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focusowner1
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Two things would be on my mind, firstly, how old is the engine how many miles has it done, has THAT engine had its timing belt changed and if so when. If we assume for a second they totally wrecked your old engine and just replaced it, we would need to know about that new one, if its done a 200,000 miles and the belt is on its last legs and it goes off then who exactly is to blame, you hav no proof they swapped the engine over.

If they are saying the engine as only done what 60k, then great, but I want to see proof, if the VIN number is on that engine then you could probably find out.

The other thing on my mind would be insurance, right now its not exactly clear whats been done to it, you have receipts for work done but they don't mention the engine swap, I could see you coming unstuck if something were to happen

See if you can find that VIN number, at the very least it will put your mind at ease or it may give you ammunition for your Monday meeting!

The engine would have an engine number which is on the V5 engine section. The cost of new engine is around £300 so it seams there is no logical reason to spend £300 to avoid spending £75 and further not charge you for it.

An incorrectly fitted timing could easily trash an engine, so the odds are that is what has happen. If that is the case he has done the right thing by replacing the damage he has done. The question is has he done a good job and is the replacement any good. Well he is no going to tell you the truth so you need to get another garage to inspect the car and see what they think.

Without knowing more it hard to advise further

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Many apologies for not updating yet.. Baby has been unwell been very busy...

Update to come hopefully later!

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They fixed the oil leak.

Asked for donor car details etc.

They 'wrote' out a note, I'llcopy the note here later.

Still not got donor cars full details... Sorry guys will update properly asap

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ok apologies for late update.

They found oil leak behind the oil filter. they replacedd the filter and fixed that.

I had requested all info on donor car and reasons WHY they changed the engine, all written down , not just spoken to me.

I was handed a hand written note.

I'll copy the exact wording here:

on replacing the timing belt we found the water pump was leaking from gasket and also from thermostat housing. removed water pump and on the rear of pumpthere are 8 fins 9veins0 and majority of them was missing broken off .t they were not visable in the water gallery meaning they are in the internal block of the engine. to remove them would entail stripping the block to bare minimum which would result in a bill for over £1000. the replacement engine came from a 2003 focus with rear end damage. the new engine has had full timing belt service and oil and filter from today. the milage of new engine is 43500 and has had all nesessary checks and is a problem free engine.

they have also written and messaged me and given a 6 month warrenty on all the work theyve done plus this engine.

they are yet to actualloy give me the reg of the donor car which i have requested again.

theyve suggested i DO inform the DVLA of engine change. they offered to do this for me if i brought the paperwork down to them. but im not letting them do it, id rather do it myself. i need the engine number to do this, and have requested they get it for me.

am awaiting this info.

they told me my engine was disposed of last friday.

they had the water pump there, i have brought this home with me. its in my boot.

i undrstand i can check previous MOTs once i have vin number etc to check the milage.

is there anything else i should do next?

they said they are goiong to get the info from the office for me...ill be messaging them again in the morning if ive notreceived a message from them by then...

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If the water pump was missing that many veins and fins you're old engine must have been overheating its not necessary to strip the engine you only have to remove the thermostat and housing disconnect top rad hose then flush through with a garden hose

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Disposed of the engine but kept the water pump, says it all!

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Your old engine is still owned by you, they had no right to dispose of it. If the fins were that bad your old engine would have been overheating badly and you would have noticed it. Story still doesn't add up

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Have you got the old water pump if so can you post a pic on here you will be able to tell if the damage to it is recent or old by looking at it old will be where the veins have come off wil be totally discoloured new will be all clean looking my suspicions are they have just got hold of an old water pump snapped the veins off and said there you go .

And think bout it what's in there apart from from water to snap all the veins off never come across one yet that has had one vein snapped never mind the lot .

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Yup, we don't believe a word they've said.

They think that by giving me a 6 months warranty on it, they're proving they've nothing to hide and I'll leave it go.

Yes I'll get a photo of the water pump on here for you all.

Still awaiting the donor car registration and engine no

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I have only just come across this thread. First of all, don't let the experience of a couple of helmets ruin the Ford brand for you, but as many have previously said they have been elusive with the truth somewhat, and it is dodgy as all hell. I can't tell you what I would have done, but it would have probably involved teeth and a torque wrench. In future though I would find an established mechanic with a excellent reputation, not a couple of start-ups. I appreciate that new people in a new business need customers, but a decent mechanic with a decent reputation isn't going to gamble with that.

Sent from my Gen 1 WAP phone

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The irony is if they had been up front and honest about things then its likely there wouldn't be much of an issue.

