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Topic: Buying a new car

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julian02

11/3/2015 at 7:43pm
Location: liverpool
Outfit: 2011 FORD FOCUS 1.6TDCI TIT

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My neighbour just had the same problem many trip to fords without them sorting the same problem,i told my neighbour to get a new secondhand dash speedo & he replaced the dash speedo & problem sorted.also the cambelt should cost around £120 seconhand dash panel speedo cost £20 scrap yard or even ebay.

Romaway

12/3/2015 at 8:22am
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Motorhome

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Langleys, thanks for that information. You are right about the console thingy being common. My local garage are very good and did not pressure me into having it done. they just said it could get worse but may not. It could start to affect other things like the petrol guage etc etc. they also did not pressure me into having the cam belt done, just said it was overdue.

I am still doing my homework and am going to look at some with a local ford Dealer. A 2014 Fiesta is way cheaper than a new one. But may still go for a repair.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice it really is helpful and appreciated when you have to start doing things that are not in your scope or ability. Car decisions are a no go area for me.

langleys

12/3/2015 at 2:22pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: Vermont L Nebraska XL and Montana 4 6

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I can guarantee it will get worse. It was a design fault at Fords. There is a gap behind it that doesn't seal very well so water leaks in. It goes right in to the back of the dashboard console so the circuit board inside remains damp. Over time, the tracks on the circuit board start to get corrosion on them and they short out each other. This results in things like indicator lights coming on randomly or the speedo behaving erratically. On mine, the speedo used to work sometimes and then sometimes not. The handbrake light used to come on and off at random times. After about a year, the abs light and engine management light used to flicker at various times or the battery light used to be on. After a further while it was a combination of all the above but more permanent.

Ford quoted me £700 for the part and just over a £100 for fitting plus vat. Then I saw the watchdog program where ford had agreed to change all affected consoles for £99 and did semi admit the fault. The problem is that some of those changed consoles are now starting to do it again as they only fixed the damage and did not fix the problem. I guess they thought that the time they needed to be changed again, the car will be end of life.

In the end, after reading an internet article, I took the console out myself. It was literally 4 screws or so to undo and then the console just pulls forward and you disconnect the one connector from behind it. I laid it on the table and unscrewed the plate from the back of the console that exposes the circuit board. Straight away you can see all the corrosion. I bought some contact cleaner from Maplins and wiped the whole board with a cloth soaked in it and used some ear buds for the small areas. Once done, it just looked like new. I put it back and all the problems disappeared instantly and after 2 years have not come back. The job itself took less than half an hour. It would be a lot quicker if I had to do it again as I know what to do now.

If you know anyone even slightly handy with a screwdriver, you can have that fault fixed for free. The timing belt on these cars is easier than a lot of cars and any garage should be able to do it in 2-3 hours maximum. Parts are under £40 for a timing belt and tensioner. I had the water pump done at the same time which was an extra £30. So I paid just over £200 for everything. The Focus now has 60,000 miles on it and is nearly 12 years old and still runs perfect. The only reason I would really need to change the car would be because I was bored of it.

-------------
Steve

Kelper

12/3/2015 at 4:33pm
Location: Northern Ireland
Outfit: Sterckeman Alize Concept CP480

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Consider a PCP purchase ... by the way, doesn't have to be a new car ... I got a one year old under PCP.
PCP info

madz

12/3/2015 at 11:34pm
Location: east midlands
Outfit: swift 530

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My recommendation would be go to Available Car, best car buying experience I have ever had. Check out the cars with no car salesman. They have a price promise which I did use and got my car at an unbeatable price. !2 months on its still fab

Romaway

13/3/2015 at 10:53pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Motorhome

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Langleys, thanks for such a comprehensive reply. I made a decision to get the cam belt done and the garage said they would fit me in on Monday morning as I was worried about it and it was overdue, £200ish.

I could never in a million years take my console off and sort out a repair, so have found a localish company who specialise a these cluster faults and will provide a new one for £99 or supply and fit it for £160.

So we will wait until it is necessary and then get that done too.

We decided that as we feel the Ford Focus is worth keeping and as most of the time it is used only for shopping and sitting in a muddy car park in some remote area waiting for my return from a muddy all day walk it would be silly right now to go for a newer car.

It really helped to get advice from you all on here so a final thank you to everyone. It helps to talk.

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