Complain about a product or service

Quirk Ford

Quincy, MA

Gregg of Worcester MA (04/25/08)
Hey Dan Quirk Where the hell are my floor mats? The Quirk Chevy mechanic told me I'll never see them. This seems to be a common practice with ALL Quirk Sales people and it's even encouraged. I bought 3 New cars from the Quirk organization 1 chevy and 2 Fords. NO FLOOR MATS. When I caught the Chevy salesman taking the mats he retaliated by stealing my owners manual. I dont get it!!! WHY FLOOR MATS?

This practice continues even today so be vigilant!! The mechanic told me the sales staff will use every trick in the book to supplement their commission. EX. XM Radio, additional warranties, accessorys, etc. because the cost of some advertised cars are fixed; so sales people get small fixed commissions. The rest is up to them to soak you for additional crap you don't need. They get a better deal when you lease, meaning' they get a check the day of the sale.

Usually from built in charges in the financing. Always try to bring someone with you when you deal with these characters the paper shuffle is amazing...GOOD LUCK

Complaining and writing is a waste of time.

P.j. of Braintree MA (05/18/07)
When leaving lot from service apt. after picking up vehicle, noticed something missing from inside. Spoke to service and was immediately verbally threatened and accused by above person. Was spoken to in a derogatory manner and felt physically ill. He was in my space and too close in my face, and getting angrier by the second. Also thought my 5 year old son was in a verbally abusive situation.

Asked to speak to manager or anyone besides himself, which did not happen, and eventually actually yelled out that he would mail me the part.

Fred of Quincy MA (08/07/06)
I was in an accident, took my car in for work almost 10k worth of damage. My car was in the shop 1.5 months. These guys are horrible communicators. Never call, no status, it's always one more week, I was even told that they couldn't work one day because it was too hot...!!!!!!!!!!

When I tried to complain, I was told that their body shop has a department head, and no supervisor...so pretty much if I wanted to complain that was where the buck stopped. When you try to complain they say things like...I understand this is frustrating...an accident is very frustrating..and that's it...It's like talking to a robot... Then..they say ok..thank you for calling....and hang up. I will never ever ever take my car to them again..I had a $1500 rent-a-car bill because of these guys.

Advice...if you ever get into an accident have the autobody shop give you a loaner car as part of the deal...

I had to pay for a rent a car while my car was in the shop...I had a $1500 bill because of these guys.

Jennifer of Boston MA (10/12/05)
I bought a 2005 Ford Explorer from Quirk Ford in may 2005. I brought it back to the dealer because the back hatch window kept flying open as I drove it. I also needed my first oil change so figured I would just have them do that as well.

I dropped my vehicle off on Friday Oct 6 and proceeded to pick it up on the following Monday evening upon stepping within 20 feet of this vehicle I realized that they had left my moonroof open for 3 days in torrential downpours of rain. I think we had recieved over 10 inches of rain in three days.

My car was soaked to say the least. water was coming out of the radio, the heating system, the interiror roof, the carpets were soaked and when I opened the door water splashed onto my feet from the amount that had piled up on the floor boards.

Needless to say my truck was completely ruined on the inside and wouldn't even start. As I am looking in awe at my destroyed brand new car. The service manager Jay Larkin offered me a towel to solve this problem. I told him I am not accepting this vehicle and that a towel would not cut it. He got in his car and left me standing in the parking lot by myself. The service office had just closed for the evening and I had to call someone to come and get me.

I called my insurance company to submit a claim and went back to the dealer that same evening to video tape the damage. It is a good thing I did because someone apparently tried to clean the truck before I got there at 7:00 a..m. the next day and tried to vaccum and dry it off. There efforts were useless because the car was so saturated it was still dripping from the interiror ceiling.

When I walked into the service office and demanded answers Jay Larkin (folks this is the manager) tells me that I brought the car in with the moonroof open therefore it is my fault that the car is flooded. I actually laughed at him when he said that. I asked him for his supervisors name and he told me he didn't have one. I then said ok so you have no boss you own the place right? He said no. Okay so then who owns this place? His answer (I swear he actually said this) was I don't know. Okay so you don't know who owns this place I asked him again. Again he responded no.

At this point I am in awe of the blatent stupidity of this person. I asked him for a copy of the service report. He said he couldn't pull it up. I stood there and looked at him and said that I will call the police if he didn't give me a record of what he had done to my car and when. He then proceeded to give me the report.

He then tells me I have to leave his service area and wait outside. This was his idea of customer service.

I had a flatbed truck come and pick up my truck and proceeded to call the GM Tom Quirk. I left two messages for him and when I finally got him not only did he stick up for Jay but hung up on me. I was floored to say the least.

These people destroyed my brand new car, don't apologize and go one further and blame me for it. The bottom line is they took my keys and they are responsible for the car. It is completely ruined. But the horrific treatment I recieved from these morons was a real lesson to me of how idiotic and cowardly people can really be. Not only will I never ever do business with QUIRK FORD but I will tell anyone I know how they treated me.

Bottom line. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH QUIRK FORD EVER

As this has just happened a few days ago, my insurance company is still trying to determine if this car is a total loss. It is to me. It was brand new with 2700 miles on it and destroyed.

