I am having to sue Ford for an apparently known fault on an engine. The car was stopping and going into limp mode, black smoke, and stalling. I sent it to a local workshop that had serviced the car regularly, following the handbook and always been paid. They said they couldn’t find any fault. The last service was done by them and as the fault was not repaired I refused to take the car back. They left it on the road and I had it uplifted and transported to the Poole Ford dealership, from which I bought it new. The car was forensically examined (at great cost) and it was ascertained that it had NEVER been serviced. I received a written report and photos. The oil had done 30,000 miles. Remember this vehicle had JUST come out of the workshop after a service, and had done 10 miles. The air filter was blocked. The report also showed excessive fuel in the engine oil. 10% dilution. All the complaints were in the warranty period. It then fell out of warranty. As soon as it was out of warranty, every garage we contacted knew of the fault and remedy. Ford Gloucester repaired it and to date has been OK. The results of the forensics were that the bearings on the oil pump had failed, sending metal particles onto the oil pump face, and injectors, damaging the oil seal on the pump and ruining the injectors. The report was sent to all the parties involved who immediately went into denial. I paid for the vehicle to be repaired and my total bill is now £7,000. I have issued a writ privately against the service agent in Swindon and Ford, which is trying to get the case thrown out, claiming it knows nothing about what we are claiming for, although we have sent Ford the reports and tried for 2 years to bring them out into dialogue. Any thoughts as to what we do now would be much appreciated.