howardbc Posted December 17, 2014 at 10:27 PM Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 at 10:27 PM Ford says I have a credit for service, but the cashier at the dealer where I went for recall work and to have my tires rotated today said I had to use the credit in the service department of the dealer I bought my car from. That dealer is an 80-mile round trip from me. That just doesn't make any sense. What if I'd bought my car hundreds or thousands of miles from where I live? I just would like to know what Ford's policy is. Is it correct that the car owner can only use the Ford Owner Advantage Rewards at the same dealer they bought from? I have no quarrel with the nearby Ford dealer I use for service work. They're convenient, courteous, and so far very fair. I don't want to "rock the boat" with them, but I would like to find out what Ford's policy is on where the owner can use the credit. It's almost insulting to receive emails telling me about my credit when I can't use it. Has anyone else had any issues with using the owner's credit at a different dealer? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric4539 Posted December 17, 2014 at 11:06 PM Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 at 11:06 PM I know what you mean howardbc.....the dealer that I bought my car from is 400 miles south of me. 800 miles round trip. Not gonna happen although I have a complimentary oil change and $10 Service Rewards Balance on the books. howardbc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted December 18, 2014 at 01:02 AM Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 01:02 AM Each dealer, if he chooses to participate - many don't, has his own program. Anything earned at a dealer is only valid at that dealer. A dealer can drop out of the program any time they want to and if they do you lose whatever credits you had with them. It appears to be a Ford sponsored program that is funded out of the dealer's pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardbc Posted December 18, 2014 at 03:16 AM Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 03:16 AM Thanks for the feedback, but the program is called the Ford Owners Advantage Rewards program - not the Smith (or Jones or whoever) Ford dealer program, so I think Ford should step up and make the dealers treat their customers fairly. This leaves me quite angry. It's not the money as much as (once again) feeling like I am being played for the chump while the car manufacturer just lets the dealers use any tactic they want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybridbear Posted December 18, 2014 at 02:33 PM Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 02:33 PM Our selling dealer is over 200 miles away. Next time I need something done that would cost money I'm going to call around to local dealers to see if any will accept the Owner Advantage Rewards dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardbc Posted December 18, 2014 at 03:36 PM Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 03:36 PM I did call the service adviser for my closest Ford dealer and he said they would accept the credit but they didn't when I got to the cashier. I had given my 9-digit Ford Owners Advantage Rewards number. What I owed that day was only $20 so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. In my case, I am a little irritated because I tried very hard to buy my car from this closer Ford dealer, but they didn't have the car I wanted in stock. I even went down there and they had sold the only Fusion Energi they had overnight before I could even test-drive it. I kept calling this same dealer, begging them to let me know the minute they got an FFE in stock. Finally I had to go with the farther Ford dealer who had an FFE, even if it was only on the train from Mexico. I put a deposit down on the car before it was even on the lot. So it's discouraging to feel like the red-headed stepchild when I did everything I could to give this closer Ford dealer my business. After I bought my car at the farther dealer, I then wanted to have a sunroof and HomeLink installed. I wanted it done at the closer dealer but they would flat-out not touch it. That was another nightmare going back to the farther dealer, especially when the sunroof installer didn't do a good job and I had to make more trips down there to get it fixed. The car is doing great and the closer dealer has been courteous and I will continue to go there for maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbort Posted December 18, 2014 at 05:00 PM Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 05:00 PM They all seem to do the same thing. I bought my car from a dealer in Buffalo, NY last year when I was on a trip there. I had a free oil change there and $10 service credit. I go to that area once a year and as it turns out I went back to that dealer exactly a year to the date when I bought the car (I had to be there for an event anyways) and I had almost 20k miles on the car. So I called my dealer and planned to get there that day and I managed to use the free oil change which worked out great. I did ask a local dealer beforehand if I could do the free oil change in MA here and they said no that's from the purchasing dealer. It doesn't make sense to drive that far to do it but I just lucked out I had to be in the area again and it worked out for me. -=>Raja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kybuck Posted December 18, 2014 at 11:34 PM Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 at 11:34 PM This leaves me quite angry. It's not the money as much as (once again) feeling like I am being played for the chump while the car manufacturer just lets the dealers use any tactic they want to. Unfortunately, that's the reality of the "independent dealership" model. Many times, little things like this are beyond the manufacturer's control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted December 19, 2014 at 12:31 AM Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 at 12:31 AM Ford says I have a credit for service, but the cashier at the dealer where I went for recall work and to have my tires rotated today said I had to use the credit in the service department of the dealer I bought my car from. That dealer is an 80-mile round trip from me. That just doesn't make any sense. What if I'd bought my car hundreds or thousands of miles from where I live? I just would like to know what Ford's policy is. Is it correct that the car owner can only use the Ford Owner Advantage Rewards at the same dealer they bought from? I have no quarrel with the nearby Ford dealer I use for service work. They're convenient, courteous, and so far very fair. I don't want to "rock the boat" with them, but I would like to find out what Ford's policy is on where the owner can use the credit. It's almost insulting to receive emails telling me about my credit when I can't use it. Has anyone else had any issues with using the owner's credit at a different dealer? Thanks. Hi howardbc, Membership is valid at the dealership that enrolled you, and the rewards generated and/or redeemed are applicable to that dealer. I encourage you to reach out to the Customer Support Center at 1-866-58OWNER (1-866-586-9637) for any additional questions. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. You can also check out the Ford Owner Advantage Rewards website here, and the FAQ page for more details. Meagan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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