Car woes

[GaryPL]

Yeah, the 7 year warranty appeals to be honest.  And they have just opened a dealer a couple of miles up the road too, so who knows... See what happens with Ford.

Further update though... There is no update!  I decided not to chase and see whether the dealer would bother calling me back.  At 9.42pm, I strongly suspect I will not be getting a call today!  So so glad I took a courtesy car!

[GaryPL]

Tuesday and still nothing... Will Wednesday be my lucky day? I'm disinclined to prompt them as I still have the courtesy car!

[GaryPL]

Wednesday - still waiting.

[Jonro2009]

who have you been dealing with@GaryPL is it just the service guys and hopefully the service manager? If so then you should talk to the Dealer Principle (or whatever they call themselves now) and let him know exactly what's going on. Department heads are very good at keeping things under the radar. Also involve Ford customer services, they don't like to hear their franchises are letting them down, they particularly hate the words 'consumer rights' and 'trading standards'. My 2016 mondeo had an ongoing intermittent fault that the garage could not replicate but due to videos they could also not deny. I was nice for the first 4 times it went in, assertive the next 2 occasions and then finally as you did I took one of their courtesy cars (sales managers car, long story) and once I had it refused to give it back until something was done one way or the other. 3 days later I get a call saying they have figured it out and are working on a fix. 5 days later I had the car back fully valeted and with a full tank of fuel. As a gesture of goodwill or as I like to call it 'the garage admitting they had fudged up' I also get my next chargeable service for free.

Good luck with the ongoing saga and don't be afraid to just not ring them and wait for them to get back to you. A letter by recorded delivery detailing your intentions never goes amiss either.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GaryPL]

Thanks for the reply @Jonro2009 - I am sorry you had a terrible time too.

The dealer reckoned they were contacting Ford CRC themselves.  I don't see this as the CRC doing me a favour of some goodwill though as the car was faulty from day one.  It's purely a sales issue.  And if any 'goodwill' is offered now, I may not get it in the future when another problem comes along.

I am not afraid of a fight either.  I spend my day arguing with people, so I will have them for breakfast.  Was just experimenting with seeing how long it'll take for them to come back to me without being solicited by me.  Will probably end up calling them tomorrow, if I remember to.

Will keep updating this thread. It's a useful reminder of events to me too, as well as a warning to others :)

[Jonro2009]

I understand what your saying, there should be no need to offer 'goodwill' in your direction, the car has not been as it should since day one.

I have to say in the interest of balance, this is my 5th consecutive new Ford and this is the only problem I've ever had. The buying experience for all 5 was smooth and easy. I just wish they had accepted my diagnosis from day 1 instead of ignoring me, they won't do that again!

I'll be following this thread and keep my fingers crossed you get the outcome you want/paid for.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[biff55]

if the garage isnt too far from home , then i'd be calling in rather than relying on phone calls.

its easier to put them on the spot and under pressure when your car problems are discussed in earshot of other potential buyers in the showroom , whilst its easy for them to fob you off on the phone

 and confirm all correspondance between yourselves in writting , you need to start making a paper trail to make legal action ,or the threat of , carry weight.

also find out which member of staff is responsible for dealing with your problem and speak only to that person.

but after reading this thread im unclear on the dealers stance

is it A. they are still not sure what the mechanical issues are thats causing the problems

or B. they know exactly what is wrong but are awaiting approval from ford UK HQ to get the work paid for under warranty because its likely to be ***** expensive to fix.

from what they've said , they have been fudging on what the problem is and wishy washy on how they are going to resolve it.

i'd want immediate clarification from them of which 1 it is , so you can decide how to plan your further actions , and courtesy car or not i'd be putting timescales on things now as its dragged on for 2 months now.

if your still not happy another consideration would be get an independent vehical engineers report by someone approved / registered etc.

may cost you £150-200 but could be money well spent if the problems are unresolved.

 

either way its sad to hear this story and hope you get a resolution youre happy with.

