mikeohope

try www.silverdalecc.com

When I took my Galaxy to get a new tyre at a small independent tyre centre the fitter told me that on vehicles the isze of a Galaxy inside and outside balancing was critical to eradicate wheel wobble issues. So not only was the tyre I replaced (Firestone) much cheaper than the likes of Kwik Fit and ATS etal, I also got a steeringwheel vibration problem solved as well. The guy balanced the other side as well for no extra charge and the difference it made to the handling was well worth the small issue of a visible weight on the outside of the wheel.

My course of action would be to make sure you have recorded every discussion with the dealer on these issues, write to them to formally record it and give them a defined timescale to sort it as has been mentioned already and then threaten to ultimately reject the car citing a breach of the sale of goods act as the grounds There is plenty of info on the web about your rights under to SOGA and contrary to much opinion these forums, cars are no different to any other commodity in terms of what you should expect and what is considered reasonable in the eyes of the law. Be careful that you don't get yourself in a position where you are deemed to have accepted the vehicle. This can diminish your rights to reject the product. I would be making it quite clear to Ford that in its current condition you do not accept it and that you will exercise your right to reject it unless the matters are corrected immediately. As it is brand new I would be rejecting it within the first month unless the faults are corrected to your satisfaction. This is only my opinion, please do your own research though there is plenty of detail on the web. A simple google of "the sale of goods act" will give you loads to think about.

Personally I never mess with tyres and replace any damaged ones. The pain of a

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And remember the act has been updated and now provides for a legal principle of "reverse burden of proof". Basically within a reasonable period of time after a business transaction (ie not private) the seller has to prove the fault was not there when they sold the car to you. It is not the other way around. This is designed to give the consumer protection when things like this happen. Try your luck with the dealer and suggest you are considering taking action under the reverse burden of proof as defined in the Sale of Goods Act. Check www.consumer.gov.uk for more details. It may be enough to get some action because not that many people are aware of this bit of legislation. Mike

All done, thanks to the guys that helped.

Got the next "new" panel today. Cut apertures tonight very pleased with the result will post some pics later. Right now off out to put the panel back in the car!!!!!!

Hi all, I looked at an S- MAX before buying my MK2, I was really impressed by it but then my kids are 6yrs , 3yrs and 6 months so the smaller back row seats are not really an issue. That said I understand that it is actually 50mm bigger inside than the MK2 Galaxy? I did also test drive a MK3 Gal and was very impressed by it. The negative point was the almost deckchair like rear seats but I guess you could offset that by not having to take them out as they do lay flat when you fold them down. Whilst I really like the drive of my MK2 Gal I have become serioulsy dismayed at the poor build quality. Very surprising given I had always thought VW's were considered semi prestige. I have had several issues to deal with on my car, mostly internal trim stuff. It seems the way the trim is fitted to the car is a bit of a bodge I am sure that Ford would not design some of the details I find in my car? In fact going by previous Fords I have owned I know they wouldn't. Today I got my Gal serviced. The dealer rang to say the spare wheel mechanism was seized. Its only 18 months old for heavens sake. They are changing it over on Wednesday under Warranty but sometimes I reckon manufacturers try to be too clever. I know they want to avoid you having to take the seats out to get at a spare but surely it wouldn't have been that much of a bind? I might just revisit the MK3 in early 2008 dependent on how my Mk2 is behaving by then!

try this guy www.silverdalecc.com but maybe your right :( ;)

Unpacked the new panel today and it had a massive split down the back of the reinforcing material. Back to the dealer and and a new one is coming Tuesday!!!!. The more I get in to this car the more concerns I have over the build quality. Nothing seems to have been thought through that well which surpises me given the supposed "German Quality" one would expect with what is predominantly a VW. Oh well, at least I get to spend my weekend more mundane things!!!!

OK New panel is here, Ford Dealer has the old one back and agrees that the template marking on the back of the panel is wrong had a lengthy chat with their body shop guru and he said they would have cut to the same lines I did and would have ended up with the same problem so watch this space for a refund!!!! Having had the luxury of the original damaged panel to do some trials on I have to warn anybody doing this job that without the right tools it is incredibly easy to snag the cloth and cause a major pull in the fabric. A millimeter to far with a drill, dremmel cutter or perhaps a jig saw at the wrong speed with the wrong blade will cause havoc with the panel. If you study the factory cut holes you will see that the fabric appears melted around the openings giving a clue that perhaps they are cut with a heat knife or similar. The hole is probably punched out with a custom made press. I have tried four different methods of cutting and have decided on the following as each time I tried it I got a perfect cut along the lines I marked. Small Hole for retainer clip This will be cut with a high speed jig saw. I have trialled this many times on the original panel and it is a safe method. The finish on the panel is vinyl and does not get damaged by the jig saw. Speaker hole This hole is very slightly off a true circle . Not enough to worry about so this is what I am going to do. Plot the centre of the "circle" on the back of the panel and then measure the diameter. Then create a card template of the hole. Using a bradawl I will pierce the panel in the centre of the speaker cut out where I have marked it and then mark the same point on the front of the panel. Next I will do the same with the four locating holes for the speaker. Then use the card template to mark the area of the panel to be removed on the front of the panel. Using the hot knife (also known as a low power soldering iron) I will then remove the fabric in the area that is going to be cut. As long as this area remains inside the four locating holes it will be safe. I have also trialled this many times on the original panel and it is a clean and tidy method of removing the fabric. This method will also seal the edges of the fabric so it doesn't fray. The hole in the fibre board will then be cut with a jig saw. the four holes that locate the speaker will need to be enlarged from the original bradawl mark. I have trilled this by placing the tip of the soldering iron on the exact point to remove a bit of fabric and then just a drill bit to enlarge the hole. On the sacrificial panel a high speed drill cauased major damage to the weave in the cloth. Where as the method just described was perfect. Load Cover Bracket Hole The tricky one!!! Be warned anyone who tries this on a MKII Gal. The dotted lines mark out an over sized cut out. In fact the actual hole required can be substantially smaller than the dotted lines suggest. I will be using the same method to remove the fabric from the front as with the speaker hole and have a template prepared from the original panel. This will result in a much smaller hole and overall a much neater job. Its going to be two stage job. Cuts tomorrow night in the garage. Install panel on Saturday morning. Having had the panels of about 4 times in the last fortnight I have got the removal down to 20 mins maximum so I reckon the overall time inside an hour. Of course all this would have been avoided if I hadn't bought a car with a damaged panel in the first place!!!!!!!!!!! Watch this space!!!!!!!!!!!

