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Original poster

£1.8k for a cam belt replacement

71 replies

cheltsam83 · 12/10/2023 19:20

have a 2012 ford focus Ecoboost with 56k on the clock. I've owned since new, purchased cash. It's starting to get smaller age related repairs over the past three years probably around £400 a year.

The cam belt is due a change and I have been quoted between £1.5k and £1.8k due to it being an Ecoboost. The car is only worth about £2.5k so it's a huge investment. I'm half thinking about just risking it and if the engine blows dumping the car for scrap.

I'm now not in a position to buy a new car cash. But there are some incredible leasing deals out there. Yes I don't own the car but if I buy a car I'm effectively throwing money down the drain. And even cars which are 18 months old cost a bomb and there are not many about.

What do people think
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OP posts:
Badbadbunny · 12/10/2023 19:27

Shop around other garages to find one that will do it cheaper.

Are you sure it's only worth £2.5k? Used car prices are insane at the moment and it seems you can make money by holding onto them as values are rising.

I got £2.5k for a crappy little Citroen C3 that was 5 years old than your Escort!

uhOhOP · 12/10/2023 19:28

I think you should not risk it and run the car until the engine blows. You don't know when or where it's going to happen. It could happen on a fast road, or when you are on your way to work. When it happens, you'll then immediately be tasked with having to buy a new car and might be under pressure to make a quick decision. Although, you say you're considering leasing, so I suppose you might start now looking for a deal and at least you'll be able to go straight to it if the car does go bang one day.

I would use finance but I wouldn't lease. The main thing for me would be restrictions on mileage, and I don't think it would be a very good use of my money to spend extra money each month for a higher mileage limit.

Breakingpoint1961 · 12/10/2023 19:29

My sons cam belt went..he's scrapped the car, also 2012.

greengreengrass25 · 12/10/2023 19:36

I had a cam belt replaced recently with water pump as well and service and MOT and total around £750

PlipPlopChoo · 12/10/2023 19:45

That sounds a lot so I did some reading for you.

These ecoboost belts go through the engine rather than around the outside like most cambelts and so it takes a lot longer to do the job. The internet seems to quote anywhere between 6 and 10 hours.

From what I have read these belts might have originally been described as lifetime belts because they are lubricated from the engine rather than dry. I guess that might make the idea of letting it run until it breaks a little more appealing. I guess a few went bang early and the advice was changed to replace at x years or y miles.

In your shoes I would run it and hope for the best. It sounds like you have a little money behind you so if the belt eventually breaks perhaps spend £5k on a car made in Japan.

gamerchick · 12/10/2023 19:51

No way I'd risk it. I wouldn't feel safe driving it.

Princessbananahamock · 12/10/2023 20:39

I had a cam belt go whilst I was driving. I was on the M5 motorway doing 60-70 ish luckily I was in the first lane and motorway wasn’t busy. I would shop around for a better price and replace.
FWIW I had an injection fault on my car had to take it to a specialist so the cost was £500. I weighed up to replace the car would cost £1500 min like for like car had the repair done. Best thing I did car running better than it had done for years better fuel economy.
You could go out buy a used car with a mot and service history and end up with an expensive repair. Just way up the pros.

Original poster
cheltsam83 · 12/10/2023 21:28

Princessbananahamock · 12/10/2023 20:39

I had a cam belt go whilst I was driving. I was on the M5 motorway doing 60-70 ish luckily I was in the first lane and motorway wasn’t busy. I would shop around for a better price and replace.
FWIW I had an injection fault on my car had to take it to a specialist so the cost was £500. I weighed up to replace the car would cost £1500 min like for like car had the repair done. Best thing I did car running better than it had done for years better fuel economy.
You could go out buy a used car with a mot and service history and end up with an expensive repair. Just way up the pros.

Yes its a risk, Thats why if I do replace it would be a new car or one which is nearly new i.e. under 2 years. Thus conisdering a lease or a 0% finance deal which there are a few about

OP posts:
sleepyscientist · 12/10/2023 21:55

I would just run it until it dies they were meant to last 150k which averaged out at 10years.

GCAcademic · 12/10/2023 22:11

I knew before I opened this thread that this was going to be about a Ford Ecoboost. People saying to shop around don’t understand that this is a quirk of the Ecoboost engine for earlier models, and that is the price you’ll get quoted anywhere. It takes much longer to do that job on an Ecoboost than for other cars. I was having this issue a few months ago and decided to get rid of the car. It was only worth £4k, and I wasn’t prepared to pay £1.7k for the cam belt and then god knows how much more a couple of months later when the service and MOT were due. The car had turned into a proper money pit over the last few years, to the point where I’d never buy a Ford again. I got a new Audi on a finance deal, and they never asked me if I’d had the cam belt changed when I traded the Focus in; interestingly the Audi is a small SUV and 1.5 l compared to the 1.0 l Ecoboost, but has better fuel consumption in practice.

GCAcademic · 12/10/2023 22:16

As pp has said, you should get more than £2.5k for your car, OP. I got £4k from Audi when I traded in my Focus and my mileage was around 66k. And, yes, the second hand car market is crazy; getting a new car on finance cost me the same as a two year old car of the same model.

TheBabylonian · 12/10/2023 22:58

If you look on Autotrader you will find your Focus is worth at least £4k.

