Valley Ford of Columbus

Wife's Ford Focus recently suffered electrical issue. Wife's Ford Focus recently suffered electrical issue. Battery dead, would not start. I installed a new battery, it was dead the next morning. Not Wife's Ford Focus recently suffered electrical issue. Battery dead, would not start. I installed a new battery, it was dead the next morning. Not having the time to investigate the issue further, my wife had the car towed to Jim Keim. Service manager said wiring issue, due to ?? incorrect headlight bulbs being installed. Cure was over $200. & the dealership "repaired wiring harness" and replaced the Sylvia Silver Star bulds with the Ford bulbs. They blamed the replacement bulbs as the cause. I contacted Sylvania. Their reply was that they manufactured the origional bulb for the Focus, and advised the Silver Star is brighter, because of a higher tech. filament and different inert gas ergo their higher cost for brighter lights. They supplied a return FEDEX barcoded return envelope as they said the power draw is identical, and they are insured if their product caused this "wiring issue", and said the dealer is totally incorrect. Out $200 !! Next morning the Focus was "dead" again. The service manager advised if we could tow the car they would get right on it. Another tow-more out of pocket $$$$. Now the solution was a new altnator--An additional $600 dollars. They did "give her a break". I am very unhappy, as when I bought the car from Keim brand new, I was specific in asking if it broke, was a loaner available when the car was in for service. The answer was certainly-always a loaner. Upon the origional call--for the first time we had it towed--was we can fix it next tuesday..(four days out)but for a loaner, you would have to be scheduled at the end of that next week. The reason I bought at this dealer was the proximity of the dealer, should the car be in for service, and the guarantee of a loaner. We certainly got ripped off with the headlight bulb switch, and sylvani is checking the bulbs. We all know that was never an issue--but just to make sure I shipped the very expensive bulbs back to the manufacture. Who did make the factory bulbs, and maintain that their replacements are exactly the same power draw. No apology for their mistake--no refund. When the second tow was done--the driver jumped the car, said it was charging fine, and asked the wife if she wanted to drive it to the dealer, she declined. Certainly curious that the driver of the wrecker checked the altenator and said it was really charging well. As a side bar I had my Ford Ranger acting up last summer, I put on an autozone altenator and it was still not charging the brand new battery. The solution by Jim Keim was replacing the 110 Autozone Altenator with a $ 700 FoMoCo altenator. It is curious that my experience with them is always " replaced altenator"--even when the one on it is either new or checked and charging fine. I am unhappy in regards to not getting a loaner as promised when we bought the new Focus, unhappy with the head light rip off. I am happy that the car is now running fine--but really---a second tow and $200 for replacing perfectly good headlight bulbs. The price of service is always an altenator ????? Have two Fords now, but probably not gonna remain loyal to the brand after this set of $1000 experiences. from Sylvania///////// Good Morning Mr. Strunk, I am contacting you regarding the issue you reported to our Customer Service department last night. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this has caused you. I assure you that we take the quality of our products very seriously. I will tell you that we supplied Ford with the original equipment headlamps that were used in your vehicle. Our high performance products, including but not limited to our SilverStar® lamps, are designed to operate under the same specifications for amperage and voltage draw as their original equipment counterparts. We use a different gas mixture and a smaller more focused filament in our high performance lamps which helps them to create more luminance without altering the electrical architecture of the bulbs. We've been in the automotive lighting industry for many years and simply wouldn't put a product on the market that was unsafe to use or could damage your vehicle. The few issues that have been reported with our products have been traced back to the wrong part being used for the application, pre-existing electrical or wiring issues, or improper handling/installation of the product. Our lamp replacement guide indicates that you should be using part 9007 in your Focus; please confirm that you were in fact using part 9007ST SilverStar®. Please also advise when and where the suspect lamps were purchased and installed. In situations resulting in damages, we offer our services in evaluating the suspect product and damaged components through our quality and engineering departments. These reviews are usually quite effective at determining the root cause of the damage. We do our best to complete the necessary testing as quickly as possible, but testing can take three to four weeks. If it's deemed that the damage to your car was in fact caused by a defect in our product, reimbursement would be made through our insurance company which can take an additional two to three weeks. I have attached a prepaid Federal Express shipping label so you can send the suspect lamps and any additional damaged components to us for non-destructive analysis and inspection. Please securely package the lamps, damaged components, and receipts in a small box. Attach the shipping label to the outside of the box, and drop it off at your nearest FedEx location. You can visit: http://www.fedex.com//Dropoff/start to find a listing of FedEx drop off locations in your area. A representative will contact you upon completion of the testing. If we determine any fault from our product, we'll reconcile accordingly. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about this process. Sincerely, Heather Kennett Customer Service Specialist More

After coming home from spending a year with the US Army in Baghdad, Iraq, I was in need of a vehicle. After spending time at some other local Ford dealerships, I went to Jim Keim Ford. I worked with Eric in Baghdad, Iraq, I was in need of a vehicle. After spending time at some other local Ford dealerships, I went to Jim Keim Ford. I worked with Eric Beck who did an OK job. However, what really was very disappointing was the work of their Sales Manager, Dino D’Aurelio. During the negotiating process, we got to a point where we close to a deal. We were off $2k and I decided to split the difference in price in half and I was willing to spend an extra $1000. However, after Eric went to Dino, they would not even budge or move in their original price, not even $1. Additionally, I was told that a $500 discount I printed from Ford’s website for being in the military may not qualify on one of the vehicle’s I wanted to purchase. While Eric tried to work with me, I told him I was disappointed that they were unwilling to negotiate. I was also surprised that Dino did not even come out of his office (which was only 10 feet away) to meet me. I left and did not hear back from them again, even with a follow up phone call. Overall, this was a horrible customer experience. I continued my car pursuit and l landed back at Kreiger Ford and got the Ford Fusion for a great price and a great customer experience. Lesson learned; be patient. Do not let a bad dealership or bad experience dissuade you. There are too many good dealerships and good sales people willing to negotiate and sell you a car. I do not ever plan on going back to Jim Keim Ford and will share my disappointing experience with friends and family. More