recommend Scott and his team, who did more than they ever had to, in order to make this right!) Three bad transmissions and this means that the first two were bad but the third just lasted long enough to be sure we were out of warranty and now what? I think that a $2,700 transmission (NOT including installation) should last longer than our $500 tires, dont you? This is not just an issue of bad service, or bad parts. Cars will break and people will let you down. This is an issue of faulty workmanship, low quality parts and people who really do not care. Please consider my experience if you are considering having service done here, or are looking for a new or used car?" ***Update: "I shared this review with the staff of Bill Howell Ford and I received two calls: One from Jeff, a service manager, that afternoon and the other from Bill Howell, the next morning, from Colorado. Jeff told me he wanted to bring the van over to look at, with no promises, and although he agreed that a big ticket part should last longer than a set of tires do, he could make no promises. I was actually encouraged by the call, in that Jeff seems like a fair guy. However, the next morning, Mr. Howell called me himself and dashed all hopes that this could ever be resolved equitably. It was an argumentative call, in that he was not listening to me, and seemed to want to debate. He made comments about our mechanic and basically ran me over with his questions, that he would then answer himself: "The shop must not be one of much consequence" (Me: they happen to be the largest shop in the area) (oh and I understand they will look elsewhere for parts now) "It must have been something the mechanic did on installation" (Me: The error is showing an internal malfunction) ***UPDATE (this was built using the wrong parts!) "Why am I even having this conversation with you? You are not my customer? (Me: My mechanic bought the parts from you and you should stand behind them) The conversation went downhill quickly, and so I told him that he should have this conversation with the mechanic and hung up. ***UPDATE: THIS is what the transmission specialist found: They had used the wrong parts in the build of the transmission! This will all come out in small claims court, and I do intend to testify, but the slipshod workmanship that was applied to this transmission as well as the wrong parts being used, never gave us a chance of lasting long. No study was done of the first two transmissions but one can assume, based on this third, that was studied, that the issues were similar. So if you are considering using the service department, buying a car, or even if your local mechanic is buying parts at Billy Howell Ford, I urge you to consider our experiences? We showed them this review (the entire staff) and asked them to make this right, but the answer is "no" I would ask all local mechanics you use, if they plan on purchasing parts from this dealer and if they are planning on using them, you can ask that they purchase elsewhere.

ST

Steve M

HORRIBLE. Had a TERRIBLE experience with the "SERVICE" dept over a year ago. Service not done right, tools (2 wrenches) left in the engine ( which they called to have returned from 60 miles away ). Just an overall bad experience. I chalked it up to experience and walked away. For over a year, at LEAST Monthly, I got robo calls to "please come back", then a coupon for $75 off any service, to come back. I figured Id give them another chance and went back. SAME DRAMA!!! was told it would take "2 hours", it was there for 26 hours, then was called and asked if I could leave it OVER THE WEEKEND, as they had not gotten to it. I took it back the next week, Stayed almost 72 hours, and I called, multiple times. They couldnt transfer me to the service managers new number. (?) he said hed moved 6 months prior and they had a hard time remembering. I called the service dept,was told the adviser wasnt there, then told there was no paperwork, THEN paperwork appeared out of nowhere, and told the service adviser would call me as soon as he totaled up the work, NOT A WORD. 44 hours later, I sent an e-mail and they were able to "take my payment over the phone", and found a kid hanging around there to bring the truck home. It still had the same issue,(vibration, for which I took to a mom and pop shop and they put a weight on it) PLUS the "check engine" light was on when it came back. I was told, when I could do without it "2 MORE DAYS" to bring it in and they would look at it. THEN told, well, just when you have time, MAYBE an hour, bring it in and well look at it.. It "MIGHT BE COINCIDENCE". Last week on 8-14-13 I sent an E-MAIL ( because people are "out", or they cant transfer calls to the right person) to the service adviser AND Bill Howell, letting them know I would be able to turn it over to them for 2 DAYS, from Wed evening, through Friday evening. As of today 8-20-13. Ive not heard the first word from anyone. I copied myself on the e-mail, so I could know if it went through, and SURE ENOUGH, it did, WITH their adresses on it, and nothing bounced. The service MANAGER is quick to over talk you to tell you how proud Bill Howell is of him, and at the meetings he ALWAYS talks about how good he is at "returning ALL calls". When you send the e-mail and copy everyone there that has an address, Bill Howell will call you and tell you he "takes things like that seriously". He wanted to ASSURE ME, that it would be taken care of, and wanted to make sure his customers were happy. But.....theres been no reply for almost a week now, from a WRITTEN notification that the truck was available. So....after $400.00 at Howell Ford, I did find another dealer in the area, that said they would be GLAD to help me out and would take it FIRST THING tomorrow. (1 wk, no word.....VS.....5 hour notice)....HUM...let me think

J.

J.L. McGahee

My Son purchased a $16K used car here. BIG MISTAKE. These are the FACTS. Within 10 days, he was having engine problems. He immediately reported this to mgmt at Billy Howell. They told him he was over-reacting. After my son paid for three attempts to determine the problem, Mr. Howell told him to have it inspected at the local dealership and fax the results back, and again, my son paid. Although the initial inspections were inconclusive, within 3 weeks of purchasing the car, more serious and related issues occurred. Son paid for a more in-depth inspection at dealership and they determined that the permanent fix would be to replace the engine. There was so much thick sludge at the bottom of the engine, it appeared that the oil had NEVER been changed. He faxed over the quote for replacement of the engine. Howell Ford finally admitted receipt of the fax after he made several tempts (with confirmations) of fax transmission. They told him to just check the oil frequently, keep an eye on spark plug on a regular basis and the car would be fine. They sold my son a car with a bad engine! For sure, they made no attempt to remedy the issue. He made at least eight verbal, text and written communications offering them an opportunity to do the right thing and received no further response until they finally said, “We have referred this to our Legal Department.” My son worked two jobs and attended college away at USC and saved for three years for this car. He now works at least 60 hours a week and has no time to litigate with these people. He has even said, “This makes me feel like I did not deserve the car.” Billy Howell never did anything to resolve the matter or even attempt to satisfy their customer. The car was sold for a HUGE loss! Ford dealer replied - J.L., were sorry to hear that you feel this way regarding your experience with us. We would appreciate the opportunity to clear up this misunderstanding regarding you sons vehicle at your nearest convenience. We look forward to discussing this with you in-depth as well as working with you to come to a resolution regarding this matter. Regarding their response...BULL - after four months, they never contacted us to "come to a resolution," let alone response to emails when I updated Brenda to make sure she had email address or even pick up phone to call us. Looks like Howell is forcing us to "lawyer up" anyway.