Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - rkp

Hi, my car was overheating and I took it to the garage and they found some major problem (with head gasket) with it. They charged me £1365 (including all other parts normally replaced when head gasket is replaced and labour. warranty company agreed to pay only £450 for head gasket alone ). I paid it and took the car from the garage in the morning and in the night I got the engine warning lights in my car again. I was planning to take it back to the garage next day morning. but my car was stolen in the night and recovered in the morning and I took it back to the garage again. Now they think something else is also wrong with my car (engine block). They thought the problem was with head gasket which they had replaced and thought the problem will go away after that and didn’t check if something else is also wrong (I am not sure if they have actually test driven my car). When I ask them, they are saying no garage strips the whole engine down to see if there are any other problems, because it costs them lot of money. Now I am not sure whether the garage is at fault or not and what options do I have to solve this problem. If I go to warranty company again, I am not sure what they are going to say. I have a maximum limit on the warranty pay, so I will have to shell out even more if I decide to go ahead with this repair. I can make a complaint about the garage (for that I need to check if they are at fault), but I don’t want to get into a lengthy legal battle if there is an easier alternate solution. Is it not possible to check what the problems are before carrying out the repair? is it a trail and error method? like fix something, drive and if it problem occurs again, check it again. surely there must be a better way to diagnose the problem? This issue is causing lot of stress to me, Please help. Thanks in advance.

Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - unthrottled

They charged me £1365 (including all other parts normally replaced when head gasket is replaced and labour.

Even including new head bolts, timing belt kit and water pump (the usual parts that are changed when the head is lifted), that is a scandalous price. Diagnosing electrical faults is often a trial and error process-diagnosing major mechanical faults isn't.

What engine is it and what do they 'think' is wrong with the engine block?

Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - rkp

I have posted a message in this forum previously with all the parts that are replaced. now I suspect if the garage has the skills needed to do this major job. they gave me an initial estimate of between £700 and £1200 and finally charged me £1365 (including VAT). here is the itemised bill. according to them, the major engine problems cannot be diagnosed without stripping the whole engine down which costs a lot of money. they found problem with head gasket which they have replaced (now I am starting to doubt if this was the problem) and thought it is fixed and since the problem is coming back again, they think something else is also wrong. Is this the right approach to diagnose the fault? there has to be a better way to find the fault (major engine fault or any other fault) without ripping the car apart.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=91855

Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - madf

Does your itemised bill include a sum for machining the head and if so.. how much?

Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - Roly93

I really do sympathise with you on this one. So many garages act like gangsters when they know they have you on the back foot, ie you need the car and dont know much about the detail of what makes a car work.

I have muddled through with our cars for over 30- years with minimal contact with garages, especially ones like this, and when I am forced into a garage I always go politely armed with what I see the score is.

This sum of money to do a head gasket and even head skim is outrageous. People buy Fords because everyone knows about them and they are relatively cheap to fix.

Unless it is something else like a hole or crack in a piston or cylinder block, they are probably on a scam in my opinion.

Ford Focus - Fault reappears after car repair (engine problem) - rkp

finally some good news for me after a long stressful time. they found something wrong with the "heat exchanger" which they replaced with a second hand part (they warned me new one costs £200) and also they charged me £50 extra for that (so luckily no problem with engine block which would have cost me lot more). in total they took three weeks to fix the overheating problem (replacement of head gasket, other parts and now the heat exchanger). I collected my car now. when I told them to absorb the cost of this part since they charged me main dealer price, they were very angry saying main dealer price would be much more than that and said they spent a long time diagnosing the fault and had to use the service of some engineering firm few times which cost them a lot and said they did me a favour by not charging more this time. but they said its all fixed now and the problem shouldn't come again and can drive long distances without worrying about breakdown. Thanks a lot for all your replies