Ford Warranty Say No! 2012 Fiesta Metal

Short-n-Sweet

Around 12 months ago my boyfriend and I went to ford and we were sold on a little black fiesta metal (limited edition that turns out not to be limited edition) we were given the charm and it all sounded fantastic so we decided to take it.

Then 11 months after this the car broke down - Oil everywhere. Luckily we could get it recovered under the warranty policy but this was just the beginning. The car was dropped off at the dealer we purchased it from Gowrings, Newbury. The car spent the first few days outside despite being told it was inside at one point we were told it was in the garage in bits when we were stood in the forecourt looking at it sat outside in the rain :rotfl:

Little did we know this was just one of many more lies that would continue threw out the whole process.

They stated from the start they would see if warranty would cover it but because it had not had is first service it was unlikely. (it is not a year old so not taken in for a service) they claim it needed one at 12,000 miles - we had no letter or service light and we never even got an owner manual with the car.

We were told that they had to contact warranty before carrying out work - this took around a week so then they got the OK to change an oil cooler. We then had another phone call to say this was fixed but it was not the problem and they had to take another look and contact warranty again.

We were then told the cylinder head is warped. :eek:

So then came alot more hassle - they stated the part they previously did, the oil cooler that they did it off their own back and did not contact warranty (funny as took a week for warranty to clear it apparently) :mad:

Warranty have said no! and they keep sticking to their guns blaming us for not having a service. We got fed up being spoken to like rubbish so contacted an independent mechanic / another ford dealer and were told to fight it - it is a mechanical fault and a service would not have helped or stopped this from happening.

After alot of stress, tears and worry they gave us 3 options. 1. They will carry out the work for around £2.5k and not charging as much labour then stressed very loudly how that way they will be making nothing on it!! (they shouldnt be making money of a car under a year old anyway) 2. We could part exchange the car in current condition and have a brand new something (so give them the car and cash..not a chance after this) or 3. Get a second opinion from an outside mechanic.

of Course we are at least getting a second opinion. The first option was their idea of the good will gesture. :rotfl:

They have had the car over a month now and this is causing so much stress, worry and upset for myself and my partner. We are shocked at how rude everyone has been - GowringsFord in Newbury they do not ring when they say they will they have hung up on us been rude, blamed us. Nobody has shown any compassion even when they think they are being nice they are patronising and rude.

So the warranty on a car less than 12 months old - useless. I am not sure what to do now - fight fight fight and have more stress and worry or roll over and say yes rinse me dry to get the car fixed. Should I seek further legal advice? :(:(

LandyAndy

How many miles has it actually done without being serviced?

Stooby2

Go direct to Ford, it sounds like the dealer is messing you around and may have messed up the warranty at their end. I had similar problems years ago with a Land Rover dealer, until I rang Land Rover and spent half an hour on the phone to their customer services.

http://www.ford.co.uk/Footer/ContactUs

diesel_dog

Sorry to read about your woe's.

What was the mileage on the car when it broke down? I can't see how servicing it dead on 12k miles would of prevented the damage that they've now reported. If you look at service schedules that will show what is changed. I doubt a cyclinder head and oil cooler are parts that need replacing.

I would fight it even though it sounds that at this stage, there trying to blame you. If it was a four/five year old car that's never had the bonnet lifted, then yeah, you could expect some problems.

Google and join up to a few UK Ford forum websites, like passionford, etc and get there advice, as quite a few people on those kind of websites work for main dealers and will know if there is a problem.

How have you left it with them? I for one would not be parting with a single penny for any repairs on a less than one year old car! They supplied a car not fit for it's purpose and they can either rectify the problem in a timely manner or issue a refund.

Also, if the car is on finance, then contact the finance company to state you are having problems with the garage as the car is not road worthy. Just a thought ....

LandyAndy

You didn't get an owner's manual with a brand new car?

And you didn't go back and ask for one?

Short-n-Sweet

The car has done around 18,000 I assumed i would have got a letter or that a brand new car would be due one after a year (naive i know) I am not the most clued up person when it comes to cars. I was not given an owners manual! no - I was told it would be sent to me I did chase it up alot at first but only since this have I realised actually I never got one. The person who sold me the car no longer works there.

One week I was told "How do we know you did not turn the service light off, it is not exactly hard!" then a week later when I mentioned again about a service light I had a rather rude person tell me "Well your car does not even have a service light!!" so all abit confused.

Today is the day an outside mechanic has a look so fingers crossed I can get some answers. I also feel the car has been damaged further in their care. Cannot prove this so await the mechanics report and see if it matches with stories been told so far and do AA keep reports when recovering a car? Sadly the car is not on finance. It was when I first bought it but then paid it off about a week before the car broke

chieffy72

The mileage is going to be an important factor here,no point in people offering advice until the mileage is known. If you've done 20,30 or 40,000 miles you probably ain't got a leg to stand on. If you've only gone slightly over the 12,500 you might have a chance.
By the sound of things the dealer hasn't exactly covered themselves in glory but at the end of the day they don't carry out warranty work for free,it's paid for by the manufacturer,if the manufacturer won't pay then the customer has to. Do you know of any other business or trade who would carry out hours worth of work for you without getting paid?

First thing to do is report your concerns to the Ford Customer relations centre on 0845 841 1111,they're not a fat lot of good so don't expect miracles but at least it creates a contact chain between you,the manufacturer and the dealer which should help you get a little bit further on that you are at present.

chieffy72

Sorry,was posting at the same time as you re the mileage,think you might struggle but still would advise getting in touch with Ford CRC.

LandyAndy

I think with a mileage of 18k you are going to struggle.

The onus really is on you to know how to look after a piece of machinery you have spent many thousands of pounds on.

The dealer may well have written to you at 12 months with a service reminder. However they cannot be expected to know you are doing rather more than the average mileage.

chieffy72

LandyAndy wrote: »

I think with a mileage of 18k you are going to struggle.

The onus really is on you to know how to look after a piece of machinery you have spent many thousands of pounds on.

The dealer may well have written to you at 12 months with a service reminder. However they cannot be expected to know you are doing rather more than the average mileage.

Good point!

Short-n-Sweet

Least I learnt now the hard way that all cars need servicing at 12,000 miles. I think I got confused because other people I know state at 20,000 the oil is checked regularly and all that sort of thing my boyfriend is rather anal about keeping an eye on the cars. There was no warning or sign the car was about to spit oil everywhere. Thanks for your advice everyone.