Hi,
I bought my dad this 2004 Mondeo 1.8 mk 3 petrol (54k on the clock) 4 weeks ago from an indy garage: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17962517&highlight=DB_SamX
He only had a short test drive himself before purchasing. Within a week he noticed that gear changes were really stiff. He probably only made <200 miles in that time.
My online searches didn't reveal anything common, the closest thing being stiff gear changes when the gearbox oil is still cold but fine after warmed up. However, my dad still says it's stiff all the time.
Within 2 weeks, my dad told the garage about it, and he gladly arranged for his mechanic to have a look over it in the 3rd week. The latter said it could be a clutch problem, but that isn't covered in the extra warranty I bought, which is fair enough.
However, my dad is wondering whether the mechanic could have said that even if there was something wrong with the gearbox, so that the garage doesn't have to do any repairs. He is quite mechanically able as he used to sort out issues on his older cars, but not in the last few years. He is therefore considering to have someone independent diagnose any issue (Ford specialist / dealer garage) and then see what happens.
(i) Anyone know of the stiff gear change issue?
(ii) Is what my dad plans to do (getting an independent check) sensible? Is it worth letting the garage know first he plans to do that? Any idea on cost?
If the check does reveal an issue that can be assumed to have been there at the time of purchase, we'd of course look to have repairs carried out at the garage's cost. Anything useful worth knowing at this stage?
Thanks in advance.
I bought my dad this 2004 Mondeo 1.8 mk 3 petrol (54k on the clock) 4 weeks ago from an indy garage: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17962517&highlight=DB_SamX
He only had a short test drive himself before purchasing. Within a week he noticed that gear changes were really stiff. He probably only made <200 miles in that time.
My online searches didn't reveal anything common, the closest thing being stiff gear changes when the gearbox oil is still cold but fine after warmed up. However, my dad still says it's stiff all the time.
Within 2 weeks, my dad told the garage about it, and he gladly arranged for his mechanic to have a look over it in the 3rd week. The latter said it could be a clutch problem, but that isn't covered in the extra warranty I bought, which is fair enough.
However, my dad is wondering whether the mechanic could have said that even if there was something wrong with the gearbox, so that the garage doesn't have to do any repairs. He is quite mechanically able as he used to sort out issues on his older cars, but not in the last few years. He is therefore considering to have someone independent diagnose any issue (Ford specialist / dealer garage) and then see what happens.
(i) Anyone know of the stiff gear change issue?
(ii) Is what my dad plans to do (getting an independent check) sensible? Is it worth letting the garage know first he plans to do that? Any idea on cost?
If the check does reveal an issue that can be assumed to have been there at the time of purchase, we'd of course look to have repairs carried out at the garage's cost. Anything useful worth knowing at this stage?
Thanks in advance.
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