rocky

Well, they either haven't replaced it with new, or they haven't replaced it properly or they haven't replaced it at all or.....the whole system is buggered and they know it but because they knew about it when it was under warranty, they've done a botch job as they don't want to replace the system. The car is a death trap. I have no idea how much carbon monoxide my family has inhaled. If it transpires that they've done bugger all (hence the lack of paperwork), I'll speak with a solicitor and see what I can do. I just hope that VW treat us a bit better. All I want is for someone to do the job. The car is staying on the driveway until they can get it booked in.

Well, the ABS problem was down to a sensor (which I suspect was damaged when they were 'fitting' the gator) and lo and behold, as soon as I crossed the German/Dutch border, the auxilliary heater kicked off again and filled the car with smoke. There was bugger all that I could do apart from pull over at a very convenient services and get the kids out of the car as fast as I could. We made it onto the hotel without further incident, but we were restricted to short journey's only in fear that the f*cking thing would ignite and either gas or toast my family. The intended short break to the German Christmas markets totally ruined. On the way back we had to stop again inside Holland as the smoke inside was so thick, my kids were choking and I couldn't see. I've contacted the nearest VW dealer to my home (we made it back) and I'll take it in there hopefully next week to let them have a look. I never received any paperwork for the 'glow plug' that Polar Ford Thirsk claimed that they replaced. I'm beginning to doubt that they did replace it. I'll ask the VW blokes for their opinion.

No need to worry about booster heaters, they are the least of my problems. In fact, I wish the f*****g car would burst into flames so I could claim my insurance...the ABS has just packed up. It was only serviced the other day. The brake pad warning light came on this morning so I phoned them up and agreed to take it in. During the health check the brake pads etc, all scored in the green. After my experiences with Darlo, I was having a bit of dejavous. On the way to the A1 (about 6 miles away) it didn't appear so I returned home and phoned up to say that all appeared well. There was no apparant problem with the brakes and the car was stopping as it should, so we agreed to leave it there unless there was a reocurrence. The car was left on the drive all day. Anyway, I've just picked the kids up from school and on the way back there was an audible scraping sound coming from under the car when I applied the brakes, the vibrations from which travelled up the steering column, and then the ABS light appeared. Although the car stopped when I applied the brakes, it wasn't stopping as efficiently as before. Ford...never again. I'm meant to be driving this heap of sh**e to Germany next week. They say that you shouldn't write when you're angry as you may end up regretting it. The only thing I regret right now was that I didn't buy Mitsubishi.

Well, I've just picked it up and despite the cold outside, the heater hasn't kicked in yet. The car has heated up (took longer than normal though) but that turbine noise which emits from the auxiliary heater hasn't made a peep. I'll see what happens tomorrow morning when the outside temp drops. The lass on the desk told me that they'd changed the glow plug. If only they'd listened in March. There's no work sheet as you would expect and they charged me

