2014 Ford Focus: new turbocharger - estimate just received

[Felicity28]

Hi,

I'll try to make this easy to follow. I am still trying to process the estimate here of £1700 (inc. VAT)

Car: 2014 Ford Focus Titanium X 1.0 EcoBoost

Symptoms and actions
- “Service Engine Now” with severe loss of power. Previously intermittent, now permanent.
- Brief 10-second whirring on cold start.
- Taken to a standard local garage (not a Ford dealer) who do repairs/MOTs on all types of vehicles

Invoice summary (independent and reputable garage that I've used before):
- Labour (4h) to renew turbocharger
- Oil & filter service
- New Ford turbo unit
- Oil feed pipe
- Drain tube assembly
- Gaskets
- Oil filter, sump plug, engine oil

Total: £1,700


Questions and Considerations

1) I am pretty shocked at the cost - I honestly expected about £500 which I now realise was misguided
2) Is it worth going elsewhere for a second opinion? (The garage are reputable but just not sure if there are other options?)
3) Do you have any reaction to this - e.g. "yea that's about right" which is fair enough
4) The car is a 2014 Focus. It's very reliable and I've had it 7 years. Mileage is about 75,000. I'd guess the value would be about £4k but obviously this is not tied to repair costs and I wasn't looking to sell
5) What would you do here? Just suck it up and put it down to something that needs doing?

As stated, I am just trying to process this. If it's expected and about right fair enough, but I don't have a clue about these things.

Thanks

Edited by Felicity28 on Wednesday 27th August 13:10

[J4CKO]

Hi,

That seems a lot of money, these turbos are numerous and personally I would be looking to source one and find someone to fit it.

Really doesnt look like a £1700 job, I dont think turbo changes are easier than this, watch this for an illustration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psCs7F02Vz8

They arent horrendously expensive, and dont look hard to change as its on the front of the engine so is easy to get at, I have an ST model which is different and its tucked down at the back so is much harder.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127254398844?fits=Car+M...

[sherman]

A turbo is not cheap.
£1000 or there abouts for the turbo could be posssible.
£700 for labour +the other bits could easily be right.
There will also be diagnostic time to pay.

[Promised Land]

Local Indy garage, 4 hours Labour and expecting total cost around £500? Really?

Garage rates are £90-100 an hour now without parts prices.

[stevemcs]

I haven't looked at the price of a turbo but what they are quoting on means they a doing it the right way,

[Jamescrs]

I Can't help on the diagnosis but I looked on the website of a reputable Ford specialist I have used in the past for the cost of a replacement turbo for that car and it's coming up about £1000 cheaper from what I can tell.

https://pumaspeed.co.uk/product-Fiesta-10-Ecoboost...

[super7]

It's coming up for a 12yr old car...... I'd be getting a refurbed one or even get one on Ebay from a breakers yard.

It's a basic turbo, not something off a high performance or newer car...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1934680502

[99t]

I wouldn't be spending £1,700 on a 75k ecoboost without getting the belts done as well. In fact I'd want to confirm that a partially blocked oil pickup due to the belts starting to come apart isn't the cause of the turbo's demise...

[Felicity28]

Promised Land said:

Local Indy garage, 4 hours Labour and expecting total cost around £500? Really?

Garage rates are £90-100 an hour now without parts prices.

Thanks - I did mention and admitted it was naive, and I that I'm clueless on these things - hence why I'm here asking for advice

It was a figure plucked from thin air.

Thanks for the extra guidance on labour costs and general pricing

[Megaflow]

30 seconds on Google suggests ~£1000 of that £1700 is just for the genuine Ford turbo alone.

https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/1-0-gtdi-ecoboost...

Where as a pattern part can be had from as little as £190.

https://jcarpart.com/en-uk/products/2015-2018-ford...

That has immediately brought the bill down from £1700 to £900, I don't realistically think you get much below that with the other parts on the estimate.

[Felicity28]

Thanks everyone - quite a range of opinions here and really helpful. I have asked another garage near to me for their opinion and for a quote on the basis of the work that's listed.

I trust and like the original garage, so I will likely ask if they can do it cheaper with used parts, or even if I supplied them. Basically making it clear that this is a huge amount of money for me and I need to make sure it's justified and proportionate given the cost of the car and the work.

