Picked up the van yesterday. It looks good, the carpet is spotless. They covered the transfer case removal, and the total bill was around $250- $100 deductible and $130 oil change (something I normally wouldn't have paid the dealership for
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The original service manager said two things that continue to bother me. The first is that with my particular oil leak they could have fixed it either way- engine removal or pulling the transmission. My original suspicion was that they were going to charge Ford for and engine removal but pull the transmission, and that when I called to request additional top engine services it gave light to their little service lie. His offhand explanation after the fact supported that theory.
The other thing is that when pressed about the "service misunderstanding" about Dwayne trying to charge me $440 out of the blue was that they had to call Ford and get approval. Of course what actually happened is Dwayne insisted access time didn't apply right up until I said, "Manager please." and within 3 minutes it was all cleared up. There is no way they called or received an answer in that time, and even if they had been waiting then there was no reason for Dwayne to be adamant that I had to pay.
Frankly I'm looking forward to the end of my warranty. Every warranty service I've ever had has involved some form of chicanery, some level of "we'll just say whatever to placate the customer at this moment." Whether they fix it or not, I don't see why they can't just be straight about the service.