Kelly of Quincy MA (08/28/05)
I have owned two Ford Focus. I bought them brand new at Quirk Ford in Quincy Massachusetts. the first one i bought in 2000 and the other in 2004. the first car everything imaginable went wrong with this car. it was in the shop more times than i drove it. the file i have is about three inches thick. i called the owner, wrote letter to the company and no one want to take responsiblility for the car.

i go and buy another focus (stupid i know) and the first thousand miles i need a new transmission. at 11,000 i need the entire brake system replaces. i mean EVERYTHING. from the pad to teh calipiers to the roters plus the spindels. i am having the same pattern with the first car. these are major problems and i travel a lot for my second job. i don't feel safe in this car and all i want is all the money i put into both these car back. i don't think that is a lot to ask for because someone is going to get hurt, if not dead, in one of these cars. i am at my wits end and no one wants to help me. please tell me what to do and who to go to.

Brian of Woburn MA (08/03/05)
When I bought a 2002 Ford Expedition 2002 from Dave Mullin at Quirk Ford I was told that certain identified defects would be fixed by Service and that he made arrangements with Service for the work to be done. I did sign the warranty that clearly stated what would be done and not done (shame on me for not amending it to reflect the verbal agreement) but I trusted him.

There are two frustrating parts with this interaction. When I brought the car for service as promised the Service person Dan said unequivocally no and told me to back to sales. I asked him to call with me which he refused. He went further to say you know sales people, they will do whatever it takes to move a car that day and that they won't fix it. I went to Sales and Dave Mullin was not in that day and relayed what I was told by Service including the comment that they, Sales, are seperate and will do what it take to move a car. Later that day the Service Manager Jay called me to say that they cant get this resolved until the following day when Dave Mullin returns. The Sales Manager said you need a front end alignment and we will cover that for the trouble.

When Dave Mullin returned the comments from Service about Sales apparently caused conflict. The Sales Manager got very irate and said no way will I now cover the alignment and that Dan would never say those things about Sales. The Sales person,Dave Mullin, also said I never agreed to any of the fixes. Service, the previous day, told me fixes comes out of the Sales person's pocket which apparently is driving the deceiptful behavior.

I am fortunate to make a good wage so a few hundred dollars is not an issue. The part that concerns me is that this is the way they do business and I have never been lied to in such a deceiptful way. I strongly caution anyone before doing business with Quirk to be aware and would encourage you to take your business to another dealer.

I had to pay a few hundred dollars to remedy the situation.

Brian of Norton MA (01/06/05)
I bought a used 1999 Ford Explorer from Quirk Ford in July of 2001. At the time of purchase, it only had 8,100 miles on it. When I bought it, I also bought an extended service plan warranty that was explained to me to protect me for another 48 months or 75,000 miles.... It tacked another $1,020 onto the price of the truck (which... at the time I thought was worth the price).

The truck is now having problems and I was having trouble finding a record of my warranty. When I called Quirk, they said because you haven't had your car serviced here in the last twelve months, we have no record of your warranty. After I said that made no sense, the gentleman I spoke to got incredibly rude and said, What do you want us to do? Keep track of every single car we have ever sold... forever? Finally, I was able to track down my sales agreement and the warranty program. I called Ford directly and they looked up the warranty information.

Sure enough... it expired in early 2003. It turns out that they sold me the NEW car extended service plan instead of the USED car extended service plan... which... was simply an extension from when the car was put into service, or, from 1999... so... the time period covered by the service plan I purchased was already HALF OVER, instead of being extended from when I actually bought the car (how it was explained to me).

So... instead of having a four year 75,000 mile warranty, like it was explained to me... I really had an 18 month warrranty that was never going to come remotely close to the miles.

Tom of Quincy MA (12/15/04)
I very recently walked into Quirk Ford to view an advertised truck. I was shown several trucks that I was told were all being offered at the advertised price. Over the course of two days, I evaluated the trucks (each somewhat unique), test drove one, and settled on the truck I liked. During the evaluation I had the price of the vehicle quoted to me many times.

After choosing a vehicle, we sat down and began the paperwork, but had to continue the next day because it was closing time for the dealer. I came back promptly the next day, continued the paperwork, and in the middle of it all, the sales manager comes over saying we have a little problem. It seems the vehicle they promised me at the advertised price had suddenly increased in price to nowhere near what was originally quoted. The best answer I got when I questioned why the price had gone up overnight was, We didn't know that yesterday, Ford changes the price on us every day.

I was angered by this and left the showroom. Just to confirm my suspicion, I called several other dealers. None of them have ever had an instance where Ford suddenly changed a price on them overnight. But because I was not under agreement, in writing, at the originally quoted price, I was told I had no recourse.

Folks, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AT QUIRK. Since this incident I've talked to coworkers, friends, and relatives who all had something similar to say about Quirk Ford. If the deception isn't obvious up front, it'll come at some step of the process, guaranteed. Quirk Ford is simply out to take advantage of people. I wouldn't walk back into their lot if they were giving cars away.

My damages were in my time and energy wasted. To identify a vehicle, evaluate the vehicle, negotiate, etc, I've easily wasted 20 hours of my time.

