This week I've seen an Octy Mk1 with almost 400k miles on it. The sump thread was perfect. If the stated torque is applied there is no reason why the thread will be damaged, as it always has a coating of oil on it. I can't see why a Ford would be different.

Problems can occur when the tech decides they don't need to use a torque wrench as they 'know what 30Nm feels like' :(

BTW small claims paperwork is nice and easy, so write to them stating you believe a or b and you'll be taking them to court.

 

Easier and funnier option would be to talk to a local motor rag.

Supply of Goods and Services Act

 

"...must use a reasonable degree of skill and care"

 

which does not equate with cross threading the sump plug and buggering the sump.

Prooving you never touched it will be the hard thing

 

Agreed Helicoil was the answer, dealer should have offered that. Ive had the same on a Nissan & that's what was done, Independent tuning shop & they did if FOC, comment was we found the thread was damaged so we helicoiled it for you & they weren't the only people who had worked on the car.

The problem you Find with main dealers having worked in one for a few years is the services generally get done by apprentices of varying experience and are normally overtightened

Not torqued as they they should be

The problem you Find with main dealers having worked in one for a few years is the services generally get done by apprentices of varying experience and are normally overtightened

Not torqued as they they should be

 

I have been that apprentice

 

To Bossfox, you are obviously not happy with it in the slightest and the principle over all. You could advise them in writing that should you be expected or invoiced to pay for said item (or not revised as a mistake) feel forced to take legal action. If they want to play games, let them. I know the dealers I worked in would have bailed big time. A customer came back once a week after a service with a scratch on side of car and claimed it must have been done by us, manager was fuming but the prospect of bad mouthing the place around the local area and time/cost of small claims court, they just paid for his repair! A week after it had been in FFS! 

Might be worth writing to ford asking what the typical life cycle of these 2 items are and if there are any service alerts etc covering them. The RAC or AA might be able to provide what the normal would be across the industry too. Either way assuming you've got all the recipts the dealer won't be able to claim a 3rd party is responsible so in the first instance I'd write to the MD of the company via recorded delivery putting your case and giving them the oportunity to settle out of court giving them 14 days to reply. The local trading standards people may be able to help too.

We had the same thing on our old Fabia vRS (when it was six years old).  A polite email to Skoda customer services saying how disappointed we were, pointing out that the sump plug had only ever been touched by a franchised Skoda dealer, and also establishing brand loyalty (and loyalty to the dealer) resulted in Skoda customer services and the garage making a full refund for the work (they funded it fifty-fifty between them).  Which was nice.  We tend to find that a calm, reasonable, polite approach works better than going in all guns blazing.

I tend to find that when a company refuses to do the right thing the first time or after a polite statement of the facts, then the small claims court is the best way to resolve it.

 

If they won't play ball, there is a clear fault and you have made reasonable attempts to resolve it with the company, then there is no point running around and playing nice.

Can't believe they didn't just clean it up with a tap. It surely can't be that bad.

how many garages drain the oil out the sump plug and how many suck it out?

No news on the outcome?

I've been busy...

 

It's on the list.

 

I spent half of yesterday expalining to the police why one of my minibuses (taxed as a "bus", clearly on the VED) was using a bus lane... as the Police Officer said it can't do that as it's not a "Big red bus". :wonder:

 

And also explaining to the police why another bus hasn't had an MOT showing on the DVLA system for many years, even though it has VED in the window (which they didn't care about) which you can't get without an MOT... as PSVs take a VOSA test that results in a hand written MOT rather than the computerised ones the cars get.

 

I wish the regular police would leave stuff like this to the traffic cops who know what they are talking about (most of the time).

Not quite Phil. The sump is alloy, but the drain plug steel. You get bi-mettalic corrosion between the two which "wears" away the alloy thread.

 

I had the same problem with the alloy sump on an Escort turbo diesel.  Cost me £400 for a new sump.  Mind you, the car was so unreliable that £400 was one of the smaller repair bills.

Are you kidding!!! £400 for a sump is it made of platinum?

 

ALL garages have sump repair kits (Or Should have!) re thread the hole to accept a new 17mm or re thread for a 18mm bolt from VAG (£6) or repair kit its about an hours labour and it will look no different to a brand new sump once cleaned up.

 

Boss i wouldnt take anyy of that ****e! 

 

The pure cheek of annoys me

Are you kidding!!! £400 for a sump is it made of platinum?

 

ALL garages have sump repair kits (Or Should have!) re thread the hole to accept a new 17mm or re thread for a 18mm bolt from VAG (£6) or repair kit its about an hours labour and it will look no different to a brand new sump once cleaned up.

 

Boss i wouldnt take anyy of that ****e! 

 

The pure cheek of annoys me

 

My car knowledge was a lot worse back then (we're talking 15 years ago).  I wouldn't stand for it now!

 

£400 was genuinely the cost of a new aluminium sump from the main dealer.  The profit on it must have been huge!

Are you kidding!!! £400 for a sump is it made of platinum?

 

Parts, labour and VAT and it can cost that much.

 

I suppose that it's against their company ethos to repair it rather than replace it.

Remember, Ford was the company who, in the US, decided that it was cheaper to pay compensation to people who had been horribly burned than it was to fix the fault on the Pinto that caused the fire in the first place.

 

Yes, you read that right. Ford decided it was cheaper to let 'em burn.

 

Although this will be a dealership decision, rather than Ford itself; I doubt they give a flying doodah about Richard's sump or him taking his business elsewhere.

I think it was about a Dealership losing a Customer,  a returning paying Customer, that easily takes their business elsewhere..

not really about Ford as a Global Company losing a future sale or maybe many more then one..

I take your point George.

 

I actually don't think any company, whatever they manufacture, gives a rat's arse about ANY single customer. This is why you hear of so many stories about complaints going nowhere until taken up by Which? or Watchdog or similar.

 

And I suspect that the staff in the dealership's attitude will be that they will still get paid regardless of whether Richard takes his business elsewhere.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, competition doesn't actually improve service. It just serves as a race to the bottom to see who can get away with the cheapest, crappiest service without going bust. [see; trains, buses, telephones, utilities etc]

Edited 7 February, 201412 yr by 2SkodaFamily

Ford in the UK enhanced their understanding of Cr4p Serivice back a few years ago now when they bought the 'Kwik Fit Group'

from Tom Farmer. (Now 'Sir Tom')

Contrary to popular opinion, competition doesn't actually improve service. It just serves as a race to the bottom to see who can get away with the cheapest, crappiest service without going bust. [see; trains, buses, telephones, utilities etc]

 

Agree 100%.

 

Shame that they were our local Ford dealer and a few months before we negotiated a good price on supplying company vehicles though.

 

I'll be mentioning the cancelled order for 6 new Transit 17 seaters when I send the letter in.

Got the same deal from Vauxhall.

Small claims court all the way, I would let them know 1st, did they put a new sump plug in each time as well Richard?

Small claims court all the way, I would let them know 1st, did they put a new sump plug in each time as well Richard?

 

I'd have to check back over previous invoices to be sure Alan.

Even if Ford did not damage my car I wouldn't buy a transit van, they are dreadful things, noisy, cheap and generally not nice!  Go and look at Transporters or Sprinters although a Sprinter will rot as do all things Mercedes.

 

 As for the sump plug situation, stand your ground, take all invoices and if they replaced the plug or not they must know that only them have ever serviced the vehicle so to me it is an open and shut case, Ford is at fault.