Y reg Focus Rust will it be covered by Ford?

[justinbarrow]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forum and decided to buy a y reg 2001 focus and it was a great deal but there seems to be rust forming on both front doors where the mirror housing meets the bodywork of each door.

I have been told that the focus has a bodywork warranty of 12 years and the car is a 2001 model so was a bit disapointed when i first saw this on each door.

Everything else is perfect, but my question is will ford repair this under the conditions of their 12 year anti corrosion warranty.

It looks like it is a manufacturing fault as water has been getting in under each front mirror and then causing the corosion.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice you can give me on this.

Justin.

[CHATTYKATHY]

You will need to check the service Portfolio booklet. For your car to be covered by the warranty the body and paint record must have been completed by a Ford authorised dealer. Good luck.

[SierraYankee99]

It is a known condition this one. Getting Ford to rectify it under the paint warranty is the hard bit. As stated, they will want to see a completed paint inspection part of your service book. Also, they will take into account the mileage of the car. My brother took his 51 plate saloon in as rust had started around the chrome boot strip, another well seen area for rust on the focus. They said as it had 100,000 miles on it they wont honour the warranty. Why? "Because the cars been on the road more than average sir and you know, with stone chips it might not be down to build error."

Upshot, if they can get out of fixing it, you can bet your bottom dollar they will!!!

[Whelk8891]

My 2001 Focus has rust along the top of the chrome boot handle - a common fault that Ford know about.

I took it to two local Ford dealers - one refused to even look at it as "the guy who knows about it" wasn't there. Apparently Ringways in Doncaster have only one person working for them who knows what rust is. Polar in Barnsley said they wouldn't do it under warranty.

I rang Ford customer services, hoping that the fact that A) its a common and known problem, and B) This is my 5th Ford and I've only ever owned 7 cars so I expected a little something for my loyalty. What I actually got was a polite "f**k off".

This is the last Ford I'll buy. 12 year corrosion warranty, my !Removed!!

[saluja123]

But have a look at extensive list of exculsions. Many items are not covered beyond 12m. My 14m old fiesta, with 14k miles, needs new front brake discs / re-alignment of front wheels which has caused excessive wear, with tyres needing replacement by about 20k...... Total bill around £300.

[mcouchard]

You have to have all you body check stamps upto date I have the same problem on a 5 year old car Ford's just rust thats all there is to it the metal is cheap and the paint finish poor I also have rust along the bottom door seal water has got in behing the metal crease, at 5 years old. With the mechanical problems I have had with mine I won't but another Ford again either.

[artscot79]

You have to have all you body check stamps upto date I have the same problem on a 5 year old car Ford's just rust thats all there is to it the metal is cheap and the paint finish poor I also have rust along the bottom door seal water has got in behing the metal crease, at 5 years old. With the mechanical problems I have had with mine I won't but another Ford again either.

if you remove both of these youll see why the rust forms the mirror bases have no sealing gasket around the edge most cars do the ford doesnt so the rain runs down inside and sits covered up an easy fix is to remove them and buy a flexible sealant and add a 6mm bead all the way round then refit a clear sealant is best this prevents the water ingress just dry it out thoroughly before refitting same with the boot strip as well it will prevent the water getting in with it off its best to apply vclear waxoyl before refitting the strip to protect the metal