"...is it back to the garage that sold the car ..."

Yes.

And a lot of (all?) warranties like the one you took out are of dubious value.

It's now nearly six months since you bought the car. But SOGA indicates there is a six-month period in which you can expect the dealer to pick up the problems.

You have not told us the dates of key events (like when the breakdown occurred), nor whether the car has now actually been repaired and the repair paid for.

The car was purchased on 26/11/13 and broke down on 13/04/14. If the warranty are saying they don't cover it, and I don't expect the dealer will want to pay anything if they can get away with that.

So i've had the car less that 6 months and it now needs major work through no fault of my own that nobody seems to cover. The car wasn't due a service, and the spark plugs looked new and are genuine ford parts.

*Edit* The car is currently at the garage and has had the engine opened up to inspect for damage. The repairs have not been done yet.

Edited by jamesdevil on 17/04/2014 at 14:29

I think you'll struggle to get much recompense from the seller now. Basically, on a used car the seller's responsibility tends to reduce as time and mileage since purchase increases. The "6 month" rule is only about burden of proof - as the car worked fine for 5 months the dealer can easily prove there was no fault with it at time of sale.

Even if you did persue it, it would take 8 months minimum (that is the current average small claims court backlog) and, at best, you'd probably get a partial settlement.

Firstly, I'd have another go at the warranty company. The policy of most of these companies is to refuse every claim at first.

Secondly, the £1400 cost isn't exactly cheap. The cylinder head needs removing (and it sounds like this has already been done) and either repairing or replacing. You can buy 1.6 Ford cylinder heads for £200-£300 and it isn't that many hours to fit it.