Right car peeps, I know a girl with a garage problem...

[MD]

ok I thought I would ask you all what should happen next, that is, before I call 'Ford Customer Relations' and 'ave it.

Basically a girl I know bought a second hand 1.6i Ford Focus Automatic on an X plate approx 6 months ago, direct from a dealer.

The car came with a titchy 3 month warranty and has been back in the garage multiple time for various things, except there has been one major problem, the Automatic Box hoses keep coming off and as a result the dash lightsup like a christmas tree frequently, now apparently this is a known fault on Focus's and the last owner even went as far as replacing all the hoses to stop the problem. The problem is it didn't.

Now the car has a major problem and the same garage who supplied the car have told her that it requires a new gearbox. (£2,000 inc labour) The times this had been into the garage under warranty were not seemingly documented correctly, and whilst the garage is not denying it came in for this problem when under warranty, they are now telling this girl that the warranty company know nothing of the problem so would not pay for it anyway.

The way I see it, the fact the warranty company don't know is neither here nor there, that was the garage's responsibility to inform them after all. The garage manager is being rude and not even allowing this girl the opportunity to speak to him and not only that, for the first time they explained the work they had done when she walked in with a bloke from work who had given her a lift to the garage to collect her car. Personally that strikes me as extremely sexist and i feel like going down the garage on Saturday and kicking off.

I am advising the girl to go straight to Ford Customer Relations and deal with it with them and explain that you feel the garage is as much use as a chocolate fireguard. At the same time i have said she may have to pay for some of it at a push, but I would go for no more than 50% and get the labour free.

Thoughts peeps? Need your advice before I go down there and kick off and then burn the ears of some poor person at Ford CR.

Cheers peeps

[Rave]

If the car was sold with a faulty gearbox, it wasn't fit for the purpose it was sold for and she has a right to reject it under the sale of goods act. Just tell them that either they fix it or she sues them for the full value of the car.

[MD]

The think is they have been sticking these pipes back on for seemingly months, and the previous owner docs would prove this, are the garage legally obliged to provide me with a complete histroy of servicing as per thier stored records?

m@

[5lab]

if its just sticking the pipes back on, has this actually got anything to do with the failure of the auto box? if yes, then she may have a case, otherwise (if its unrelated) she can ask for a courtesy payment, but she's not entitled to anything

sale of goods act doesnt apply to a second hand item breaking 6 months after it was purchased - you have to proove the fault was there when purchased.

can probably get an autobox cheaper 2nd hand from a breaker

[MD]

well basically, the pipes have come off again now, and that is when the garage turned round and said, nope, needs a new gear box, and they came to this conclusion after trying to put the pipes back on, so me thinks they know its as a consequence of thier negligence.

im tempted to go in the dealership on saturday when people are in there to buy a car, stand in the middle of the dealership and kick off big style, the thing that gets me most of all is the fact thier attitude changed totally when she wasn't in there on her own to collect her car....

m@

[5lab]

in which case (imo, which isnt law, but i've a rough idea) she can claim that they didnt properly fix the problem last time she took it in under warentee

first off i'd get her to check with a local independant thou, and get a quote - if they recon its just putting the pipes back on, then get em to do it (and put some clips on at the same time) and save a world of hassle

[Nox]

Make sure its busy if you do go in.

Nox

[Fox]

I don't see how Ford customer relations can help. The car was not bought from a Ford franchised dealer - they offer a 1 year warranty IIRC and not just 3 months - and as a result it's no more Fords problem that it would be Microsofts problem if you bought an Xbox on Ebay..

[MD]

I was bought from a ford dealership.....

m@

[5lab]

yeah car manufacturers often give 'goodwill payments' if stuff like this happens..

[TiG]

regardless of the situation, i'd say ford's service to her has been very poor indeed, regardless of the mechanics of what has gone on, i'd be straight onto ford customer relations, complaining about the garage, the manager, the quality of service and talk about writing into the papers about how unhappy you are.

Sound mad but not shouting. Customer relations for car companies usually have a budget for sorting out these situations. Make use of it and get it sorted, but don't settle for anything less that it being sorted free of charge.

Explain the situation in full, and definitely in writing. Make it official, people can't ignore things like that.

TiG

[MD]

Another quality post from you there dew1911....

As for this problem, I told her to contact the garage to get the full details of the car from the point of purchase till now, they refused (interesting!) to give her any info prior to when she bought it.

I told her to say she would write to Paul Thomas the MD of Ford uk and voila, one pair of underpants filled and the documents being sourced today....

m@

[Fox]

She bought an approved used Ford and only got a 3 month warranty? Huh?

Don’t rely on luck when buying a used car. Instead trust Ford to offer the best possible package. All Ford Direct cars are prepared to Ford standards, inspected by RAC, come with a two year unlimited mileage warranty and two years RAC Roadside Assistance.

I'm sure its a similar thing with the dealers. Our local certainly offers a 12 month warranty at least infact by law, the dealer has to prove any faults within 6 months were not there at time of purchase anyway?

This does seem awfully odd.

[Skii]

Agreed. As shocking as Ford Dealer service is, I've never known a Ford dealership to sell a used car with a 3 month warranty.

[Rave]

sale of goods act doesnt apply to a second hand item breaking 6 months after it was purchased - you have to proove the fault was there when purchased.

Wrong- the goods have to be fit for the purpose for which they were sold, which with a car is driving about. A car with a gearbox which breaks after six months (having caused a lot of hassle up until that point) is not fit for this purpose unless the garage explicitly told her it was a disposable car with a six month lifespan.

[5lab]

thats simply not true. if i brought a £100 banger from a dealer, even if they didnt explicitly say 'its disposable', if the hg went after 5 months i wouldnt expect a penny back. if the fault was not present when the car was sold, they only have to warentee it for as long as they say. if you want longer cover, buy a longer warentee. simple as that. the law is VERY different for new products (where you could legitamately claim) to old products.