 

 

[GaryPL]

The garage is about 8/9 miles away.  They are London miles as well, so it takes a while to do them!

I know which member of staff is responsible and he seems nice enough.  I did however call up again today after 3.5 working days of not hearing anything.  Was pretty difficult with him too as I am ratcheting up the ante now.  And they can't fob me off as I have a call recording app on my phone.

The dealer reckons they have sussed out the problems and are just waiting for authorisation from Ford.  They said that because their "CBD" doesn't state there is a fault, the authorisation from Ford is not forthcoming.  I am told "CBD" is computer based diagnostics.  So it's definitely a "computer says no" attitude.  Essentially, he said, they need to build a case and wait for Ford to pull their finger out of their backside.  I have however offered to write a letter stating my position if it helps expedite things.  My letter will essentially state that I am rejecting the vehicle.  He has however promised me an update tomorrow, regardless.

The work they are wishing to carry out is a new alternator and a new clutch and assembly - so release bearing and so on.  So yeah, it's expensive - probably somewhere in the region of £1,500.  But that doesn't really explain why I have to be tangled up in Ford's seemingly obstructive bureaucracy - they surely need to trust their dealers a little, to make diagnoses and then repair accordingly!

And I checked the paperwork - the first time it went in was at the beginning of September.  This is the 4th time it has been in now.  At least the biggest lesson has been learned though - always request a courtesy car!!

[biff55]

How will a CBD pick up a clutch fault anyway ? its purely mechanical and not monitored by the CPU

thats total bull if you ask me and i would have said so.

and how long will it take to "build a case" ? and then for ford to respond ? weeks ? months ? thats totally unacceptable considering how long theyve had the car already.

youve already built the case for them by providing  a written description of all the faults and their symptoms since purchase.

sounds like more waffle , i'd give them a week to fix it otherwise they can keep the damn thing

one things for sure , i'd never buy a new car from ford after listening this this and other similar stories of their customer service

[iantt]

its sbd, symptom based diagnostics. basically every time a vehicle needs warranty work done , pc is connected to confirm vehicle vin number and mileage. then the tech selects the symptom from a folder type menu that matches or nearly matches customer complaint.

then a list of tests are offered based on fault ocouring and any relevant dtcs if applicable

quite often these tests dont confirm the customer fault. then its manual diagnosis. this is where fault and propossed fix is sent to ford for approval. then the emails and phone calls start. glad i dont do that any more. was often a battle to get authorisation for work outside the norm 

[GaryPL]

Thanks for clarifying. I got computer in my head because during the phone call I said "so it's a case of computer says no" and he agreed. That's a ridiculous way to treat warranty work. All it does is frustrate customers who have basically adopted the dealer's courtesy car!

I got further call today and he said that Ford customer relations had finally allocated a reference number to the case and were supporting the dealer in getting the approval for warranty work. He hoped an answer would be forthcoming on Monday.

I am struggling to work out how letting me have a courtesy car do so long has saved Ford money. I was reading an article today about the Ford Europe boss saying cost cutting is improving profits. But if they carry on like this, they're going to waste money and lose customers! That really well hurt profits!

[GaryPL]

It has been a while since I last updated.

Last Weds - called again at the end of the day as once again, I hadn't heard anything.  Was told the guy I mentioned earlier is coming back from sick leave and he would finally show the other engineers what is wrong with the alternator.  This contradicts what I was told slightly, but anyway, that's that.

Friday - they actually called me! *Plays a trumpet*.  This time I was told that they'd finally got authorisation from Ford, to replace the alternator, clutch and clutch release bearing.   It has only taken them 15 working days (3 weeks in old money).  They said that the alternator would arrive on Monday and the clutch would arrive hopefully on Tuesday.  The clutches are in short supply apparently and they are having to ship it from Germany or wherever.  I remarked that they must in demand if you can't get hold of a clutch and he just shrugged it off.  Read into short supply what you will - I am interpreting this as clutches must be failing left right and centre.  I pressed on when am I going to get my car and I suggested Weds (tomorrow) was reasonable to which he agreed.  Let's see if it happens now!

