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MapleLeafMerc
10-11-2003, 11:10 PM
I'm just going to be blunt here. Coming up on a year, I still have basic, non-mod problems and 2 dealers can't help.

I feel somewhat alone in that I don't know anyone here who's officially in the Marauder business, other than Sean Hyland, and I don't yet have a need or $ to buy what he offers (no disrepect intended).

Is anyone else similarly isolated? I'm not going to wander into some local speed shop that sells ground effect lights, 5000 watt stereos, and other ricer accessories.

If a shop understood Mustangs would that be a good place to start for advice? (Not that I know where they are, either- they're just better known.)

I started a thread about Cdn (aftermarket) dealers but with only 20 members scattered across the Great White North, any info is of limited value, logistics-wise.

Anyone know anyone high enough up in Ford to help, Or am I just p****ng in the wind here?

67435animal
10-12-2003, 12:33 AM
Do you have a Ford dealer who services SVT cars/ trucks? He would be the one to see. My brother may have some contacts high up in Ford (He did at one time) but I'd try an SVT dealer first.

What kinds of problems?

Bob

PS-I'll drive my car up there and we can compare; how's that?

yorks
10-12-2003, 01:01 AM
MLM,
I recently changed dealerships due to similar problem. The one I'm with now seem to understand the car pretty well, and if they don't know, they find out. My Service Advisor checks in here once in a while to keep his "finger on the pulse" so to speak. We also have a good SVT dealer in town who sold 2 MMs, so they must be servicing them (my dealer's servicing 2 - the one they sold and mine).
I know ther's an SVT dealer in London who's supposed to be excellent, but I don't know the name offhand.
If you don't mind the 4 hour trip to Windsor, I can set you up.

^^Like animal said, what specifically are the problems?

MapleLeafMerc
10-12-2003, 10:31 AM
The so-called premium sound system- my selling dealer had two shots at it and a 2nd dealer didn't even look at it after I made an appt and took it in. I know many here have fixed it themselves but I don't have the confidence and don't want to disassemble the rear seats/parcel shelf and not be able to put it back together. The parcel shelf vibrates like mad and the bass at the back sounds like it's coming from a tupperware container.

PCM dealer flash- Even after showing the 2nd dealer the service codes ref'd here he did nothing, claiming he needed more info (something about OASIS).

Headlights- 2nd dealer basically said I was wrong and there was no water issue.

Windshield- 1st dealer replaced wipers shortly after I mentioned an area in front of driver that doesn't get cleared on wiper downstroke. I later bought new wipers and prob remains. 2nd dealer didn't look into it when asked.

Knock under dash- One of 2nd dealer's techs went for a ride with me and heard it and still they didn't look at it after I left it with them.

I've been too discouraged about everything else to even mention the substandard paint. 1st dealer repainted the hood (scratches), but I guess the swirl marks all over the rest of the car are my problem.

Interestingly, the 1st (selling) dealer is an SVT shop. They tried twice and couldn't fix the stereo. Then after I joined MM.net and asked them to look into the knock sensor issue (could it be done to my 03), I never heard back from him. If these guys are SVT and won't dig around for you what do they do? Besides, I got the feeling that for them SVT means Mustangs.

A friend suggested I go to another dealer and see what kind of a bath I would take to get into an 04. At least I'd know what to look for to see what's been fixed, and I could get the heated seats that Ford didn't even offer me.

In hindsight it was a mistake to be so eager and lay down a $1000 deposit in Aug 01. Early on, Ford was debating whether to even sell the MM in Canada, and I thought they would be hard to get. I think the deposit was a case of ordering too soon. I would not buy the first year of a car again.

67435animal
10-12-2003, 11:43 AM
Have you got a grill over the rear speakers? If yes, remove the grill on the driver's side, and reach to the left (small hands are best). You'll feel the subwoofer. Carefully remove and foam over the speaker opening.

I found two pieces of white packing like foam material next to my subwoofer. I removed them and also, there is package tray foam that is precut in the shape of the subwoofer that should also be pulled up carefully.

There should still be a sort of soft material that covers the speker but it appears to be part of the speaker assembly.

Put your grill back in and cramk it up. I have NO VIBRATION whatsoever now. Have a read of the you can do it speaker post in the garage near the top.

Bob

yorks
10-13-2003, 01:31 AM
Originally posted by MapleLeafMerc
I still have basic, non-mod problems and 2 dealers can't help
After reading your 2nd post on this, it seems to me that they don't want to help.
This is all straightforward stuff, most of it well documented on this site. Other members have had these same issues addressed by dealers at no cost.
My advice? keep changing dealers 'till you find one you're comfortable with.
In the meantime, go up the ladder until somebody listens to you.
Try one of these numbers, maybe Pat Hoye (http://www.blueovalnews.com)

MapleLeafMerc
10-13-2003, 11:39 AM
Originally posted by yorks

My advice? keep changing dealers 'till you find one you're comfortable with.
In the meantime, go up the ladder until somebody listens to you.
Try one of these numbers, maybe Pat Hoye (http://www.blueovalnews.com)

Many thanks, Yorks, for your concern and the link; I believe I'll call Pat.

animal is planning a visit to this area and has kindly offered some his time to look at the stereo. As far as the rest, I think you're right that I'll just have to find a dealer that has a clue. I've tent. planned to see another SVT dealer not too far from here tomorrow; I'll see what they know.

