Heritage Ford of Vernal, Inc. — Attraction in Vernal

Update 11/27/2024: Extremely disappointed in the ineptitude of the staff. I called and made an appointment for a 2014 Edge to get an oil change and software update (was told it needed one from the previous owner).

When I arrived to drop the car off, the lady pulled up the order sheet and asked the guy working next to her if it was just for an oil change, to which he said yes. I corrected them that it was not just for an oil change but also for a software update as well. The lady informed me this would cost an extra $150, I agreed.

When she provided the paper for me to verify my info I noticed that the vehicle information shown was incorrect. I let her know this and she scribbled out the incorrect vehicle info and made a note on the sheet.

I called several hours later to check on the status of the vehicle and was told it was done, so I went down to pick it up. When I arrived and was able to speak to one of the employees, they provided another paper for payment and I again noticed that the vehicle information was incorrect.

Additionally, on their big screen TV in the office was a list of all the different vehicles and the service results listed and my vehicle was not listed correctly there either.

When the lady asked for the payment, I questioned the amount since she told me it would be another $150 for the software update but the bill was only about half that. The guy then informed me that there "was no update", which I am now questioning the validity of since they showed incorrect vehicle information across the board on all my paperwork.

I scribbled out the incorrect vehicle information on the form and wrote in the correct year and model, but again asked if I should be concerned about the oil change I got since clearly the vehicle information is wrong, the guy said "it shouldn't matter since it should take the same kind".

This level of unprofessionalism is unacceptable from the DEALERSHIP! I am not sure if my vehicle was even serviced properly since they have incorrect vehicle information listed on every piece of the work they did on this car and I'm really questioning if I should take it in to a different shop to double check the work that was done and seriously contemplating if I will ever give my business to this location again.

Do better Heritage Ford Vernal.

Original Review: Needed to have my 2003 Escape looked at since I had noticed a squeaking sound and smelled rubber coming from the belt area recently. I also needed to get my brakes looked at since a different place in town I had them done at last year had installed them incorrectly and I wanted to be sure that they had been fixed appropriately. We were able to get in on Saturday morning which works perfectly for our schedule and within an hour and a half we had a resolution with the parts to replace the belt and tensioner arriving this week and the replacement scheduled for next weekend. The service was excellent, the price was more than fair, would definitely recommend anyone who needs service...

I needed my cam shaft position sensor and synchronizer replaced. I called around to some shops to get some estimates and make sure I generally knew what I was getting into. Showalter gave me a price over the phone of $390, which was slightly higher than the other estimates I had received, but I felt good about using them. When I dropped the car off I made certain to tell them the price I was quoted and that was what I was expecting to pay. I told this to them twice. Of course they called me the next day and said it was going to cost me $675. They wouldn't budge on the new price and if I were to take my car somewhere else they would charge me $140 diagnostic fee.

If it really costs $675 for the work that's fine, but they should have told me when I dropped the car off that they were not going to honor the over the phone estimate. I clearly told them twice the price I was quoted and they never indicated that it would be different. I had the understanding that we were in agreement on the price.

It smells like a typical mechanic tactic. The price is always low until they get your car into the shop and then the price always seems to skyrocket. I had another mechanic do the work for $360.

Update: A few years after the above experience I purchased a car from Showalter. It was the car I wanted and it was a fair deal, I can't complain about the price. During the purchase I asked about warranty coverage and was told the dealership does not offer a warranty on used vehicles. But the salesman went to great lengths to assure me that Showalter will always take good care of their customers and would provide small-town honesty and service. He told me repeatedly that if anything went wrong in the next thirty days that they would fix it and make it right. Well... I found out immediately that the battery wouldn't hold a charge. I called the salesman up and he gave me a hard time and didn't want to get me a new battery. Ultimately I convinced him to pay half.

It was a used car without a warranty, so it would have been fair to have me buy myself a new battery, but it doesn't feel good when the salesman made such an effort to convince me of the dealership's benevolence and goodness and then have them refuse to replace my battery.

Disappointed once again. When will I...

I've dealt with this dealership professionally for 16+ years. I've taken multiple company trucks there many times for services and repairs. The company I work for has an entire fleet of Ford trucks that have been serviced there. Lately, the service has been terrible. I scheduled my truck to be serviced on 7/15/24. I made arrangements to drop my truck off on 7/12 before I left for vacation. I returned from vacation on 7/22 and hadn't heard anything. I called in to see if it was finished, and they hadn't even looked at it. They forgot about it completely...Typically in that situation I would expect that it would come straight in and it would be a priority to finish. No. They said the next available appointment was the following Monday 7/26. S the truck stayed there another week before they started on it. Every day for the next week after they finally started on it. I called in to to check status and was told every time. "It will be done tomorrow." On Thursday, 8/1, they told me they were finishing up but if they didn't get it done, it would be Monday before I could pick it up as they were doing the asphalt in the parking lot and couldn't get it out of the building. They said they were staying late and would call and let me know if they had it finished. No call. Never a call. I go in this morning 8/5. It still isn't done. Now it's check back after lunch today...I planned this repair to be done while I was on vacation and I've now put over 1,100 miles on my personal vehicle because they didn't do my truck when it was scheduled and haven't had any sense of urgency to get it done yet. As I'm explaining all of this and the situation they've put me in. One of their executives, I believe he said CFO, was sitting right there and didn't seem to care at all. No apologies given whatsoever. I'm glad Heritage has a nice fancy new shop to sit empty once they drive all of their loyal customers away. FYI for anyone looking. I've heard that L&L Motor in Roosevelt will pick up your vehicle in Vernal and bring it back after repair. I've also heard most of the experienced techs from Ford went to Advanced Towing. I'm not affiliated with either but I will probably try both before I let my truck go back to Heritage...