I left in Dec 2005. Wouldn't go back if they offered me double. There are loads of Galaxy's in Germany. Ford were doing a really good deal but I've recently learned that the deal may not have been as good as first appeared. There are about half a dozen Galaxy's around where we live which are all owned by squaddies aor ex sqaddies and all are havig problems with the paint around the rear door handle. Ford were reputed to have been caught out before a good few years ago setting aside a load of cars which were 'for HM Forces Tax Free sales only', all of which had the same faults. It would appear that when they get a duff batch, they sideline them for tax free sales. I was wondering why I got a car which should have cost me 10 grand more than it did. I reckon that they are aware of the paint issue and that's why they wouldn't let them loose on the civilian populus. The tyres are reinforced. There was bugger all in the way of evidence that my wife had hit a kerb or anything else and I practically interogated her for hours on that one. I had a good look at the tyre as well, and there were no tell tale marks of her having sided it. Even if it had been the case, I would have appreciated them getting back and telling me so. The fcat is,that the Ford dealer didn't send it off, they just binned it, which shows how much contempt they have for their customers. I'll let you know what happens on Wednesday, but I can tell you that I'll more than likely buy Skoda or something Korean next time round. It's your second most expensive purchase and they suck up like leeches when you turn up at the showroom showing interest. I was thinking about a Fiesta about 2 and a half years ago (before I saw the light) and took a trip down to the dealer where we bought the Galaxy. They must have had the new sales techniques instructor round (obviously people were getting used to the 28 point sell). The muppet (ex NAAFI car sales so he told me) who tried to sell me a car, didn't actually try to sell me it, if you can follow that. Lots of leading questions but no suggestion as to which model you may like. Lots of long silences to allow you to talk yourself into buying a car, without him actually offering to sell you one. Pretty spooky so I started playing him at his own game (I've had over 20 years experience in interviewing bad lads), so I said very little but left what I did say open, so that he had to respond. He was determined that he was going to stick by the training manual, so it ended up with the two of us staring each other out. I asked him if he fancied me, which got a really funny reaction. I was quick off the mark so as to stop him getting a full response in as well, by asking him why he kept staring into my eyes, and did he not think it improper to be making such advances upon his customers without first establishing if they were gay or not. He didn't know where to put his face. I told him that I was off to Toyota. I'd loved to have been a fly on the wall when he spoke to his manager about that one. You could see them all watching out of their office window. He must have either been the guinea pig for the new technique or the loud mouth that had a bet on he could sell a car without saying a bloody word. The slimy sod who flogged me the Galaxy was straight out of Black Adder. If you get a chance, pop into the Ford dealer at Darlo. It's worth the visit just to see the state of their staff. Having read best part of this forum, combined with my 'after sales' experiences, I'm now convinced that I will never buy Ford again. They just take the p***. I would go 'local' for my servicing, but they're just as bad as the main dealers, if not worse. You absolutely despair when it comes to service time.

For those in the North East, I would not recommend the Ford dealer in Darlington. They've recently changed ownership and I cannot now recall what name they go under, but all that has changed is ownership of the garage. Right down to the two grimy looking women on the desk, the service is appaling and the attitude is one of contempt. I've only just found this site so please excuse the late'ish post. I bought my Galaxy (1.9Tdi Ghia) tax free via these people three years ago. Before I continue I must say that I love the car, it does everything I need it to and the family (wife + 2) love it as well. We bought it tax free as I was a squaddie at the time and we were posted out to Germany for my last tour. The car travelled back and forward to Germany like a dream, an absolute pleasure to drive (which helped over the long distances) and we were very satisfied with performance and economy and all the rest of it, however the car has been let down by the after sales service and the 'you've got mug written all over your face' attitude of the people who I have relied upon and trusted to service the car. I stopped using the place in Darlo about a year ago, as I honestly believe that they did not do the service they charged me for. Any of it. As an example, on the 4th service they said on the work sheet that the brake pads were all OK. I'd forgotten to give them the locking wheel nut so I'm dumbfounded as to how they managed to gain access to callipers. Two days later, when I realised this, the brake warning light came on coincidentally. I took the car back. "You need new pads front an' back mate". "How can I, you just serviced it two days ago and it says here that you replaced them?". "Not us mate" And so it went. The pads needed changing so in the car went. They wouldn't give me my keys until I paid for the new work which they should have done two days before and which I'd already paid for. The grimy bird (and I mean grimy as in she looks like she does some manual labour in the company uniform she wears), automatically kicked into 'unsatisfied customer' mode and handed me over to her supervisor who is either Canadian or American,who wasn't handing over any keys until I paid, simple as that. The car was under warranty so we had to keep using them to keep the warranty valid and the next nearest Ford Dealer was in Thirsk (I'll get round to them in a minute). The second service we had there (car was 1 yr old by now), they tried to sell me some new tyres under the hoax that mine were now illegal as they were short on tread. I used to be a tyre fitter years ago and was a Militray Policeman in the Army at that time, so I was able to counteract this ruse, as I had more than an inkling about tyre safety. I pointed out that there was nothing wrong with the tyres (one of the originals is still on the back today and the car has done over 60k...the only reason the other rear tyre was changed is that we had a puncture recently), but her mate in the boiler suit started to waffle. I quickly stopped him and informed him of my current and previous employment roles. By Christ he was determined, totally ignored me and continued on with his 'I will get you to part with your money' routine, with the grimy bird standing there trying to convince me that this bloke was some sort of 'tyre guru'. I've got those low profile tyres which are about