Ford garage- Result
 

My girlfriend has always taken her Ford Focus to the local main dealer. They know she is a single woman and has always thought they were going out of their way to help her. She was even paying monthly for a Ford service plan.

Three weeks back the car developed a misfire and the engine light came on. She took the car to the main dealer on a Friday and they had it for the weekend. They rang her and said the problem would be fixed by Monday and also that the car had a slight coolant leak from the thermostat housing which they could fix for £400.She declined the extra work.
On Monday she picked the car up..along with a bill for £264.
She drove to work and found the car was still misfiring, rang the Ford garage and was told to drive it for a few days and see if it got better. (Obviously cars fix themselves:mad:)

Now the work Ford said they had done was to fit new spark plugs, they also said the car had a coolant leak from cylinder head core plugs which they had fixed and also that bolts under the cam cover had sheared due to the coolant leak.

I thought this sounded suspicious so I took the car to a friend of mine who runs his own garage.

Surprise!!

He said the only new part he could find fitted to the car was a jubilee clip on a hose. He also gave me the spark plugs he removed which he said looked like they had several thousand miles of wear including cracked enamel.Car now runs perfectly... total cost £40
Also he pressure tested the coolant system and said there is no leak so no need for a thermostat housing which Ford quoted £400 to do.

I went in to ford who initially said all work had definitely been done. But I then showed them the spark plugs that had been removed. They said they would speak to the technician who of course said all new parts had been fitted. After then coming out to look at car and check the new spark plugs that had been fitted they eventually agreed that the spark plugs 'may not have been changed' and offered to refund the cost of spark plugs to my girlfriend.
I refused and said they could refund the whole £264 or I would take the case to trading standards.

Yesterday Ford refunded the full £264.:D

So don't trust main dealers to do work.

Rant over.

I hate that, glad u got a refund, well done! :)

I have worked in the car trade, it amazes me how some of the rogue garages operate,the last one I worked for went out of business, I was a happy man when I heard.

Pedestal or Gallows?
 

That's the key - If you can't do the work yourself - finding someone you can trust. Those peole who offer their services through this forum very publicly place their reputations on the line and have my utmost respect.:bowdown:
In this case what makes it all the more galling is the amount being charged for labour when in fact nothing was done.:mad: To my mind they should be done for fraud.:mad::mad::mad: Main dealer garage prices must be what, £50 per hour?

Some main dealer labour prices are £80 & above plus VAT & have been for some years.

£50 per hour including VAT is about right now for a lot of places (as said, main dealers are more)

I've been in the motor trade now for 40yrs & have had many arguments with dealerships over work charged for but not carried out & parts fitted that were not required.

I've always said that main dealers are the biggest crooks out there & that has never changed & probably never will.

With reference to the dealership in the original post, I would still persue it even though you have had a refund..............what about the next person who gets ripped off there ?

Blimey!

I think some of you need to ring some Main Dealers and ask there Labour rate!

When I last worked for BMW, their labour rate was already £100+vat and that was 6 years ago!

I Took A Wrong Turning !
 

Wow! I had no idea! Almost up there with call-girls, medical consultants and ....and...........solicitors!
Makes the apparent altruism of some club members even more heroic.:bowdown::bowdown:
Wish I'd had better career guidance at school.

Yes that is correct, the BMW rates charged 2 years ago was £100 + VAT / hour!! Thankfully I wasn't paying it.

I'm probably the minority here but I find 'don't trust' and 'crooks' quite offensive! Surely a main dealer is the place to go for up to date info as it would be straight from the manufacturer regarding updates and recalls. Main dealers have to meet standards set by the manufacturer which includes training. Not all main dealers are the same and there are some very good ones out there, you could always try here http://www.automotivetechnician.org....sts/index.html

Landrover are approx £100 an hour labour. I am on the Evoque forum & quotes vary for the 1st service (oil change) from approx £280 to £450. :(