If you get the cam-belt done it should last another 10 years (with maintenance which would be cheaper than a lease on another car).

The decision is… do you want to keep this car going and save money or do you want to pay more for a new(er) (possibly lease) car. But I can’t see any 0% finance anywhere.

sekift · 13/10/2023 07:58

I'm surprised a car of that age has a cam belt? We have owned Ford focus's for years, our 2009 one didn't have a cam belt.

GCAcademic · 13/10/2023 08:46

sekift · 13/10/2023 07:58

I'm surprised a car of that age has a cam belt? We have owned Ford focus's for years, our 2009 one didn't have a cam belt.

I think it depends on the engine. The Duratec, for example, has a timing chain rather than a belt, and it doesn’t need replacing. But I’ve had 2004 and 2013 Zetecs and they both needed to have the belt changed.

Alargeoneplease89 · 13/10/2023 08:49

Yeah you will have to folk out unfortunately, it will be cheaper in the long run as secondhand cars are so expensive at the minute and if you buy one you will have to spend money on unknown problems.

sekift · 13/10/2023 09:03

@GCAcademic ah yes timing chain, that's what ours had (found out when we tried booking in a cam belt replacement, was joyous news!)

Original poster
cheltsam83 · 13/10/2023 09:14

Alargeoneplease89 · 13/10/2023 08:49

Yeah you will have to folk out unfortunately, it will be cheaper in the long run as secondhand cars are so expensive at the minute and if you buy one you will have to spend money on unknown problems.

True, but if I do get a new second hand car it will still have the manufacturer warranty as it would be about 18 months old.

OP posts:
determinedtomakethiswork · 13/10/2023 09:21

My cam belt went on the motorway, and if I hadn't been in the slow lane, I would've died. The power just goes although the brakes work and my hazard lights worked. It cost me over £1000 to get it repaired.

Obviously the thing for you to do is to shop around. I seriously wouldn't recommend driving at long distances if it needs replacing.

Alargeoneplease89 · 13/10/2023 09:21

cheltsam83 · 13/10/2023 09:14

True, but if I do get a new second hand car it will still have the manufacturer warranty as it would be about 18 months old.

Show quote history

Have you looked at prices for these cars? I say that as I wanted to buy a car recently and garages that offered 18 months warranty were 3 times more expensive... 9k for a 13 / 14 plate is insane so had to but privately. Though I am an automatic driver so will always be paying more.

Honestly it's a minefield and wish I had stuck with my original car.

My car was 2k and had to folk out nearly that amount in mot, service, cam belt, other engine part but still cheaper then the garage 18 months guarantee car (and I don't think they cover everything as a lot of things are under general wear and tear and not covered)

If you do decide to change car, try and get one with a chain not a cam belt to avoid this in future

Original poster
cheltsam83 · 13/10/2023 09:35

Alargeoneplease89 · 13/10/2023 09:21

Have you looked at prices for these cars? I say that as I wanted to buy a car recently and garages that offered 18 months warranty were 3 times more expensive... 9k for a 13 / 14 plate is insane so had to but privately. Though I am an automatic driver so will always be paying more.

Honestly it's a minefield and wish I had stuck with my original car.

My car was 2k and had to folk out nearly that amount in mot, service, cam belt, other engine part but still cheaper then the garage 18 months guarantee car (and I don't think they cover everything as a lot of things are under general wear and tear and not covered)

If you do decide to change car, try and get one with a chain not a cam belt to avoid this in future

Show quote history

Cars I've been looking at are 21 or 22 plate around £18k list new would be,£27k . I'm fortunate I have the cash if needed.

OP posts:
greengreengrass25 · 13/10/2023 11:28

The CAM belt thing has really put me off replacing my older fiesta for newer and as I stated earlier the belt is changed so I will hang on

Relatives 201/15 focus experienced the Cam belt problem on motorway and repairs were so costly and had to be scrapped

QforCucumber · 13/10/2023 11:40

I had the same concern this time last year, 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 ecoboost with 97k miles on the clock - ended up trading it in for a 3 year old Qashqai. They gave me £3.5k for the focus, plus (after haggling) another £750 'deposit contribution' and 3 years free servicing. Forecourt price was 13k so I only financed £8,750 over 4 years. Intent to have the car until its at least 10 like that last one.

Oakdog · 13/10/2023 11:51

We've just had ours done on a 15 plate ecoboost that's done 100k. It didn't need doing going by 150k/10 year changing interval, but it started making a strange noise! We took it to a local engine specialist as our local small garage couldn't do it (specialist tools/time). It cost £1100. The costs of repairing the engine if it went were really scary.

I'd rather have got another car, but no one would have wanted to touch it with the noise. To be fair, it's been great in every other respect.

sekift · 13/10/2023 12:16

How do we find out if our car has a cam belt? It's a 65 plate Ford focus 1L ecoboost.

AsBeautifulAsYou · 13/10/2023 12:24

How much will a place offer you for trade in ? When I changed my car because I was buying from a garage that was a dealership and a car that was only a year old they gave me a great trade in price. Because they can do the work themselves. We are looking to buy a motorhome. I talked about deals and this one place said no money off but can offer stuff like add an awning for free because it doesn’t cost much for us to do in house but for you to pay to get it done would cost.