Jennifer of Shaftsbury VT (09/29/04)
My husband and I went to Quirk Ford with intention of purchasing a truck. We spent nearly 3 1/2 hours with the sales person, Jason, whom in the beginning we had much respect for, and we were pleased with him as a sales person. He seemed very competent, and we thought, quite professional. He was sure he was going to find us the perfect truck. We were looking for an F-150 XLT supercab with a 6 1/2 foot bed, because my husband owns a business, and he transports display cases that are 6 feet in length. We explained more than once, when he discussed the supercrew F-150, that we could not even consider it because the supercrew was only available with a 5 1/2 foot bed. We test drove the salesman's personal vehicle, because it was everything you're looking for, and yes, it had the 6 1/2 foot bed.

He pulled various tickets from their truck availabilty wall that met our criteria, and lastly he came up with our, as he put it,perfect truck. It was the F-150 supercab, 6 1/2 foot bed, towing package, with all the bells and whistles. He said it was the Lariat, and because we were looking at the XLT with towing package etc, and there was only a $2,000 difference, why not get the moon roof, 6 CD player, and back up alarm with the lariat package. We agreed, and went through the financing process, gave them cash down, and he said the truck would arrive in two weeks. Two weeks past, we had the title with the vin # to register it, and we returned with the plates.

When we arrived, after driving 3+ hours, there was this gorgeous truck, with a 5 1/2 foot bed. My husband was extremely upset, and said,Jason, this is not a 6 1/2 foot bed. Jason was speechless for a moment, and then took a deep breath and said, I don't know what to say, you're right, I'm sorry. Then pasued, and said,Geez...I really feel terrible about this, another pause...wow, I can't believe I didn't even notice. He again said, I don't know what to say, this deal is irreversible. Maybe you could get a bed extender, let me show you one.

A bed extender? Are you kidding? We are talking about a $30,000.00 vehicle.

Then he added insult to the situation, he offered us the option to pruchase one at cost!!! Whew!!! My husband remained quite clam given the situation, the salesman was sweating bullets, to put it mildly. It was a cool morning to say the least, and his forehead was beaded up with sweat, he knew he had made a large error, and he knew this was not the truck we were expecting. It was clearly something he over-looked on his card. He then spoke to his Sales Mangaer, Aaron, who states he spoke to Tom Quirk, who said there was nothing he would do in regard to the situation, and that he would not offer a bed extender, it was out of his hands.

As I stood next to this 4 foot sign sitting in the middle of Quirk's showromm describing their Blue Oval Customer Satisfaction, I wanted to place it in a much less comfortable location. I said to Jason, This sign is a joke, who are you kidding? You led us to believe we were buying a truck other than the one that is sitting out there, and you know Damn well you made the mistake. What did you tell your sales manager? He replied, My management will represent me, and that's all I can say.

Jason clearly felt bad about the situation, and obviously was told to 'plead the fifth' Originally he aknowleged that he had made an error, but after returning from the Sales Manager, he kept repeating, I cannot recall the bed length discussion. We reminded him of us test driving his truck, and of us asking if he would consider selling that one, and that we were initially interested in the super crew that Tom quirk himself was driving, but it was not an option due to the bed length of 5 1/2 feet. There was no point in arguing, he kept repeating, Our hands are tied you won this truck. Jason then took us aside, and said,If I were you, I would contact Dan Quirk himself, you can go over Tom Quirk's head. I'm sure Dan will return your call, he may even offer to trade the truck out. What ever that means.

We left the Dealership, quite distraught, and planned to contact Dan Quirk. I looked on the website for Quirk Ford, and there is no way to contact Dan Quirk directly. The contact is with the sales department...and I'm sure that's the route to take!!! Sooo...I called Quirk Ford on Tuesday and spoke with a very peasant receptionist, expained our situation, and asked her how to get in touch with Dan Quirk the Owner. She immediately directed me to Tom Quirk. My husband contacted Tom Quirk, and Mr. Quirk had nothing more to say than, it's not my problem, you bought the truck, there's nothing I am going to do to resolve the issue.

My husband told Tom Quirk that two people had warned him about going to Quirk Ford, because of their bad reputation and lack of professionalism; Tom Quirk's response was, I guess you should have listened I sure hope his brother has better business sense than to keep an individual who lacks integrity and morals around. Well, I guess they say blood is thicker than water...but how about honor, integrity, and respect. Needless to say, we have located Dan Quirk's address, and we intend to at least try to let him know what has occurred at his Dealership. We have also contacted our lawyer who recommended that we notify the Attorney General's office, as well as the Massachusetts Better Business Bureau. We spoke to Ford Motor Company who is forwarding our complaint to the Consumer Satifaction/Complaint Manager...who knows what will happen.

We are unable to utilize this vehicle as specifically intended for my husband's work. The cargo that he transports cannot be exposed to weather, it has to be covered, and dry.

Cheree of South Boston MA (08/03/04)
DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO BE SERVICED AT QUIRK FORD! They do not care a/b the individual client. They think that they don't need to care, b/c they're the only licensed Ford place in the Boston area. But smaller, private service centers do quality, more affordable work, and they care a/b your business and your word-of-mouth contribution to their reputation.

My complaint is menial, but the way it was handled is ridiculous. I was told my car would be ready and when I arrived, it wasn't. After going back to pick up the car tomorrow, I will have spent an uneccessary total of four EXTRA hours on the subway to get to and from Quincy, I will have missed three hours pay at work, and I will have to get up several hours early three days in a row to be at Quincy by open (7AM), in order to minimize the amount of missed work-time . (I counted on an inconvenience for two days, of course, but the extra day annoys me). So when I spoke with Jay Farkin (?), Service Manager, and mentioned how time is money and the exact monetary figure that their mistake cost me, and how I felt it should be deducted from my total bill, I was told it was my fault for not calling before to ensure that my car was ready at the time they already told me it would be(I did, of course, but no one answered the phone at 6AM, the time I had to get on the subway to get to Quincy by 7), and that the work order I signed had not specified a time. Also true.

