Focus out of action for a while

[Yellow_Festiva]

Ummmm no. Don't you dare pay a red cent for another dealer's stuff up Damo, nor allow anyone to entertain you with that line again.

What a joke, seriously... I'll be keeping a close eye on it as well post repair, whatever the issue is doesn't sound cheap out of warranty.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Ummmm no. Don't you dare pay a red cent for another dealer's stuff up Damo, nor allow anyone to entertain you with that line again.

What a joke, seriously... I'll be keeping a close eye on it as well post repair, whatever the issue is doesn't sound cheap out of warranty.

Thanks, no way in hell will I pay for it, thats their problem, if they try give me **** about it I'm going to make their life hell.

[tommygun69]

hey Damo. Injector thing sucks. Hope it doesn't happen to mine haha

about Ford not having 'paperwork' when they service under warranty

Happened to me too. Seems like a common theme here for them to cover there *** for not actually replacing/fixing anything when they say they have ;)

It is a load of ******** if you ask me

[leakey]

What you do have Damo' is a great record of the progression of this incident, right here on this thread.

Comes with dates, other witnesses to your plight, and the silly tactics used by the dealer.

Printing this out, in it's entirety, with a cover letter, to an ombudsman, would be a great log of the situation. You cant fudge dates etc, so it is a true record of what has gone down.

Not sure which dept' you would send it to? Consumer Affairs? I think they come under a different banner these days. But a directive from them, can make things happen.

Failing that, a copy to ACA or 2Day2Night would also apply some presure.
The stories they show can always be spun to make the dealer look good you know. i.e. "I had this bloody problem, and these amazing, lovely folk at the dealer went all out to fix it, God bless em." All the while you know the real deal, and so do we, but most importantly, you get your car fixed.
They get a bit of good PR, all be it created from a threat to expose them for the irriots they are.

Good luck mate.

[Franco Cozzo]

While I'm on the thought, this isn't cause for warranty but does anyone else find the aircon on these things, junk?

Its not as bad as the Fiesta but its still pretty crap, which is odd for a car from South Africa as it would be hot there too right?

The day I picked up the car from Sunbury Ford, it was a bit warm, I found that my old mans 2003 Mazda 323 has cooler aircon than the Focus.

Focus gets cool, but not cold.

[marg99]

Yeah you are right while there are many who say otherwise it is the weakest aircon I have ever had in a car. Great car just probably European standard aircon as the heater works a treat!

[Yellow_Festiva]

I don't have any issues with my aircon to be honest.

Any updates on the leak?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I don't have any issues with my aircon to be honest.

Any updates on the leak?

Its better than my WS but its still pretty crap, old mans 323 is better and then thats got nothing on my Falcon.

I can have the aircon going on a 15 degree day in my LV and not feel cold haha.

Car is going in tomorrow morning to Essendon Ford.

I've been at trade school this week on Victoria's fantastic public transport system (yeah when I fly to the moon in my house) so apart from the old man driving it on Monday, it was still leaking then.

[In Focus]

I don't have a problem with the LV's air cond. Even on 40 degree days I don't need it on more than level 2 (of 4) for any length of time.

[Franco Cozzo]

Hmm, I like mine cold as, I like it when I have ice stalactites growing off my *** pretty much.

Car went into Essendon Ford this morning, they said if its a service item then it won't be covered under warranty.

An injector isn't a damn service item.

I told them what happens, if they cant warranty it, it will be 1 hour of labour, which is $120, I'll tell the Mechanic who works on it I'll pay 3 times his hourly wage instead and still come out in front .

Had the old man follow me down, he said its also blowing out more black smoke than usual, usually it only blows out some soot under hard acceleration but now its doing it in 6th gear cruising along.

The guy at Essendon Ford also said that when they do warranty work they do give out paper work of what was done.

Maybe they do, maybe they don't, maybe go **** myself.

Update:

Essendon Ford just called me up and they said that they found the problem, an injector fuel return line is damaged and leaking, its covered under warranty. They said they couldn't find the hose that Sunbury Ford apparently replaced and that there is nothing logged for warranty, and that they should have given me paperwork.

Car should be ready Monday as they're waiting for parts from Ford.