Thanks also for the offer of setting me up with your dealer- I will definitely keep that in mind. It's a good feeling to know you still have an alternative!

:up:

67435animal
10-13-2003, 01:03 PM
Originally posted by MapleLeafMerc
Many thanks, Yorks, for your concern and the link; I believe I'll call Pat.

animal is planning a visit to this area and has kindly offered some his time to look at the stereo. As far as the rest, I think you're right that I'll just have to find a dealer that has a clue. I've tent. planned to see another SVT dealer not too far from here tomorrow; I'll see what they know.

Thanks also for the offer of setting me up with your dealer- I will definitely keep that in mind. It's a good feeling to know you still have an alternative!

:up:

Here is an excerpt from my OASIS report (before I bought the car):

"ROAD TESTED CHIRPING NOISE HEARD FROM RT SIDE OF DASH OVER ROUGH ROADSREMOVE D RT SIDE KICK PANEL AND GLOVE BOX TO FIND NOISE UNABLE TO LOCATE NOISE . RE MOVE INSTURMENT PANEL AND LOCATED CAUSE OF CHIRP NOISE. CUT AND INSTALLED 3 STRIPS OF FOAM SELF ADHESIVE PADDING FROM ROTUNDA SQUEEK AND RATTLE KIT 164- R4900 TO TOP RT. SIDE INSTURMENT PANEL MOUNTING SURFACES. REASSEMBLED RE ROA."

Maybe yours has the same problem.

Keep the dealer in mind for when I am visiting just in case I need him! Your assignment is to check him out thoroughly and make sure he knows his stuff!!

B:D b

Beadhead
10-13-2003, 03:22 PM
I agree with Yorks; you need to find a dealer that WANTS your business. As far as an SVT dealer in London goes, there's only one that I know of -- Oakridge Ford -- and they suck big time (the voice of experience, here). I now get both the Cobra and the MM serviced at Mt Bydges Ford (519-264-1912), just west of London. The owner's son is a great tech, very into Ford performance vehicles. A bit of a drive for you, but if all else fails ---

PM me if you want to go this route and would like an introduction.

TripleTransAm
10-13-2003, 04:49 PM
No need to stick to an SVT dealer... for reference, I found a gem of a dealer north of Montreal. Not SVT, not Lincoln, nothing more than recently blue-oval certified (whatever that means) but one heck of a service department that'll bend over backwards for me and gets the job done right the first time.

They also acknowledge that they don't sell a lot of Marauders (at most recent count, they've stocked and sold... um.... ONE : mine!) and are open to what info I glean off this fantastic site. In comparison, I'd be willing to bet that a dealer closer to town wouldn't be as open to absolute customer satisfaction as these guys are.

As a result, I have no problem driving the 50 minutes or so to get to this dealer any time I need something done, keeping in mind that I have another Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer within 10 minutes of my house.

MapleLeafMerc
10-13-2003, 08:43 PM
What a great bunch we have here!!!!

Thanks for the noise tip, animal- I hope my report after my visit tomorrow can be positive. Beadhead, thank you for the dealer reference. And Triple, I think you may have something. Maybe the 'downtown' dealers are too fat and lazy...
And thanks again yorks.

You guys are the best.

Bigdogjim
10-13-2003, 10:18 PM
Pretty much the same thing in my town. Mercury dealer so so?

Ford SVT dealer on top of it!

67435animal
10-14-2003, 12:43 AM
MLM, here's another one you'll like from my car's OASIS report:

"XW7Z 18C804AA SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE 001 18805B 42 DOES NOT OPERATE PRO
000 18805C
000 MT18C804

REAR SUBWOOFER MAKING NOISE R-R RADIO CHK OUTPUT HAS CLEAN SIGNAL R-R REMOVE REAR SUBWOOFER BLOWN EXCHANGE ENCLOSURE"

The XW7Z 18C804AA SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE is the part number. I figure the guy replaced the enclosure and put extra foam in that area which still did not fix the rattling and vibration problem. Based on what I found, I'm not convinced they had to replace the subwoofer.

Bob

Dr Caleb
10-14-2003, 10:16 AM
Hey MLM,

I'm getting a similar story from my dealer about paint. The body manager is setting an appointment up to have my paint checked with a digital gauge. He says Fords standard is 3 thousandths (?) thickness, and they'll check it against the 2 '03 MMs still on the lot, and a GM that is there too.

He agrees the spots in the doors where the epoxy primer can be seen need to be addressed, but in describing the abilities of his paint man gave me the impression that the guy couldn't even grafitti a wall properly.

Does not instill me with confidence. Checking a bad paint job against another bad one isn't what I want. I want my car to look as good after 2 years as my Crown Vic does after 11 years. With all the weekends spend cleaning and waxing it, that shouldn't be difficult, right?

I don't know of any Mustang shops in my area, but I turned my service manager on to this site (Hi Clarence!) and he was really impressed at the Triolgy and Rienhart cars! Perhaps he can be a Mustang/SVT/SVO shop for us orphans!