I didn't care when they fixed my car, as long as it was ready when they said it would be so that I wouldn't waste the effort going to get it, otherwise. And the time it would be completed was spoken, via phone, when my estimate was given, so oops, there's no record. Mr. Farkin interupted me to tell me my car was ready, instead of hearing me out- also started telling me about how many awards their service department has won, which I care nothing a/b since they weren't winning brownie points with me- basically, anything to have to listen to my rationale. So yes, my complaint is comparatively small, but it was handled disrespectfully (Mr. Farkin was actually YELLING at me over the phone, while I was speaking in a calm, modulated tone), and my trust in Quirk's concern for consumer satisfaction has been shaken to the point that, from now on, I will only go there for recalls. No more paying business from me!

Ryan of Quincy MA (04/09/04)
After reading the other complaints, I can see our experience was not an isolated incident:

Since buying our 2002 Ford Escape (from another dealer), my wife and I had sent our car to Quirk to have the car serviced. Most of the work had been satisfactory and done on time, however we continued to struggle with the incompetent service staff. This finally came to a head when a service advisor hung up the phone on me, over a loaner car. Without getting into the details...they gave my wife a loaner car without telling her she needed to bring it back with a full tank of gas, and they agreed with my wife on the return date.

When we brought the car back they wanted to charge us $4 a gallon to fill it up. We said we didn't think that was fair since we weren't notified and they agreed to fill up the gas and take the car back as is. After they had received the necessary part to make a repair that was diagnosed the last time they had the car, I inquired about another loaner car since it was going to possibly require an afternoon to fix the problem. I was transferred to the service area where after a wait, Kevin answered the phone, and he proceeded to berate me in the most patronizing way, you we were 2 days late with the last rental, it was returned without a full gas tank, etc, and you don't get a loaner car. You've lost your priviledge, you don't get a loaner car. I said I think you have the wrong person?

Kevin proceeded to elevate his arrogance to a point where he was taunting, I know who this is, and sorrrryyyyy you don't get a loaner car you've lost your priviledges. I said do you treat all your customers this way? Its at that he hung up the phone! Needless to say we no longer use Quirk, and that episode was just icing on the cake from an incompentent and unhelpful service center. The place is a disaster.

Maria of Quincy MA (03/24/04)
I purchased a new 2002 Ford Focus from Quirk Ford in July 2002. I've taken my car to them for all preventative maintenance, every 3 months, ever since. On January 31, 2004, I paid more than $200.00 for one of their preventative maintenance service packages (Service C) which included checking the brakes and brake pads. I got my car back when they were finished servicing the vehicle and was told everything looked good.

The week before there was a grinding noise on occasion when I applied the brakes, but since Massachusetts has had tons of snow I figured it must be dirt on the brake pads, and believed this to be the case after my car got a clean bill of health at the preventative maintenance service. The day after service my brakes were still making a grinding noise, but by Monday it stopped again. Through out the next week it was on and off until Saturday (one week after service) it was so bad I didn't feel comfortable driving the car.

I drove back to Quirk Ford and asked them to look at it. I was told then that it desperately needed new brakes, and when I asked the service technician if I could drive it, he said no. They needed to be done right away. I spent $367.00 getting new brakes. He gave me $50.00 off since he agreed it should have been seen the week before.

I sent a letter to the service manager, Jay Larkin, and the General Manager, Tom Quirk, to which I have never even received a reply.

I spent $200 for preventative maintanence I didn't actually get. I don't believe that they serviced my car properly, otherwise they would have seen that I needed new brakes on January 31, 2004.

Stewart of Hingham MA (09/04/03)
These guys are so dishonest they make Enron look like boy scouts. Unfortunately, a family friend and I didn't find this out until it was too late. Hopefully those of you researching Quirk on the web will read these stories before making the same mistake we did. Here's our tale:

Our friend bought a pre-owned 1996 Ford Windstar with approximately 55,000 miles from Quirk in April 2002. Fortunately, she also purchased an extended warranty from a third-party, but I'll get to that later.

At the end of three months (conveniently, just after the 90 day Lemon Law term expired!), the transmission needed to be rebuilt. Quirk sub-contracted the work out to a local shop. Sure enough, less than 1 year later, the transmission problems re-appeared.

At first, Jay Larkin, the Service Manager, denied there was a problem. He then referred our friend to the local shop that performed the work, who denied the work had even been done, muttering something about a money dispute with Quirk. So she then returned to Quirk, which agreed to resolve the matter.

After a week without a car, Quirk still denied there was a problem. So she picked the car up, and less than a few days later, the transmission problems reappeared. This time, when she brought the car into Quirk, the Service Department instantly recognized the transmission problem and, incredulously, also realized the engine needed to be rebuilt! And so she once again left the car for service and drove away in a rental car they provided.

Over the next two weeks, she called and visited the dealership several times to check on the status of the repair, but was repeatedly told they had not yet received authorization from the Warranty company. During this time, Quirk had completely disassembled the engine and the transmission in order to seek authorization from the warranty adjuster.

