I've put a deposit of 200 pound down for a ford focus titanium ecoboost 1.0 petrol. SInce then, all I've heard is that the timing belts on them are nothing but trouble with them being wet belts. The car is on 62,000 miles and has a full service history. Never failed an MOT and only ever had 1 advisory (worn tyres) seems to have been really well looked after and I came away really pleased with the deal. They've given it a full service for me. My last car (Freelander 2) timing belt went and left me skint so I can't have this happen again. If you was me would you go through with purchase or leave the 200 pound and walk away?

its true i  the belts brake up and block the oil pickup tubes then it Eco boom 

I'm afraid the wet belt 1.0 Ecoboosts frighten the life out of me, I've heard stories of them going bang a lot earlier than that.

That's why I got rid of my 2017 at 35,000 miles

32 minutes ago, ddixon said:

I've put a deposit of 200 pound down for a ford focus titanium ecoboost 1.0 petrol. SInce then, all I've heard is that the timing belts on them are nothing but trouble with them being wet belts. The car is on 62,000 miles and has a full service history. Never failed an MOT and only ever had 1 advisory (worn tyres) seems to have been really well looked after and I came away really pleased with the deal. They've given it a full service for me. My last car (Freelander 2) timing belt went and left me skint so I can't have this happen again. If you was me would you go through with purchase or leave the 200 pound and walk away?

walk away mate get your money back

11 minutes ago, dezwez said:

walk away mate get your money back

If it's a deposit they don't have to give it back

But if they have other cars for sale, they may let you transfer the money over to another car

For a bit of balance, many people own these without any problems at all.

However, as the cost of the Freelander repair was too much, then I suspect you won't be keen to pay over a grand for the wetbelt to be replaced in a couple of years time, even if it doesn't snap before then.

Sounds like this probably isn't the right car for your situation, but only you can decide that.  Before making a snap decision to cancel, can you buy anything 'better' for the same price right now?

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

For a bit of balance, many people own these without any problems at all.

However, as the cost of the Freelander repair was too much, then I suspect you won't be keen to pay over a grand for the wetbelt to be replaced in a couple of years time, even if it doesn't snap before then.

Sounds like this probably isn't the right car for your situation, but only you can decide that.  Before making a snap decision to cancel, can you buy anything 'better' for the same price right now?

Agreed, the 1.5 120PS diesel is a joy, I loved mine

Unfortunately a good MOT history has no bearing on the cambelt condition. There are numerous threads on this site on the topic, some still "live", as well as on the web generally and you may have seen the recent BBC Watchdog report: 

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/146399-the-ecoboom-has-become-a-tv-star/

I've said this before, but my previous 1.0 ecoboost was bought new, I ensured it had annual oil/filter changes and enjoyed 5 years trouble-free motoring.

Completely different scenario to buying one at 7/8 years old. Even with a full service record, can it be 100% proved that the correct oil (and no flush or other additives) were used? 

I guess it depends how good a deal this is. If the car is otherwise A1, and the price allows you to budget for an early belt change for peace of mind (or even a new engine in the worst case**) you may opt to go ahead. Only you can decide what's best for you, as already said.

** https://pumaspeed.co.uk/product-Brand-New-Ford-Service-10-EcoBoost-Engine_18898.jsp

 

In the video example; wet belt breaks up, clogs oil pickup. Worrying it seems the turbo was also oil starved for a while - either due to lack of any warning, failure to detect low oil pressure at all, or driver failure to observe low oil pressure warning. 1.0L wet belt seems to be a time bomb in best case scenario imo.

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to walk away. Really gutted as I really liked the car would have been my first ford. What engine would be recommended on these then? I've seen the diesel is sound but I literally drive about 5 miles to work and back. 

8 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

I'm afraid the wet belt 1.0 Ecoboosts frighten the life out of me, I've heard stories of them going bang a lot earlier than that.

That's why I got rid of my 2017 at 35,000 miles

Same here...mine was a '17 plate with 34k on it and absolutely mint but after reading the horror stories on here I just couldn't trust it any more so got rid before anything happened 👍

17 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

For a bit of balance, many people own these without any problems at all.

However, as the cost of the Freelander repair was too much, then I suspect you won't be keen to pay over a grand for the wetbelt to be replaced in a couple of years time, even if it doesn't snap before then.

Sounds like this probably isn't the right car for your situation, but only you can decide that.  Before making a snap decision to cancel, can you buy anything 'better' for the same price right now?

For a bit of balance, here you can take a look at 8 year 100K km 1.0 ecoboost engine 

Oil pickup and belts in perfect condition. I've seen a lot similar examples and it takes few hours to check the belts. Then you can run it for another 2 years ...

17 hours ago, ddixon said:

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to walk away. Really gutted as I really liked the car would have been my first ford. What engine would be recommended on these then? I've seen the diesel is sound but I literally drive about 5 miles to work and back. 

