So I tried my luck with a different garage and it looks like they may acknowledge my request to get it fixed under warranty.

Apparently our cars have double synchros which often cause this problem. He said the problem is normally resolved by replacing the double synchros with a single one.

Now, to be honest I'm not entirely sure what a synchro is but I'm surprised its possible to replace a double with a single and if the single works just as well then why do Ford bother fitting a double one in the first place?

Or perhaps they'll keep the car three days and just lubricate the linkages

What do you reckon about the double / single synchro thing Dave?

Don't know much about the g/box internals I'm afraid but i would imagine that two is better than one so how can replacing a double with a single be an improvement.

Go talk to a technician at a good dealer and ask him.

I bet he'll say the linkage just needs adjusting/lubricating.

Yeah, does seem a bit odd eh? Well, I'm booked in to a respectable garage next Tuesday so I'll have a good talk with the mechanic and see what's up.
Thanks for the advice Dave.

Right, I'm starting to get quite pissed off now.

Just been to pick up my car from the second garage I've left it at because of the gear crunching.

The bloke said they had tested it out and nothing had happened when they had driven it. I asked him if he had driven it in the manner described (the car only crunches gear if I dial in lots of revs and change gears quickly). He said they hadn't. I told him that I had clearly explained when I left the car there that it crunches gears only when driven as described and that I didn't need to leave the car there 3 days in order for him to say it's OK when driven slowly, I knew that already.

So I got him to jump in the car with me so I could show him myself. And somewhat typically, as if on purpose, it changed gears without crunching. Hmmm.

We agreed to leave it for the time being and should it get any worse I should pay him another visit.

I've now got home though and studied the invoice I got for them topping up my oil and according to that they've topped my car up with 5W-30 despite the fact that there's a sticker on the engine saying there's 5W-40 in there.

I rang the garage to ask what's up and the bloke said that surely the mechanics wouldn't have done that but will find out tommorow once the people that worked on my car get back to work. I'm scared though that no one will admit to doing it as that would mean they'ld have to pay for an oil change out of their own pockets.

So to sum up - I've had the car 8 months now and have tried 3 different garages and my experiences of Ford service so far have been:

1x ruined floor mat
1x attempt to get me to pay for work clearly covered by warranty (rear light cluster and some plastics inside came loose)
2x major problems with the car of which they've managed to repair neither
1x oil top-up with the wrong oil (possibly)

In fact the only thing they have managed to do successfully is fill up my windscreen wash. And I didn't even ask them to do that!

I had oil in my old astra I went straight back in and told them to clean it up

Sadlo I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but working as a mechanic at a Ford dealership for 3 years now has convinced me that if Ford can avoid paying they will. But after 8 months sounds to me very unlikely. So my advice would also be to find yourself another garage. Ford has to prove that you're the one that made the syncro's faulty. And that in my opinion would be more work for them.

Every Ford drives with 5w-30. Except Galaxy because half of it is VW.

I'd say he didn't know what he's doing. Ford's about the only car that runs oil that thin in warm condition.
And most reasonable people would be able to figure that there is in fact a reason for it.

I thought 5W-40 was less viscous?

Ahh see Arun knew this would happen with his & he took the guy out until it did it and as you know he got those bits changed. The ruddy car always does that when you take it in. Sods Law.

I actually suspect it didn't do it because it was raining like hell at the time and the road was super-wet. With the ESP on there was no power as soon as the wheels started to spin and with it off the they were spinning like crazy so no resistance from the wheels in turning the cogs in the gearbox.

So I finally got my sh*t together today and went to personally deliver a letter of complaint about the faults on the car and the v. poor level of service directly to the headquarters of Ford Czech Republic.

I don't know about Ford going bankrupt if their HQ is anything to go by, in a swanky, brand-new building in a posh part of Prague.

They're obviously not used to customers going there personally as there was no help desk or customer service department and the receptionist had to call someone out of their office. The bloke I spoke to though was friendly enough. He promised to read my letter, make the necessary enquiries and get back to me, adding that they take customer satisfaction very seriously (well, he would say that, wouldn't he?).

Made a bit of a scene though on the way out of the building through the turnstiles for which they had given me a swipe-card. It refused to open, eating and destroying my shoe in the process and I had to climb over it in the end, which the security guy was none too chuffed about