Dealership rip off? (Blown Engine)

rizzodun

A work colleague bought a 06 Focus C-Max 1.8 Diesel turbo from a ford dealership approx 9 months ago.

Last week he was about 10 minutes from the end of his 1 hr drive home when the power steering went and then the engine light came on, he nursed the car home and parked it up, thinking it was an electrical problem.

He later tried to start the car and heard a bang, noticed oil coming from underneath the car.

He rang the dealership the next morning and they recovered the car.

They have since told him that the engine is blown, that there was no oil in the engine, and that the leak was located behind the timing belt which is why he didn't detect it.

The problem is that there was no oil at his parking space where he works (he uses the same space daily) and no oil on his driveway before the engine let go. He also checked the oil a few days before and the level was ok.
He has a problem with their story also because when the engine let go it deposited a load of oil all over his drive, which potentially would not be there if it had leaked out.

The main point is this, they quoted him 5k for a reconditioned engine plus fitting!

The warranty he got with the car when he purchased it was 6 months, so does he have any comeback with the garage, and is 5k a proper reflection of the price of the engine and fitting? (Secondhand engine I'm told would be 1000-1500 max)

I'm no expert, but it sounds like he's being ripped off, whatever the root cause of the failure was (it should be noted the car was slightly overdue a service, if that makes a difference) 5k for an engine of a car valued roughly 7.5k 12 months ago seems very steep!

corkcity

what year and make is the car

this happened to me with a car before .car was out of warranty by a year
got a price of 3k plus for a reconditioned engine .car was only a 4yrs old .argued and fought with dealer and there head office.they then agreed to put brand new engine into the car and cover labour costs.make sure you fight this

bazz26

The part where he "nursed" the car home with the engine light on instead of pulling over straight away could well have contributed to the damage. I really don't see where the warranty comes into to be honest, he had 6 months warranty which expired 3 months prior to the issue

Also if he doesn't trust their prognosis of the damage then he needs to get the car to another garage for a second opinion. Personally I would not be getting a main dealer to repair a 7 year old car unless they are footing the bill as their labour rates are very high. Getting the work done by a good independant garage will be alot cheaper.

All my opinion of course.

rizzodun

bazz26 wrote: »

The part where he "nursed" the car home with the engine light on instead of pulling over straight away could well have contributed to the damage. I really don't see where the warranty comes into to be honest, he had 6 months warranty which expired 3 months prior to the issue

Also if he doesn't trust their prognosis of the damage then he needs to get the car to another garage for a second opinion. Personally I would not be getting a main dealer to repair a 7 year old car unless they are footing the bill as their labour rates are very high. Getting the work done by a good independant garage will be alot cheaper.

All my opinion of course.

I don't think he's saying nursing the car home did no damage, but the light came on after the power steering went, he was pretty much home, mostly his concern is with the huge price they're quoting him, thanks for the input though.

corkcity

would never pay that price
might as well buy new car

tell him to get prices from different garages

bazz26

rizzodun wrote: »

I don't think he's saying nursing the car home did no damage, but the light came on after the power steering went, he was pretty much home, mostly his concern is with the huge price they're quoting him, thanks for the input though.

He should get a way cheaper price from an independant garage, I think there is no benefit to getting a main dealer to do that sort of work on a 7 year old car unless they are footing the bill.

rizzodun

bazz26 wrote: »

He should get a way cheaper price from an independant garage, I think there is no benefit to getting a main dealer to do that sort of work on a 7 year old car unless they are footing the bill.

Thats what I had said too, nice to get a second opinion, he's pretty miffed that engine let go with no prior notice especially with the price he paid, which is why I think he went back to the dealer, like he told me, the light came on, but he was practically home, literally a matter of a couple of minutes (it came on after the power steering went) and if the engine was leaking oil why was their so much on his drive, and not when it was parked up for the 10 hours previous. Personally I think the dealer might have not told him the full story, but that's just my opinion, I wasn't driving.

BostonB

bazz26 wrote: »

... I would not be getting a main dealer to repair a 7 year old car unless they are footing the bill as their labour rates are very high. Getting the work done by a good independant garage will be alot cheaper...

Exactly.

Wicklowandy

If people average 15kkm a year, after 9 months he may have covered 9ishkm.

To use a litre of oil every 2-2.5km would be within manufacturers spec.

In the 9 months, did he check his oil and water levels weekly?

I suspect the answer is no. Buying a new car, or getting a yearly service does not extinguish the need to check your oil / water / tyres and general condition weekly:)

Edit just reread OP, he cant prove he checked oil and it was overdue a service. You live and learn. A second hand engine will have little or no warranty

Bigus

I presume it's diesel?

I agree with bazz, no comeback.

It might be worth trying to sell it as damaged repairable on done deal unless he can locate a second hand engine handy, to get fitted elsewhere.
Damaged stuff can sometimes make good money and sell quickly, and more on to a different car.

rizzodun

Sorry, I completely forgot to mention engine type, its a 1.8 diesel turbo, any advice on where to source an engine? I'm thinking traynors in Armagh, and maybe looking for a crashed one on done deal etc, but any other ideas might help.

dbrunson

Tell your coleague, a replacement second hand engine fitted by an independent garage would be the way to go, depending on th ecost of the s/h unit allow 1 k for fitting. Agree with posters no comeback with garage, main dealers are not known for their cheap labour rates and ford up to this year only gave 2 yrs warranty on their NEW cars. I have a connect with that engine and hate it, constant problems with egr, throttle, turbos etc, complete pos, i have only hung on to it because i couldnt in all consciousness sell it to some innocent.

Bigus

Partfinder.ie

dr.fuzzenstein

dbrunson wrote: »

Tell your coleague, a replacement second hand engine fitted by an independent garage would be the way to go, depending on th ecost of the s/h unit allow 1 k for fitting. Agree with posters no comeback with garage, main dealers are not known for their cheap labour rates and ford up to this year only gave 2 yrs warranty on their NEW cars. I have a connect with that engine and hate it, constant problems with egr, throttle, turbos etc, complete pos, i have only hung on to it because i couldnt in all consciousness sell it to some innocent.

I agree with almost everything in your post, except one thing:
I've had a Focus, a Connect and a CMax with that engine and put hundreds of thousands ot KM on each of them without much trouble.
It's not an engine that's known for giving much trouble, it's certainly not the most refined diesel out there, but it it's reliable.
And the OP's problem would not be a common issue, it's a case of extremely bad luck and I would agree that it is out of warranty and the dealer doesn't have to give the OP anything.
But the dealer's quote is eye-watering, get a good second-hand engine and get a good Indy to fit it, OP.

Del2005

rizzodun wrote: »

Last week he was about 10 minutes from the end of his 1 hr drive home when the power steering went and then the engine light came on, he nursed the car home and parked it up, thinking it was an electrical problem.

He later tried to start the car and heard a bang, noticed oil coming from underneath the car.

A friends GF was driving his mothers car. The engine light came on and she pulled in and called him. She was only around the corner from the house so he said drive it carefully back. They had to buy a new engine for it and it was petrol. I don't know why people think a warning light on the dash can be ignored, the least you need to do is stop and check it.

rizzodun

Just an update, he managed to find a secondhand engine, 30,000km on it, fitted with 3 month or 3k miles warranty for 2500 euros, way cheaper than the dealer.