[1690cc]

Worth bearing in mind nearly £300 of that is VAT.

So £1400 for the job.

4 hours of work is probably best part of £500

So £900 of parts and a new turbo from Ford is likely about £800

Overall a nasty bill but probably not much of a saving to be found

[WPA]

99t said:

I wouldn't be spending £1,700 on a 75k ecoboost without getting the belts done as well. In fact I'd want to confirm that a partially blocked oil pickup due to the belts starting to come apart isn't the cause of the turbo's demise...

Agreed, I was thinking the same

[valiant]

Yep, overdue on belts if not done already. Ignore ths at your peril on an ecoboost.

Be sure you're sitting down when getting the quote though...

[Watcher of the skies]

WPA said:

99t said:

I wouldn't be spending £1,700 on a 75k ecoboost without getting the belts done as well. In fact I'd want to confirm that a partially blocked oil pickup due to the belts starting to come apart isn't the cause of the turbo's demise...

Agreed, I was thinking the same

+1
Ecoboost has a very poor reputation.
I'd be tempted to get it repaired cheaply using pattern or second hand parts then move it on.

[Benmac]

And they are quoting the necessary service as well as part of the job. The time and materials for that are probably a couple of hundred quid. The big chunk is the cost of an original new Ford turbo and from the quote they do look to be using one. A refurbed or aftermarket one would be a chunk cheaper. A bit more risk you could argue but if from say the Pumaspeed site linked above they're reputable so should be OK.

[J4CKO]

valiant said:

Yep, overdue on belts if not done already. Ignore ths at your peril on an ecoboost.

Be sure you're sitting down when getting the quote though...

£1143 we paid for belts on a 1.0 FIesta.

Nobody is paying £1000 for a genuine Ford turbo on an 11 year old car, especially when there are loads of options for a fifth of that, its a tiny turbo, available in large numbers that is a doddle to change.

I know the OP isnt a mechanic but personally I would be ordering one based on the little plaque with the part number on it, match that then find someone remotely handy to fit it for a couple of hundred quid, its not a hard job. I think this could be done for £500, or £100 to £200 or so if you can wield a spanner. Turbo I would tackle, belt change on one, no thanks !

Otherwise its almost just not worth repairing at that price, I sold a half decent Focus 1.0 with and which had some body damage and an iffy clutch last year for £700, the Ecoboost ones are not sought after, had very little interest, may be worth finding another for £1700 thats working or less and scrap this one ?

[wyson]

Did you consider moving that car on?

I definitely would at that sort of mileage on a 1.0 ecoboost. Looks like you will have to plough in half the value of the car to get the turbo repaired and the wet belt changed.

75k miles car, I’d imagine lots of stuff on its way out. Disks, pads, exhaust, bushings etc.

Unfortunately its got one of the worst engines in terms of reliability.

[Felicity28]

wyson said:

Did you consider moving that car on?

I thought about it but to be honest, I'm quite keen on keeping the car and it's not something I would do at this stage. I've had it 7 years and as the person above said, selling it would get about £700. I'd then have to spend thousands more gambling that the next used car is OK.

It can often be a false economy in my view to do that.

I think it's also easy to say things like "you're spending £2k on a car worth £4k" - true, but it's not always bout the cost of the car. What you're paying for is a car you know works well but is in need of repairs, that only has 75,000 miles which I don't think is high these days, and one which has been trouble free for 7 years.

So it's a question of spending £2k on repairs... or triyng to sell a car which is broken and then having to spend £5k on a replacement

Edit: I also know that some are saying "you may need brakes next, then a clutch, then this, then that" - all the same on any second hand car

Edited by Felicity28 on Wednesday 27th August 15:36

[Felicity28]

Thanks again everyone - can't reply to all but just to say I'm not considering selling the car (explained a little in my reply above).

Second hand parts are an option, but I do think it's fraught with possible issues. I've looked online and they are very cheap but with no indication of their background, history, working condition, etc. I know you can get them from more reputable places so I am not ruling it out.

I also think there are issues with me trying to go down this line. I don't know what half these parts are that are on the quote. So I'd be taking back a car which is drivable but not reliable... then trying to find someone that I trust, who will identify all the parts, source them, and fit them.

I don't even know if I'd save that much - even if it saved half this price, I'd still be left without warranty or peace of mind that you get from a garage