Replacement Focus Catalytic Converter

andrew1977

Hi

I need some help please, i have an 03 ford focus 1.4 . 1 week out of warranty and the engine warning light came on .Brought it to the garage (not a ford dealership) and they tell me that the catalytic convertor is gone and could cost anything between 400- 1000 euro to replace
Is this right ? I spoke to the MD of the garage saying i had numerous problems with the car since i bought it and would he extend the warranty by 1 week to cover the cost.I am a good customer in this garage over the years
He said in exceptional circumstance the Ford company will offer a free replacement outside a warranty period .The service manager agreed with 40k on the clock the catalytic convertor should not go
This was 8 days ago and anytime i ring he tells me he is waiting on the local ford dealership to get a response back from the Ford Company based in Cork
I get the feeling he has done very little for me or would it take this long for Ford to reply ?

If i am left with the bill is there anywhere i can get a replacement fitted at a relatively cheaper price than quoted. I see them online but would have no knowledge how to fix them .
Anyone know a decent price i should be paying for getting the part and fitting it

thanks for any help anyone can give me

Mr.Diagnostic

Hi,

A few things you should know.
Most Cat failures are caused by other faults and in most cases happen over a period of time. In this case your fault could have occured within the warrenty period.
No matter who ends up paying for the cat remember that the fault which caused it must be fixed also.
The only cats worth fitting to these are the genuine ones. These are a lot cheaper than you have been told.

HTH

andrew1977

cheers mr dianostic for the reply, i am still having no luck getting any sense from the garage

do you know of any place around dublin/north east area where i could get it repaired at a reasonable price , thats only after i have hounded and hounded the garage who are fobbing me off the whole time

is it harmful to keep driving the car for a while ? will it cause any long term damage ?

JHMEG

Bring it to a Ford dealer and see what they say. Preferably bring along someone who deals with that dealer or is a friend of someone who works there etc. Whether or not to do "good will" repairs (ie warranty claims outside of the warranty period) is usually up to the dealer.

fightin irish

O.P. the warranty you talk about, Is it extended warranty you had with ford or was it the warranty of the non dealer garage?

I work for a ford dealer and just asked the service manager, who said that ford won't cover the car because its nearly a year out of warranty(assuming you didn't get extended warranty)

It takes one day to get accepted or rejected by the warranty dept. in Cork. He also wreckoned that even tough its only got 40,000 Ford have really gone very sticky with claims outside if warrany.

The only factors that might get you something are a full service history from a dealer. Do you have this?

Anyway the full retail price including v.a.t. and labour is €415. The part is 290 + vat and one hour's labour @ a whooping €73:rolleyes:

Hope this helps. Oh and we've sold nearly 20 of these this year alone for what its worth.

I personally would lean on the garage you bought it from, If your a good customer as you say are they might go 50/50 with ya?

andrew1977

hi
cheers for the reply, i had the 1 year warranty from a non ford dealer ,
Ther service manager was useless with them so i asked to speak to the MD who has become just as bad, i put everything in writing to him and waited for his reply, about 8 calls to him later and he said he is still waiting on the local ford dealership in Drogheda to see can they do anything for me with Ford Ireland
But as you say that if Ford Ireland would answer in one day , my garage is telling me that they still have no response (8 days later ) ,i guess i am getting the run around
I have put alomsot 1700 euro over the garages counter in the past 3 years, recommended 3 friends to buy cars from this garage ,wish i hadnt now
Hopefully they might do something for me but i am not holding my breath but will fight it to the very last inch, like one week out of warranty for good customer is not too much to ask

Again thanks for your help and advice,will let you know how i get on

colm_mcm

dealer warranties almost always exclude the exhaust system as it is a wear and tear item. This is always stated on a written warranty.

elexes

lol on my old car ( 04 focus ) it went at 19k and another part went at the same time . i was still within warrienty only had the car a lil under over a year and a half . after talking to a few focus owners they all had the same problom ..

i now own a toyota

ye the costs ur told about sound right . but id also ask them to make sure the coil pack ( i think its the coil pack that went ) is ok

andrew1977

hi

Just an update, the garage finally rang me back today , 2 weeks after i brought the car to them . They tell me Ford will not replace the convertor (fightin irish confirmed my fears last week ) , asked the service manager then what would he do for me in terms of splitting the cost of the new convertor .He said i would need to speak to the owner (which i have already written a letter of complaint to about their crap service and treatment of customers ) , he is on holidays and they told me to ring back Thursday coming .
Costs 400 euro ,will chance it to see if they are willing to go 50/50 on the cost , car was only 1 week out of warranty when i brought it to them
As soon as i get it fixed, trading it in , never buy another ford car in my life , my first 2 cars were fiesta and nothing but trouble .Will also tell every friend ,neighbour ,family and dog about the dodgy customer service i have received from this garage .If we ever had a name and shame sticky on boards for "dodgy dealers ", i will be the first to post lol
thanks again for the advice ,