Hellfire
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 posted on 7/7/14 at 08:25 AM |
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Ford Main Dealer
Took my vehicle into Ford main dealer on Saturday for servicing and they stripped the threads on the sump plug. Can't get a sump plug until
Monday (today) so I've now been without the car for three days. Had to borrow a car for Saturday, cancel a trip on Sunday and the wife has no
car to get to work this morning. I'm fuming. I intend giving the garage an earful when they ring. I feel I am entitled to some level of
compensation but not sure what's reasonable. What would you guys do?.....
Phil
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pekwah1
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 08:37 AM |
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i'd personally post three identical threads about it 
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mookaloid
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 08:46 AM |
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They will probably argue that it's not their fault and the threads were on their way out anyway.
"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."
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DW100
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 08:57 AM |
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Yes that is unfortunate.
Has nothing like that ever happened to you whilst working on a car?
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kj
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 09:25 AM |
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Best to think of what is fair eaither cash or free service etc, speak to the service manager and tell them that you had to borrow a car and add fuel
and what you had to cancel.
Think about it, think about it again and then do it.
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sdh2903
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:06 AM |
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One thing I've learnt in these situations if you go mental at them they will shut up shop and you will get diddly out of them. If you are calm
and polite you might get something out of them. But at the end of the day anyone can strip a thread, whether they are charging 4 or 400 quid an hour
particularly on an alloy sump. I've managed to strip a thread on a borescope port on a £3 million jet engine. Doesn't make me a crap
aircraft engineer, sh1t happens.
Let them put it right, get a free service out of them and move on, life's too short.
[Edited on 7/7/14 by sdh2903]
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wylliezx9r
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:07 AM |
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Did you ask for a courtesy car ?
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.
George Best
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Agriv8
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:23 AM |
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How about :-
70 year old Father took 3 year old Cmax in for service including Brake fluid replacement ( part of a deal they sold him with the car as he gets 3
years AA cover as well! ).
A few weeks later brake warning light comes on so he takes it back. They top the fluid up and send him on his way stating that its because the pads
are 1/2 worn ( and it was nothing to do with the fluid change ).
He calls around to Drop the kids off after picking them up from school and tells me this. Within 5 seconds I have found damp spots on the inside of
the Rear NS alloy and marks on the inside shoulder of the Tyre. I tell him to jump in and 'Really stand on the brakes' sure enough a drip
forms at the end of the bleed nipple !. lightly nipped with 11mm spanner and its sorted
Any how thought I would just look over the car and also found (in a mater of minutes)
Pipe unconnected to Air Flow meter
Oil well above the Maximum Mark ( not good for the cat or the DPF )
they make my blood boil mistakes can happen but fobbing him off that is because his pads are supposedly low is in-excusable in my book.
Agriv8
Taller than your average Guy !
Management is like a tree of monkeys. - Those at the top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces. BUT Those at the bottom look up and see a
tree full of a*seholes .............
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Hellfire
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:35 AM |
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Just been told that the threads are stripped on the sump pan and it now requires a new sump. £330...
Phil
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joneh
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:41 AM |
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I once broke down on Hendy Fords forecourt at their old place in Chandlers Ford.
They told me to bring it back next Tuesday... Never been back to ford since.
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kj
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:49 AM |
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So are they replacing it free of charge.
Think about it, think about it again and then do it.
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twybrow
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 10:54 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by joneh
I once broke down on Hendy Fords forecourt at their old place in Chandlers Ford.
They told me to bring it back next Tuesday... Never been back to ford since.
I poke my friend on that one - he manages the site (new sales though, not service).
Back to the OP, tricky situation, as these things can and do happen. Were you offered or did you ask for a courtesy car? Can the sump be repaired any
other way? E.g. Helicoil?
Put yourself in their shoes - customer brings in a car for work. To do said work you start removing bolts. One of them strips. Are you to blame by
undoing that bolt, or was it bound to happen to anyone?
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onenastyviper
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 11:42 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Just been told that the threads are stripped on the sump pan and it now requires a new sump. £330...
Phil
They should pick up the cost of either a repair to make good or replace.
If Ford are *ahem* daft enough to design a sump which cannot be repaired so the only alternative is a new sump - and they broke it the dealer should
claim the cost of repair from Ford and start a non-conformance against the part for "fit-for-purpose".
"If I knew what I was doing then it wouldn't be called research would it?...duh!"
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 11:45 AM |
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Personally I would have thought that stripping sump threads was a hazard of the job and that they should have a few plugs for tapping oversize or
helicoils, etc, to allow them to do immediate repairs.
My worst was a Nissan dealer who had to take the engine out of my Primera Diesel to replace the mechanically driven fuel pump on the back of the
engine. They needed it for a week, but took two, caused me loads of time off work by keep cancelling the return at the last minute (I lost over £500).
Finally gave it back with wet seats for me to drive home. I then found that they'd cracked the offside mirror surround, re-fitted the exhaust
with a twist so it knocked on the tunnel, wrecked the power steering pump, lost one of my rear mats and replaced it with a non-matching one; and while
valeting the car, they'd lowered the rear seat and slammed it back up punching a hole through the seatbelt by catching it in the latch.
The piece-de-resistance was when a month later I came to replace the brake pads, popped the plastic centres out of the alloy wheels and found that
when they'd removed and replaced the driveshafts to get the engine out, they re-used the split pins - one had lost one leg, but was still held
by the weak remaining one, while the other had dropped out completely  Let's say that I was somewhat impolite when I phoned them!
[Edited on 7/7/14 by SteveWalker]
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beaver34
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 11:57 AM |
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what dealership is this?
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DW100
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 12:17 PM |
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From the other point of view,
Customer brings car in for service, mechanic goes to drain the oil only to find the sump thread damaged.
