alanfp Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Fiesta 1.0L Ecoboost Powershift (2014) has been diagnosed with a faulty starter motor by Ford Assist- it just does nothing (to quote Alesha Dixon) so the car won't turn over at all. Anyone got any idea what the local Ford dealer will charge for the job? I guess it will be whatever the book hours are plus the part, but I'd prefer to have an idea before they tell me, so that I don't fall off my chair. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 I think you'll be surprised how expensive starters are from a main dealer, especially considering Ford don't actually make them. I'd estimate around £200. Bit awkward to change on the 1.0EB as they're behind the engine and above the driveshaft. Would estimate around 2 hours labour. So semi-educated guess would be rough ballpark of £400 all in. This is a job that an indy could do with a decent branded used part for around £100 all in. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 This is one of those jobs that I'd be happy to take to any decent independent garage. The job itself is straight forward, although as Tom says difficult to get at. There is no way I'd be spending the money at at Ford dealers on this occasion. You can buy online a brand new OEM starter motor for around £120 and add on a couple of hours labour at what ever your local garage charges. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Labour time should be 0.7 hrs 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanfp Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Thanks for your helpful input, as I expected 🙂 So I want to update you (and anyone else who might benefit from my experience). Short story : Car completely undriveable (obvs) - Ford dealer couldn't book it in for a diagnosis for 7 days! Found an independent to do the job for £365 inc VAT - and they did it today. Long story: once they'd fitted the new starter motor and it still wouldn't start, they discovered that it didn't actually need a new starter motor. It was..... altogether now.... a broken earth strap to the gearbox. I could have cried/cursed/kicked myself when they told me! "Experience is rarely cheap, but it's always good value". 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 23 hours ago, alanfp said: has been diagnosed with a faulty starter motor by Ford Assist Remind me not to listen to 'Ford Assist' 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Bloodaxe Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 3 minutes ago, alanfp said: "Experience is rarely cheap, but it's always good value". It is. Only just spotted this thread but I had a very similar thing years ago on a Cavalier. Nothing was broken, but it was a poor connection that only needed cleaning up. Luckily I found the problem myself so it was very cheap experience on that occasion. Are you going to try complaining to Ford Assist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanfp Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 It was a subcontractor on behalf of Ford Assist, and he'd had the car up on a jack and poked about underneath it. And to be fair, an AA mechanic today did mention "sometimes it's the cable" but I stupidly thought he was talking about the cable to the starter motor, so I thought that whichever garage did the job would spot it if that was the problem. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But the issues at the time were: a) finding a garage who could even look at it ASAP b) How do we get the car to said garage? c) can they get hold of a starter motor readily, as one garage said they didn't want to promise availability without checking first. So it's all fixed and dividing the bill by the 9 years since the car was new makes me feel a little better.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Just shows 2 issues. 1. Shortage of mechanics for the amount of vehicles on the road. Waiting a week or more is not uncommon at alot of garages 2. What mechanics there are at garages generally tend not to be proper mechanics with good basic diagnostic skills. Too many fitters and not enough skilled in the trade. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavroz Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Not a Ford but my brother just last week had a new starter on his 10yr old diesel Audi A4 at an independent garage and it cost him £164. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Bloodaxe Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 2 hours ago, iantt said: Shortage of mechanics for the amount of vehicles on the road. Yes, I've noticed most dealerships/service garages near me seem to have a "Technicians required" sign permanently on display. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 14 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said: Yes, I've noticed most dealerships/service garages near me seem to have a "Technicians required" sign permanently on display. It's the same round my way. I get quite alot of phone calls from agency's trying to entice me elsewhere, even at my age. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 10 hours ago, alanfp said: So it's all fixed and dividing the bill by the 9 years since the car was new makes me feel a little better.. Did they refit the original starter and return the new one? Or was that not an option once it'd been fitted? If you've still got the old one, could always sell that on eBay to recoup some costs, though used starters aren't worth much. The garage could have bench tested the old starter before replacement, would only have taken a couple of minutes to rig up a test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanfp Posted June 12 Author Share Posted June 12 On 6/7/2023 at 10:11 AM, TomsFocus said: Did they refit the original starter and return the new one? Or was that not an option once it'd been fitted? They didn't offer it and I only realised that this was the sensible solution the next day! The labour bill would have doubled, of course , but we would still probably have been in pocket. But the reality is that we (or rather 'she') were so pleased to have the car back the same day that we just accepted the situation. Especially in light of other comments above about a week's delay to even look at a car being not uncommon. So... look out for a new thread from me about replacing 9 yr old Fiesta with a newer one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Hi I had a similar issue with my Renault Clio. Cut a long story short - Car broke down, went to my local auto parts store they said it was starter motor. Took it to my mechanic and turned out it was the connection to the starter motor so instead of it being £225 it was only £35. 🙂 It just shows if you have a mechanic you can trust. Hope this helps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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