After nearly two weeks of limbo, Quirk finally called my distraught friend back and said they still didn't have authorization, but offered to sell her another car... I can only assume to avoid having to make the repair. At this point, no written acknowledgment of the problem or estimate of repair costs had been furnished to our friend, even though they had completely disassembled the entire drive train of the car in order to try and fix the problem! I likened it to a contractor dissambling your house's entire plumbing and electrical system, then not providing a written estimate of how much it would cost to put everything back together. Unbeliveable, right?

This is where I intervened on our friend's behalf to help sort out her options. When I inquired about the authorization, Jay said it had been provided a week earlier, but that our friend wanted '...to get into another car,' which is why the work had not yet been done. He was happy to acknowledge over the phone that the car needed a new engine and that the valve body on the transmission was cracked, but he steadfastly refused to provide a written acknowledgment of that fact. This, of course, was a lie, because I called the warranty company to inquire if authorization had indeed been given for the repair, and their reply was 'no.' The adjuster I spoke with confirmed they had talked about coverage with Quirk, but that nothing had been authorized. Moreover, the adjuster said the transmission work wouldn't even be covered, since the contract didn't cover service defects.

The bottom line is that Quirk sold our friend a lemon, then screwed up by sub-contracting out the original transmission work to a cut-rate shop. And while grudingly acknowledging there was a problem, they manipulated the truth to limit their financial exposure. I can only guess they were concerned that a written confirmation of the problem or estimate of repairs would be incriminating. The honest thing to do would have been to admit they sold her a bad car, own up to the poor sub-contracting decision and hold our friend harmless. But that's probably too much to ask from these clowns.

Ironically, the Google entry below this complaint site is an entry recording Quirk's good standing status with the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter of the Better Business Bureau. What a joke! In addition to fighting your battles out with Quirk and holding them to every penny they owe you, as well as seeking legal redress where appropriate, the most effective, cheapest and easiest thing any of you can do to demonstrate there's a consequence to this kind of F... You attitude is to lodge a complaint with the BBB, as it will establish a permanent record of their tactics. Perhaps then it will spur more of us to pause in the future before throwing our money to Quirk -- the only thing these unethical businessmen seem to care about.

The car, at best is worth, less than $2,000, several thousand dollars below what our friend owes on the loan.

Brian of Quincy MA (06/24/03)
I stumbled onto this site and noticed other postings about Quirk Dealerships and thought I would add my own. I'm pretty dissapointed in myself for not pushing back on Quirk for this situation but hopefully by posting this, others may be forewarned.

I bought a 2000 Explorere XLT from Quirk Ford about two years ago. It was used but we were excited about it because the truck was fully loaded and only had about 4,100 miles on it. We asked if it had been in any accidents and we were told it hadn't. We were told it was part of an executive rental program in Canada and that they often switch out cars and we got lucky because this one had such low mileage. We agreed on a price and I went to pick the truck up three days later. When I picked up the truck, the milage had gone from just about 4,100 to just over 8,000.

I guess in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal but what they had obviously done is sold the truck and then used it a TON over the three days to avoid putting miles on an unsold vehicle. Also... about a week and a half later, when the wax job they put on it worn off, you could tell that the front passenger quarter panel had been replaced because the red paint was much more dull then the rest of the truck. Over time, it's faded unevenly from the rest of the truck to the point where it's easily noticed that the truck had the part replaced, even after a heavy waxing. Yeah, maybe it wasn't in an accident but it's absolutely had body work done to it. Who knows, maybe because it was from Canada, they weren't required to file the damage report.

I live about two miles from Quirk Ford, know know a couple people who have bought cars from there and not one of us will ever make that mistake again.

Valerie of South Boston MA (01/23/02)
My car has been recalled 4 times. I have a 2000 Ford Focus. I had an incident Friday night, January 18, 2002 where my key would not go into the ignition. I called Ford Emergency Road Service to come and tow my car to Quirk Ford. While waiting for the truck, I called the Service Department at Quirk.

I was told by Walter that there had been a bulletin floating around about ignition problems with other Focuses. Why it isn't considered a recall yet, I don't know.

Well, the tow truck showed up and the driver insisted on getting the key in, which he was successful at. He obviously did not want to tow the car leaving me with the dilemma of getting home from the dealership after hours after driving the car myself.

As I was signing paperwok that the car had actually been towed (I assume the driver gets paid more for an actual tow), the door to my car closed and locked with the key in the ignition and the car running! Well, 45 minutes later the driver was able to break in through the driver side door, causing scratches and pulling apart some of the rubber insulation.

I drove the car home and left it for Monday morning, when, wouldn't you know it, the key wouldn't go in. I called 24 hour service and to Quirk Ford the car went. I asked them to fix the ignition, take care of the rear wheel bearings and seal installation (another recall of sorts), and give me an estimate on fixing the chipped paint and rubber that happened when the tow truck driver broke in to my car.

Now, I had to take a day off of work, unpaid, to spend literally hours on the phone with customer service and file a claim with Emergency Road Service to get the damage taken care of so that I don't have to pay for it.

I asked Jay at Quirk to please make sure the estimate for the window get taken care of as Emergency Road Service Claims Center needed two estimates. He assured me it would get done. Well, it did not!

