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..... · 7th November 2012, 05:03

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

)

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.

So don't trust main dealers to do work.

Rant over.

7th November 2012, 05:03	#1
..... Loves to post Black ROVER 75 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Somewhere Posts: 339 Thanks: 5 Thanked 17 Times in 7 Posts	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) 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. So don't trust main dealers to do work. Rant over. Last edited by .....; 7th November 2012 at 05:29..