The most reliable engine is the 2.0 GTDi in the Focus ST, if looked after they are very reliable

1.6 Petrol non turbo is OK but gutless, really gutless, turbo unreliable

1.5 4 cylinder is prone to failure, I have read, but  no seen much evidence

There are much better cars out there, Toyota Corolla is a damn good car and reliable etc

58 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

The most reliable engine is the 2.0 GTDi in the Focus ST, if looked after they are very reliable

1.6 Petrol non turbo is OK but gutless, really gutless, turbo unreliable

1.5 4 cylinder is prone to failure, I have read, but  no seen much evidence

There are much better cars out there, Toyota Corolla is a damn good car and reliable etc

I had a Toyota MK3 MR2 for 13 years with no troubles, Japanese is the way to go for reliability, I needed more seats, I've always wanted a brand new car, so bought the Fiesta ST-line and it leaked down the A pillar, changed for the Focus and have been happy so far.

4 hours ago, Tony Roman said:

For a bit of balance, here you can take a look at 8 year 100K km 1.0 ecoboost engine 

Oil pickup and belts in perfect condition. I've seen a lot similar examples and it takes few hours to check the belts. Then you can run it for another 2 years ...

Even if it is clean (which can't be checked before buying!) why spend a lot of money buying an 8 year old used car, knowing that you'd have to spend another £1000 on changing the belt in 2 years time?

It just doesn't make financial sense to me.  But worse than that, you'd have no choice but to have it done, as no trader would buy or part ex one of these due a belt change so it'll be worthless at 10 years old without belt history.  (Suppose you could offload it onto some poor unsuspecting private buyer, depending on your own morals).  

16 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Even if it is clean (which can't be checked before buying!) why spend a lot of money buying an 8 year old used car, knowing that you'd have to spend another £1000 on changing the belt in 2 years time?

It just doesn't make financial sense to me.  But worse than that, you'd have no choice but to have it done, as no trader would buy or part ex one of these due a belt change so it'll be worthless at 10 years old without belt history.  (Suppose you could offload it onto some poor unsuspecting private buyer, depending on your own morals).  

Ive got no morals. 🤣

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

Ive got no morals.

That goes with out saying. You drive a Hyundai Ioniq 🤣🤣

Just now, unofix said:

That goes with out saying. You drive a Hyundai Ioniq electric that's a dream to drive 🤣🤣

And? 🤣🤣🤣

19 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

no trader would buy or part ex one of these due a belt change so it'll be worthless at 10 years old without belt history

A trader took ours in at 10 years old with just over 50K on it in p/e for the Vitara. It's possible they didn't fully understand the issues surrounding the Ecoboom but they would have just chucked it into an auction anyway.

At least it's not got an ecoboost engine, or engine for that matter

Just now, mjt said:

A trader took ours in at 10 years old with just over 50K on it in p/e for the Vitara. It's possible they didn't fully understand the issues surrounding the Ecoboom but they would have just chucked it into an auction anyway.

In to auction with no keys, oh, that's another thread. 

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

At least it's not got an ecoboost engine, or engine for that matter

I hope you've watched that video on how to change the oil, and make sure to get it done in under 10 minutes 🤣

1 minute ago, unofix said:

I hope you've watched that video on how to change the oil, and make sure to get it done in under 10 minutes 🤣

You got no morals, quoting me while I'm on holiday relaxing. Did I say how many dolphins and polar bears I killed flying 1800 miles each way on a plane. Good job I bought an electric car to offset that. 🤣🤣🤣

Just now, mjt said:

A trader took ours in at 10 years old with just over 50K on it in p/e for the Vitara. It's possible they didn't fully understand the issues surrounding the Ecoboom but they would have just chucked it into an auction anyway.

Fair point, but with awareness of this issue continually increasing I doubt that will last much longer.  I would think car supermarkets who sell their own trade ins would be wise to this by now, for example.  Perhaps not the non-Ford main dealers who are just using a trade price guide to look at age and mileage.  Although presumably the guide price will drop when these become more and more difficult to sell at auction with indy dealers becoming more reluctant to take the risk on them.

Also guessing you probably got a fairly low valuation for it?  Making the gap between current retail price that the OP would be paying, and trade price in 2 years time, quite large.

As with most things, there are multiple variables here, so it's down to each individual at the end of the day.  

I can't say if it was a low valuation as I didn't check beforehand but to be honest I was prepared to take a hit on the trade-in price just to be rid of it. I decided the cost of belt replacement would be better spent on a newer vehicle - and not on a Ford based on what I've read on here about the later models of Focus. It had a couple of issues anyway, the AC was obviously leaking as 12 months after having it re-gassed it was barely working again and the brakes were feeling very rough from disc corrosion due to the extended period out of use during Covid. They weren't that old either, I'd fitted new Pagid discs and pads in 2019.