Elder Ford of Tampa

Horrible, drawn-out, time-wasting experience at Elder Ford This review addresses the INCOMPETENCE and NEGLIGENCE I experienced in dealing with the Elder Ford collision center over the course of nearly three mo This review addresses the INCOMPETENCE and NEGLIGENCE I experienced in dealing with the Elder Ford collision center over the course of nearly three months. I brought my truck in for repair caused by an accident when a gate dropped into its roofline as I was passing underneath. The gate damaged the windshield, roof, and moonroof. My insurance adjuster recommended Elder Ford as a competent shop. 8/30: At this point, Elder Ford had my vehicle for three weeks on a repair that was supposed to take no more than 10 days. I picked up the truck after checking out the repaired spot and drove it home. Once there, I found fresh gouges in the rear factory fender flare. I called my adjuster and he confirmed with photos that the gouges weren't there when the truck was picked up. So I arranged to bring the truck back the following week. 9/4: I got into the truck to reconnect my dash cam. I found that a bolt was missing from the passenger-side A-pillar. If anyone had used the handle to enter the truck, it would have ripped it off completely. I decided to look on the driver side and found a bolt cover was GLUED back in with adhesive. They used adhesive to put broken trim parts back together. So I drove back to Elder Ford with these new problems. I spoke with the shop manager, who assured me these items would be fixed. 9/5: I requested Elder Ford paint touch up some painted items on my truck's exterior as compensation for the 2nd visit. They agreed. 9/11: I picked up the truck, again. I noticed a rattle in the roof. This went on for a week and didn't go away. I opened the moonroof and found a 10" hand tool (a pick) in the moonroof channel! I emailed Elder Ford a photo of the tool and told them about the rattle, and let them know that after this experience, I wouldn't be going back. 9/20: I emailed Elder again... because the rattle didn't go away. The pick was completely unrelated. I also noticed that the truck's GPS wasn't working at all. So I arranged to bring the truck in for the third time. 9/24: I left my truck in the incapable hands of Elder Ford's collision center. At this point, I talked to the service director that oversees two shops who told me they would get everything fixed. 9/26: I received a voicemail from the service tech that said they had found a loose bolt rolling around in the roof, and that they ordered a new GPS antenna to install. 10/22: No one rides in the back seat of my truck except for my toddler in his car seat, so no one uses the seat belts. Until today. My wife got in the back of the truck and said, "This seat belt doesn't work." The passenger-side belt wouldn't come out. It was stuck in the retracted position. I called my insurance company and let them know that, for the third time, Elder Ford had screwed something up with my vehicle. They recommended another shop. In the meantime, I called Elder Ford and left a message for the service director, and I spoke to the general manager of Elder Ford (whose name you'll see in replies to other reviews). He let me know he'd talk to the service director and call me back. He never did. 11/1: I picked up my truck from the 2nd shop. As far as I can tell, everything is fine. But I still haven't heard from Elder Ford. Nothing from the service director. Nothing from the service manager who said he'd call me back. My insurance adjuster has advised me that due to my issues and other recent problems with Elder Ford's collision center, he's no longer recommending them for repairs. Elder Ford caused damage to my vehicle in areas they shouldn't have been touching. They sent me on my way in my own vehicle with inoperable safety equipment. I should not have given them another chance to "repair" my vehicle. They continually made things worse, and they've never called me back to acknowledge responsibility. This is not a shop to be trusted to handle even the simplest repairs. More

Oil change Orig Had oil changed to then find leak, brought back to wait all day to find out issue. Then find missing lug nuts. Sloppy & Unprofessional!! Orig Had oil changed to then find leak, brought back to wait all day to find out issue. Then find missing lug nuts. Sloppy & Unprofessional!! More

Terrible internet experience On October 31, 2018, I spoke to internet sales person "Chris"four separate times to confirm my expectations prior to coming into the showroom. During On October 31, 2018, I spoke to internet sales person "Chris"four separate times to confirm my expectations prior to coming into the showroom. During each correspondence, 'Chris" assured me that we were all set and he had confirmed the deal specifics with the sales manager -per my request. Based on his assurance, I traveled 45min back to Elder to meet with the Elder Team. As I probably should have expected, it was the classic tactic of tell the customer what they want to hear to get them in the door. After being greeted by Internet Director Caroline Guest, I was again assured that she understood what I was looking for and she would be handling the deal along with the Sales Manager Mike Cash. Despite everyone supposedly being in agreement, prior to me coming into the showroom, I was quickly told by Caroline that her internet salesperson had made a mistake and they could not honor the deal that he had confirmed with me.... but they would happy to work out another (more costly for me) deal. I should also mention that I never saw "Chris" again once it was determined that the deal would not happen. I trusted Elder, based on all the assurances prior to coming into the showroom, and unfortunately their actions continue to perpetuate the negative experiences that many have with car buying. More