Hi everyone

I´m new to the forum.  Never bought or driven a Ford before.  Just recently bought a 2015 Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0 petrol for my wife.  I bought it from a leasing company expecting it to have a full service history however upon receiving the vehicle the service book only has 2 entries...  One for the 5 mile inspection (2015) and another for an AA service at about 27500 miles (November 2019).  When I inquired they contacted Ford to check the history and this was their response:

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I have had a response from Ford, they said that this vehicle was on 12,500 mile interval services.

The vehicle should have had 2 services. The previous customer unfortunately was late getting their first service, the vehicle was serviced at 24,672 (its 25,000mile service) and we put the vehicle through a service again with the AA when it came back to us off of lease.

The next service for the vehicle is not due until 37,500miles.

 

From the above it sounds like they are trying to tell me that the car should only have had 2 services at this point but from the service book it says that the car is on a 12500 mile  / 1 year service schedule.  So the way I understand it, this car's service history looks like this and therefore is missing 2 services:

• 2015 - 5 mile Inspection
• 2016 - NO SERVICE
• 2017 - NO SERVICE
• 2018 - Service at 24672
• 2019 - Service at 27500

My concern is twofold - 1 that the car has been under unecessary stress for the first 24 000 miles without a service.  And 2 that I will struggle to get the price I want when I eventually sell it due to it not having a full service history.

The sale contract has a 14 day cooling off period and I am on day 8 so I can return the vehicle and receive a full refund for whatever reason.

What would you do in my case? Get the refund or is this a non issue in the UK (I´m new to the UK).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Bryan

    

2016 - 2017......Could have been off the road ? You never know!

Contact the previous owner and ask.

They did contact the previous owner.  The first service was at 24 000.  So surely that is not good?  Also, the car was on the road.  It was a leased car.

I have a 1.0 petrol Ecoboost and I always service my own cars myself. Your car has basically missed one service at 12,500 miles then the next service after that has been completed at about 25,000 miles. When I completed my own 12,500 miles service the important bit was the oil and oil filter change. Most other items were just checking fluid levels etc. The oil I drained was very clean given the mileage. I really wouldn't be too concerned about the car missing one service. As I say, I do service my own cars and I've never had any problems selling or trading in a car which doesn't have a dealer service history. I tend to keep a car until it's at least seven years old and at that age most buyers are more interested in the current condition of the car and whether it's had a recent service rather than making sure every single box in the service book has a dealer stamp. If you like the car then I see no reason to return it. I'd have been more concerned if it had a diesel engine because the oil gets contaminated very quickly on those.

If it were me I'd return the car.   Not having full service history can be very detrimental to a second hand price.

i'd return the car too. the fiesta is obviously a very common car and it shouldnt be difficult to find one with a full history and in a good condition. my word of advice would be to pay attention and check the things before you sign on the dotted line. Unfortunately when you expect something that doesnt materialise, that's when the biggest disappointment occurs

depends how old it will be when you want to sell it. if you want to sell it for example when it is 10 years old, it probably won't affect the value, having that service missing. i would not worry about the missing service affecting how long the engine will last. 

another point, do you want the hassle of returning it and then looking for another car. I don't know how good the price was you paid. how much more are you prepared to pay for one with full service history?

and if it has full service history, it might be a fake service history anyway. full service history is not always genuine.

If it was mine I reckon I would keep it, because it is easier and less hassle and I tend to keep cars to an age when the service history won't affect the value.

3 hours ago, Mrb2019 said:

Just recently bought a 2015 Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0 petrol for my wife.

If you do decide to return it my Old ST-Line 140 (2016) is still for sale in Weston Super Mare. That I can gurantee that it had a full service history and was driven carefully .

Currently sitting at about £8,700.

 

When you purchased the car, was it ever said, stated or documented that it had a full service history?

It looks like it has only been serviced prior to it's first MOT at 3 years old, the 5 mile will just be the delivery inspection i would have thought.

If it had had a main dealer services, they would be logged on Ford's system.

If you are not happy, return it although there may be a surcharge for usage of the car relating to the miles you have covered in the period you have owned the car. It depends on the return policy small print.

A few things bother me about this.

As Bryan mentioned in his original post, I would expect an ex-lease car to have a full history. I leased a lot of vehicles for work and lease companies were always keen on this, to keep warranty intact during the lease and maintain the residual of their property for resale. I would be surprised if things have changed to the extent that they don't care nowadays. I would suspect the original user will have been hit with a penalty of some sort for breaching the terms of the lease.

As we know from various threads the ecoboost can suffer problems if oil changes are neglected, and this one has exceeded even the latest 2 year/18,000 mile service interval by almost 50%, never mind the original annual/12,500 which actually applies in this case.

If the original user couldn't even be bothered to get the car serviced, what does that say about the way they treated the car generally?

I'm inclined to agree with those who suggest walking away, unless the car is exceptionally cheap or they are going to provide a watertight additional warranty. 

 

Thank you everyone that replied.  I am going to try and return the car.  It´s a bit hard to find another though as I´m looking specifically for a titanium 1.0 123bhp version. Just disappointing that a leasing company would allow this to happen and also to not mention it before the sale took place..

I think I would return it, the UK isn't short of Fiestas to pick from as a new one.

15 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

As we know from various threads the ecoboost can suffer problems if oil changes are neglected, and this one has exceeded even the latest 2 year/18,000 mile service interval by almost 50%, never mind the original annual/12,500 which actually applies in this case.

I would return it on the basis of what Eric has said i.e. these engines are very oil condition and type sensitive. 

I would try to return it but could be a lot of things in my opinion like said above off the road but early years i think of a service is a must as things are all new.

 

 

 

If you have free chance to give them the car back and walk away I would do so.

There's plenty of others around

Incorrect response from Ford. As you point out, the car should have had four services not two. As others have said, neglecting oil changes is storing up trouble and speaks volumes about the previous owner! I would return it if possible. ( not sure what the response says about Ford!)