All done with no issues 

mechanic said the belt was still ok but probably would have caused issues in a year or so  as had slight cracks showing
 

sump oil was pretty clean , said car was obviously well looked after 

cost just under  £1000 , was in for 2 days 

Done at a local place to me , called bills motor services , South Shields Tyne and Wear , defo recommend him 

1 hour ago, Jo100001 said:

Done at a local place to me , called bills motor services , South Shields Tyne and Wear , defo recommend him 

I think you mentioned having booked in there on another thread? Glad to see you are happy and can provide a recommendation.

On 2/26/2025 at 4:29 PM, Jo100001 said:

 

 said car was obviously well looked after 

 

How often do you get the car serviced/oil changed out of curiosity?

Had mine done in Devon this week. The garage used to be a Ford dealer but is now independent. I have the old cambelt here and it's perfect even with all the writing looking almost like new. They said it was the best one they've seen after 8 or 9 years of use and 70K miles. No debris in the oil pickup strainer. I changed the oil every 6 to 9 months myself and have had the car since new. Always used the correct oil bought from my local Ford dealer (Magnatec with a Ford logo on the bottle). They said they changed the water pump too as it's sensible to do that at the same time. The oil pump belt was changed too of course.

4 hours ago, Matt Alsop said:

They said it was the best one they've seen after 8 or 9 years of use and 70K miles. 

Good news, Matthew. It does seem to further validate the theory that these seldom give trouble with a 100% record of regular oil changes with correct oil.

On 3/7/2025 at 2:26 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Good news, Matthew. It does seem to further validate the theory that these seldom give trouble with a 100% record of regular oil changes with correct oil.

Yes indeed. I've kept the old timing belt here as a souvenir of the expensive day out. Apart from the old belt having oil on it and a slight smell of fuel it really does look like it's brand new. I can find no imperfections at all. Will keep changing the oil and filter every six to nine months until I finally see a newer car I like. I certainly don't fancy anything Ford make these days......sorry to say.

On 3/7/2025 at 9:36 AM, Matt Alsop said:

Had mine done in Devon this week. The garage used to be a Ford dealer but is now independent. I have the old cambelt here and it's perfect even with all the writing looking almost like new. They said it was the best one they've seen after 8 or 9 years of use and 70K miles. No debris in the oil pickup strainer. I changed the oil every 6 to 9 months myself and have had the car since new. Always used the correct oil bought from my local Ford dealer (Magnatec with a Ford logo on the bottle). They said they changed the water pump too as it's sensible to do that at the same time. The oil pump belt was changed too of course.

Which garage did you use and how much did they charge you?

45 minutes ago, kingsblue said:

Which garage did you use and how much did they charge you?

Palmers Garage in Exmouth. Have a look at their website as they claim to do more than the main dealer would including cleaning out the oil strainer and replacing the water pump. It was £1,195 including VAT.

https://palmersgarage.co.uk/

I've got this bookmarked so must have had a mention on here before. (Its a long way from me, but we have been to Exmouth several times and you never know......!😀)

 

On 3/6/2025 at 9:26 PM, Pigeon12 said:

How often do you get the car serviced/oil changed out of curiosity?

Every year , sometimes a extra service if going away in winter , my hubby is a contractor so we make sure car is well looked after 

Had mine done in Feb at MCR Automotive, £650. No complaints, did a great job. 
 

Had similar feedback, belt was starting to crack after 48k/7 Years. Said sump was immaculate and there was a single piece of belt in the strainer. 
 

Been serviced every year at Ford. 

On 3/11/2025 at 7:28 AM, Jo100001 said:

Every year , sometimes a extra service if going away in winter , my hubby is a contractor so we make sure car is well looked after 

Ah ok, I do it every year aswell, was just asking as a lot of people tell me to get it done every 6 months but it seems a bit excessive since I only do about 5000 miles a year

On 3/12/2025 at 6:31 PM, Pigeon12 said:

Ah ok, I do it every year aswell, was just asking as a lot of people tell me to get it done every 6 months but it seems a bit excessive since I only do about 5000 miles a year

That could well be greater justification for servicing (well, an oil and filter change anyway) if those 5000 miles are mostly short trips as the oil tends to degrade much more due to moisture not evaporating from it, fuel blowby around cold pistons etc.

It is of course DIYable too, but the location of the oil filter does make this trickier than it could otherwise be.

Wet belt engines are problematic as milage increases. If the belt starts to degrade it will block the oil pump amongst other things. I tend to stay clear of buying a car with a wet belt. Some of the Transits were barely reaching 20K. 

I am about to have mine done on my Fiesta. Was quoted £2270 at Ford Main Dealer. Have now found an independent that has quoted £1300-£1400. Got it booked in now for a few weeks time.

49 minutes ago, wicky0570 said:

Was quoted £2270 at Ford Main Dealer. Have now found an independent that has quoted £1300-£1400. Got it booked in now for a few weeks time.

But is the independents garage as nice as the Ford dealership ? 🤣