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Car people put petrol in my diesel


richardc1983
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Well, this situation has got much more serious since it's been back in today for air con regas, washer bottle replacement and headlamp jets being fixed and clutch issue to be diagnosed. After arguing with them today as they took it on a test drive and couldn't find a fault with it. They had delight in telling me they had 4 technicians look at it and the senior. I drove the car for 2 miles in busy traffic that took half an hour crawling along. The car was juddering in first most the way which was concerning. I noticed that my range had gone to 160 miles when before it was 56 miles. 

Decided to call at my parents on the way. When I go back out to the car it wouldn't start, engine was just turning over. Tried ten mins later but in mean time speaking with AA and car people who were no use. AA come out it started for him which was strange. He asked what work had been done today by car people I told him, I also pointed out the increased range and fuel. Immediately he got a fuel funnel out and was sniffing the fuel tank with it, YES PETROL. The idiots have put petrol in my diesel on a car that is new to me. We don't know how long they have driven it whether before or after their test drive up the motorway. 

AA have now said not to drive it, car people salesmen when I rang up to tell them said "try get it running and drive it down and don't trust everything the AA says" absolute idiots. I'm now stranded in Wakefield when I live in Leeds and unable to get to work tomorrow for my site visits. I use my car for work. 

After reading the following link debating if should tell them I don't want the car. A lot now needs sorting. 

https://www.greenflag.com/breakdown-cover/misfuelling/what-happens

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I agree, sounds like it really isn't worth the time or hassle. It's cost you money and time already.

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What complete and utter retards!!  I would be putting in a serious complaint to them, as not only have they ruined the car but also caused you a major inconvenience.

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no way should you drive it with petrol in, ive seen quite a few diesels wreaked by misfueling and driving after. modern hp fuel pumps and injectors dont like petrol.

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I can't believe it how stupid and AA man said they had to have used a jerry can as you cannot get petrol nozzle into a diesel focus without force. 

Fuming dunno whether to get them to sort or walk away and ask for a refund which is unlikely. 

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It's easy to smell the petrol in the tank when it has been put in by mistake, if it was my car I would be persuing a refund. Yes they could drain the fuel out and change filter. Then refill with diesel and run fine, but for how long? Pumps and injector damage can happen and take a while to fail( could be days, weeks or months later)

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They will prob not replace the filter. The petrol is well inside the engine now. Not good, you can smell it it in the tank and in the fuel filter also. 

Dunno what to do will see what happens tmrw but I think your right. 

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So been down they said I could change the car to something else of the same value, no compensation mind! They openly admitted what they had done. There are no other cars there that I want and no focus titanium X.

They are gonna put it all right and they are gonna service the car also plus full tank of fuel etc. They not budging on the compensation but I have spent  a lot of my own time on this vehicle getting it right so I know it is pretty much right apart from this disaster now and if I was to swap the car for something else I could be getting something that also has issues.

Compensation wise once the car comes back I will be contacting Barclaycard to discuss compensation with them.

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Is there a car you like with a slightly higher value see if you can pull a deal.

if not n you get same car back tell them you want a free service next time it's due by them and if anything goes wrong i.e. Injector ect due to there big feck up then they can replace them free of charge.

ask them for stuff like diamond bright on your car as compansation it's nothing to them but something for you as an inconvenience. 

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They said the offer still stands of a vehicle replacement. The fuel was put in after they had done the test drive. 

This is my current vehicle now with 54k on the clock https://www.thecarpeople.co.uk/find-a-car/car-details/ford-focus-wakefield-306401

I have been looking at these below on the site what do you think: the white one is low mileage at 18k but lose the sunroof. The black has the sunroof but 38k. Not sure what to do as at least I know what's been done on this vehicle don't I. I've racked up 2,200k though in the month I've had it.

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My question would be why did they put fuel in it at all!?  Whenever I've dropped a car off at a garage (even a main dealer) with very low fuel it has been returned to me still with very low fuel!  I'd never expect them to fill it up, and certainly wouldn't expect them to fill it with the wrong sodding fuel.

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as i said previously, you coukd very well have problems with your car in the comming months. if it happened to me i would be changing car for another one. just bear this in mind if you decide to keep it, seen it so many times in my job.

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I've the warranty for 3 years though so they will put right. 

Concerned if I take another car I could run into issues with that also. 

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Yeah I could but can't afford their prices. Think I am gonna keep the car. Getting a service, spare pollen filter as I've just replaced that myself, full tank of fuel with additives, fuel funnel so I can add further additives, full valet again & the paint work treatment mentioned further up. 

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Best of luck, I hope they can sort things out!  Keep us updated if you can.

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Given my own car issues lately, the thing that strikes me with this is just how many Fords appear to be around with multiple faults! An occasional fault is fine and to be expected. But not a shopping list.