[Jonro2009]

I don't know wether you have said or not but what is the model/spec and what are you being give at the moment? Is your car on finance/pcp/personal loan? (Please don't answer if you don't want to) I ask because if you have not bought outright then you are currently paying for a car you do not have, although the garage can't pay it for you they should be compensating you by way of a free service plan for 3 years. They still need to compensate you for all your time on the phone, running back and forth to the garage and also insurance and tax while it's off the road. Now they have finally agreed that the work required is warranty work they can't wriggle out of it but I wouldn't ask for anything until the job is done.

I would agree with you about the shortage of parts, it could mean they are using lots to do repairs or that it is a new design/build and haven't made many?

Glad you have got it sorted


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GaryPL]

Thanks :-) I'm holding back for now but I plan to let rip on Ford customer disservice once I have the car back. Believe me, I'm not done yet!

I've just called them as it's getting late in the day. Not going to get it today after all. Apparently the part only arrived today. It's after 3 parts, but that's just semantics.

The bloke said he's not in tomorrow so if the controller doesn't come back to me tomorrow, he'll touch base with me Friday. Will I get to the one month mark?!

[mikeyd1]

20 hours ago, GaryPL said:

It has been a while since I last updated.

Last Weds - called again at the end of the day as once again, I hadn't heard anything.  Was told the guy I mentioned earlier is coming back from sick leave and he would finally show the other engineers what is wrong with the alternator.  This contradicts what I was told slightly, but anyway, that's that.

Friday - they actually called me! *Plays a trumpet*.  This time I was told that they'd finally got authorisation from Ford, to replace the alternator, clutch and clutch release bearing.   It has only taken them 15 working days (3 weeks in old money).  They said that the alternator would arrive on Monday and the clutch would arrive hopefully on Tuesday.  The clutches are in short supply apparently and they are having to ship it from Germany or wherever.  I remarked that they must in demand if you can't get hold of a clutch and he just shrugged it off.  Read into short supply what you will - I am interpreting this as clutches must be failing left right and centre.  I pressed on when am I going to get my car and I suggested Weds (tomorrow) was reasonable to which he agreed.  Let's see if it happens now!

I'm pleased u finally got this sorted another good outcome just a shame they could of sorted this earlier

[GaryPL]

Just called the dealership again as once more I received no call on Thursday and no call today (Friday) and I was told that the person dealing with the matter is not around. The guy on the phone said he asked someone else and they said it was needing a matter to be tied up with Ford! So back to the position of several weeks ago. Utterly ridiculous. He said this may not be right and the person who was looking into it was next in on Tuesday! So I was pretty narky on the phone and hung up. How I've managed to remain polite and amenable to this point amazes me.

I then called Ford customer relations who tried fobbing me off about going to the dealer. However I eventually convinced them that it was their problem and he took details and added them to the case that the dealership had already raised. I also informed them that I am now rejecting the vehicle because they have had 1/5 of the entire time I have owned the damned thing to fix it. I was instructed that I will receive a call on Tuesday morning, between 9 and 11, from the case manager.

It's going to take a monumental effort on their part to make me want to keep their piece of crap for a car.

I cannot stress enough how angry and disgusted I am at the contempt that Ford have treated me with. I hope this thread and my buying thread serve as a warning to anyone reading - avoid Ford's vehicles like you would a highly contagious disease of the genitals.

/Endrant

[biff55]

so the story about waiting for a clutch from germany to compete the repairs was complete bullsh then ?

you should have spoken to a solicitor ages ago in my op.

[GaryPL]

I don't even know what to believe now.

Premature for solicitors, but if they are minded to not comply with my statutory right to return the vehicle, it's game on.  I have made considerable efforts to allow them to repair the vehicle over 3 or 4 trips, the latest of which has resulted in them having the car for 4 working weeks. I think the only thing that will make me keep it, as I have lost all faith in the thing, is a significant extension to the warranty and a free service plan. Then again, if more goes wrong with it, can I face going through all of this once more? Let's see what they say on Tuesday.  I have been doing a lot of reading into Ford vehicles and whilst I accept that people only come online to moan, even independent surveys put them frighteningly close to the bottom or the league for reliability and service.

