by Roadie » Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:04 pm
Regarding Ocean Ford......
The turbo on my old man's Ford Transit stopped working so he took it down to Ocean Ford to get a diagnostic on it being the works van and all that.
Their verdict, "It needs a new Turbo..... that will be £1,500".
Dad's thinking that's a bit pricey so has a look himself.
Upon investigation it transpires that the linkage to the waste gate is broken. Dad makes up a new linkage, drills and taps a new ball joint to go into part of the linkage and voila the engine is back to where it should be! £10 of parts and approx. 15 mins of time vs £1,500! Enough said!!!
A few years ago when the Fiesta (bought from them) went in to get it's front heated windscreen replaced under warranty, when the misses brought it home it was only the next day she noticed a ding in the bonnet (that looked like a tool had been dropped on it). When I phoned up they weren't interested and said the wife should have checked the car before it left the garage and anything or anyone could have put the ding in the bonnet (near the windscreen)! (Nice bit of customer service there)!
They also never phoned me back after I visited them expressing interest in a nearly new Focus ST and what cars/deal could they possibly do. They said they would contact me but never even had the courtesy of replying!
The wife's old man had a Ford Ka that was bought and serviced there, not a great car but hey not my daily drive! Just after the rust warranty runs out he's told basically the car is rotten (after 6 years!!!!) When he tried to argue with them that they should have spotted rust developing within this period and fixed it under warranty they just denied there was a problem in the previous services and had only just become apparent, even though the Ka is notorious for rust!
Somehow I don't think I'll be using them ever again!!!