Focus 09 2Nd Service

[blcky]

my 09 focus zetec is due its 2nd service soon. i've been quoted £160 which is ok for a ford dealer i suppose. i have read the brake fluid should be changed every 2 years. is this correct? is this included in the price or is it extra. is it recomended to change the brake fluid or should i just leave it?. if it is extra can i decide not to have it replaced without affecting the warranty?

lots of questions, sorry!!!!!!!!

any help appreciated

[catch]

bugger a double post, I thought this forum was designed for the use of idiot's

[catch]

my 09 focus zetec is due its 2nd service soon. i've been quoted £160 which is ok for a ford dealer i suppose. i have read the brake fluid should be changed every 2 years. is this correct? is this included in the price or is it extra. is it recomended to change the brake fluid or should i just leave it?. if it is extra can i decide not to have it replaced without affecting the warranty?

lots of questions, sorry!!!!!!!!

any help appreciated

First off, welcome to the forum.

Now £160 [costed at £175 on line] at a Ford Main Dealer on a car less than 3 years old gets you an oil and filter change service, and a look see at fluid levels.It's £99 for cars over three years old.......yes I know.

Anyway looking at the Ford service Schedule [ follow instructions on that site]brake fluid change is a £55 optional extra

Now I've read all the stuff in relation to the why and where for, regarding the reasons for brake fluid renewal. But my mechanic only ever renews brake fluid if there is a problem with brake efficiency, that cannot be put down to the brake servo/disks/pads or callipers, and that's good enough for me.

I've been going to him for nigh on 20 years now, and my brakes have always been spot on. And with three of the cars he has serviced for me, two went on to be 10 years old when I parted with them, and the other eleven years old [Nissan Sunny] when it was written off in a crash just after passing it's MOT needing no remedial work. A tw@t in a wagon side swiped me dragging my car across the front of it's cab at right angle to the road. I was sat there looking out of my drivers door window at the words FODDEN. Took him 50 yards before we came to a halt.....I walked free with not so much as a scratch.........sorry for digressing.....but it's what I do

Edit: stick a tiny bit of clear sellotape on one of your wheel nuts, on both axles. Then when you get your car back, see if they are still there. They are suppose to remove all wheels to inspect the brake pads and drums....call me a cynic if you must

[blcky]

thanks catch, service prices are a rip-off i agree especially for what you get for £160. not to bad as i have a discount card for my local dealer that gives me a 10% discount.

i am just a bit wary incase they call me up regarding replacing the brake fluid. don't think i will pay £55 to get it replaced if it is only a recomendation.

[catch]

I commented on the wheels supposed to be taken of for brake inspection. Because I bought my car on a 55 plate from a Ford Main Dealer [it was offered as a "Franchise Approved" vehicle] Now this car only had 32,700 on the clock, which is correct according to the MOT's but it was missing the 3rd year service. I dare say because the previous owner had only put 12,155 miles on it in years 2 and 3 combined. So the deal was it had a major service.

Anyway I bought in October and by March, 23 weeks later, I myself had only put 1,800 miles on it. But as I was planning on going down to Cornwall on holiday doing circa 75 mph on the motorway. And as it's important to me to know the condition of every thing on my motor.I took it into my mechanic so he could have the wheels off it to inspect the condition of the brakes, and rotate the wheels axle to axle.Turns out this motor had not been driven on it's brakes, hence they were in very good condition. But the fronts especially, being disks where full of brake dust. He commented that he doubted those wheels had been off in years.

The moral of the story is.....if it's time consuming, but part of a fixed price service, don't always count on it as having been done.