Experience @ Metro Ford, or should I say Metro Fraud?

Vehicle details Make and Model Ford Figo - TDCi Titanium Purchase Date May 2010 City Bangalore Services to date All services done at Metro Ford, St Marks Road, Bangalore KM done to date ~ 30,000km Incident 1 - June 2010 - 1600km Free service As part of my first free service @1600km, I had requested a wheel balancing and wheel alignment, since there was wheel wobbling at speeds over 100kmph. I was charged INR 800 for this, but on negotiation, this was reduced to ~INR 500. HOWEVER, in less than 2 days after the service, I had taken the car on a long drive, and the wobbling was still there. I subsequently took the car to Sai Iyengar & Sons in Indira Nagar, and got the alignment and balancing done again for about INR 400. I took the car out on a long drive about 3 weeks later, and the wobbling was no longer there. My inference Either Metro Ford did not do a good job of wheel alignment/ balancing, or MAYBE they did not do the job at all and simply charged me. Incident 2 - Dec 2011 - 30,000km Service I had requested couple of specific issues be looked into, including the changing of a fused right head light on the low beam. While collecting the vehicle after the service on the evening of 2nd Dec, it was noticed that the light was not changed. So they took the car back into the garage to change the light. I went along, saying that I wanted to see how it was done, since I do a lot of long drives in the night. Upon going into the garage and opening the hood, I noticed that the engine cover was missing. When I raised the issue of the missing engine cover with the mechanic, he said that Ford Figo Diesel does not have a cover for the engine. I was pretty sure that it did have one, since the previous weekend I had seen it while getting the left head light changed at another garage. While changing the lights, it was also noticed that the rear cap for the left head light assembly was missing. I asked how much it would cost, and they said that I would need to change the whole assembly. Once the light changing was done, I went to another Diesel Ford Figo which was parked at the other end of the garage, which had its hood open, to confirm if it had an engine cover. I noticed that it did have one. On seeing this, I called the Service Advisor. He looked at this Figo and said that it was a newer model, and that mine was an older model that did not have an engine cover. However, I was VERY SURE, that my car did have an engine cover, and that I had seen an engine cover the previous week while getting my left headlight changed at some garage in Kerala. It was my word against theirs, and obviously they were the experts! The Service Advisor, rushed back to my car, and started asking around for the mechanic who did the servicing on my car. And by the time I got back to the car, they were fitting the engine cover back. Im attaching a snap herewith, taken after they put the engine cover in place. You can see the difference in the dust levels on the engine cover and the other parts of the engine. By this time, I was FURIOUS!! I called for the service manager. He came and I explained the situation to him. I put my hand into the left side head light assembly to hightlight the issue of the missing head light cover. And guess what? The cover was back!!! The mechanic said that it had fallen down and that he put it back!!! My Inference I would have written it off as a case of negligence, BUT for the fact that both the Mechanic & the Service Advisor, tried to convince me that my model did not have an engine cover! AND that it is not the first time it is happening with me at Metro Fraud, as you can see from the 2 incidents above. Now, I'm convinced that it is a case of Fraud. My Dilemna I also had the link rods of my suspension changed. How do I know if that has been changed correctly, and they have not taken away a few bolts? How do I know if any of the other parts are missing? The other big question for me now is, where do I take the car for a service. I would think that Metro Fraud is one of the bigger Ford Dealers in Bangalore. If this is the condition of affairs there, how bad are the other dealers? If I take the car to an independent mechanic such as CarNation, my extended warranty would become void. GM Service from Metro Fraud called me on Saturday Dec 3rd saying that this would never happen again. I would have agreed and written off this incident, BUT, for the fact that this was not the first time it had happened, as you can see above. Also, will you ever take your car back to a garage where you fought with all the staff? (Would you ever go back to a restaurant, where you fought with all the waiters?) Attached Thumbnails

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