Typical.

[Nolz]

Good news Damo. I'm glad you got the right out come. Shame on that other dealer though.

[P6LTD351]

Surely Ford should have words to that dodgey dealer? That's not on.

[Franco Cozzo]

I also found out from a reliable source from Sunbury Ford who talked to the mechanic which worked on my car, there is also apparently a torn injector seal, but they didn't replace it, put it back in and pressure washed the engine under instruction from management, which probably explains the smoking as the seal is screwed and the no paperwork.

This is what ***** me because doing stuff like this ultimately damages the Ford brand as a whole, my mum questions me why I keep buying the Ford product.

Given I bought my WS Fiesta new from Sunbury Ford and back in 99 my Mum bought her Festiva new from them too we've given them enough chances over the years, they even snubbed me off when I went in there to buy a new car before I got my Focus, and after I totalled my first Focus to source a replacement.

They also screwed over my parents with a $3000 bill back in 2008 in which they didn't even fix the problem with that particular car, then try to tell them they don't know what they're talking about as they test drove the vehicle and couldn't find the issue (it was misfiring badly at around 1500 RPM).

Essendon Ford on the other hand have been excellent, they're great to deal with.

The timing on this issue is also quite annoying as I had a 2 week period planned out to have a lot of work done on my car, and then this happens, if it could have happened earlier I would have preferred that haha.

[Franco Cozzo]

Update:

Car is back from Essendon Ford, they replaced the injector return line which was leaking, bonus.

But unfortunately they said they won't do the injector seal in injector number 3 because they reckon Ford wouldn't warrant it as they think Sunbury Ford would have damaged it, and its either pay $600 to get it done, or take up the fight with Sunbury Ford and get them to do it under warranty.

So the car is going back to Sunbury Ford so they can fix the injector seal.

Its making me reconsider my next new car purchase, might have to take off the blue glasses.

[kevino]

Do you wait for the red glow plug light to go out before you fire your TDCI up?
I read in another post that you had starting issues with your first TDCI, they dont fire up first go unless you wait a couple of nano seconds...for the glow plug light to go out, mind you mine is an LT not an LV.

[ratter]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

But unfortunately they said they won't do the injector seal in injector number 3 because they reckon Ford wouldn't warrant it as they think Sunbury Ford would have damaged it, and its either pay $600 to get it done, or take up the fight with Sunbury Ford and get them to do it under warranty.

So the car is going back to Sunbury Ford so they can fix the injector seal.

.

this would be a normal situation no matter what brand you were dealing with

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by kevino

Do you wait for the red glow plug light to go out before you fire your TDCI up?
I read in another post that you had starting issues with your first TDCI, they dont fire up first go unless you wait a couple of nano seconds...for the glow plug light to go out, mind you mine is an LT not an LV.

The other one, you would wait till the glow plug light goes out, but it'd never fire, you could just keep on cranking, cranking, cranking and it wouldn't fire.

Key off, key to ignition

Crank, fires first go.

Yeah I do wait for the glow plug light to go out first before I start it, the little curly one.

Originally Posted by ratter

this would be a normal situation no matter what brand you were dealing with

Probably so, but is it a normal situation when they just pressure wash the engine and hope you go away? Then tell you its just water burning off when there is obviously something wrong?

[ratter]

If the manufacturer is knocking it back based on what the other dealer has done, I would take that as the previous dealer has made a warranty claim for it, whether they did not do it or do it correctly, it is now on them to take care of it, Ford like anybody else will not normally pay the same person/company twice to fix something if the repairer is the issue

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by ratter

If the manufacturer is knocking it back based on what the other dealer has done, I would take that as the previous dealer has made a warranty claim for it, whether they did not do it or do it correctly, it is now on them to take care of it, Ford like anybody else will not normally pay the same person/company twice to fix something if the repairer is the issue

I don't think Sunbury Ford actually put anything forward for warranty, as the car still had the same problem when I took it to Essendon Ford.

They still said the injector return line was leaking, which is supposedly what Sunbury Ford replaced under warranty, but with a lack of paperwork.

