audipersempre
08-10-2008, 09:49 AM
Bought many many cars in my time and must have got a bit lax as I get older. Read this and if you are buying a car make sure you check all the documentation.
Friday 26th Sept went to pick up a 2006 Ford Fiesta Zetec-S diesel for my daughter. She had been waiting for this car since passing her GCSE exams (expensive incentive to achieve from Dad!).
Kent to Bishops Stortford it drove lovely. Monday 29th Sept she drove it to college in Cambridge no problem. Then it broke down on the M11 on the way home. Catastrophic failure of the bottom radiator hose and over heated. Towed home by the RAC.
Tuesday 30th Sept in to the local Ford dealer for repair. Test drive after repair reveals blown head gasket. On removing the head it was too warped to skim. Buy a new head right? Nope, on that engine the block and head are a matched pair. I have confirmed this through an authorised Ford parts agent. You cannot order a cylinder head alone for that car Ford don't even list it! So new engine at around 5 grand required!
Then the fun starts and my first mistake. Bought the car from a Vauxhall main dealer. I asked to see the service book when we first went to look at the car and they said they hadn't got it on site all documents are held at head office. Of course when we go to collect the car I can see the second service was done 8 months later than scheduled. Still we bought the car.
Now who is going to pay for the engine? The seller said it was fine when they sold it to us so it isn't their problem, the mickey mouse third party warranty company said they would cover the cost of the hose failure but not the subsequent damage and Ford said their 3 year warranty didn't cover it as the last service was done late!! Now I am looking at a £5k bill :(
After further protracted discussions Ford agree the failure wasn't a service related item so they would cover it under warranty if I supplied the proof of purchase to show we bought the car after the last service so it was the previous owners error.
Here was the next issue and my second mistake. Ford get the proof of purchase and reject the claim again pointing out the car had only covered 31 miles before it broke down so it is the selling dealers problem. Clearly this was wrong as the drive from Kent to home was more than 80 miles! I then find the salesman who made out the invoice couldn't be bothered to check the actual mileage on the car so he guessed it and rounded the figure up!! Actually the car covered 176 miles before it broke down.
More phone calls and chasing around to get the Vauxhall dealer to prove the actual mileage to Ford which they did yesterday afternoon. Now I am holding my breath and waiting to see if Ford comes up with another objection :(
Through this saga I also find out Ford have issues with this part. It is a rigid plastic coolant pipe and fails often (maybe due to the heat or vibration). If you have, or know someone that has, a MK6 Fiesta diesel with the Zetec engine I strongly advise you to get it checked out.
Moral of this story. Always check the full documents and all the details when you purchase a car!!
Friday 26th Sept went to pick up a 2006 Ford Fiesta Zetec-S diesel for my daughter. She had been waiting for this car since passing her GCSE exams (expensive incentive to achieve from Dad!).
Kent to Bishops Stortford it drove lovely. Monday 29th Sept she drove it to college in Cambridge no problem. Then it broke down on the M11 on the way home. Catastrophic failure of the bottom radiator hose and over heated. Towed home by the RAC.
Tuesday 30th Sept in to the local Ford dealer for repair. Test drive after repair reveals blown head gasket. On removing the head it was too warped to skim. Buy a new head right? Nope, on that engine the block and head are a matched pair. I have confirmed this through an authorised Ford parts agent. You cannot order a cylinder head alone for that car Ford don't even list it! So new engine at around 5 grand required!
Then the fun starts and my first mistake. Bought the car from a Vauxhall main dealer. I asked to see the service book when we first went to look at the car and they said they hadn't got it on site all documents are held at head office. Of course when we go to collect the car I can see the second service was done 8 months later than scheduled. Still we bought the car.
Now who is going to pay for the engine? The seller said it was fine when they sold it to us so it isn't their problem, the mickey mouse third party warranty company said they would cover the cost of the hose failure but not the subsequent damage and Ford said their 3 year warranty didn't cover it as the last service was done late!! Now I am looking at a £5k bill :(
After further protracted discussions Ford agree the failure wasn't a service related item so they would cover it under warranty if I supplied the proof of purchase to show we bought the car after the last service so it was the previous owners error.
Here was the next issue and my second mistake. Ford get the proof of purchase and reject the claim again pointing out the car had only covered 31 miles before it broke down so it is the selling dealers problem. Clearly this was wrong as the drive from Kent to home was more than 80 miles! I then find the salesman who made out the invoice couldn't be bothered to check the actual mileage on the car so he guessed it and rounded the figure up!! Actually the car covered 176 miles before it broke down.
More phone calls and chasing around to get the Vauxhall dealer to prove the actual mileage to Ford which they did yesterday afternoon. Now I am holding my breath and waiting to see if Ford comes up with another objection :(
Through this saga I also find out Ford have issues with this part. It is a rigid plastic coolant pipe and fails often (maybe due to the heat or vibration). If you have, or know someone that has, a MK6 Fiesta diesel with the Zetec engine I strongly advise you to get it checked out.
Moral of this story. Always check the full documents and all the details when you purchase a car!!