I left with my car today, in a hurry to make it to work. When I arrived at work, I realized that the estimate was not there. I called Jay. He informed me (after finally returning my phone call) that the guys in body repair didn't notice anything wrong. I am no mechanic and I can certainly see where the damage is. I feel as though I have been lied to. In fact, when I called the first time, I spoke to Walter who told me I had to go to a body shop for an estimate. So, then Jay told me he forgot to call me and ask me anything about where the damage is. Well, obviously.

This is not the first time I have received such horrible service from Quirk. I feel completely taken advantage of. Now I have to go to another body shop, taking hours out of my day and losing pay, to go and get an estiamate.

Mary of Rockland MA (12/30/01)
We were planning to buy a new 2002 Ford or Chevy truck either a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10. We thought we would go to Quirk since he owned both business and check out the prices and test drive the trucks. We first were shown around the parking lot then Chris went to get a truck for us to test drive. It took over 45 minutes for him to FIND the truck for us to test drive. After we took the drive we went back and they were looking at our car to give us an estimate. They only had 2 trucks with the specifications we wanted one RED and one GOLD. We actually wanted a dark vehicle either black or blue. They told us they did not have any 2002 trucks coming in. We were asked if we wanted the GOLD truck we test drove and we said we wanted to get all the figures and then we wanted to go and test drive a Chevy. Because we would not sign on the dotted line, they REFUSED to give us an estimate or even talk about what the truck would cost us. We waisted two hours of our time with these people and they dismissed us. Needless to say, we did not go to Quirk Chevy to see their trucks. We did, however, go to other dealers on the South Shore and got facts and figures immediately. We can't believe how rude these people were. If your planning to spend over $20,000 you should be able to choose the color vehicle you prefer and at the very least get extimates and prices. I hope people read your column so that they can choose to go to a more reputable dealer.

Dennis of Reading MA (02/12/01)
After reading some of the real horror stories other consumers have endured, I feel a somewhat foolish writing about my experience because it seems so trivial in comparison. That being said.... I purchased a 2000 Ford F-150 4x4 XLT in December of 1999. All sales brochures, dealer spec sheets, and internet web pages, including those web pages "Powered by Ford Motor Company", ALL state the XLT comes standard with carpeted floor mats. The only place I didn't see them as standard was in the vehicle I purchased.

I was told that Ford eliminated them as standard equipment. These documents are tools used by the consumer to see what comes with the vehicle. My dealer tells me that since Ford changed the options packages, I should contact Ford. When I contacted Ford the first time, they told me they don't intervene on sales issues with dealers and I should try to resolve it with the dealership. After another go-around with Quirk, I sent another note off to Ford expalining to them how disappointed I was at not receiving the mats. Here's their response:

Thank you for your message of 02/23/00 regarding your 2000 Ford F-150. We appreciate the time you have taken to write us regarding the floor mats for your vehicle. As previously communicated to you on 02/22/00, we feel that every consideration has been given to this matter and was appropriately addressed in our prior response. If any additional information regarding this matter should become available in the future, we would appreciate you letting us know. This will be our last written communication to you on this concern, however, if you would like to discuss this matter any further, please contact us directly at our Customer Assistance Center. Mr. McCarthy, we encourage and welcome you to communicate with us again via e-mail should you have a different issue or inquiry. At Ford Motor Company, we consider the satisfaction of our customers as one of our most important objectives. If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them. Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company.

They felt "that every consideration was given to this matter." Did I miss something? They sent me back to the dealer. If items can listed as standard equipment in the tools that a consumer uses to make informed decisions and we're told verbally that they're not included, what other "standard" accessories will be eliminated in the future? I can understand (almost) that sales brochures are printed ahead of time, however in this "age of the Internet," there is no excuse to have items listed as standard equipment when they were eliminated six months earlier. I am really disappointed I cannot get the mats. You would think that after spending $22,000+, I could get a set of $75 floor mats.

Brian of Quincy MA (6/24/03):
I stumbled onto this site and noticed other postings about Quirk Dealerships and thought I would add my own. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for not pushing back on Quirk for this situation but hopefully by posting this, others may be forewarned. I bought a 2000 Explorer XLT from Quirk Ford about two years ago. It was "used" but we were excited about it because the truck was fully loaded and only had about 4,100 miles on it. We asked if it had been in any accidents and we were told it hadn't. We were told it was part of "an executive rental program in Canada" and that they often switch out cars and we got lucky because this one had such low mileage.

We agreed on a price and I went to pick the truck up three days later. When I picked up the truck, the mileage had gone from just about 4,100 to just over 8,000. I guess in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal but what they had obviously done is sold the truck and then used it a TON over the three days to avoid putting miles on an unsold vehicle. Also... about a week and a half later, when the wax job they put on it worn off, you could tell that the front passenger quarter panel had been replaced because the red paint was much more dull then the rest of the truck. Over time, it's faded unevenly from the rest of the truck to the point where it's easily noticed that the truck had the part replaced, even after a heavy waxing.

Yeah, maybe it wasn't in an "accident" but it's absolutely had body work done to it. Who knows, maybe because it was from Canada, they weren't required to file the damage report. I live about two miles from Quirk Ford, know a couple people who have bought cars from there and not one of us will ever make that mistake again.

Robert of Melrose MA (7/25/03):
I leased a Ford Ranger from Quirk. After much haggling, I settled on a lease with the finance manager and the new car Assistant Manager. We set a day for me to return to pick up the vehicle. They printed out my lease agreement and I left. When I got home, I looked more closely at the agreement and discovered that the numbers we had agreed to, including the all-important money factor on the lease, were different from what I had negotiated.

