Ford service then engine stopped - help

James_Caster

Hi,

I have a Ford Fiesta which is two years old next month. I took the car in to the Ford Dealer I bought it from for it's 2nd year year service on Friday 21st December 2012 - this cost me £200. On Thursday 27th December 2012 the car decided to stop working and I had to be towed home by the AA (9 hours in total). I took the car back to the same Ford Dealer the next day who said they would look at it can call me (they refused to give me a courtesy car although I had the AA notes). The Ford dealer then called me and said the car would need a new engine.....! I have now been informed that the new engine shall be covered by Ford warranty (which is good news) but shall take two weeks....!

In short, the Ford dealers head mechanic told me that this was caused due to a problem with the spark plug (which I believe his team took out/changed). I believe this is the fault of the Ford dealer and I should be compensated.

Has anyone else been in this situation before?

Does anyone know if this will effect by warranty in the future?
Should I ask for a new car as I am effectively buying the car on HP (i.e. paying £175 pcm and then a balloon payment of £3,200 at the end of three years or I could walk away).

Thanks.

forgotmyname

You can ask for anything you like, What about a free world cruise to somewhere tropical?

It broke down they are fixing it for free. Have it cost you any money so far? Out of pocket?
They are fitting a new engine so you will be in a better position than before you started.

Not many 2 yeard old cars with zero miles on the engine. Keep the paperwork for that. Good selling point.

After you have paid half the HP and the cars fixed you can VT it.


Compensation is to cover your losses. What have you lost? Your gaining a brand new engine.

sarahg1969

Are they going to provide a replacement vehicle for you?

Last year, my car had to have a new engine, which was replaced under warranty. My car was almost 6 years old at the time. I requested a replacement vehicle on numerous occasions, but this was refused. I therefore had to hire a car myself for almost 3 weeks (at great expense, as we had to take it on holiday to Europe). I then had to reclaim the costs through the courts and was successful.

If they won't provide a replacement vehicle or funds for one, and you need to get one yourself, then you will need some evidence that the fault for the damage lies with them, and that they are responsible for any additional outlay you may have.

ETA: Is a replacement engine a selling point? I was under the impression (certainly in my case) that the car was less saleable. I'd certainly be somewhat wary of a car that had had to have a new engine.

forgotmyname

Well to me i would see a brand new engine as a bonus. Knowing that if i look after it then it will do 200,000+ trouble free miles.

But as i said a while back i will travel hundreds of miles to buy the right car.
Maybe its just me.

redux

James_Caster wrote: »

[...]

The Ford dealer then called me and said the car would need a new engine.....! I have now been informed that the new engine shall be covered by Ford warranty (which is good news) but shall take two weeks....!

In short, the Ford dealers head mechanic told me that this was caused due to a problem with the spark plug (which I believe his team took out/changed). I believe this is the fault of the Ford dealer and I should be compensated.

What do you mean by compensation? A party has to make good the cost of damage, not add more on top.

You're getting a new engine with no argument at all. If that isn't assuming responsibility for resolving things easily I don't know what is.

You could ask about a courtesy car to use while yours is in work, but they've probably already thought of that.

But a new car, or thousands of pounds of money as well? I don't think so. That new engine is effectively bettering its value anyway, and I can't see what else you might hope for.

opinions4u

In short, the Ford dealers head mechanic told me that this was caused due to a problem with the spark plug (which I believe his team took out/changed). I believe this is the fault of the Ford dealer and I should be compensated.

Get clarity on what caused the problem. If it is something done incorrectly as part of the service I'd expect the dealer to provide a courtesy car. If not, I'd be hassling Ford UK.

I had a similar experience with a Focus. They put the wrong spark plugs in as part of a service, a tiny bit of one melted and my car lost power. RAC man provided a fair bit of support.

The dealer provided a courtesy car within 24 hours, took a week to fix the problem and gave a large discount off the next service. I sold the car before I got that far though.

I'd suggest telling them that you will hire a car an expect them to pay for it in full if they continue to refuse a courtesy car. The small claims court will almost certainly be your friend if it needs to get that far.

Alias_Omega

If not a loan car, a car off the forecourt.

I have had this with Renault before, no loan car so the sales manager took one from the sales yard and loaned it to me. I've also had the sales managers own company car.

If they can't provide, then go with a like-for-like hire car and claim it back from them.


Also, the fault...

Check the service for the car at 2 years. I bet its just Oil/Oil Filter/Air Filter/Pollen Filter and a visual check. It probably does not need spark plugs until the 60,000-72,000mile mark, so i doubt that they would check/remove them.