Problems With A Recent Car Purchase From Trust Fords

[raybush]

Hi
I purchased a 3 year old Ford Focus from Trust Ford on 24th February 17 which came with a 3 month warranty .
I did have a very short test drive where I highlighted a few issues i.e. engine idle and noise from the boot area of the car, the test drive wasn't really long enough to give the Auto gearbox a good work out.
When I collected the car on the 24th Feb 17 and drove it home I noticed that the Auto gearbox wasn't performing as it should ,it was not changing gears and revving very high in the gears that it did manage to select. When I got home I phoned the salesman wo sold me the car and arranged to return the car on the Saturday 25th February17 . When I returned the car I met with a senior Technician who told me that the Auto gearbox needed to be re-programmed and that would sort it , I was also told that the noise from the boot area would be investigated .The at was booked-in the (I think) later that week .The gear box was reprogrammed and the noise from the boot turned out to be the Fuel tank sender unit etc,Fords then had to get permission to do this work under warranty ,at that point I agreed to let them keep the car a few days whilst they got the approval and carried out the work .The gearbox seemed to perform better after it's re-programme ,plus ,I was told that the rough engine idle would be sorted as the fuel tank sender had been changed ,this didn't happen and the car still had a rough idle.
After these works had been carried out and i'd lived with the car for about a week I gave it a good polish and found a few Bodywork problems .
Because of the body work problems and the rough idle on or about the 10th March 17 I arranged an on site meeting with the Salesman who sold me the car and his Manager and the Manager of the Service area .At the meeting it was decided to get the car into Trust Fords to have the Body work issues sorted and the rough engine idle addressed .
The car went in to Trust Ford on the 10th April 17 and it took about 12 days to get the body work sorted ,it then went into Service to be hooked-up to the IDS machine ,which I believe is the fault finder to find the problem with the rough idle .I then got an email from the Service area to say that the car need a new Clutch ,which Trust Fords may/may not cover under warranty .I then had to give authorisation for the work to commence ,Used Cars Section would not give any authorisation to finance this work so that photos could be taken of the Clutch for warranty purposes.
When I drove the car home from Trust fords 24th February 17 it had 9929 miles on the clock ,when the car went in to have the body work and the engine idle sorted 10th April 17 it had about 10,280 miles on the clock ,so you can see that since owning the car it's only done just over 300 miles and Fords have had the car longer than we have to correct various issues.
I'm now concerned that Trust Fords may try to put the blame of the faulty Clutch onto me ,even though since owning the car we have only covered about 300 miles and the fact that they have had the car to date probably longer than we have.
What I would say is members from both body shop and service have been very co-operative and for now have given me a courtesy car and yes my car is still with Trust Fords and i'm now waiting to hear what the Warranty people have to say and hope that I don't get a big bill for works that are not down to me.
Any positive comments would be great ,it may come to something ,it may not.
Please excuse my rambling. Got it off my chest now.
Thanks

[bhg481]

I am intrigued that an automatic should require a new clutch. As far as I know, the only clutches in automatics are internal to the gearbox and, unlike manual gearbox clutches, there is no way a driver can abuse them and cause premature wear. With manuals some drivers ride the clutch and hold the car in traffic, causing extra wear, which is the reason they are excluded from most warranties. Wear on an automatics clutches can only be caused by gearbox, not driver, problems so should not be excluded from warranties. I've been driving automatics for many years now, at least three have done 150,000 miles plus, and none have had clutch problems. A good reason for buying automatics second-hand is that driver abuse of both the engine and gearbox is not possible since the electronics prevent engine over-revving and over loading.

[raybush]

With the Newer Fords they come with whats called a Powershift gearbox ,this type of gearbox has some sort of Clutch .

[bhg481]

Poweshift clutches are still operated by the car electronics ratherthan the driver, if my understanding is right, which still makes driver-abuse unlikely.

[tonyav]

It is a duel clutch auto gearbox.

[tonyav]

Seems to have a common fault on this gearbox, oil seal failure.
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/60728/focus-automatic-gearbox-and-clutch-problems

[raybush]

Thanks for the comments so far.

I'm sure that I've read somewhere ,but not sure where, that the Auto powershift gear box has an extended warranty over the 3 year one that I believe that Fords give with their new cars.
I'm just trying to get as much info as I can ,just in case the dealership try's to wiggle out of what I see is their obligation .
If any damage was caused it was not caused in the short time and small mileage covered whilst I drove the car.

[TWR]

Take the car back, reject it as it's not fit for purpose Rybush, if they become awkward contact T.S.

[Zacs-Master]

There are thousands of Focus on the road. Why buy one which was faulty? I could say why buy a Ford at all but that's a different argument.

[bhg481]

Zacs - you remind me of my childhood:

If you want to buy a wreck, buy a Ford
Four buckled wheels on a board
A biscuit tin
With an engine in.
If you want to buy a wreck, buy a Ford

[TWR]

I would not say all Ford are Rubbish you can get that with any car, but Raybush having this trouble after 300 miles is a bit much, I would take the car back & demand my money back, this car should have been fully checked before the sale, it seems it was not.

[raybush]

Zacs

In answering your post.
I didn't purposely buy a faulty car ,it's only when you live with a car for a week or two that you know its worth.
My current concern is the Powershift gearbox problem that manifested on the drive home.
As I said ,at this juncture i'm just trying to arm/protect myself against anything that Trust Ford can throw at me regarding them not paying for the repairs

[Zacs-Master]

Take it back and ask for your money back. Then go and buy a slightly older BM or Merc.

[raybush]

At this point in time I don't want to go down the money back TS route ,for now i'd rather make sure that I've got as many constructive points of view as I can get .
It may not come to anything if the Trust Ford warranty covers it ,i'm trying to prepare myself if they say it doesn't.

[TWR]

Whichever way you decide to go Raybush, Auto boxes are very expensive unit to replace one they start to go wrong, but at the end of the day if advise is not taken, your pocket will feel the pain.

[raybush]

Thanks for all the posts.
I had an email from Trust Fords late yesterday to say that the clutch has been replace .I've emailed back and enquired if they have sorted the engine idle problem ,that's what the car went in for .I've told Trust Fords that i'm not taking the car unless all works have been completed.
lets hope that I get a proper result this time ,they'll probably plug the car in on the IDS fault finder and find something else.