Ford focus problems

Kantankrus_Mare

Not sure if this is in right place but here goes

My parents bought a ford Focus Ghia 2ltr Diesel top range car 8 months ago. for £12,000.
The car was a year old when bought.

They have had nothing but problems with it and have had to take it back to the garage 6 times. :eek:

Apparently one of the valves keeps carboning up

They have now had enough and asked garage for a replacement.

Garage is trying to fob them off with a petrol car worth £10,000 which obviously they are not happy with.

Are they within their rights to demand their money back? Or do they have to accept a replacement of less value?

Mother is ringing Trading standards at this moment but any advice would be gratefully received.

myrnahaz

It may be worth speaking to Trading Standards, but in my experience they'll take into account the fact that your parents have already had 8 months use out of the car and they'll have to pay for this - your parents will either have to take a cheaper car or pay the difference between theirs and a suitable replacement.
We had a similar problem with a brand new Landrover Defender some years ago. It leaked so badly that the footwells used to have 1/2 an inch deep puddles every time it rained, and after several failed attempts by the dealer to repair the leaks (one involving dismantling and rebuilding it!!) we said enough was enough and asked for a replacement. However, about 6 months had passed by this time and, even though it was faulty from day one, and LR agreed that they couldn't fix it - they said we had to pay £3,000 towards the cost of a replacement! Trading Standards said that they were entitled to do this but I argued hard with the LR Dealer (after all, we hadn't insisted on a new one from the off - we agreed to allow them to try and fix it, so it wasn't our fault that all that time had passed) and eventually they agreed to split it between me, the dealership and Landrover, so we paid £1,000.

PS - the new Land Rover leaked as well, but DH cured it himself by drilling holes in the door channels - it worked a treat!

FRISKYVENUS7963

Id like to know your outcome as i bought a brand new ford focus sport less than 2 years ago and it has broken twice in the last 6 months,

1st time it needed a new fuel pump and 2nd timd was something to do with a fuel blockage!

John grosse wouldnt give me a courstsey car as they thought i had put petrol in my diseal car, which i hadnt but they had the car for 15 days before finding the problem out which meant i was with out a car for 2 weeks and with 2 small children it was a nightmare as it meant we couldnt do our normal weekly routines

Kantankrus_Mare

yes Frisky will keep you informed.

My parents were also not offered a courtesy car which I think is disgusting and my mother has had to ring in sick as she relies on her car to enable her to do her job as a carer in peoples homes.

Ive offered the use of my trusty old corsa which my father keeps saying won't get through its next MOT :rotfl: (Fingers crossed it will) but its there if she needs it.

Tallymanjohn

Personally I'd keep on at the garage to get the problem fixed - as the car's still under Ford warranty then it shouldn't be a problem. Low mileage diesel versions are like gold-dust and are well worth hanging on to for their long-term resale value, even with faults. Definitely don't accept the petrol version unless there's a good cash deal involved as well.

We're on our third Focus diesel now, the latest one, an '06 plate has probably had more faults than previous models - mainly computer-related - but we'll still stick with it because we know we won't have a problem selling in the long term.