Large Repairs after Service

Number_05

First off, it's my first car and I know next to nothing about cars . The car is an 03 1.4 Focus. I bought it off my Dad last year after he put it through the NCT. I've done 8000 miles in 12 months and have had no problems with the car and thought it was fine

I got a full service on the car at the weekend at a Ford garage and have been given a quote for a long list of repairs below coming to over a grand.

both side wheel knuckle bushins
and front lower arm bushins worn - 416
Leaky power steering pump - 286
Front Brake discs & pads -148
brake fluid change - 52
pollen filter - 38
front wipers - 34

Also he mentioned a hole in the exhaust and a problem with the exhaust connection ( it is noisy)- I haven't a quote on that. how much could that cost.

I have had no problems with the car and thought it was fine

Does the above sound right? He said he'll give me 10% discount on all jobs

Thanks

George Dalton

Bringing a 9 year old Focus to a Ford dealer is utter madness if you ask me. Take that car to a good independent and see the difference in the price you get quoted

Voodoomelon

Not too familiar with Ford part pricing, but this sounds shocking expensive:

both side wheel knuckle bushins
and front lower arm bushins worn - 416

Everything else is about right, assuming it needs to be done.

RickRoll

€34 for 2 wipers? Run a mile!

cadaliac

RickRoll wrote: »

€34 for 2 wipers? Run a mile!

Why? They cost there or thereabouts.
VAG wipers are €40 odd,

True what the others said though OP.
Get a quote from an independent garage. The independent will probably do a better job too (larger garages tend to send out the apprentice for experience)

bfocusd

RickRoll wrote: »

€34 for 2 wipers? Run a mile!

That sounds about right I paid 70e for 3 wipers in ford

George Dalton

cadaliac wrote: »

Why? They cost there or thereabouts.
VAG wipers are €40 odd

03 Focus has bog standard wipers not expensive aero wipers like the newer Focus. We stock good quality SWF wipers which would be quite high in price compared to some cheaper makes and the correct set for a Focus costs €19 for the pair.

dharn

vag and bmw wipers are single blade and are much dearer than fords etc, i dont know why, they dont look any more expensive to make, but cant be got any cheaper

Drummerboy08

thomahon wrote: »

First off, it's my first car and I know next to nothing about cars . The car is an 03 1.4 Focus. I bought it off my Dad last year after he put it through the NCT. I've done 8000 miles in 12 months and have had no problems with the car and thought it was fine

I got a full service on the car at the weekend at a Ford garage and have been given a quote for a long list of repairs below coming to over a grand.

both side wheel knuckle bushins
and front lower arm bushins worn - 416
Leaky power steering pump - 286
Front Brake discs & pads -148
brake fluid change - 52
pollen filter - 38
front wipers - 34

Also he mentioned a hole in the exhaust and a problem with the exhaust connection ( it is noisy)- I haven't a quote on that. how much could that cost.

I have had no problems with the car and thought it was fine

Does the above sound right? He said he'll give me 10% discount on all jobs

Thanks

The pricing for the suspension bits and bobs, and the PS pump sound a tad on the expensive side, but everything else looks ok IMO. 150 quid for front pads and discs fitted is a good price from a main dealer too.

But, buy the wiper blades and pollen filter yourself, it'll save you a few quid and it's easy to do for anyone.

The hole in the exhaust problem sounds like the flexi-pipe on the bottom of the manifold where it meets the exhaust. The problem is the section of flexi is part of the manifold, so it's not available to buy separately. This means that a new manifold needs to be bought to solve the problem.

Unless the car is due an NCT or unless it's really bad I think you could leave it be. It won't have a massive affect on the car. Or, try to pick up a second hand manifold from a breakers yard to save a few bob.

Maybe I'm a bit harsh here, but I wouldnt call any of the above listed jobs "Repairs". To me, they're all just wear and tear parts that need to be replaced at some stage during every car's lifetime. It sounds to me as though the OP seem's to think that a simple oil and filter change every few thousand miles is all it needs, and nothing else will go wrong. Maybe I picked that up wrong though, so apologies if I did.

AL 555

bfocusd wrote: »

That sounds about right I paid 70e for 3 wipers in ford

And there lies your problem you bought them from ford, wipers are wipers
Any good motor factors will supply them for a lot les, Bosch etc.

Number_05

I expected a couple of things would need doing /replacing - just didn't expect as much

bfocusd

AL 555 wrote: »

bfocusd wrote: »

That sounds about right I paid 70e for 3 wipers in ford

And there lies your problem you bought them from ford, wipers are wipers
Any good motor factors will supply them for a lot les, Bosch etc.

I did that and ended up changing them after about 3 (winter) months, they were 50e, the guy in the garage, who I know, popped them on and the rear wiper blade after a couple of days was wobbly, I though it was kids messing or something, turns out the bar was too thick, I went through 3 wiper arms before I noticed what caused it. In regards to the front wipers, they were supposed to fit it, but with the span of the wind screen it never cleaned the glass properly, they were flimsy, I got ford wipers and haven't had a problem since,they also have a tag which changes yellow when they are wore out.

