Bad servicing! What to do?
Discussion
I took my Fiesta ST in to a Ford garage to get its yearly service done and they called me up whilst it was in to tell me that my front driver side wheel was badly buckled and that I should get a new wheel fitted which would cost around £250. The night before I hit a fox with that wheel so I believed them but thought that the price they had given me seemed high so I told them I would leave it for now and try to get a better price elsewhere. Again they told me that they had it marked as 'Red' which meant it was high priority.
When I picked the car up later in the day I couldn't notice any difference in the way that the car drove so I took it into a local tyre garage to get it checked out. They took the wheel off to make sure it runs true and there was NOTHING wrong with it. After that I called Ford up to make sure I had the correct wheel checked but they couldn't get to the phone so they left me a voicemail confirming which wheel it was.
Luckily I didn't tell them to replace the wheel, so lost no money but I think a lot of people would especially the way they were making it sound so serious and would never know that they just got conned.
So do you think I should do anything about this? Contact trade standards?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
When I picked the car up later in the day I couldn't notice any difference in the way that the car drove so I took it into a local tyre garage to get it checked out. They took the wheel off to make sure it runs true and there was NOTHING wrong with it. After that I called Ford up to make sure I had the correct wheel checked but they couldn't get to the phone so they left me a voicemail confirming which wheel it was.
Luckily I didn't tell them to replace the wheel, so lost no money but I think a lot of people would especially the way they were making it sound so serious and would never know that they just got conned.
So do you think I should do anything about this? Contact trade standards?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
CatsPyjamas said:
I took my Fiesta ST in to a Ford garage to get its yearly service done and they called me up whilst it was in to tell me that my front driver side wheel was badly buckled and that I should get a new wheel fitted which would cost around £250. The night before I hit a fox with that wheel so I believed them but thought that the price they had given me seemed high so I told them I would leave it for now and try to get a better price elsewhere. Again they told me that they had it marked as 'Red' which meant it was high priority.
When I picked the car up later in the day I couldn't notice any difference in the way that the car drove so I took it into a local tyre garage to get it checked out. They took the wheel off to make sure it runs true and there was NOTHING wrong with it. After that I called Ford up to make sure I had the correct wheel checked but they couldn't get to the phone so they left me a voicemail confirming which wheel it was.
Luckily I didn't tell them to replace the wheel, so lost no money but I think a lot of people would especially the way they were making it sound so serious and would never know that they just got conned.
So do you think I should do anything about this? Contact trade standards?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Is there a visible buckle on the wheel? Is the camber out? To be fair, they have obviously found something wrong with the wheel and are right to do so as you say you did impact it the night before. If they didn't advise you on the wheel and there was a genuine fault then you'd maybe have a better case. When I picked the car up later in the day I couldn't notice any difference in the way that the car drove so I took it into a local tyre garage to get it checked out. They took the wheel off to make sure it runs true and there was NOTHING wrong with it. After that I called Ford up to make sure I had the correct wheel checked but they couldn't get to the phone so they left me a voicemail confirming which wheel it was.
Luckily I didn't tell them to replace the wheel, so lost no money but I think a lot of people would especially the way they were making it sound so serious and would never know that they just got conned.
So do you think I should do anything about this? Contact trade standards?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
In fairness, that does seem too expensive. Fiesta ST wheel is around £165 IIRC.
They advised you on something which you agreed with - how is this a case for TS?
You obviously took what I said the wrong way. When I took it to the tyre garage they said that there is NOTHING wrong with the wheel and the car drives the same as always.
As there were a few pieces of fox on the front of the car and along the side skirt I am guessing that they saw that and thought it would be an easy way to make some money from me when there was actually no problem!
As there were a few pieces of fox on the front of the car and along the side skirt I am guessing that they saw that and thought it would be an easy way to make some money from me when there was actually no problem!
A Ford garage persuading someone to have unnecessary work at an inflated price? Sounds strangely familiar.
The Wife's R reg Fiesta went in for a service at an un-named Ford dealer.
We were advised that a tyre was wearing unevenly and need replacing at a cost of £60 for a 155/70/R13. I said "no thanks" and had the tracking done, rotated the tyres and that tyre is still running 9 months and one MOT later.
They also advised that a rear brake cylinder was leaking and wanted £109 to replace it. Again, I said "no thanks". I ordered two from Euro Car Parts for £13 each, changed them both, but couldn't find any leaks whatsoever on the old cylinders.
There were other little issues too, but essentially, it seems that whilst they advertised a cheap main dealer service, they charge for work that either isn't needed or if it is needed, charge considerably more than anywhere else.
Needless to say, I won't be going back or recommending them to anyone!
The Wife's R reg Fiesta went in for a service at an un-named Ford dealer.
We were advised that a tyre was wearing unevenly and need replacing at a cost of £60 for a 155/70/R13. I said "no thanks" and had the tracking done, rotated the tyres and that tyre is still running 9 months and one MOT later.
They also advised that a rear brake cylinder was leaking and wanted £109 to replace it. Again, I said "no thanks". I ordered two from Euro Car Parts for £13 each, changed them both, but couldn't find any leaks whatsoever on the old cylinders.
There were other little issues too, but essentially, it seems that whilst they advertised a cheap main dealer service, they charge for work that either isn't needed or if it is needed, charge considerably more than anywhere else.
Needless to say, I won't be going back or recommending them to anyone!
ALY77 said:
Report the incident to Ford UK customer services.
They monitor how their dealer network are behaving.
Consistent reports from customers of what are effectively cowboy fast fit centre con tactics and the garage will quickly loose their dealer franchise.
Thanks for the help!They monitor how their dealer network are behaving.
Consistent reports from customers of what are effectively cowboy fast fit centre con tactics and the garage will quickly loose their dealer franchise.
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