Motoring

Motoring

We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Warranty rights

I am wondering if anyone can help me? My Ford Focus broke down 5 days out of warranty and turns out the timing belt snapped which means it requires a new engine. My car has only done 37000 miles and is only 3 years old so surely this is should not have happened and is a fault with the car. I have always bought my cars with Ford and had them serviced and MOTd in the dealership. Also it was only serviced in the dealership 3 weeks earlier. Is there anything I can do to encourage fords to pay for the replacement- sales of goods act or anything about my consumer rights? Or the fact that I am 5 days out of warranty do I loose all my rights. 
Thanks for any advice 
Jodie 

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
«1

Comments

  • Posts: 16,533 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I am wondering if anyone can help me? My Ford Focus broke down 5 days out of warranty and turns out the timing belt snapped which means it requires a new engine. My car has only done 37000 miles and is only 3 years old so surely this is should not have happened and is a fault with the car. I have always bought my cars with Ford and had them serviced and MOTd in the dealership. Also it was only serviced in the dealership 3 weeks earlier. Is there anything I can do to encourage fords to pay for the replacement- sales of goods act or anything about my consumer rights? Or the fact that I am 5 days out of warranty do I loose all my rights. 
    Thanks for any advice 
    Jodie 
    You may have "rights" under legislation for durability and expected product life.  That may mean a fight on your hands.

    Have you simply asked the local dealer / Ford head office in a friendly way first?  They may do the right thing.

    Is it correct that you bought the car brand new and always Ford serviced?
  • Posts: 1,348 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    As a former Ford Warranty Manager I would have contacted Ford on your behalf seeking assistance. I would have expected your dealer to do this automatically.

    You can contact Ford Motor Company by phone on 020 3564 4444 or email our Customer Relationship Centre at UKCRC1@ford.com.



  • Posts: 18,052 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
     Also it was only serviced in the dealership 3 weeks earlier. Is there anything I can do to encourage fords to pay for the replacement- sales of goods act or anything about my consumer rights? Or the fact that I am 5 days out of warranty do I loose all my rights. 
    Thanks for any advice 
    Jodie 
    Was the cambelt part of the service that was done? What mileage do Ford recommend changing the cambelt and was that done?
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
  • Posts: 2,268 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    jimjames said:
    Was the cambelt part of the service that was done? What mileage do Ford recommend changing the cambelt and was that done?
    "37000 miles and is only 3 years" surely that is comfortably inside any recommendation ? Surely we don't really need to check fords service interval on that one.
  • Posts: 18,052 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    caprikid1 said:
    "37000 miles and is only 3 years" surely that is comfortably inside any recommendation ? Surely we don't really need to check fords service interval on that one.
    You would think so but if the service recommendation was to replace it and the OP refused the option then it would be a different story. 
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
  • Posts: 22,570 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    jimjames said:
    You would think so but if the service recommendation was to replace it and the OP refused the option then it would be a different story. 
    I dont think there is any Ford Focus (or any normal car out there) requiring a timing belt every 3 years / 36,000 miles.

    The route here is to escalate through Ford themselves, as per the details Grey Critics comment above.
  • Posts: 1,348 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Depending on the particular circumstances in my time I have known Ford to authorise a new engine out of warranty. Timing/cam belts used to be 5 years/60,000 miles whichever came first.

    Personally from what you have said I think it highly likely that Ford would accept responsibility. I am surprised the dealer has not approached them on your behalf.
  • They have approached and stated that they would be happy to pay for 80% of the cost- surely this is excepting that the fault is there’s - I am going to meet with the dealership at this potentially leave me with £800 to pay. Maybe the dealership should pay something as they serviced the car 3 weeks prior and did not spot the problem?? 
  • Posts: 53,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They are not accepting liability at all. Any offer they make, from 1% to 100%, will be on a goodwill basis only, as you are out of warranty, and so there is no contractual liability, only your statutory rights under CRA 2015. 80% is not a bad first offer. Rather than blaming the dealer for something they could not possibly have foreseen, why not keep them onside and ask them if they can speak to Ford UK to improve their offer? If you can get them to 90%, then I'd consider that an acceptable result.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • Posts: 16,533 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    They have approached and stated that they would be happy to pay for 80% of the cost- surely this is excepting that the fault is there’s - I am going to meet with the dealership at this potentially leave me with £800 to pay. Maybe the dealership should pay something as they serviced the car 3 weeks prior and did not spot the problem?? 
    I do understand why you feel aggrieved on this.

    I suspect the failure was both sudden and catastrophic, so the service would not necessarily have noticed anything (particularly as this is not something the service necessarily requires to be looked at closely.

    If Ford have now said they'll meet 80% of the cost of the new engine, that is a big leap forward from yesterday.  Obviously, the residual bill of £800 is unwelcome.  You may be able to get Ford to move from that position further to your advantage.  They may even move to a "no cost" solution.

    However, it is also worth understanding exactly what Ford propose to do and whether that comprises any betterment.  Are they going to supply and fit a whole brand new factory-fresh boxed replacement engine, plus associated items?  If so, there is a large contingency of betterment.

    You might also want to request a temporary vehicle while yours is fixed - depends how long Ford say it will be and how much of that £800 you can negotiate away.  How much warranty will Ford give you now for the car going forwards?

    Unfortunately, with cars, parts do fail prematurely on occasion.  I previously had a 2007 Mondeo that I always had serviced at Ford and the cambelt failed within a couple of weeks of being replaced.  Faulty part or faulty install - who knows?  After a fair bit of negotiation, Ford eventually agreed to foot the bill for the repair. 
    I did not get a new engine fitted, though, they stripped down, re-bored and rebuilt the original engine in the car.  The job took a long time and the local Service Manager admitted that they were using the job as training for the Apprentice.  While I was glad to have avoided the enormous bill, I would probably have preferred to have paid £800 and simply had the new engine fitted for the peace-of-mind - I don't consider that modern engines with their very fine tolerances are made to be rebuilt so my confidence in the car was shot and I chopped it in (at Ford) straight away after I got it back.
    Writing this, I just thought I'd check the tax and MOT status and the car seems to be still going strong with a new owner from 2019, taxed for another year and MOT'd as recently as May.  Perhaps my lack of faith and concern was misplaced :neutral:

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
Meet your Ambassadors

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 347.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 239.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 615.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.1K Life & Family
  • 252.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.