Car is now stuck on the ramp.
If it has already been on the ramp for 8 working hours that will have cost them (at approx £80 +VAT an hour) £640 +VAT. With other work now backing
up.
I'm sure they are doing what they can to sort it out, but it is one of those situations where things happen and nobody is going to be happy
about it.
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ash_hammond
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 12:24 PM |
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Phil is local to me so i guess its the same Ford dealer I once used in Rotherham.
They fitted me a new steering column under warranty on a company car.
They forgot to put the rubber grommet bush thing back in the bulk head which the column travels/turns in. Hell of a breeze around my feet on the way
home!
I drove straight back and they gave me a courtesy car (Friday). I then drove to London on Monday for a three week client engagement... they rang on
Tuesday and asked for their car back. I told them to fetch it from London if they wanted it and put mine in its place... They never did.
.: www.mac1motorsports.co.uk | www.m1moc.com :.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 12:26 PM |
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Are either of the parts lightweight alu threads?
If not you've got to be pretty cack-handed to cock up a sump plug to the point where you destroy the thread completely.
I think you've got to accept that with an older car getting routine repairs can result in sheared/stuck parts though. I've had my fair
share of stuck sump plugs requiring breaker bars to remove.
quote:
Customer brings car in for service, mechanic goes to drain the oil only to find the sump thread damaged.
Car is now stuck on the ramp.
Unless the thread is totally destroyed it would be no problem to drop the oil back in, nip the plug up lightly and stick a pan under it while waiting
for parts. No-one would leave a car on the ramps for 8 hours because of a slightly dodgy plug thread - hell you could push it off.
I'll be honest and say I've never had good dealings with dealers or any garage at all - they never look at the sensible options and always
try to generate the most possible income and layer up their excuses as to why. When you knock down their straw arguments you walk away with a
significantly smaller bill and they get upset.
[Edited on 7/7/14 by coyoteboy]
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mcerd1
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 12:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Agriv8
....sure enough a drip forms at the end of the bleed nipple !. lightly nipped with 11mm spanner and its sorted
Any how thought I would just look over the car and also found (in a mater of minutes)
Pipe unconnected to Air Flow meter
Oil well above the Maximum Mark ( not good for the cat or the DPF )
they make my blood boil mistakes can happen but fobbing him off that is because his pads are supposedly low is in-excusable in my book.
that pretty bad
my dad took his 2 year old disco into landover for a service (also part of the deal when he bought it)
when he got home he spotted a little engine oil dripping from underneath - turns out the whole underside of the thing was saturated in oil
after some discussion the garage agreed to collect it - turns out it wasn't leaking at all, the monkey that had serviced it had spilt oil into
the valley between the cylinders (V6) and that sloshing around an slowly covering the underside of the whole car and the road
if it was little spill bit then it would have been ok (its an awkward engine to service) but this was in the ball park of 5l or more !
main dealers charge 3 or 4 times the going rate and then hire monkeys to do the work
[Edited on 7/7/2014 by mcerd1]
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adithorp
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 02:54 PM |
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I'm guessing it's an ally sump. We (and every indy i know) have a set with oversize taps and matching sump plugs for the common sizes. For
us it's a ten min' repair but for dealers it's not an approved Ford method of repair... so they'll try and sell you a new sump
and blame it on wear and tear.
To be fair the threads in ally sumps do gradually wear and it's not uncommon to feel uneasy when doing them up on high milage/regularly serviced
engines.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 04:20 PM |
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I'm sure that bi-metal corrosion must play a part as well...
I'm in the "talk to them calmly but assertively" camp, as suggested above. Going in screaming won't help, but being prepared
to compromise on the cost of the repair may bring benefits, even if it's some credit for the next service.
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Hellfire
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 05:15 PM |
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The dealership are adamant they have done nothing wrong and insist that the problem was caused by the sump plug being over-tightened by the previous
Ford dealer who carried out the last service. Spoke to Ford UK customer relations but they can't really help because the vehicle is 13 months
out of warranty, although they did give me an address to write a letter of complaint if I wasn't happy......
Got the dealership principal involved and the best they will do is provide the labour FOC for fitting the sump and they will provide me with a report
and the damaged sump plug to pursue a claim from the previous Ford dealer. I have to pay for the sump pan which is £250, plus the cost of the initial
service.
Looks like I've been shafted on this one...........
Phil
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neilp1
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 07:00 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
The dealership are adamant they have done nothing wrong and insist that the problem was caused by the sump plug being over-tightened by the previous
Ford dealer who carried out the last service. Spoke to Ford UK customer relations but they can't really help because the vehicle is 13 months
out of warranty, although they did give me an address to write a letter of complaint if I wasn't happy......
Got the dealership principal involved and the best they will do is provide the labour FOC for fitting the sump and they will provide me with a report
and the damaged sump plug to pursue a claim from the previous Ford dealer. I have to pay for the sump pan which is £250, plus the cost of the initial
service.
Looks like I've been shafted on this one...........
Phil
They wouldn't be getting my car when it's next due a service. I'd be going else where
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ian locostzx9rc2
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 07:16 PM |
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Sump plugs and stripped treads are common I have taps ,heliciols and oversize sump plugs for this reason cannot blame the technician, these things
happen a main dealer wouldn't be allowed to do one of these repairs so they have to replace the sump.
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RichieW
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| posted on 7/7/14 at 07:53 PM |
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Sorry to go slightly off topic, but to the the people who repair sumps in their line of work how do you prevent swarf getting into the oil when you
are retapping? I cant see sump removal, retapping and refitting the sump being a ten minute job. Do you do the job with sump in situ and cross
fingers?
I do my own oil changes and haven't damaged a thread yet in about 15 years of doing it but I would like to know how the trade approaches it as
its the sort of thing that could happen to me.
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