future1 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I wondered what everybody's view is on this. I have been told by Ford that if I buy a Transit in Germany the service interval is 2 years or 50,000Km's, if I import the same vehicle into the UK, it has to be serviced every year or 20,000 miles. In addition the warranty is still 2 years (As it is in Germany) rather than 3, despite the fact that it is being serviced twice as often. I thought within Europe we all had to be treated the same! Does this contravene EU law? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Some one some where has to pay, in Germany you get a cheaper van with less warentee, in UK the van costs more and warentee s longer. The cross over on servicing is a bit odd, but if you want to only service it every two years and want to take it back to Germany AFAIK you are upholding your end of agreement, but I wouldn't want to have the hassle if it goes wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 future1 - 2015-02-27 11:00 AM I wondered what everybody's view is on this. I have been told by Ford that if I buy a Transit in Germany the service interval is 2 years or 50,000Km's, if I import the same vehicle into the UK, it has to be serviced every year or 20,000 miles. In addition the warranty is still 2 years (As it is in Germany) rather than 3, despite the fact that it is being serviced twice as often. I thought within Europe we all had to be treated the same! Does this contravene EU law? Have you asked Ford - in writing - if they could explain the technical reason for the difference? I suspect it may lie in the types of oil that are used in Germany and UK, possibly for purely cost/marketing reasons. If the vehicle is sold through a continental supplier, it will come with a continental ("Euro Standard") two years guarantee. If sold in UK, it will come with a three years guarantee, usually with the third year covered by insurance (with more restrictions), rather than by the manufacturer themselves. In effect, the cost of the insurance is included within the UK price of the vehicle so, as Colin says, in effect you pay for it. I don't see any logical linkage between warranty duration and service intervals. You will probably pay a bit more for servicing over time in UK than you would in Germany, but if you buy in Germany you will pay less initially for the vehicle. The price difference on the purchase cost of the vehicle between UK and Germany would pay for quite a lot of servicing at the UK interval compared to the German interval. As with most things, there are pros and cons to both courses of action. One just has to decide based on one's priorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Bulgaria Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 My Mk 7 Transit service book specifies an interim service at 1 year / 12,500 miles with a major service every 2 years / 40,000 miles. Since the use as a motorhome base vehicle does not emulate that of a white van, I believe in a 1 year service interval regardless of the mileage. Oil deteriorates even when standing and brake discs become pitted with little use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future1 Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm a believer in regular services, it's just interesting that somebody could get caught out by this. If you imported a van that was 18 months old for example and still not due it's first service in Germany you would arrive in the UK with a warranty that was invalidated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 We have a service every year, the reason being that as we only use van abroad, not worth risking a problem. Just had service and MOT to-day. Was suggested that brakes would need doing at some stage, though it passed the MOT. OH told them to do the brakes, and they found that one of the bolts was rusty on wheel and sheared and broke!! so new brakes and a new wheel hub and bearing !! (Ouch) OH noticed that the steering wheel was not quiet aligned, when he drove to garage. Glad we had it done, or we might have had a major accident . Van has done 45,000 +miles in 9 years As motorhomes stand around a lot of the time, not like a commercial van, worth having regular services IMV PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 future1 Ford Transit warranties were discussed (in some depth) in this 2008 forum thread http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Ford-Warranties/11285/? My understanding is that a current-model Transit, sold ‘first retail’ in the UK, will have a Ford-backed 36-month-period/100,000-miles bumper-to-bumper warranty. Ford’s Etis UK website indicates that the service intervals will be at every 15000 miles or on a 1-year basis. It would appear (as you say) that the Ford-backed warranty for a Transit bought ‘first retail’ in Germany continues to have a 24-month period. Ford’s Etis German website indicates that the service intervals will be every 50000km or on a 2-year basis. When I purchased my 2005 Transit-based Hobby in Germany the warranty/servicing situation was little different, with a 36-months Ford warranty period for a Transit sold in the UK and a 24-months Ford warranty period for a Transit sold in Germany. Similarly, the servicing requirements varied and I just had the vehicle serviced annually. I’m doubtful that your statement "If you imported a van that was 18 months old for example and still not due it's first service in Germany you would arrive in the UK with a warranty that was invalidated!” is valid. As the vehicle would have been sold ‘first retail’ in Germany it would have Germany warranty and servicing attributes attached to it at that point. Bringing it to the UK after 18 months would not cause the warranty to increase from the Germany 24-months to the UK 36-months, nor should it cause the Germany 2-year service interval to reduce to the UK 1-year service interval. Even if Ford took the position that, once the vehicle had been UK-registered, it should be serviced according to Ford’s UK schedule, it would be irrational for Ford to argue that importing the vehicle to the UK should affect its warranty-period retrospectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-02-28 9:57 AM.........................I’m doubtful that your statement "If you imported a van that was 18 months old for example and still not due it's first service in Germany you would arrive in the UK with a warranty that was invalidated!” is valid. As the vehicle would have been sold ‘first retail’ in Germany it would have Germany warranty and servicing attributes attached to it at that point. Bringing it to the UK after 18 months would not cause the warranty to increase from the Germany 24-months to the UK 36-months, nor should it cause the Germany 2-year service interval to reduce to the UK 1-year service interval. Even if Ford took the position that, once the vehicle had been UK-registered, it should be serviced according to Ford’s UK schedule, it would be irrational for Ford to argue that importing the vehicle to the UK should affect its warranty-period retrospectively. Agreed. Besides which, instead of worrying that this may be the case, one could always write to Ford UK and ask them the question. Far better to go to the oracle, I would think, than asking folk on here what we think Ford might do. If it is important to you, ask Ford. It is their guarantee, their service schedule, and only they can decide how they will interpret it. Sorry if this seems a bit blunt! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkistash Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Hi, I have a MK7 transit and based on the information when I put it into etis my year of build and engine model (2.4, 140bhp) says service interval is every 2 years. My motorhome was bought in England and is a Tec (German). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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