Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

To question Ford's morals...?

37 replies

Liquoriceallsort · 09/04/2014 18:03

Took my car in for a service and mot. It is a proper dealership. They phoned at lunch to say they recommend I have 4 brake pads and 4 brake disks replaced along with 2 tyres, the air filter and the washer bottle. Total of Â£1,000 plus Â£250 for the service and mot. I asked him to give me an hour to think about it, phoned dh who said that seemed excessive. I phoned back and asked if had actually failed the mot and they said it hadn't but probably would due to the brakes. I asked him to do the mot anyway. It passed.

Today I took the car into my local garage with the list of ailments Ford had given me and they said they would check it and let me know what they need to do. They had already ordered in all the parts anyway just in case.

Got a call an hour ago to say the car is fine, it has two brand new sets of brake pads and disks at the back and the two at the front are 50% worn. No charge and they even cleaned my car. I can't think of a reason this garage would be lying to me, surely it is in their interest to do work and charge me for it?

I actually feel disgusted that Ford tried to rip me off so royally! Should I write and complain or just learn my lesson and never darken their doors again?

Sorry for the long and rather boring rant!

OP posts:

gordyslovesheep · 09/04/2014 23:23

I had a run in with a bollard and my new car (Ford)

took it to a Ford dealership - man sucked his teeth a lot and said 'well that's an expensive shopping trip' ...I did it at work the patronising bastard

anyway quoted £650

took it to a local body shop (ex uses for some of his signage work) - cost me £180

I hate Ford - but I like their cars!

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 09/04/2014 23:49

I never use a dealership for anything bar repairs under warranty. Not even servicing, as the law says warranties are not breached if the service is to manufacturers' standard.

The worst was our local Fiat dealership, who put a plastic seat cover and two paper mats in the car, and tried to charge me £500 for not doing the service and tyre change. I had to call the police and have their CCTV seized to prove the car hadn't moved. Manager was prosecuted for fraud on about 20 customers.

Zingy123 · 10/04/2014 07:05

Our Ford dealer ripped my Dad off. He bought his car from new. He marked things likely to be changed at the service. When he got it back the things they claimed to have changed contained his markings.

He informed them of this loudly in front of the other customers. They couldn't apologise enough and refunded him there and then.

DrDre · 10/04/2014 14:55

Main dealers are a disgrace. I took my car in for a safety recall. It had a faulty bulb. They quoted me £50 to replace it! I declined and bought the bulb and replaced it myself for £5.
They also said my pads were on their way out and quoted me £400 for the work. My local garage said that they had several thousand miles left in them, and they could replace them for around £400.
Why anyone uses them apart for warranty / lock in reasons is beyond me.

DrDre · 10/04/2014 14:59

Sorry it should say the local garage would replace them for around £100

Sirzy · 10/04/2014 15:01

In defence of main dealers our local vauxhall place is fantastic often doing little bits for free or very cheap for me.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 10/04/2014 15:02

Having paid Ford £500 last week I'm now facing an additional bill for over £600 for them to complete the job. And there is no option to get it looked at anywhere else because the computers they need to be hooked up to are prohibitively expensive for your average mechanic. So we're stuck with paying the money. I'm furious really. I have no idea whether these costs are genuine and no way of finding out.

pointythings · 10/04/2014 15:07

Sirzy I have lost count of how many free bits and pieces I've had from my dealer - lots of headlight bulbs for a start, my old Rover ate them.

I'm beginning to see I am very fortunate in my local dealership though.

RedRoom · 10/04/2014 15:16

A Ford dealership sold me a year old car with a spare tyre that was so worn it was in shreds and £10 of petrol despite agreeing to fill with a full tank. Bit cheap, but nothing compared to what happened three months later.

The car bonnet caught fire because there was a technical problem. When I claimed under the warranty, they told me the car was a foreign import (am in UK, was sold with a British plate to a British owner, is right hand drive, has no foreign record on any paperwork and was first sold from a London Ford dealer's premises). As it was 'foreign' it didn't have a warranty. I had no idea at all how it was foreign. At no point in the sale was I told this and the paperwork I was given all said it was under warranty! If say my DH is close to being a car expert: he didn't see any signs it was an import. Three different people at Ford told me my car was not covered, however.

This turned out to be a complete lie- totally fabricated. I threatened legal action, and then they suddenly agreed to cover me after all.

I have since sold the car and wouldn't trust a Ford dealer again.

maudpringle · 10/04/2014 15:27

We have recently ended our custom with our local nissan/renault dealer.Dreadful service...However our local Ford garage was always lovely

Original poster

Liquoriceallsort · 10/04/2014 19:56

I wrote and complained and they are calling me tomorrow...

OP posts:

SoleSource · 10/04/2014 20:51

Ford in my experience have been fantastic.

Flip

1 2