20th Mar 2008, 12:43

Oh the joys of being a CMAX owner; a money pit is an understatement. Yes, I purchased a used 2.0 liter TDCI Ghia model with 30,000 miles on the clock, after a test drive that left me astounded. What a car, I thought.

During the first three months of ownership, it endured trips to the Lake District on numerous occasions and coped admirably. It totally provided everything we needed as a family, and was the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing. The torque at 2000rpm is immense and will see off most other cars on the road. And then 'it' happened.

Traveling my usual route to work down a busy motorway, I encountered steering airbag ABS failure at 70mph. Trying to turn the wheel on one of those things, without power steering, is not what you need with articulated lorries breathing down the back of your neck. I took it to the dealer where I bought it from; they said it was the alternator; apparently it had a bent pin on the connection plug. They advised that it had been fixed and I was thankful that I did not have my two precious gems on board.

I took the car from the garage to pick the gems up from the child minders, and whilst traveling down an old country lane B road at 18.20pm on a cold wet December evening, it happened again, but this time it was dark. Not wanting to risk the lives of my kids, I had to get them out of the car and phone my wife in freezing conditions to come and collect us, because it was unsafe to remain in the vehicle. To say I was a bit mad was putting it lightly.

I took it back; they replaced the alternator, which they should have done in the first instance. Since then, the radio has had to be replaced, the boot opens by itself intermittently, and the car I loved for a period of 90 days I now despise, and like many of you other unfortunate souls, face losing thousands of pounds getting rid of the damn thing.

I have now had the car approximately six months, and it has been garaged, I would say, on and off for at least a month during my ownership. It always has a habit of breaking down during the holiday period, and yes you guessed it, it's back there again.

4 weeks ago the back right caliper driver side was hanging on. I thought ah, just the brakes, I'll pop it into the dealer. They phoned me back a couple of hours later advising me that potentially I faced a (wait for it...) £1200 bill to replace my brakes. I bought a Ford because of cheap running costs; grrrr never mind. I laughed in sheer exasperation and felt sick at the same time, saying no more than "call me back after the weekend." 5 days later, I called back to my garage to pick up the car, and was issued a £230 bill for discs and pads fitted to the rear, and a few quid to spray some copper slick on the caliper. I was overjoyed, only £230.00! My words to the technician were, "it won't happen again will it, are you sure?" The technician said "no, definitely not."

Yes, it is Easter weekend, and I had a lovely trip to the Lake District planned, and you guessed it, they have had it 5 days and I won't be getting it back over the holidays. First off, they tried to fob me off saying there was nothing wrong; they had it on the rollers, out for road tests and it was working fine. I just happened to mention the alternator story and my precious gems, and said the technician better get himself back in it and find out what was wrong with it. Voila, he did find the fault, even though it was slight; now it could be the computer, or the brake switches? Or whatever shpiel the man that books the appointments on the phone was yarning about, but guess what? I'm going to recommend they look at the What Car and Car Survey reviews, because no doubt the clue rests with the EPB. OH YES, out of the hundred or so reviews I have read, an avid, lucky, spawny cmax owner loved it, as well as my car.

I have had Ford all my life and have loved the hassle free motoring. Once my precious gems get their backsides to school, and stop issuing me with a £900 childcare bill, oh yes it will be VW or Audi... RIP Ford.