What is a removals surveyor?

Well new panel was ordered today, will be delivered tomorrow. Nobody, not even the dealer seems to have a fool proof method of cutting this. Dealer wants 3 weeks to do it but says he has never done it before! My local car audio installer reckons he could do it but was talking about hole cutters and saws which sounds like a recipe for disaster so I may Revert to my plan of using the soldering iron to cut the cloth and a jigsaw to cut the substrate. I thought about a dremmel but how do you accurately control the depth of the cut given the panel is curved and not a level plane? Interestingly the dealer was might concerned about the misalignment of the template lines on the back of the panel and says that if he can have the cut panel back he may take it up with Ford. I am not worried about the hole for the retainer or the speaker. Its the one that creates the aperture that the load cover bracket fits over that bothers me. The marks on the back of the panel are clearly wrong. I have a template form the original panel that I will overlay to ensure the size is right this time but is the method of cutting that I want to get right. Any other ideas please?

not a car accident but it will be cheaper than than the excess on my insurance an consequent loss of no claims

Hi thanks for your tip, I retrospectively checked the lines on the damaged factory fit panel and the cut was well inside them. don't know why I didn't check em first. I normally do on that sort of thing but guess impatience got the better of me today.

OK half answered my own question. The small retainer clip that fits at the back of the trim can be easily cutout with a knife or jig saw. Its a small hole and the covering is vinyl so thats easy enough. The trick to cutting the fabric cloth without snagging it is to use a soldering iron directly on the cloth from the front. A small one is sufficient. It works like a heat knife and cuts through the weave without catching it or snagging it and then seals the edge to stop it fraying. Brilliant. The speaker hole then, can simply cut from the front by piercing a hole through the middle of it from the back and then marking the diameter on the front with a pencil. Use the soldering iron to cut the cloth and then use a jig saw to cut out the hole. Make the fixing holes with a bradawl from the back then use the soldering iron to seal the cloth at the front then you can carefully drill a larger hole without fear of snagging the cloth. The tricky bit though is the cut out for the main bracket that the load cover sits in. This one is the route cause of all my frustartion today. Any ideas how to accurately transfer the dotted lines on the back of the panel to the front? I had an idea to pierce the trim with a bradawl in a few places and just join up the holes with a pencil to mark the line but it seems a bit of a bodge. One good thing about this exercise is that I have become and expert in removing the blasted load space trim. I have it down to 20 mins. The first time I did it it took 2 1/2 hours to get it off and another 1 1/2 to line it up with the clips when refitting it.

Does anybody know if you can buy rear laod panel trims pre cut for the load cover brackets and speaker? After a recent disaster in back of the car the rear LH load space trim was damaged. I got hold of a good used load space panel but it had no cut outs for either the tonneau carrier or retainer brackets or a speaker. I checked the pages on this forum looking for tips on how to cut out the holes and I am afraid that my experience was not a good one. Having been really really careful and avoiding any snags or pulls on the fabric (a major trial in itself). Cutting the vynl sections is no problem but the fabric areas are a nightmare and I reckon it woulod be very easy to get a major snag in the weave. Any way The last hole I cut was oversized despite following the dotted guidelines exactly!!!!!!!! and cosmetically appaling. It would seem it should have been cut a good 1/2 cm in side the line at the top only. I am going to order an new panel in the morning from Ford (

Great, thanks Kev, I shall order them in on Monday. Cheers

Yup did that, got the usual response, hence the post on this forum. If anybody knows I would be grateful. Thanks

Please does anybody know a part number for these clips? There are 4 of them on the LH side of the load bay that hold the top of the trim to the body work. Guess they could be sourced from either VW, Ford or Seat? Thanks Mike

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If you are looking for one I found this on ebay earlier, good luck http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-GALAXY-Roof-Spo...1QQcmdZViewItem

here