Paying for diagnotiscs on a car still covered by a warranty?

[MJK 24]

A friend has a 59 reg Focus 1.6 diesel. About 26,000 miles on the clock. The engine management lamp came one. He took it to his local Ford dealer. They ran a diagnostics check, couldn't find a fault, turned off the lamp. When he went to collect the car, he was presented with a bill for £48 for half an hours labour.

Am I away with the fairies in thinking that as the car is well within its three year warranty, this should not have been charged?

[Aberdeenloon]

I'd of told them where to stick their 48 quid. Presumably the light was still on when he took it in?

[MJK 24]

Aberdeenloon said:

I'd of told them where to stick their £48. Presumably the light was still on when he took it in?

Yes, light was still on.

He said he tried to avoid paying but the Service Manager appeared and said he would have to pay or they wouldn't release the car. He reluctantly paid under duress.

He says this is now his 4th and final new Ford as a matter of principle!

[POORCARDEALER]

If they hd found a fault they wouldnt have charged......great innit!

[Aberdeenloon]

Letter to Ford should sort it mate.

[robsco]

Standard procedure I'm afraid, diagnostics aren't covered under warranty. That said, a strongly worded email should resolve matters very quickly.

[eldar]

robsco said:

Standard procedure I'm afraid, diagnostics aren't covered under warranty. That said, a strongly worded email should resolve matters very quickly.

Its not diagnostics. The car went in with a hard fault, and they fixed it.

[POORCARDEALER]

eldar said:

robsco said:

Standard procedure I'm afraid, diagnostics aren't covered under warranty. That said, a strongly worded email should resolve matters very quickly.

Its not diagnostics. The car went in with a hard fault, and they fixed it.

computer said no, and that overules all common sense

[carmonk]

eldar said:

robsco said:

Standard procedure I'm afraid, diagnostics aren't covered under warranty. That said, a strongly worded email should resolve matters very quickly.

Its not diagnostics. The car went in with a hard fault, and they fixed it.

He didn't say they fixed it, he said they turned off the light.

[Rich_W]

Shouldn't have been charged IMO

If it was a fault they corected by resetting everything (turning the light off) then it's warranty
If it wasn't a fault they didn't cure (by turning the light off) they haven't done what he asked them to, so why pay?

[Aberdeenloon]

If the light was on and there wasn't a fault then the light was faulty so they turned it off therefore fixing the fault.

[oniznorb]

Aberdeenloon said:

If the light was on and there wasn't a fault then the light was faulty so they turned it off therefore fixing the fault.

if the light was on and there wasn't a fault then the light was faulty - it is still warranty

[robsco]

eldar said:

robsco said:

Standard procedure I'm afraid, diagnostics aren't covered under warranty. That said, a strongly worded email should resolve matters very quickly.

Its not diagnostics. The car went in with a hard fault, and they fixed it.

Well no, the car didn't have a hard fault at all, it was the EML light. They diagnosed the vehicle to find there was nothing wrong with the car, so turned off the light. Regardless of whether there turned out to be a fault or not, the vehicle still needed to be diagnosed to determine this.

[havoc]

Ford I believe still only offer 1 year's manufacturer warranty and 2 years dealer-backed mechanical warranty...meaning after 1 year you've effectively only got the same as a better manufacturers post-3-year 'aftercare' warranty.

Doesn't cover diagnostics, alloy wheel corrosion, trim problems, etc...

st, eh?

[eldar]

robsco said:

Well no, the car didn't have a hard fault at all, it was the EML light. They diagnosed the vehicle to find there was nothing wrong with the car, so turned off the light. Regardless of whether there turned out to be a fault or not, the vehicle still needed to be diagnosed to determine this.

I took my car into the dealer as the odometer read KM rather than Miles. A fault unknown to the dealer and the manufacturer that took 5 days, 2 ECUs and a steering column to rectify. Happily they didn't try and charge me. Thats what the warranty is for. It wasn't working properly, they fixed it so it did.

[robsco]

eldar said:

I took my car into the dealer as the odometer read KM rather than Miles. A fault unknown to the dealer and the manufacturer that took 5 days, 2 ECUs and a steering column to rectify. Happily they didn't try and charge me. Thats what the warranty is for. It wasn't working properly, they fixed it so it did.

I'm happy they did too, but they weren't required to diagnose a fault as they could see what the issue was straight away without having to hook it up to diagnostic machinery. I'm not saying its right, in fact its utterly wrong. Its just a very easy source of revenue for a dealer without having to do any work or use any resources.

[havoc]

hora said:

Just shows how badly ford see their own product.

Not sure I'd willingly own another one (the Mk1 Focus I had was lovely to drive though) - not unless it was an RS or similar 'special'...


Rob - that is why I think an OBD-II reader is essential kit now for the modern car owner - pays for itself first time out!

[Zod]

I've had a BMW dealer try this on me. When my M5 clutch starte to act up, I was told that the exploratory work would cost something like £1000 and that it would be for me to pay if they found no fault. I told them to go ahead and they could try to claim he money later if they found no fault. I also told them I'd be discussing the conversation with BMW GB. Funnily enough there was no further mention of the work potentially being payable by me.

[bozmandb9]

I think if dealers want to do this sort of thing then fair enough. But thank god for the internet. They'll reap what they sow! I wouldn't have purchased a ford anyway, but if they want to treat customers like this, then customers should let others know via the web, and we'll vote with our feet!

[cheadle hulme]

Unless you really need a Ford for some reason, you may as well buy a Kia with its 7 year warranty. 1 year plus 2 years dealer really does show how st they know their products are.