the_lone_wolf
10-06-07, 07:35 PM
Right, sit back, grab a beer, because this could go on a bit...
I'm about to go postal with my ford garage, they have damaged my car for the third time in as many visits (before you ask why i went back please read the rest of the post...)
I bought a 53 reg focus from my mum in may last year, the car had been owned from new so i knew the history. just after i bought it she had it serviced (it was due) and whilst they had it they broke the clip that holds down the scuttle plate on the passenger side base of the windscreen. once the seal is broken water can flow under the plate, into the pollen filter on the AC unit and then through the pipes into the passenger footwell. needless to say a few weeks after the service after a night of heavy rain i found a 3inch swimming pool in the passenger footwell. when i found out the cause i phoned the garage to complain, they accepted that it was damaged and offered to either replace the part FOC or replace it with an "upgraded" part if i paid the difference and that stopped the clip from breaking again. i paid the difference (about £10 iirc) and had the plate fitted, and all was well until i went in for it's service at the end of may.
when i pick the car up the guy ont he desk says that they also "fixed the rear washer" - which i didn't know was broken and would have used recently to clear the back window. it was when i got the car home a few days later that i saw the damage to the top of the boot. it looks like someone has tried to shut the hatchback with something between the roof panel and the boot. the boot is bent and both that and the rood have had the paint scraped.
when i called to ask what the hell was going on i was told that the guy i spoke to would "look up the job sheet and call me back" - 3 hours later i got a call and was told that according to them the damage was pre-existing and marked on the sheet (who fills out the sheet and when i don't know).
now yesterday i'm on the driveway and notice that once again they've broken the clip that holds down the scuttle plate. their "upgraded" part seems to consist of the same plate with a bit of foam underneath so that when they break the clip the seal shouldn't leak (or at least not so badly)
they also broke the scuttle plate on the focus me and my dad ran before this one, but we never found out the cause of the flooding problem in that one until after we traded it in.
i'm going to drop in before work on tuesday to let them see the damage, but i'm not going to tell them about the scuttle plate until i see their pre-existing damage sheet. what i think has happened is that they have either damaged the boot *and* the rear washer, and fixed the washer, or damaged the boot whilst fixing the washer and the grease monkey doing the work has just marked up the boot damage as pre-existing. i am 100% certain i have never trapped anything in the boot of the car whilst closing it and can't see how i would have missed the damage if it really was there, i use the boot frequently for carting surveying gear around for work and would have seen this for sure
so where do i stand? i know the garage has a duty of care to look after the car whilst they have it but i can only imagine that they will simply turn around and wave the sheet of paper at me, if it goes to court is the fact that they fixed the same damage this time last year likely to be taken into account? the attitude i got over the phone was "we're right you're wrong and there's nothing you can do about it" and tbh i can't see a way out without getting into a long and ugly legal wrangle
sorry for the long rant - does anyone have any similar experience and care to impart some advice, or sympathy if they have no experience
oh and avoid "Premier Ford, Newport IOW" - they don't know their arses from the damage they leave on your car:rolleyes:
I'm about to go postal with my ford garage, they have damaged my car for the third time in as many visits (before you ask why i went back please read the rest of the post...)
I bought a 53 reg focus from my mum in may last year, the car had been owned from new so i knew the history. just after i bought it she had it serviced (it was due) and whilst they had it they broke the clip that holds down the scuttle plate on the passenger side base of the windscreen. once the seal is broken water can flow under the plate, into the pollen filter on the AC unit and then through the pipes into the passenger footwell. needless to say a few weeks after the service after a night of heavy rain i found a 3inch swimming pool in the passenger footwell. when i found out the cause i phoned the garage to complain, they accepted that it was damaged and offered to either replace the part FOC or replace it with an "upgraded" part if i paid the difference and that stopped the clip from breaking again. i paid the difference (about £10 iirc) and had the plate fitted, and all was well until i went in for it's service at the end of may.
when i pick the car up the guy ont he desk says that they also "fixed the rear washer" - which i didn't know was broken and would have used recently to clear the back window. it was when i got the car home a few days later that i saw the damage to the top of the boot. it looks like someone has tried to shut the hatchback with something between the roof panel and the boot. the boot is bent and both that and the rood have had the paint scraped.
when i called to ask what the hell was going on i was told that the guy i spoke to would "look up the job sheet and call me back" - 3 hours later i got a call and was told that according to them the damage was pre-existing and marked on the sheet (who fills out the sheet and when i don't know).
now yesterday i'm on the driveway and notice that once again they've broken the clip that holds down the scuttle plate. their "upgraded" part seems to consist of the same plate with a bit of foam underneath so that when they break the clip the seal shouldn't leak (or at least not so badly)
they also broke the scuttle plate on the focus me and my dad ran before this one, but we never found out the cause of the flooding problem in that one until after we traded it in.
i'm going to drop in before work on tuesday to let them see the damage, but i'm not going to tell them about the scuttle plate until i see their pre-existing damage sheet. what i think has happened is that they have either damaged the boot *and* the rear washer, and fixed the washer, or damaged the boot whilst fixing the washer and the grease monkey doing the work has just marked up the boot damage as pre-existing. i am 100% certain i have never trapped anything in the boot of the car whilst closing it and can't see how i would have missed the damage if it really was there, i use the boot frequently for carting surveying gear around for work and would have seen this for sure
so where do i stand? i know the garage has a duty of care to look after the car whilst they have it but i can only imagine that they will simply turn around and wave the sheet of paper at me, if it goes to court is the fact that they fixed the same damage this time last year likely to be taken into account? the attitude i got over the phone was "we're right you're wrong and there's nothing you can do about it" and tbh i can't see a way out without getting into a long and ugly legal wrangle
sorry for the long rant - does anyone have any similar experience and care to impart some advice, or sympathy if they have no experience
oh and avoid "Premier Ford, Newport IOW" - they don't know their arses from the damage they leave on your car:rolleyes: