Hi all, first post so be gentle.

I have a ford focus 09 tdci still under warranty. i am the second owner and the car has been seviced twice but i have a small leak of oil from a crank seal, and have booked it in at a local ford dealers,who have told me that at the moment their diagnostic machine is down.My question is this..if they replace the seal will i have to pay for labour charges,or is it just a case of taking it in and letting them fix it.I know it cant be that simple and no doubt they will find some way to get some money out of me. Also why do they have to hook it up to a machine to see an oil leak ,is this nessesary.

Thanks Paul.

should be completely free and no need to pay labour charges! :D

it does have to go onto the ids diagnostic to complete a warranty session so the garage can claim on the cars warranty. regarding having to pay: it should be free, if they claim that it isnt under warranty due to service intervals or not ford garage then argue it isnt a serviceable item and therefore doesnt matter if servicing is correct. which dealer is it going into?

it does have to go onto the ids diagnostic to complete a warranty session so the garage can claim on the cars warranty. regarding having to pay: it should be free, if they claim that it isnt under warranty due to service intervals or not ford garage then argue it isnt a serviceable item and therefore doesnt matter if servicing is correct. which dealer is it going into?

Agreed with Dan above - you shouldnt have to pay any fees at all for a warranty repair. if there is a fault with the car in its first three years, that is not caused by you then they must honour it under warranty with the following exclusions (dealer dependant)

* Filters (Oil / Fuel / Air)

* Wiper Blades

* Tyres

* Other "Consumable" items.

* Component Damage caused by "misuse"

This is because this would be classed as fair wear and tear, and can be influenced by you, for example, if you decided to buy a brand new car - and wanted to take it for a spin on the local recreational grounds - you keep slipping the clutch and the clutch breaks - its not covered if the clutch damage is obviously due to you (i.e. if the disks were shiny to show that they had been misused) - however, if you are driving it up to the local "rec" and the car grinds to a halt with a massive clunk, and the clutch disintegrates, if they recognise that the fault was not caused by you, then you would have it covered.

Some dealers are more laid back than others and will honour parts that others wont. - As a general rule, I always say if its a mechanical part that has not been abused, and it is a moving part required to make the car work, it will be covered. If the part doesnt move, and has an "easy job" then dont expect it will be covered.

i.e. clutch goes pop - not your fault - mechanical part required to make the car work - Warranty

air filter becomes too dirty due to the roads you drive on, clogs up and needs replacing - non mechanical part - No Warranty

Tyres show excessive wear in short period of time - no mechanical parts, however for a "low mileage" or New car, they shouldnt have worn down that quick, some dealers may find an alternate problem, and replace them as part of the warranty repair, others may claim its down to your excessive driving style and wont honour it - you may then have to prove that you dont drive like Vettel, and they may then honour it.

Hope this helps :)

Agreed with Dan above - you shouldnt have to pay any fees at all for a warranty repair. if there is a fault with the car in its first three years, that is not caused by you then they must honour it under warranty with the following exclusions (dealer dependant)

* Filters (Oil / Fuel / Air)

* Wiper Blades

* Tyres

* Other "Consumable" items.

* Component Damage caused by "misuse"

This is because this would be classed as fair wear and tear, and can be influenced by you, for example, if you decided to buy a brand new car - and wanted to take it for a spin on the local recreational grounds - you keep slipping the clutch and the clutch breaks - its not covered if the clutch damage is obviously due to you (i.e. if the disks were shiny to show that they had been misused) - however, if you are driving it up to the local "rec" and the car grinds to a halt with a massive clunk, and the clutch disintegrates, if they recognise that the fault was not caused by you, then you would have it covered.

Some dealers are more laid back than others and will honour parts that others wont. - As a general rule, I always say if its a mechanical part that has not been abused, and it is a moving part required to make the car work, it will be covered. If the part doesnt move, and has an "easy job" then dont expect it will be covered.

i.e. clutch goes pop - not your fault - mechanical part required to make the car work - Warranty

air filter becomes too dirty due to the roads you drive on, clogs up and needs replacing - non mechanical part - No Warranty

Tyres show excessive wear in short period of time - no mechanical parts, however for a "low mileage" or New car, they shouldnt have worn down that quick, some dealers may find an alternate problem, and replace them as part of the warranty repair, others may claim its down to your excessive driving style and wont honour it - you may then have to prove that you dont drive like Vettel, and they may then honour it.

Hope this helps :)

Thanks to all.