I hope you get the issues sorted soon. I'd personally not risk keeping a car I could get rid of, if it'd had a misfuelling incident. And unless the warranty is honoured by the dealer directly, a normal third party warranty won't touch your car with a bargepole. Almost any repair will now be written off as negligence being the cause.

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1 hour ago, GaryPL said:

And unless the warranty is honoured by the dealer directly, a normal third party warranty won't touch your car with a bargepole. Almost any repair will now be written off as negligence being the cause.

I am gonna make sure that I get something in writing confirming this, plus I am protected by Barclaycard if so. They have no leg to stand on. I do think the vehicle will be ok. Whilst it would not start when I got back in, when the AA man came out to it he got it started which suggests that there was still a mix of diesel. When I drove it from there a mile down the road in traffic to my parents for 25 minutes sat still most of it the engine temp did not even get off zero either.

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16 hours ago, richardc1983 said:

I've the warranty for 3 years though so they will put right. 

Concerned if I take another car I could run into issues with that also. 

Does the warranty cover issues caused by putting in the wrong fuel at some point ?

I'd double check because most I've seen wouldn't cover that.

Also what's your protection from Barclay Card ?  Your are accepting the risk and not rejecting the car because it is no longer of suitable quality. I think you might struggle given you know of the issue and are happy to accept the car.

 

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36 minutes ago, avi said:

Does the warranty cover issues caused by putting in the wrong fuel at some point ?

I'd double check because most I've seen wouldn't cover that.

Also what's your protection from Barclay Card ?  Your are accepting the risk and not rejecting the car because it is no longer of suitable quality. I think you might struggle given you know of the issue and are happy to accept the car.

 

Well you don't know the wrong fuel hasn't been put in before I got the vehicle from them so it could have happened at any time really. Plus car people are the ones responsible if anything does happen along the way and it would always be covered via Barclaycard if they dont put it right as its all documented.

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16 minutes ago, richardc1983 said:

Well you don't know the wrong fuel hasn't been put in before I got the vehicle from them so it could have happened at any time really. Plus car people are the ones responsible if anything does happen along the way and it would always be covered via Barclaycard if they dont put it right as its all documented.

It's one thing not knowing about it but it something else when you knowingly accept it when you are aware of it.

Have you ever tried to claim from a credit card company for this type of issue before ? I have and it's far from easy and there's no guarantee of success particularly as you are continuing to use the car and haven't rejected it.

If you have it writing from the Car people that they have used the incorrect fuel and any future issue that this "may" be a contributing factor will be repaired at their cost then you may be OK.  Anything else I think you may be leaving yourself open to big bills and issues that know one will cover a problem 2 years or more down the line.

Someone had a similar issue here -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/honestjohn/10450126/What-happens-if-I-put-petrol-in-my-diesel-car.html

Best of luck.

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My thoughts shadow Ian's comments on this one. I don't know your personal situation or financial circumstances and neither am I about to question it but I personally find it absolutely mad that anyone would go through with the sale of a diesel car knowing fine well it's been misfuelled. 

The worst has yet to come from this problem. I wish you the best of luck dealing with it in the future and actually proving who is at fault as they will wash their hands of it and blame something else. 

 

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The sale has already been completed, I am the owner of it. I have had and driven the car 4 months. Its kind of the same situation as any other garage if they had it in their care. If the vehicle had been refuelled before the sale then I would reject but I have put my own time and energy into getting everything sorted. They said I could choose a diff vehicle if I wanted BUT this would have been at added cost to me as they were not prepared to bring the price down on another vehicle and then I am out of pocket and TBH I cant afford to put more money towards a vehicle. I also need a vehicle for work so this is urgent and to go to Ford I could not afford in their price range.

Trading standards said I have to give them opportunity to put right as with any garage I am now the legal owner. Whilst its under a 90 day warranty. I note the link was down to the owners daughter doing it. The car was driven less than a mile for about 30 minutes with this in it. They have driven it today with no issue they say. I will of course get something in writing though as I need this at minimum should any issues come up in the future.

Its better the devil you know, I could get a vehicle that has had some under laying problem and end up paying out for that and be in worse a state than this one. The warranty is for 3 years and TBH I dont think you would know it was down to the refuelling issue and its upto them to diagnose as they deal with the warranty company not me so its not me who has to liase with them.

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Hi mate I can see that u really want to keep the car as u have invested time in it and made it ur own. But please if u have the opportunity to swap it u should. I know what ur saying about it only got driven for a mile but if it goes wrong u get bet it won't get fixed under third party warranty. There so called techs will find a way out of it. And one thing is for sure u will always worry and think about in the back of ur mind even if it don't go wrong the stress of just thinking about it it really isn't worth it. get the other 1 loose the sun roof and be happy again u should be happy with ur new car not fearfull. Good luck what ever u do. But if u was my pal I would certainly talk u into to getting rid. 

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