Advice on Ford dealership questionable repairs?

wezzywebb

I’ve just looked at this thread and there’s a few things that stand out ,firstly how many hours labour have they charged you? ,there’s not a massive amount of work on there ,and have they charged you for a brake fluid change ,when you would lose the fluid during a brake pipe change !! Also I believe you have asked on here about brake pipe repair /replacement on the same van ,I work on these vans everyday and I can guarantee that very few people replace the original pipes to the exact same fitment as original ,most people make a join in the new pipes to aid fitment ,as it’s virtually impossible to fit them in one single piece correctly

shotokan101

Pretty easy to tell the difference between joining to a new pipe vs one several years old

Cocksure

I couldn't say how many hours I was charged for as a total isn't given, they had the van for four days, but how much of that was spent with work being done to it I have no idea. If you work on the figure that they charge £80 an hour, then it would be for around 20 hours.

Yes they have charged for changing the brake fluid.

In regards the brake pipes I have been charged for 40 feet of pipe, 8 nuts, 2 adaptors and one wheel bearing kit, I would have no issue if it had all been replaced in sections, but if that had been the case then more than 8 nuts and two adaptors would have been used. Equally, I don't believe that they used 40 feet of pipe. They also replaced the OSR brake pipe hose that they billed for 8 connectors with, so i assume this was done in the method you mentioned. My concern comes from this in the report.

It was evident that at least one of the front to rear brake pipes had been replaced. This had been joined to the frontal central area. The pipes had been sprayed with a black paint substance and as such we were unable to assess their condition. There was no evidence of any further replacement of the front brake pipes.

and

We were unable to confirm if the offside rear brake pipe hose had been replaced as this was contaminated with road dirt and debris.

Would have thought that even after a hundred miles a new hose pipe would still be pretty obvious.

And if its new then why would you spray the pipes, surely they come with protection already on them? I'm sure they will say for added corrosion protection, but equally, it could be done to hide something.

Then add in the rest.

The brake pedal was slightly spongy during operation and as such we would strongly recommend that all four brakes are bled and fluid replaced.

the wheel nuts fitted to the front and offside rear wheels were rounded off.

We would also recommend due to the slight steering misalignment that the steering geometry is checked and adjusted accordingly (the dealership has already agreed that this should have been done given the nature of the work done.)

Plus of course it was returned to me with a wheel nut missing/not fitted. Then add in that the garage really didn't care that i had concerns "we will look at your brake pedal and vehicle damage in 7 days time, but if it does need new nuts then you will need to bring the vehicle back in the following day as we dont stock those ones" (even walking to the car park to at least take a look was too much effort to check the pedal and pre order in the wheel nuts) but in the meantime here's the mechanic who did the work, who i asked as you missed the wheel nut could you have missed anything else? Reply no chance, everything else was done fully and correctly, so whilst we will take another look at the vehicle their really is no need. Oh and the brake pedal will sort itself out after 500 miles so dont worry about it as its all normal.

So if i am acting OTT then please say and i will back down

Due to the vagueness on the brake pipes i can see a 2nd more detailed report being required fairly early on, so that will confirm one way or another. What is clear at least is that they did miss a section at the front, so whatever is found i can claim my inspect costs back (be it one or two times) as a part hasnt been done. This time though (if a 2nd inspection happens) i will pay for an expert witness to be present, who will really exam the work as i have zero doubt that the dealership will have their own expert witness present to, Costs for one will be around 1.5 to 2k, but I'm confident that its vital if this does go to court as i'm in no position to question the independent inspector etc.

IronGiant

Can't you just add up all the LAB 3, LAB 0.1, LAB 0.6 etc to get a final figure?

Cocksure

Unfortunately its not on all things done for example replace front brake discs and pads only has a parts costs. However the lab that is listed comes to 17.5

IronGiant

Not far off your estimated 20 hrs then

Cocksure

@wezzywebb i take it your at a loss for words

wezzywebb

Mmm ,well in my  experience the rear pipes are the easiest to replace and they are just a straightforward  case of removing the old pipes and using as a template for the new copper ones you make up ,there is nothing wrong with connecting these new pipes to old front to rear pipes along as they are not showing signs of any corrosion, generally its the NS and OS front and rear pipes that corrode the worst on these .

The front pipes on these are a pain to do as they run along the front bulkhead behind the engine block ,i generally make a pipe up then cut /join at the nsr of block to make life easier.
Bleeding the brakes on these can be a time consuming job due to having to bleed the ABS pump, using a diagnostic kit ,and if not done properly you will obviously still have air in the system, cracking open the bleed nipples will not work ,the system has to be primed using a suitable diagnostic machine .
They have charged you for a roll of brake pipe ,and with it being copper pipe they come as bare copper ,some people spray them after fitting ,some leave as is.

There is no excuse for the missing wheel nut ,the company i work for has a strict wheel nut policy, they  should be torqued down to the correct figure ,roadtested for a minimum of 5 km ,then retorqued 30 minutes after the initial torque, and a wheel torque sheet attached to the job card with times ,signatures etc.

wezzywebb

Also the brake hose they mention ,well if its the HYDRAULIC HOSE from pipe to caliper they replaced this hose comes as one piece, one end screws directly into the caliper ,the other connects to the brake PIPE ,no nuts needed

Cocksure

So in short it is worth further investigation? It could all be above board or it could not be as some items priced for don't make sense and seem a bit fishy?