What do you do when ...

[cosmicray]

Your local Ford dealership changes owners (and name), and the new owners have gutted the service department ?

I was down there last week for an oil change and a 15K checkup. They had no more than 2 techs on the floor, and the service advisor was in training. The service manager was actually from another dealership (out of state I think) and shipped in to cover until they find someone. In the past, they had normally 5-8 techs on the floor.

It's not clear if they fired everyone that was there, or they offered such low salaries, that everyone went elsewhere.

The oil change / 15k checkup (which should be a simple procedure) ended up causing a couple of engine codes, because the tech forgot to reconnect the sensor cable on the air filter housing. I'll let it go this time.

Next nearest dealers are 35, 45, 52, and 60 miles respectively. The 'local' dealer is 12 miles.

[Willie]

That's why I prefer to utilize a trusted independent mechanic to do all my work. I acknowledge that there are a few specialized jobs best done by the dealer, but these are rare. My mechanic is also a pal of mine. allows me to watch what he is doing and discusses the work with me.

Dealers always seem to have a hidden agenda rather than being concerned with your problem. Last time I had a car at the dealers (not the TC) it was for a gas cap issue. They didn't fix that but the next week I found that a wheel had been over-tightened. It seems the dealer was more concerned with selling me brake pads than with fixing my actual problem. Of course, I was not permitted to watch, so I had no idea they even had a wheel off.

I've heard all the arguments about protecting the warranty by having the dealer do all the service, but I am not convinced. My experience is that the warranty is worthless anyhow, unless the repair is large enough to permit the hiring of a lawyer to enforce it.

[BSUPC]

You are lucky that you still have a local dealer. Just before my 45k mile oil change my local dealer locked the doors and sold off all their inventory to another dealership and went out of business. All of the customers were notified in the manner of you pull up to a deserted building and a empty lot. One day there was 40 cars setting on the lot and the building was full of stuff like normal, the very next morning all cars gone off the lot and the building was bare. Makes Ford look pretty pathetic when you have 30 customers lined up with your product to be serviced by the local Chevy Dealer. I now do my own service here at the house, which is why i purchased from a dealer so I would not have to do this. But the Chevy dealer will not purchase the Motorcraft products for us nor will they use what we purchase and bring to them.

[rodent 66]

I used to work for a couple of Ford dealer for many many yrs.  On some vehicles maintenance Items are a little harder than others. These Transit Connects are pretty straight foward. The maint is fairly simple. Oil/filter changes almost too simple. Trans fluid change not too bad. Brakes very easy. Get some basic metric tools, maybe a floor jack and jack stands and some drive up ramps. Read/learn from a Ford or other repair manual or online. What scares most people is all the electronics. I am no where computer savy as many-but I can read a code reader.  A good one is best. Should you have any drivability problems , just fix it. You can trust the codes it displays ( as opposed to the early/mid 1980s when Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, FI and processor controls came to be-lots of errors). If doing the work yourself is not an option, then you may wish to stay with the purchasing dealer-if your treated fairly and repairs are done right the first time. Otherwise find an independent that has been around a while servicing/repairing vehicles . These are usually the busiest garages ,lots of their business from repeat business and/or has come by word of mouth.