Gearbox Failed on Ford Focus should Ford pay?

CasualBagger

There are quite a lot of comments on here talking about warranties and how the manufacturer isn't liable if it is out of warranty which is just not necessarily true at all.  

If I manufacture a car and sell it for £20k and offer a 1 day warranty, I can guarantee I would easily be forced to provide a replacement car under consumer law if it disintegrates on day 2... 

Jack_Cork

Because, that apart, it could well simply be clutch. Even if the drainplug looks like a christmas tree, that could be simple ham-footedness in the face of a failing clutch.

If you get that much debris on the drain plug then it will be in the bearings and likely to cause spalling and finally bearing collapse. If large enough the debris can cause macro pitting on the gears, all of which would mean early failure. You could see all this with an endoscope

AdrianC

CasualBagger said:

Because the UK Consumer Rights Act states that products must be of satisfactory quality. 

Six months after purchase, the burden is on the purchaser to prove the fault was present at the time of purchase. That was 3.5yrs and 45k miles ago. Some duff gearbox, to have made 5yrs and 83k from new before failing.

Also, the rights are against the vendor, not the manufacturer. The car was bought from an independent dealer, who just happen to have a franchise arrangement with Ford.

John_

MrNiceGuy_007 said:

Hello,I
About 3 and a half years ago my partner bought a Ford Focus 2015 1.6TDCi with 38k on the clock from a Ford dealership (5 year HP).
Two days ago the gearbox failed at 83k miles and now its costing £1780 for a Recon gearbox, Clutch and Flywheel.
I paid (not partner) the finance off earlier using a 0% credit card last year to save money on the interest rate.
What are my/her rights? 
Thanks

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer one will be appointed for you.

Grumpy_chap

You did over 40k miles in over 3 years so suggest your likelihood of getting anything off Ford is zero or lower.

You can always ask as you have nothing to lose.

If you end up paying yourself, probably not worth paying main dealer service rates.

fred246

If you have your car serviced at the main dealer they will always pay for all subsequent repairs. It's called goodwill.

Carrot007

MinuteNoodles said:

Clutch might have been on its way out anyway at 83k as anywhere from 70k onwards is where they can go depending on what kind of driving you do, the more urban driving the lower mileage you'll get from a clutch.

I too like pulling figures ouit of the ether ;-)

A clutch can go at a week for a new car and a few hundresd miles. And also be completely the drivers fauly.

I also had a car to 160K on the original clutch and it was fine. (other things caused it's demise).

This is why such things are called war and tear and mostly on the driver to proove if was not as it is entirely reasonable to assume they were at fault. (I have also killed a clutch at a relatively low milage, I knew where it occured, on a particularly bad hill with bad closed traffic lights and non working temporary ones. It was old though even with the low miles, so whatever).

TLDR. Mileage has nothing to do with clutch failure. It may last the life of the car. It may not. Manufacturing issues happen but are rare.

Mercdriver

CasualBagger said:

wongataa said:

Your options are paying for a replacement gearbox or getting rid of the car.  Why would anyone else be required to pay?

Because the UK Consumer Rights Act states that products must be of satisfactory quality. 

There is always a case to be made that the manufacturer is on the line for fixing something if it breaks too quickly - yes, even a Ford. 

It's not as simple as you suggest.  The OP would have to be able to convince a judge that 83k mileage would be unreasonably soon for a gearbox/clutch to go, and that's before you factor in the wear and tear factors inherent in clutch and gearbox.  After 3.5 years, there are two chances, zilch and zero.

cymruchris

It's always good to discuss and debate options - but in this case - I'm going to say an emphatic no. They shouldn't pay. Not on a car of that age and mileage. 

Grumpy_chap

fred246 said:

If you have your car serviced at the main dealer they will always pay for all subsequent repairs. It's called goodwill.

That is obviously untrue.