Hi.new to this so please bear with me.

I have a 2009 smax 2.2tdci individual.35,000 miles.the car wouldn't start yesterday after getting back to it from a walk.called out the RAC and a sub contract recovery firm picked us up.the garage has suspected a broken timing belt as there is a lack of compression. I have a full service history(the first three years with ford dealership)and upon reading the recommended changing of belts it advises 125k or 10 years.the car is in truly superb condition throughout and drives like a dream,I've never had a bit of bother we the car previously and I am absolutely gutted.have I any grounds to complain,does anyone know my rights.please help.

Maybe if the car was only 4 years old, Ford may have helped if you were lucky.

The only way you have chance of getting it paid for by Ford is to have an independent inspection report, which states that the belt failed due to a manufacturing defect, present at the point of sale.

Otherwise it will just be considered unfortunate wear and tear.

I know about your legal rights but I am fairly sure that the timing belt is something that would be expected to wear down and I thought it was every 40-60k miles (although you are under that mileage to be fair).

I take it you have had the car from new? Has the belt snapping caused any other damage? I have heard that belts cost around £90 plus fitting obviously.

I do not have mechanical knowledge so someone else can advise on that but on a 6 year old car, I can imagine it being very difficult indeed to force a repair under the Sale of Goods Act.

Good point on it being 6 years old too.

If you bought the car more than 6 years ago, you cannot pursue this under SOGA.

Depends when in 2009 it was bought, if you had it from new?

I had mine done two weeks ago as I did not want it too snap , on a st 07 with 42k piece of mind

Hi guys,thanks for the replys

Yes purchased brand new(22k. garage haven't had chance to look at damage yet but early indications are that it's serious so obviously totally gutted.was just fishing to see if I had any grounds with ford,but seems unlikely they'll admit any liability.

Is the car less than 6 years old, when in 2009 did you buy it?

Hi Alex ,purchased June 09,brilliant eh.

Ah, SOGA is technically out the window then.

Still might be worth pursuing with Ford if it is found to be a manufacturing defect, but they will only be helping out as a gesture of goodwill.

The two options you have really are as follows, and there is a strong chance A will lead to B:

A: Get an independant report done. This can cost from £99 to about £450. You need to make sure the company are able to support a claim to a faulty part from manufacturing, as if they cannot certify this, then its a waste of time going with them. You then get said report, and approach Ford as has been advised.

B: Look to pursue a specialist claim under the SOGA. You would need to have a solicitor specialising in consumer rights, though the 6 year period has eloped, you are technically only 3 years from the warranty period, and the mileage would perhaps be considered to suggest that the vehicle has not completed 6 years of life, perhaps this "virtual age" could be used to persue a case

or

C: just go ahead and buy a new engine. Its expensive to buy new, so used is better, still this can be a bargain, or it can be averaged up to £2500 - potentially with a £1000 fitting expense.

there is always the option to wave it off into the sunset, but for a car that has about £4500 worth of value, there are other options which are better to explore. Have a look on ebay and the likes, contact breakers and find a rear end writeoff, you could get a good deal on the engine, if you happen to find the exact engine with part number, you could be in for a quick and simple swap, however, if the part number differs, there would be more work needed to get it working with the ECU etc.

Jeebwhite,thanks for that really appreciate your help.

Hope something helps mate