Check out www.fixmystreet.com/ and other council/highways/ agency type websites to see if the pothole had been previously reported (you did report it, didn't you?). If so they may be responsible for any costs.
Yes I reported it both by phone and on-line. Also it had been reported before. Took some photos and sent them in with the on line report. They want me to get the repair sorted out and then submit a claim with the receipts.
Apparently they then forward this to a team of solicitors who decide if they are liable.
That sounds like reasonable news. Most councils prefer to try and wheedle out of their responsibilities in that regard, given most pay out more than it costs to repair the pothole in the first place.
Just had a look under the car and it is a torsion beam single axle. When this variant of Focus started the upmarket and bigger energy engines all had independent rear suspension . Sometime in May 2019 they resorted to this single axle. My car was registered in September!!
They aren't the only ones to do this - Mazda did the same with their Focus-sized Mazda3 for its 4th gen car, which appeared in 2019. Even though they had 'divorced' from Ford in 2008, I suspect the 3rd gen Mazda3 and Focus had already been well in development then and still shared a decent amount of design cues.
I'd also bet many makes have gone this way as well to save on costs due to the simpler design.
Also had a quick chat with Kwikfit and they said there are no adjustments can be made with this design...just a replacement.
I'll see what Monday brings but not looking a cheap fix at the moment.
Hopefully you'll be able to recover the costs (I think you should include all your incidental expenses incurred, including fuel spent travelling to/from the dealerships / workshop(s), and, if needed, any hire / courtesy cars (many dealerships won't lend them free of charge any more), etc.
Keep a record as best you can. By rights, you shouldn't be out of pocket after all this, given it likely wasn't your fault.
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