How Can I Get Ford's Attention?

[BrummyGit]

I have a 1 year old Galaxy 1.9TDi 150 Ghia.

 

3 visits to Wombourne Ford to try to fix the booster heater only resulted in water leaking from the booster after they botched the last attempt. The car was then taken in to another dealer and diagnosed that new sensors are required and that the water pipe had been trapped when refitting the booster and this damaged the rubber hose causing the leak.

 

Fords and the other dealer had NO warranty history on computer despite my car having been to Wombourne Ford for:

• Booster
  
• Heater (3 visits)
  
• Brake Failure
  
• Door Seal (3 visits)
  
• Window trim replacement
  

It appears they have never submitted claims or updated the Ford computer system so when I told the new dealer that it had been in 3 times for the booster I think they all thought I was lying about how the damage had been caused. It took Ford customer services to ring Wombourne Ford to clarify the situation (only after much heated discussion with me).

 

To cut the story short I opened a case with Ford Customer service who would not budge that the pipe damage was caused by Wombourne Ford and so this was not a warranty issue and it had to go back to them for repair.

 

My car went back on Friday. The pipe they had ordered did not fit and so they trimmed the end off the existing one and claimed to have tested everything.

 

After about 10 miles over the weekend it was apparent that the leak was actually worse than before and the booster still does not fire u.

 

I turned up on the doorstep on Monday morning very unhappy. The have used "special tape" to temporarily fix the water leak in the middle of the pipe and are ordering more parts. The told me the sensor ordered for the booster does not fit because Ford have also changed a pipe it fits into and so they need to order that as well (I wonder which model they are ordering parts for if so many bits won't fit my car). They also told me that they were not confident of fixing the booster and maybe a main dealer would be better.

 

So now in summary Wombourne Ford have had my car in 5 times for the booster and only succeeded in damaging (and not yet repairing) a water pipe. The car has also been into Tamworth Ford once when the pipe damage was done.

 

Ford insist the leak is the dealer's problem.

 

My argument is that Ford employed the dealer to fix my car under warranty and as I have no contract with the dealer (the warranty is from Ford) then it is Ford's problem. They won't nominate another dealer and won't get involved.

 

How do I put a metaphorical toe under the corporate bottoms at Ford?

Wombourn

[Ivor_E_Tower]

write or phone the Dealer Principal and state your disatisfaction. Give them an opportunity to respond and explain the unsatisfactory actions of their staff.

Do you have free legal cover with any of your insurance policies that can help in a situation like this?

[tiny]

So can trading standards, if all else fails give them a ring.

[whitty]

personally id park the galaxy accross the dealers front door blocking the entrance lock it up and leave it there ! they will call you soon enough when their new customers cant get in the building

[Ivor_E_Tower]

..especially if you leave a large sheet of paper in the windows or on the dash, listing your complaints and the dealer's responses.......

[jkspoff]

Do what I did a few years ago, book it in and give them a list of jobs that need doing, get one of their courtesy cars and ensure that all the jobs are done to YOUR satisfaction before giving the courtesy car back. Use it in ransom to get the jobs done properly. I ended up keeping my free courtesy car for 2 weeks before being happy with the work, they were not ! I even got threatened with police action, however I pointed out that infact the car was insured in my name for that period and it was signed out to me by them, with no maximum loan period specified ! Try it, it might just work for you too. :D

[tiny]

The was a case in the local paper about 2 years ago (News & Star), about a bloke with a sharan bought from a west cumbrian dealer long before I had a Galaxy. His windows kept steaming up, so after many failed attempts to rectify the problem, he parked the car outside the dealers on a busy main road with large placards telling everyone about his problem! Appartently the dealer was bringing him out tea & buscuits throughout his demonstration!

 

 

 

Here found a link to it in another paper!

 

Steamy windows

[jkspoff]

Excellent ! :unsure:

If thats what it takes now adays, then do it, although it would still seem it hasn't rectified his issue. Would like to know what eventually happened.

[Guest sobcry]

Tiny and others,

I live in Whitehaven, am thinking of buying a people carrier and so am looking at different forums. Would you give me your thoughts on a Galaxy, servicing costs reliability and where you go for servicing (CG?). Parkers seem to give a thumbs up but seen some scary stories on the net wrt costs e.g.

[Guest HENRYGB]

Tiny and others,

I live in Whitehaven, am thinking of buying a people carrier and so am looking at different forums. Would you give me your thoughts on a Galaxy, servicing costs reliability and where you go for servicing (CG?). Parkers seem to give a thumbs up but seen some scary stories on the net wrt costs e.g.