I got brand pads too and they were knocking so the were changed to official ford parts.

I'm awkward like that though I only fit ford parts to my car from now on.

cadaliac

George Dalton wrote: »

03 Focus has bog standard wipers not expensive aero wipers like the newer Focus. ...... the correct set for a Focus costs €19 for the pair.

I didn't realise the 03 Focus had standard wipers.
A score is indeed a lot easier to part with than €34.

dar83

bfocusd wrote: »

I'm awkward like that though I only fit ford parts to my car from now on.

I'd be the same now with the ST. Any sort of 'performance' car like it is always helped by keeping things OEM if possible. Especially for the risiduals when you ever do decide to sell it on.

Edit: plus I find the windscreen attracts dirt like no other I've ever seen, so good wipers are a must.

bfocusd

dar83 wrote: »

bfocusd wrote: »

I'm awkward like that though I only fit ford parts to my car from now on.

I'd be the same now with the ST. Any sort of 'performance' car like it is always helped by keeping things OEM if possible. Especially for the risiduals when you ever do decide to sell it on.

Edit: plus I find the windscreen attracts dirt like no other I've ever seen, so good wipers are a must.

I know everything sticks on it, in fairness it's handy with stones etc they just fly over it cause the angle, but rainy county road with oncoming trucks in puddles is scary as f*ck when your wipers miss the water!
It's all official ford now, I was broke at the time and a mate's dad has a garage and he insisted it's the same, cost me over 1k in the end cause I had it all changed..

Op I'd try maybe atlas first, I've heard they are decent for cost, ford will charge excess on labour, it's always more expensive than the parts fitted.
If you are only looking to get it done in ford and are located around Dublin, try fort motors in crumlin, they somehow are always cheaper than every ford I've been to, plus they don't waffle about everything needing changing, like some places!

Chris_Heilong

"both side wheel knuckle bushins
and front lower arm bushins worn - 416" :eek:

Unless they are replacing the entire arm that the bushing is sitting in instead of just changing the bushings then this is pure robbery. Bushing should be around €5 each at the most.

sean1141

cadaliac wrote: »

VAG wipers are €40 odd,

or you can buy the rubbers of vw for about 15EURO and fit them yourself in ten mins:D

merc609

Ford dealer service = rip off...
had lots of bad experiences with them due to servicing and last 08 transit i bought will be last ford ever bought by me, but thats another story.

defo what the others say, find a good reliable indepentent garage and get a quote. could near gaurantee all that work listed plus your exhaust fixed for less than the ford quote..

bfocusd

merc609 wrote: »

Ford dealer service = rip off...
had lots of bad experiences with them due to servicing and last 08 transit i bought will be last ford ever bought by me, but thats another story.

defo what the others say, find a good reliable indepentent garage and get a quote. could near gaurantee all that work listed plus your exhaust fixed for less than the ford quote..

Were all the problems to do with the same van?

merc609

bfocusd wrote: »

Were all the problems to do with the same van?

yep.. all the one van. Already on its 3rd engine.

bfocusd

merc609 wrote: »

bfocusd wrote: »

Were all the problems to do with the same van?

yep.. all the one van. Already on its 3rd engine.

If I bought it in ford I'd of made them take it back, if new obviously.

I know how much of a pain it can be when it's temperamental, we had a family car, Renault 19, did more miles on the back of a truck, and had more transplants than we can count, in the end it was traded and we seen it a month later on truck yet again.

What I'm trying to say is I wouldn't let that put you off, I would learn from it and be more cautious, I bought a 05 Renault Clio and it was the most reliable, affordable car ever, I never had a problem..

merc609

the 08 van i refer to was one which we purchased new in 2008. since then ( with recession ) i have bought second hand transits also.

bought 08 in the june of 2008, 2 years and 3 days later first engine blew. seen as only a 2 yr warranty they would not cover it, even tough it had full ford service history. anyhow €6k, 11 months and 80k kms later that engine too went.

in the meantime had bought two 05 registered transits. one with 40k miles other with 60k miles. have put a engine each in these also.

all vans serviced every 15k miles and drivers are not reakless... :(

bfocusd

merc609 wrote: »

the 08 van i refer to was one which we purchased new in 2008. since then ( with recession ) i have bought second hand transits also.

bought 08 in the june of 2008, 2 years and 3 days later first engine blew. seen as only a 2 yr warranty they would not cover it, even tough it had full ford service history. anyhow €6k, 11 months and 80k kms later that engine too went.

in the meantime had bought two 05 registered transits. one with 40k miles other with 60k miles. have put a engine each in these also.

all vans serviced every 15k miles and drivers are not reakless... :(

3days! I'd of (tried) taken them to the cleaners, there should be a little grace, with something as major as that!
Yeah they don't agree with you, I would write to ford HQ about it if all 3 are breaking, they could end up being recalled for something.

P.s. Merc vans are cheaper than transits..
Surely they've to have a longer life span to the Ford's!

merc609

mercs will be my next purchase
have 1 merc sprinter 416 cdi. 580,00kms and still on original engine.
they have my vote for future purchases..