Hi guys,

Just seeking some advice. As you may have or may not have seen, I bought an 11 plate car about 3 weeks ago and it's been faultless so far, touch wood lol. It's got some service history, but it stops at 36,000 miles. There is no evidence of a timing belt change, and that is my concern. The car currently has 53,700 miles on it. Now does it need one? I prefer to er on the side of caution and just get it done, but I've heard they are good for 80k? My old 19 year old Focus had a new one around 84k I think it was, and was at 128k when I let her go. Is it 80k or ten years? She's ten years old. 

Thanks in advance guys.

Steve.

At ten years old err on the side of caution and have it changed, better to be safe than sorry.

I agree with Thomas it needs changed.

Look at it this way the car is now 10 years old. Lets say you decide to wait until its 12. Then that means the replacment would last until the car was 24 years old !

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm going to get it done. Just need to sort out a suitable time and date with my mechanic. 

The timing belt changing interval for the 1.6 Duratec Petrol engine is 100.000 Miles or 8 Years (whichever comes first).

My experience is that after 8 Years these timing belts usually show severe signs of deterioration (cracks). Premature failure on low mileage vehicles is not uncommon.
 

For your good (after buying every used car) just change timing belt + water pump. 
5 years ago when I bought mk2.5 with 1,8tdci and something about 180 000km on odometer I gave it to a mechanic to change it. When I came back for it, he told me it was just about time for a change, because belt was severely damaged - usual damage by time and use like cracks on it. Car was 8 years old exactly.

Hi guys,

Timing belt, tensioner and water pump were changed yesterday. Peace of mind now, happy days.

Cheers 😁