Facts are these, something went wrong and they swapped the engine out, you had a leak afterwards an they fixed it, charging you nothing more than originally quoted for the belt change?

IF that engine is as old as they said and IF its had its timing belt done, IF they swapped the gearbox then did they replaced the DMF and Clutch etc with similar life parts to your old one and IF it was all put back together properly than there isn't a problem as such, other than they are complete idiots and you need to get it checked over else where.

Thing is, how many of those 'IFs' can you cross off and are there any more IFs that should be on the list...

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I've taken pics of water pump, I'll post them when I get on laptop in a bit

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after much checking i was informed today by a ford dealer that the pump can strip fins but its completely unheard of to cause any damage and a cooling system flush is usually enough to suffice at most they replace the radiator to be sure no parts are blocking the radiator but as he said if it was that bad he can gaurantee you would have had the temp gauge hitting the red zone as only pressure would be pushing the coolant round the system

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https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7Kr0QsufeWSOTBSXzVYMWN3ZFE/edit?usp=docslist_api

Thank you very very much artscot79!!!

And here is the pic of water pump. I do have more but will have to post them through photo bucket on laptop later

This is simply is fake. when a water pump fins break it's due to corrosion, this simply has been hit with a hammer. The VIN number is on the engine along with the engine number you could take it ford dealer and ask them.

This is plain and simple fraud. I would be looking for compensation and would get legal advise.

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that blade has obviously been snapped its fresh as you can see from the light grey colour where its been broken that is not how a pump fin breaks off here is an example of how the pump commonly goes

post-8800-0-78506800-1427302589_thumb.jp

that looks like its deliberately been broken there is no way on earth that car would have run without over heating problems and since that wasnt happening the pump was clearly working when the car went in take that to any dealer and ask if they have ever seen damage like that i know what the answer is going to be strange they kept the pump but got rid of the engine ??????

looking at the picture the way the plastic sits on the break suggests its been broken towards you as in a screwdriver was placed between the blade and body and pulled till it snapped the problem you have is proving it trust me a dealer wouldnt charge you if you took it in and asked a mechanics opinion they will say what im going to say which is ive never on any car seen a pump break like that ever

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Love that pic artscot79!

Am definitely going to take this further. They still haven't provided donor car details either 😏😏😏

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looks like its exploded, catastrophically, id have thought you would have heard that go off like a bomb, but if the debris has "worn" it down why isn't that last fin damaged...

Looks dodgy to me

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Hi again. I haven't forgotten about this but any pointers I can offer with my limited knowledge depends on the opinion of those with some technical expertise.

It seems that many with such knowledge on here are outraged by what has occurred. It seems this reeks of negligence and certainly lacks the reasonable care and skill that they should have provided under the Supply of Goods and Services Act.

The issue now is how much you are out of pocket. Firstly, we need to consider how much you have paid for any repairs so far. Also, is the car now effectively a death trap? If so, you could argue that because of their actions, you are out of pocket to the price you actually paid for the car.

In addition to answering the above questions, please ensure you get a nice organised folder for your receipts and so on. (If you haven't already done so.)

It sounds to me like it is well worth a trip to a different garage (look up one that has great feedback), and ask them to do a thorough assessment and consider all the documentary evidence you have. This will cost money but it is worth it for any legal wranglings.

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Here is the wording from S.13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982: In a contract for the supply of a service where the supplier is acting in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill.

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After further digging on Lexis Library, I found S.76 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (just in case the car is now very much a deathtrap):

Fitting and supply of defective or unsuitable vehicle parts

(1) If any person—

a fits a vehicle part to a vehicle, or

b causes or permits a vehicle part to be fitted to a vehicle,

in such circumstances that the use of the vehicle on a road would, by reason of that part being fitted to the vehicle, [involve a danger of injury to any person or] constitute a contravention of or failure to comply with any of the construction and use requirements, he is guilty of an offence.

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A person guilty of such an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale

Which is £5,000

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Well, I'd also argue that the car has been totally devalued as nobody in their right mind is going to buy a car with non matching engine to the paperwork

That impeller has been broken with a screwdriver/lever/hammer this week. there is no evidence of wear or water ever touching the broken surface. That is clear evidence that fraud has taken place

They have effectively now stolen YOUR engine that you paid for without permission. Invalidating the V5 certificate and hence basically writing the car off. Their failure to provide any confirming details that the replacements are of better or similar quality means that they probably are lying through their teeth

Time to have a visit to the local nick for a discussion about this

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