MyFord Capped Price Servicing Goes Lifetime, Dealers Tuning Customer Focus

Ford Australia has fired another shot in the ongoing battle for the best capped-price servicing program, just months after its last change.

Earlier this year, Ford revealed it would extend its MyFord program from a six-year/105,000km deal to a new seven-year/135,000km scheme

That update also brought additional coverage for brake pads, capping the price on new pads and rotor machining.

Now, Ford has extended its capped price servicing offer for the lifetime of the vehicle: for 'life', regardless of ownership changes over that lifetime.

The program will again include a 12 month membership with the relevant state’s auto club, including NRMA, RACV, RACT, RACQ, RAA, RAC WA and AANT.

This latest announcement follows a shock result for Ford in this year’s J.D. Power Customer Service Index, which saw the carmaker slip below the industry average for after-sales servicing satisfaction.

It should be noted however that Ford’s score had actually improved in 2014 by two points; but with the industry average for customer satisfaction improving by seven points, Ford landed on the wrong side of the line.

MORE: MyFord Ups Deal To Seven Years, 135,000km
MORE: Satisfaction: Mazda On Top, Ford Slips

Ford Dealers Innovating To Impress

Ford has also revealed this week that its Australian dealer network will embrace new technologies and customer service techniques to improve the shopping experience and win more buyers to the blue oval.

More than 20 dealers in Melbourne and Sydney have completed a ‘Dealerships of the Future’ pilot program in 2014, and Ford says it will have transformed 80 showrooms by the end of 2015.

“Ford’s new vehicles are widely being credited for competing with the best products in the world,” Ford Australia boss Bob Graziano said this week.

“We now are taking a similar approach to innovating and transforming our dealerships to make it easier to buy and service these great vehicles.”