Local Ford Dealer

[COACHMAN]

ASKED FOR A QUOTE FOR A TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT ON A FOCUS QUOTED £300.00 PLUS VAT.
INVERNESS FORD DEALER £210.00 IN TOTAL.
LOCAL DEALER SEEMS TO BE A RIP OFF.

[EDDIE]

Its quite a difference between the 2 quotes u have but i would like to point out when your getting a timing belt changed you are far better getting it done buy a dealer only belts are known to come off after they have been replaced and it least if you go through a proper dealer you will be covered properly.

[Fran]

My timer belt broke on the wick to thurso road a couple of years ago and it cost me almost £1,000 for the repair......now that was an expensive timing belt.

[pie2000]

My one slipped and caused soooo much damage it was not worth repairing!! Def worth the money to make sure the job is done right

[gmac]

Try Thrumster Garage, alot more reasonable than the quotes given and no problems afterwards.

[Marty McFly]

Have to say I wouldn't chance going anywhere else but a Ford dealer for a Focus timing belt replacement...at least if something happens you have some come-back.

[dozerboy]

ASKED FOR A QUOTE FOR A TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT ON A FOCUS QUOTED £300.00 PLUS VAT.
INVERNESS FORD DEALER £210.00 IN TOTAL.
LOCAL DEALER SEEMS TO BE A RIP OFF.

It is a job that requires quite a lot of time. The alternator drive belt has to be removed first, and it runs round many pulleys etc, then the crankshaft and camshafts (2 if you have the twin cam) have to be locked at No 1 TDC before the belt can be removed. Plus theres not much room to work in.

Better leave it to the pro's despite the cost.

[connieb19]

But if the Inverness ford Dealer is £90 cheaper than a Wick ford dealer, then surely it is a rip off?

[DW]

ASKED FOR A QUOTE FOR A TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT ON A FOCUS QUOTED £300.00 PLUS VAT.
INVERNESS FORD DEALER £210.00 IN TOTAL.
LOCAL DEALER SEEMS TO BE A RIP OFF.

Aye, but then you have the cost of the petrol, your lunch out, the money your wife spends at the shops, your meal on the way home..............

[grantyg]

Blimey had mine done on an astra tdi and it cost £60 from my garage not a dealer just an honest guy who does a cracking job!
My alternator went and because of the rac muck up it got towed to a garage near by and ended up costing £300 for a quoted £150 job and they even fitted it the wrong way round and left the vacuum pumps off! took it to my garage to get sorted they said it was an £80 job and fixed it for free - garages seem to be a rip off most places. My brother drives up from yorkshir efor his mot and service to my garage as it is cheaper to sit in the car for 3 hours than take it to any where in yorkshire!
Oh and the garage I use is Ross Autos in Glasgow PM me for the number!

[lasher]

Have to say I wouldn't chance going anywhere else but a Ford dealer for a Focus timing belt replacement...at least if something happens you have some come-back.

Rubbish man, any competent mechanic should be able to replace a timing belt no prob's, everyone knows main dealers just rip you off!

[EDDIE]

Rubbish man, any competent mechanic should be able to replace a timing belt no prob's, everyone knows main dealers just rip you off!

When ever you change a timing belt you always replace the belt with a genuine ford belt and not a cheap belt because if the cheap belt breaks it an expensive bill.you always go to the dealer for that type of repair because new belts are known to come off if you pay a little bit extra in going to the dealer you get a good warranty period for the repair if anything goes wrong were most back street garages wont give you.And not only that in this day and age most new cars has sensors all over the car and were the timing belt is and when you do a repair on the car you have to reset everything with the computer which the dealers have.
The days were a mechanic can fix anything are gone cars are more complicated now with the computer management systems fitted in cars and the require computers to diagnose and fix them and the dealers are the only ones with the special software and leads to do the job

[2little2late]

The days were a mechanic can fix anything are gone cars are more complicated now with the computer management systems fitted in cars and the require computers to diagnose and fix them and the dealers are the only ones with the special software and leads to do the job

Which adds to the con of having to go to a main dealer. We are being held to ransom. "You have faulty car, we fix faulty car with help of machine, you pay high price for repair". I was quoted 35 quid just to test with machine. Haven't bothered having it tested, car still drives fine.

[Whitewater]

I know what you are saying about the electronics Eddie. I had a bit of fun recently when I had to replace the holder for the drivers safety belt in my car. I sent off the the part, and got it for free under the warranty. To replace it I had to disconnect the cable before I removed the item. I then had everything replaced except the cable for the electrics when I remembered I had to pick up my wife. So I set off and then the fun began, the cable was not only for the seat belt warning light, it also had a sensor for the air bags. It was like driving a mobile pin ball machine with all the warnings which were coming up, the engine management system was even ordering me to stop the car. Thank goodness it had not got an automatic cut out. Needless to say I connected the cable while I was waiting for my wife to appear.

[Fran]

I would definetly go to george durrand in roxburgh road garage, he always did a great job with all my cars and i never had to wait long either. been going to him for about 20 years now.

Rubbish man, any competent mechanic should be able to replace a timing belt no prob's, everyone knows main dealers just rip you off!

[Marty McFly]

I would definetly go to george durrand in roxburgh road garage, he always did a great job with all my cars and i never had to wait long either. been going to him for about 20 years now.

Couldn't agree more. I've gone to George loads of times and been very pleased with his work...he's always got time to look at my car...and his rates are excellent.

The thing is my car is 8 years old. If I owned anything more up to date, I would be forced to go to someone who had appropriate equipment (probably the dealer)...and be forced to pay their rates as well.

[DW]

Couldn't agree more. I've gone to George loads of times and been very pleased with his work...he's always got time to look at my car...and his rates are excellent.
cut

Remind me, what's George's nickname again?

[EDDIE]

Useless information for anyone interested modern cars now if an electronic component goes faulty you have no choice but to buy the part from the dealer only and pay crazy prices for it because alot of the components now have serial numbers embedded into it for your car only if you try buying a second hand electronic component for your car from overton or similar garages it wont work in your car because the first thing your onboard managment system does when you turn the ignition key it checks for all the serial numbers from all of the car electronic components and if they dont match up the car wont start i guess thats there way of getting garages like overton and similar garages out of the picture and making u go back to the dealer.
I think in general the technolgy in cars now is getting out of hand and its making it harder for small garages to survive or making it harder for anyone to start up there own business and its also destroying competition which is bad news for the customer.

[daviddd]

parts for quite new cars can be found fairly cheaply on Ebay........s'long as you know exactly what you want.......

[KILTIECAULDBUM]

The difference between the two Ford dealers is a con, no matter what way you try to "dress it up" That's if they were quoting for doing like for like? Some just quote for the belts, others include tensioners, etc, etc, & it can seem as though you are being ripped off. Ask for a detailed quote for exactly what they will be doing?
Your actual rights have changed too, from having to always go to your main dealer to fit genuine parts so as to keep your warranty intact. You can now go to ANY garage you choose, and as long as THEY fit the genuine parts, your warranty will still cover you!!