I called Quirk to complain. I was told that the finance manager was unavailable and that he would call back. Two days later, without a return call, I called back and someone named Quirk answered the phone (Mike?). I complained about not getting a call back and asked him what his position was in the dealership. He immediately hung up the phone. I called back and this time did get through to the finance manager. I asked him who this Quirk fellow was and why he would hang up on a customer. His response was, "he's like that some times."

We discussed my lease. The finance manager assured me that he would address my concerns when I came in to pick up the car. He said that the numbers were essentially the same, but had to be changed slightly to get the lease approved by Ford. He said it would not affect my monthly payment. What he did not say was that my buy-out amount ballooned. Based on the money factor he had quoted, I had determined that the buyout should have been $3000-$4000 less than what was listed on the lease agreement. He said, "why do you care unless you are planning to buy the vehicle?" I suggested that I would like to maintain the option, that the money factor was changed without my knowledge and that they were not negotiating in good faith. He told me to come and and he'd address it.

When I came in to pick up the car, the new car Assistant Manager greeted me and acted as if nothing was wrong. I demanded to discuss the lease terms. He told me that the finance manager was brand new and didn't fully understand leases, that no one was consciously trying to change the numbers and that I had nothing to worry about since my monthly payment amount had not changed. So it was immediately clear to me that he had discussed this in detail with the finance manager. I told him that the finance mangager had quoted me a money factor that could not possibly be accurate since the buyout was substantially higher than my calculations, using the quoted money factor, would produce. The Asst. Manager asked me, "what's a money factor?"

At this point, I immediately recognized that he was playing with me. I became irate and said that it was incomprehensible that he would not know what a money factor was nor should he pretend to be so ignorant on leases. He became somewhat apologetic and conceded that the money factor quoted was actually a loan percentage on new car loans, not leases and that the finance manager must have gotten confused. I pointed out to him that during our initial discussions, he had confirmed the money factor. He then tries to intimidate me by saying, "we lease more cars than any other dealer in the state, do you think we would quote an incorrect money factor to a customer?" I point out that 30 seconds ago he didn't know what a money factor was and how did he educate himself so quickly?

Then he gets personal. "What makes you so sure you didn't misunderstand the money factor? I'd like to see these calculations of yours." And, "I stand by our offer." So I show him my calculations (I am an Executive Editor of Mathematics for the largest American-owned textbook publishing company). He admits they "sound right." But he won't be able to verify them since his finance manager took the day off. So now, everyone is getting exhausted. The bottom line--I need the car that day so I suggest that I will take it up with Ford Leasing and he assures me that is the best approach and he's sure they will be more successful in explaining it to me. If, he says, I have any difficulties, I should call him back. So, foolishly, I sign the lease and leave with my new truck.

I call Ford Leasing. They calculate and confirm my acutal money factor and are shocked to hear that a dealer would quote a lower one, saying their money factor on leases hasn't changed for over six months. However, they say that it is up to the dealer to make the correction--if any is warranted. They also admit that the buyout seems too high, even based on the lease agreement as signed. But again, they won't directly interfere. So I call Quirk again. Mr. Quirk again answers the phone. When I tell him what is happening--you guessed it--he hangs up the phone.

After many callbacks and left messages, I finally get the finance manager (the Assistant Manager will not return my calls and will not answer them directly). The finance manager admits that he is new and doesn't fully understand leasing and that the money factor he quoted might have been wrong. So when I repeat the quoted money factor to him, he says, "No, that's the right number. So now they admit the money factor originally quoted was correct and that it was changed in the final agreement. He promises to look into it and get back to me. That was over two years ago. I still haven't heard back despite numerous attempts to follow-up, complaints to Ford Leasing and letter to both the dealer and Ford. I have, however, received several direct mail offers to come back to Quirk and trade up to a new lease.

Kevin of Quincy writes (3/9/02):
On January 15th 2002, My wife had her Firestone Tire recall performed by Quirk Ford on our 1992 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer. On February 28th 2002, my wife was driving with our 2-year-old son in the vehicle, when she had heard a loud noise and lost control of the vehicle. When the car came to rest, she noticed that the left rear tire of the vehicle was rolling past. Luckily no one was hurt and no one else was involved.

I was at work when notified by my wife of the incident, I called Quirk Ford and spoke to Jay Larkin who is the service manager of the facility, and explained to him the situation and the circumstances. He then said that it�s been too long and too many miles since the service was performed and I can file a complaint with Ford Motor Company and there is nothing he will do to help us out.

I said that this was unsatisfactory and that I would like to speak to Jay�s Boss, when he told me that �He was the FINAL WORD/SAY� and there is nothing he will do. On Friday I noticed that there is a �LIMITED LABOR WARANTY � on the bottom of the service request which outlines that. �Any services performed by this repair shop, is guaranteed for 90 days or 4,000 miles whichever comes first, if the services fails with in this period we will fix the problem free of charge parts and labor.� (we are well within those limits)

My wife and I went in on Saturday to speak to Jay once again and showed him the wheel in question and asked about the �LABOR WARRANTY� on their work order and again he said. �There is nothing I will do to help. Call your insurance company." I asked him about the wheel and the condition of it. Jay then said, that he is "not qualified to make this determination� (This is the Service Manager 6 years with Ford). ...