I told Essendon Ford about the injectors as apparently Sunbury Ford took them out, but didn't replace the seal and put them back in, and Essendon Ford said they can't warrant it because they think Sunbury Ford is liable for it.

[Silver Ghia]

Maybe Sunbury Ford hadn't finished with your car when you picked it up on the Saturday morning, when you said the service dept was closed?

If they were closed, who did you speak to when you picked it up, someone from the service dept who knew about your car, that it was actually ready, and qualified to comment on the smoke?

Particularly when you said you didnt get a phone call to say it was finished.

Just going by what you have written in your posts....

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Maybe Sunbury Ford hadn't finished with your car when you picked it up on the Saturday morning, when you said the service dept was closed?

If they were closed, who did you speak to when you picked it up, someone from the service dept who knew about your car, that it was actually ready, and qualified to comment on the smoke?

Particularly when you said you didnt get a phone call to say it was finished.

Just going by what you have written in your posts....

They reckon they finished it and they tried to call me on Friday, but I had no missed calls on my phone, my home phone had no messages on it and Mum was actually home and they didn't ring while she was there.

Service department was "closed" but there were other people picking up their cars, I spoke to someone called Michael, who said the car was finished and because it was a warranty job there was no paperwork.

He said he rang the mechanic and they said its just water burning off and nothing to be concerned about.

Then I take the car to Essendon Ford and they tell me they couldn't see anything Sunbury Ford replaced, and that it was still leaking fuel from the injector return line, and they gave me paperwork for what they replaced and what they did, and even the part number of the line they replaced.

I've also got a message from someone I know at Sunbury Ford who spoke to the mechanic, and the truth came out:



And the answer to that last question is no, I've only ever had minor servicing on my car done and its been lowered, so they wouldn't go through the effort of pulling the injectors out.

[Silver Ghia]

Hmmm, the only Michael I know there is the DP.

I would have thought any water would have evaporated by the next morning so it couldnt have been that.

Just doesnt sound right from my experiences, but there are only two or three guys I talk to there, they know me well.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Hmmm, the only Michael I know there is the DP.

I would have thought any water would have evaporated by the next morning so it couldnt have been that.

Just doesnt sound right from my experiences, but there are only two or three guys I talk to there, they know me well.

You've had good experiences with Sunbury Ford where as it seems we've only had bad when it comes to the service department.

[Silver Ghia]

Dont worry, I've had a bad experience as well, they know me now, so the last couple of times have been good.

[Franco Cozzo]

Another thing I want to know is why the hell is Ford's labor rate so expensive these days? I was at Honda in 2010 and it was $110 an hour and they consider themselves the "upmarket Asian luxury" marque in Australia and price everything accordingly.

Ford is $120 an hour, fair enough a dealership is going to be more expensive than a private workshop, but to be more expensive than other dealerships?

[WILDB]

From my experience dealers for other manufacturers are just as expensive, if not more expensive. That is from experience in the industry.

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Dont worry, I've had a bad experience as well, they know me now, so the last couple of times have been good.

Just want to add they did rectify the situation to my satisfaction, and were most apologetic.

Damo, you need to explain your situation in an open minded manner to them, and your disappointment so far, advisor Dave would be a good guy to talk to, and let them fix your problems to your satisfaction. Communication both ways is the key here.

VW servicing costs (my wife has a Polo) are astronomical in comparison to Sunbury Ford, which I thought were relatively cheap.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Just want to add they did rectify the situation to my satisfaction, and were most apologetic.

Damo, you need to explain your situation in an open minded manner to them, and your disappointment so far, advisor Dave would be a good guy to talk to, and let them fix your problems to your satisfaction. Communication both ways is the key here.

VW servicing costs (my wife has a Polo) are astronomical in comparison to Sunbury Ford, which I thought were relatively cheap.

I'm going to tomorrow and talk to them in service, also my car is blowing out a lot of gray smoke under low/medium acceleration at 100km/h, and in between gear changes, it blows out a massive cloud under hard acceleration too.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Yeah I do wait for the glow plug light to go out first before I start it, the little curly one.

Isn't it the snow flake?

[marg99]

And here I thought the snow flake was to warn you there may be ice on the road and you say its the glow plug light!