I just can't believe that buying, running and repairing this vehicle has been such torture.

[Jonro2009]

The old adage of 'FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily'
I had a nightmare with mine but as soon as I threatened to reject mine it got sorted


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GaryPL]

More updates.

Did not receive the call back from the case manager, so rang them today at 12 as instructed by the phone agent.  I was told that they sent me an e-mail yesterday which I have not received.  And well, it turns out the agent took my e-mail down incorrectly despite me giving the damned thing phonetically.  So I have been promised that I will have an e-mail today.  Essentially, they are telling me that as I am rejecting the car, I have to contact the point of sale who is, Ford themselves, as it was a Ford Direct sale.  But it looks like I am off down to the dealer as me picking it up from the dealership is a technicality that Ford has embraced.

She said that she had spoken with the man at the dealership about my threat of rejection (note the earlier claim that he wasn't even supposed to be in until Tuesday), so I guess he's now going to be a bit peeved, if he has actually got all of the parts in.  I am doubting this though as the authorisation to repair and parts were supposedly received a fair while ago now.

I said on the phone that rejecting a car is a big step and one I'd like to avoid because I'd be without a car and offered them a chance to do something about this.  I said I would send them the story that has gone on and she would review the case and call me on Thursday.  So now I await an e-mail to my correct address from the complaints handler, so I can fire her the links to my extensive ranting on this forum.  Well... extensive ranting, informative consumer advice, or a chronicle.  All much the same at this stage 

[GaryPL]

No e-mail from the complaints case manager. Why am I not surprised? I guess I will be wasting yet more time and money calling their 0345 number tomorrow.  I will be none too pleased if they got my e-mail address incorrect again as I spelled it out phonetically... again.

[mikeyd1]

I can imagine u will quit peeved with them at the moment. Hopefully u get a call tomorrow saying it's all fixed. 

[Jonro2009]

No e-mail from the complaints case manager. Why am I not surprised? I guess I will be wasting yet more time and money calling their 0345 number tomorrow.  I will be none too pleased if they got my e-mail address incorrect again as I spelled it out phonetically... again.

If you get free calls on your mobile then calls to 0345 numbers will come out of your bundle, not that that's the point though.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GaryPL]

On 14/02/2017 at 11:11 PM, Jonro2009 said:

 

If you get free calls on your mobile then calls to 0345 numbers will come out of your bundle, not that that's the point though.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I was not aware the rules had changed. Thank you 🙂

[GaryPL]

Had my call yesterday. The complaints handler said that she had been dealing with the dealer and the latest estimate (I've had half a dozen or so 'estimates' which appear to have been nothing more than fobbing off) was by the end of next week.

I also asked what the delay was and she said that it was down to getting approval to fix the car. So basically the dealer has been lying. I asked whether she thought that a month to approve a repair was ridiculous. Got no real response to this.

She also noted that I may be willing to keep the car, based on my email and reading here. I said yes, with perhaps a warranty extension to alleviate my concerns about the quality of the product. I was informed that Ford do not do extended warranties and that I still had a portion of my normal warranty left as my car is "quite young". I said it may be young but it has an awful lot of faults for a year old car. I was also sarcastic and said what I'm getting from this is that Ford have no confidence in their vehicles then, if they rigidly stick to a 3 year 60,000 mile system. She just reiterated her comment about 3 years, etc.

I banged on about recognition of not having my car for a fifth of the time I've owned it and she suggested that they will discuss some Ford vouchers once I "have it back" as a goodwill gesture to acknowledge the inconvenience I've experienced. I think they're missing the point that I'm still intending to reject the vehicle, so we will see. Do these vouchers work on anything spent in a dealer? Is it on a new purchase?

I am told I'll get a call back on Monday.