Ford + service = mot failure + death!

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Morning all...

Back at the end of december I took my 02 focus in for a service at my local ford main dealer. Yes I know, first mistake. Anyway, they told me that both front discs and pads needed replacing so I went ahead and got them to do it.

Fast forward to yesterday >>>

I took said focus for it's second MOT which it failed due to a TWISTED BREAK HOSE. The guy at the local garage said that it looked like who ever had replaced the pads had put the caliper on wrong and twisted the hose at the same it. Apparently when put under pressure the hose bulges and the outer casing splits. He also said that it could break at anytime meaning lose of breaking etc and potentionally a nasty accident. His suggestion was to take the car back to ford and get them to sort it.

So off i go, two screaming kids and a pre-menstral wife in tow, down to the ford garage. First guy I spoke to didn't want to know he suggested I bring the car back in the morning and they will take a look and then go from there. at this point my wife went into one, in front of about 10 other customers, about the kids getting killed etc because they hadn't done their job correctly.

at this point the assistant manager came over and took us into his office. He was excellent and listened to what we had to say before putting his hands up and agreeing that it was their fault. I said to them that I want the hose replaced and the work done by a friend of mine who works there (he didn't do the original service) So this morning the car is going back in to have the whole break system checked and the hose replaced. They are then taking the car to my local garage for a re-test which they will pay for. So a result for us.
 
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Good result - its really nice to see them put their hands up to the problem. The manager probably knows about the monkey who did your brakes already!

J
 
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Good work, best thing you can do is going ape infront of customers ... they dont like it for some reason ;)
 
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Robdav said:
So this morning the car is going back in to have the whole break system checked and the hose replaced. They are then taking the car to my local garage for a re-test which they will pay for. So a result for us.
You could have got a lot more out of them :D
 
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I'm not usually one for complaining but I think you were pretty justified there! If I was you I'd also put something in writing to Ford, just to let them know that it happened so hopefully it'll be investigated.
 
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Jon Frost said:
Good result - its really nice to see them put their hands up to the problem. The manager probably knows about the monkey who did your brakes already!
Good in the sense it does not cost extra money but bad in the way it takes time to get it sorted and the stress it caused.

I'm just glad my dad handles the advertising for all the Ford dealers in the country so they know not to mess up when our family brings in a Ford for a service/MOT and they never charge us :cool:
 
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Dutch Guy said:
Good in the sense it does not cost extra money but bad in the way it takes time to get it sorted and the stress it caused.

I'm just glad my dad handles the advertising for all the Ford dealers in the country so they know not to mess up when our family brings in a Ford for a service/MOT and they never charge us :cool:

One of my uni friend's dad arranges as part of his job the group insurance for a BIG dealer network. He had his private car broken into and the radio nicked. The insurer refused to pay out on some technicalitly, so he said he'd take his business elsewhere. I forget how much they nearly lost, but the scrote who dealt with the claim lost his job over that one :) Power = good sometimes!
 
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Well I dropped off the car this morning and the manager was waiting for me, my file on his desk with the service report and my friend, the machanic, standing next to him ready to work on my car. Did I mention my friend works at the garage and that I had originally ask for him to do the service but was told that he wasn't working that day? turns out he was and that they had lied to me.

Anyway I am in the process of writing to ford about this. I'm still livid! to think that the breaks could have failed at anytime, and that my wife and kids could have been in the car at the time is doing my head in. I am going to ask them what they are prepared to do about it and try and get a free service + cam belt change out of them. fingers crossed.

I will say that I was impressed with the managers attiude and that he was very good in dealing with this. He even offered to have his wife drop me into work this morning! I appriciate good service and this has been excellent. shame it was because there machanic made a mistake though.
 
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Robdav said:
I am going to ask them what they are prepared to do about it and try and get a free service + cam belt change out of them. fingers crossed.
Would you trust them to change a cam belt if they can't fit a caliper properly?
I know what its like though, I've had soo many problems with garages. The trouble is people take their cars to main dealers thinking that they will actually do it properly and more often an indy garage would do a better job.

Maybe we should have a sticky of ocUK recommended garages?
 
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So they've fixed the problem, been very apologetic, and totally nice to you about it and you STILL want more becuase on what COULD have happened but actually didn't?

Why is it this appears to be the norm in the UK these days? Nobody is ever happy with sensible resolution to an issue and people sorting mistakes - they always want more, more more - compensation, compensation, compensation and they'll go on and on about what COULD have happened even though it didn't happen so really it is quite irrelevant.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
and they'll go on and on about what COULD have happened even though it didn't happen so really it is quite irrelevant.
It's not irrelevant, driving in a car where the brakes can fail at any time is totally different to having the engine fail.

Mecahnics need to double check the car (brakes) are fine before giving the car back.

Furthermore it takes extra time to get it sorted and extra petrol so why shouldn't you get compensation for that in the form of a free service?
 
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ratface said:
If the car was so dangerous to drive why did you put your wife and kids back in it and drive over to Fords

Why didn't the MOT station stop you taking the car or remove caliper and refit it correctly

Why did you not leave the car at Fords instead of continuing to drive it up till this morning

I didn't. We took the wife's car last night, and I took the focus in this morning. Thinking about it I could have arranged with ford for them to collect the car, an oversight on my part.

As for seeking "extra" compensation, I don't think it's unreasonable to seek compensation because the company failed in its duty of care towards me - the customer.

If I was to get the free service etc I would specify that the machanic who did it was the guy i've known for 20 years who has been working there for longer than that, and is someone I trust to do a good job. If he wasn't working there it would be a whole different ball game.

Once this has been sorted I will not be using a main dealer for repaires/servicing again.
 
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Robdav said:
Anyway I am in the process of writing to ford about this. I'm still livid! to think that the breaks could have failed at anytime
Hope you get it sorted, just remember to call them brakes in your letter though! :)
 
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Robdav said:
Once this has been sorted I will not be using a main dealer for repaires/servicing again.

What a strange way of looking at things. So because one main dealer made a mistake you now refuse to use any main dealer in the future?! Surely a workshop is a workshop and it doesn't matter whether they're a main dealer or an independant/specialist?

Everyone has the potential to make mistakes, and its not the fact that this garage was a main dealer that caused you problems. I could understand if you refused to use that particular garage in the future, but tarnishing all main dealers with the same brush is a little extreme don't you think?

Andy
 
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Mr Joshua said:
Hope you get it sorted, just remember to call them brakes in your letter though! :)

LOL ... yeah thanks for the heads up! :D

What a strange way of looking at things. So because one main dealer made a mistake you now refuse to use any main dealer in the future?! Surely a workshop is a workshop and it doesn't matter whether they're a main dealer or an independant/specialist?

Everyone has the potential to make mistakes, and its not the fact that this garage was a main dealer that caused you problems. I could understand if you refused to use that particular garage in the future, but tarnishing all main dealers with the same brush is a little extreme don't you think?

Yes a little extreme perhaps, but that the way I'm feeling right now. I don't think that unreasonable?
 
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