Hi all, please help, I need advice! 

I have a 2009 focus estate that I have just had mot'd, however when I picked it up from the garage a light came on the dash, for the glow plugs so I took it in for them to be replaced. 

The mechanic then snapped one in the engine, which he can't get out, not for want of trying, and has quoted 1000 for head gasket, water pump, cam belt and labour 😩

I'm at a loss what to do, so what would you do, fix it and get a few more years with it or scrap it and try and get another car (partner has just been laid off, so haven't got his income at the moment, well until he finds something else, so this could not have come at a worse time for us)  

Its got just under 100,000 on the clock and is otherwise a fab car, fits our needs and has been great for the last couple of years! 

Advice welcomed 👍 thank you 

Lucy 

That Mechanic has made an expensive mistake there..what!!!!..a GRAND..
Tell that garage to put your car right or you will send your boyfriend round to sort him out....Sorry..

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

Yeah that's not helpful, was warned that it 'may' happen so have nothing to fall back on, they were original glow plugs unbeknownst to me, and he did his best for it not to happen, it just did!

It's now at a different garage because I went mad and refused to give them my business anymore! Can fight my own battles Doncha know.... 

 

Honestly?  I'd say it's not worth It for a 100k Focus, especially with the 1.6TDCi engine and presumably in a common spec.  Chances are you could have all that done and then the clutch fails or the turbo breaks...leaving you with another massive bill.  You can buy another similar one for not much more.

£1000 sounds like a high estimate though.  I'd be expecting more like £500-£750.

Whether they warned you or not the matter stands that they broke it so they should fix it at their liability.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repairing-a-car/problems-with-a-car-repair/

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

https://www.daslaw.co.uk/blog/vehicle-servicing-and-repairs

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Thanks all, I will have a read of the citizens advice bits when I get a sec, just at a complete loss atm x

I know it's easy to say in hindsight. I always say don't try to get glowplugs out unless the problem is actually stopping you from using the car. These days many diesels will start and run satisfactorily with the glowplugs not working (the only sign being less smooth tickover until warmed up and maybe slight smoke until warmed up). If you try to get them out there is a chance it will snap and then it's a major problem. But I have seen threads on this forum (or maybe the fiesta forum) describing how people did get the broken piece out without removing the head. Not an easy job though as not very much space down there.

So could you still drive the car OK when it had the glowplug problem (before he snapped it)?

If you drive it now with the broken bit in there, there is a chance the broken bit could come out like a bullet and do major damage or cause injury. If it suddenly came out with the engine running fast it literally could be like a bullet. So you could screw the threaded bit back in which will remove that danger. However there is then the danger that the broken bit might shift further down the hole into the combustion chamber and damage the piston. I don't think that is very likely if it is really stuck but you can't rule it out. 

If this was my car and in this situation I think I would screw the top of the glowplug back in and keep my fingers crossed. I am not saying I reccommend you do that, It's just what I am thinking I might do.

I would welcome other people's thoughts on my comments. I won't be offended.

23 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

£1000 sounds like a high estimate though.  I'd be expecting more like £500-£750.

With all due respect Tom, £500 for a new head gasket?! Labour alone would be more than £500. Surely? 

On 1/29/2020 at 10:45 AM, Lucy Smith 1978 said:

quoted 1000 for head gasket, water pump, cam belt and labour 😩

I had a 2010 Vauxhall Astra, had what I thought was a blown head gasket (turned out it was a defective oil cooler..still £500 btw) was quoted £1200 , I thought the mechanic was taking the ***** , shopped around , realised that was a fair quote. Master tech £50 ph 

Its a big job that has to be done properly. In your case I’d buy a new car. 

18 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

With all due respect Tom, £500 for a new head gasket?! Labour alone would be more than £500. Surely? 

Not unless you're paying top whack for dealer prices!  The DV6 is such an easy engine to work on too.

Headgasket labour would be around 6 hours, you've got to remove the cambelt in the process so barely any extra labour for changing the rest of the kit.

Head doesn't need skimming because it hasn't overheated.

You can't compare different cars btw...EGR replacement on my Golf would be around £800, EGR replacement on my previous Focus would be about £250...  Purely because of the restricted access and far more parts needing removed on the Golf.

16 hours ago, isetta said:

I know it's easy to say in hindsight. I always say don't try to get glowplugs out unless the problem is actually stopping you from using the car. These days many diesels will start and run satisfactorily with the glowplugs not working (the only sign being less smooth tickover until warmed up and maybe slight smoke until warmed up). If you try to get them out there is a chance it will snap and then it's a major problem. But I have seen threads on this forum (or maybe the fiesta forum) describing how people did get the broken piece out without removing the head. Not an easy job though as not very much space down there.

So could you still drive the car OK when it had the glowplug problem (before he snapped it)?

 

 

Mine threw up codes and went into limp mode when the glow plugs failed - was still driveable until I got it to the garage but wouldn't take me anywhere fast!  I was told at the time that they can fail one by one and you might only notice when the last one goes, but not sure how right that is - I got them all changed anyway.  The mechanic said that one was a pig to get out but by going slowly he managed it get it out in out piece.

1 minute ago, south_bound said:

 

Mine threw up codes and went into limp mode when the glow plugs failed - was still driveable until I got it to the garage but wouldn't take me anywhere fast!  I was told at the time that they can fail one by one and you might only notice when the last one goes, but not sure how right that is - I got them all changed anyway.  The mechanic said that one was a pig to get out but by going slowly he managed it get it out in out piece.

Mine too...  All glowplugs failed around 60k/8 years old, causing limp mode and the engine malfunction warning.  I managed to drive to motorfactors to buy the new ones...and then to Machine Mart to buy specific glowplug sockets with UJs to reach the awkward one lol, but certainly wasn't fun having about 20Nm of torque when in limp...

The way they're wired on the DV6, when one fails the rest get stuck on until they all burn out!  All 4 were totally dead when removed.  I had them double checked as I thought my mulitmeter must have broken!