Territory trouble

MY Ford Territory suffers from the same noisy start-up problem reported by a Carsguide reader a week or two back. I have complained of clunking and whirring noises on start-up at every service, and each time my dealer claims to have attended to it. Before the expiry of my warranty I again put my car in to have the problem fixed. When I picked it up I was told they could not find anything wrong, but gave my belts a spray of silicone to reduce some noise. I told them I was not happy with this result and would pursue Ford, to which I was told that because the car would soon be out of warranty this would be of no use because neither they nor Ford will cover the vehicle. The people at the local Midas franchise believe the exhaust is nearly touching the engine, but to fix the problem I will now have to pay. Is this correct?