Recall work wipes out custom engine remap Joe Finnerty

CASE STUDY Michael took his Transit Custom in for a new oil pump, but lost expensive upgrades Used car laws are a great help to the consumer, but could force you to pay out

CUSTOMISING is a popular option for many, with owners wanting to add personal touches to an otherwise standard vehicle. But what happens when the modifications are removed by the manufacturer under a recall, and who picks up the bill?

This was the question Michael Strickland from Workington, Cumbria, asked Auto Express after a bespoke engine map in his Ford Transit Custom van was removed while it was in for an oil pump recall.

Michael told us: “I bought the Transit Custom back in September last year, and wanted something that would stand out. I had it custom built from the ground up, including custom engine mapping.”

Michael estimates the engine map increased the Transit’s power output from the stock 103bhp up to 168bhp.

“In April I received a letter stating the van needed to be recalled due to a faulty oil pump,” Michael explained. He booked it into his local Ford dealer, Arnold Clark in Lillyhall, but when Michael collected the van, he found it “woefully underpowered”.

He later discovered the custom engine map on his ECU had been erased when his car had its oil pump changed, and the garage would not pay to reinstall it. We got in touch with Ford to ask why it had been erased, and whether Michael could be reimbursed. A spokeswoman told us: “His Transit was brought into the dealer for two recall issues, one involving reflashing its powertrain control module.

“The dealership was not made aware of modifications the customer had added to the vehicle before carrying out the work.” We pressed the point that Michael had not been made aware of the second recall, but Ford added: “We issue recalls for parts we’ve designed and built and that have been maintained ‘as sold’. Mr Strickland should have informed us of the modifications made to his vehicle. In the end, while the oil pump was changed free of charge (a £550 job), his performance upgrade was lost.”

Michael told us: “Had I known the complete and utter debacle this turned into, I would have paid a local garage to replace the faulty oil pump at my own cost to prevent this whole thing happening.” THE introduction of the Consumer Rights Act last October gave owners and buyers extra – and easier-to-understand – protection when purchasing a vehicle.

The clarification on when a car could be rejected and how many attempts a dealer had to fix it was more than welcome, and has helped us advise hundreds of people who’ve got in touch via our Watchdog pages.

However, there’s a side effect to these new laws that could be preventing buyers from picking up cut-price deals on used cars from local garages.

The RAC has said £2,000 is now the entry price, with salesmen unable to list a vehicle that meets all the legal requirements at much below this point.

To be clear, dealers aren’t admitting anything below £2,000 is a dodgy buy or of poor quality, but rather the investment needed to acquire a car and make sure it meets the standards of the Consumer Rights Act is hard to justify below this amount.

It extends to smaller franchised dealers, too. According to Sean Kent, director of corporate and independent dealers at the RAC, such traders have “abandoned” the sub-£1,500 sector.

What should we make of this? On the surface it’s good news, as you should be more confident that any potential buy is of good quality.

But these cheap-as-chips vehicles will still need to be sold somewhere, as owners aren’t likely to simply scrap them. Hopefully, though, this won’t lead to the increase of sales through less regulated garages that may fall outside of the bounds of the Consumer Rights Act.

Remember: always check, doublecheck and triple-check before you buy.

“He discovered the custom engine map on his ECU had been erased when the van got a new oil pump”