 Manufacturers: Ford Quality Is On The Rise
Posted by carsandtrucks on Saturday, February 21 @ 13:09:42 PST
As employee of a Ford dealer it is always great to read things like the following quote from the Detroit News. "In a survey of 31,000 new vehicle owners, Ford beats industry average for problems. The 2007 Mercury Milan (Ford Fusion) was one of the most problem-free vehicles from any manufacturer, with just 910 issues reported per 1,000 vehicles. In terms of initial vehicle quality, Ford Motor Co. is in a statistical dead-heat for second place with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., according to a new study the Dearborn automaker plans to release today." This turn around indicates how serious Ford is in taking back its place as a highly regarded name plate in the industry. Everyone knows that the domestic auto manufacturers have watched their market share shrink to the imports due to poor quality. As a service department employee at a Ford dealership for more then 25 years, I must confess that I have seen some real issues with quality in the past. But the current line of Ford Focus, Fusion, Ford F series and Escape are just terrific
vehicles. The warranty work performed in my shop has shrunk 40% over the past 4 years. The reason behind this is these cars don't break. Our customers have become more accustomed to coming to us for low cost preventative maintenance services then for the more expensive repairs. We are seeing more and more Ford vehicles with odometers reading well over 100000 miles. In fact a customer called me from his cell phone just yesterday to report his 2005 Ford F-150 had just turned 200000 miles. He said he called because he thought our service department should celebrate with him. He also reminded me that his repairs have been limited to a couple of brakes jobs, a few sets of tires, along with routine oil changes and maintenance services. Another customer is closing in on 300000 miles on his 2000 Ford Focus. As the price of new cars and trucks have increased, the term of an auto loan to upwards of 72 months to make monthly payments fit your household budget there is comfort in knowing you could still be driving your car or truck long after the last payment is made. What do I say to people that are doubtful that Ford has returned... Drive one!
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