I then contacted Tom Quirk (the owner's brother) and explained to him the situation and that I would like to have Quirk fix the damage that was caused by the tire, in short he also said �We�re not fixing the car, take us to court�

That's Quirk at work.

Valerie of South Boston (1/23/02):
My car has been recalled 4 times. I have a 2000 Ford Focus. I had an incident Friday night, January 18, 2002 where my key would not go into the ignition. I called Ford Emergency Road Service to come and tow my car to Quirk Ford. While waiting for the truck, I called the Service Department at Quirk. I was told by Walter that there had been a bulletin floating around about ignition problems with other Focuses. Why it isn't considered a recall yet, I don't know.

Well, the tow truck showed up and the driver insisted on getting the key in, which he was successful at. He obviously did not want to tow the car, leaving me with the dilemma of getting home from the dealership after hours driving the car myself. As I was signing paperwork that the car had actually been towed (I assume the driver gets paid more for an actual tow), the door to my car closed and locked with the key in the ignition and the car running! Well, 45 minutes later the driver was able to break in through the driver side door, causing scratches and pulling apart some of the rubber insulation. I drove the car home and left it for Monday morning, when, wouldn't you know it, the key wouldn't go in.

I called 24-hour service and to Quirk Ford the car went. I asked them to fix the ignition, take care of the rear wheel bearings and seal installation (another recall of sorts), and give me an estimate on fixing the chipped paint and rubber that happened when the tow truck driver broke into my car. Now, I had to take a day off of work, unpaid, to spend literally hours on the phone with customer service and file a claim with Emergency Road Service to get the damage taken care of so that I don't have to pay for it. I asked Jay at Quirk to please make sure the estimate for the window get taken care of as Emergency Road Service Claims Center needed two estimates. He assured me it would get done. Well, it did not!

I left with my car today, in a hurry to make it to work. When I arrived at work, I realized that the estimate was not there. I called Jay. He informed me (after finally returning my phone call) that the guys in body repair didn't notice anything wrong. I am no mechanic and I can certainly see where the damage is. I feel as though I have been lied to. In fact, when I called the first time, I spoke to Walter who told me I had to go to a body shop for an estimate. So, then Jay told me he forgot to call me and ask me anything about where the damage is. Well, obviously. This is not the first time I have received such horrible service from Quirk. I feel completely taken advantage of. Now I have to go to another body shop, taking hours out of my day and losing pay, to go and get an estimate.

Theresa of Boston writes:
I leased a vehicle May 13th, 2000, picked up the truck on May 15th, 2000. Not even a week later the rear push-out windows were leaking. The truck went in for repairs. Picked up the truck few days later, still the same thing. Truck went back in. About a week later still the same thing, truck went in again for a few days. Picked it up it a few days later. Both sides are still leaking.

July 24th 2000 brought the truck in for an oil change, they are telling me now they think that there is a service bulliten stating the there is something with the drainage pipes on the roof and Dennis at Quirk would call me with the details. Still nothing.

July 27th, started raining. Family member moved the truck out of the driveway and told me that something needs to be done because the truck windows are pouring out water still. Quirk Ford still has not done a thing to contact me on this matter and I have sent papers on all of this mess to the Attorney Generals office and still nothing from them. I need some answers on what to do about this problem. I am getting nowhere with Quirk or the Attorney Generals office and the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport is still leaking.

The truck roof was saturated in water. The headliner in the truck was supposed to be replaced. Quirk told me there was no need, that they had sealed the leaks How could they have sealed anything fs the truck is still leaking? And things are getting damaged. Nothing was taken care of, the only thing that they (Quirk Ford) gave me was a headache.

Theresa should see a Lemon Law attorney.

Dennis of Reading, MA, writes:
After reading some of the real horror stories other consumers have endured, I feel somewhat foolish writing about my experience because it seems so trivial in comparison. That being said ... I purchased a 2000 Ford F-150 4x4 XLT in December of 1999. All sales brochures, dealer spec sheets, and internet web pages, including those web pages "Powered by Ford Motor Company", ALL state the XLT comes standard with carpeted floor mats. The only place I didn't see them as standard was in the vehicle I purchased.

I was told that Ford eliminated them as standard equipment. These documents and Web sites are tools used by the consumer to see what comes with the vehicle. My dealer tells me that since Ford changed the options packages, I should contact Ford. When I contacted Ford the first time, they told me they don't intervene on sales issues with dealers and I should try to resolve it with the dealership. After another go-around with Quirk, I sent another note off to Ford expalining to them how disappointed I was at not receiving the mats.

Here's their response:

"Thank you for your message of 02/23/00 regarding your 2000 Ford F-150. We appreciate the time you have taken to write us regarding the floor mats for your vehicle. As previously communicated to you on 02/22/00, we feel that every consideration has been given to this matter and was appropriately addressed in our prior response. If any additional information regarding this matter should become available in the future, we would appreciate you letting us know.

This will be our last written communication to you on this concern, however, if you would like to discuss this matter any further, please contact us directly at our Customer Assistance Center (800) 392-3673. Mr. McC, we encourage and welcome you to communicate with us again via e-mail should you have a different issue or inquiry. At Ford Motor Company, we consider the satisfaction of our customers as one of our most important objectives. If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them. Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company.

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