Dealer scam?

[timwilky]

Daughters 64 plate focus has just gone in for a service. she intends to replace it in September.

So they want £48 to replace the brake fluid.
and £290 to replace the worn and lipped front disc/pads. grand sum of £350.

The vehicle is on a ford finance plan. See above September.

So should she pay it?
Get dad to do it? 90 quid for non OEM discs/pads?
Or just forget about it as she will probably only do about 2000 miles between now/September?

Do dealers consider consumable replacements required when they do their return valuation? and therefore better I do the required!

[SheepShagger]

Daughters 64 plate focus has just gone in for a service. she intends to replace it in September.

So they want £48 to replace the brake fluid.
and £290 to replace the worn and lipped front disc/pads. grand sum of £350.

The vehicle is on a ford finance plan. See above September.

So should she pay it?
Get dad to do it? 90 quid for non OEM discs/pads?
Or just forget about it as she will probably only do about 2000 miles between now/September?

Do dealers consider consumable replacements required when they do their return valuation? and therefore better I do the required!
New discs in 3 years, she drive to the moon and back regularly then?

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[timwilky]

I know. 27,000 miles and needing discs/pads

Either ford use suzuki cheese, she drives with her foot on the brake, or someone is milking a women putting a car in for a service!

[embee]

Depends, doesn't it?
Where are the dealers? Hourly rates vary a lot across the country. £48 to change brake fluid isn't unreasonable, half an hour at £60/hr plus materials, plus VAT?
Independent or main agents? If they use genuine Ford parts then again the brake change isn't outrageous, steep but not bonkers.
They're a business, they need to make money from jobs.


How does she own the car, outright or on a scheme? How is she proposing to change it, trade in for used, for new, private sale? Does it even need documentation for these items? If not then do it yourself and pretend nothing has happened.


As for wear, I've found some cars get through discs quickly, the Aygo/107 for example, you'd think a small light car would be easy on them, but I suspect they're made of soft material so they keep clean with light use, otherwise you'd get serious glazing problems. They're sacrificial. I did some on a 107 that had just gone through an MOT with an advisory for disc wear, personally I would have failed it so not all workshops are scammers (even if some are!).

[timwilky]

Yes,ford main agents.

The car is on one of these "dodgy" final payment to buy, you only pay for the depreciation, lock you in to having to take on another car in 3 years schemes.

the reason why I question it, is that I would not have expected discs to require changing at 27,000 miles. The pads must be so hard to cause that amount of wear. But they need changing too?

Is changing fluid now a regular requirement. In my days of spannering. You would normally only add fluid if you had done work that generated a fluid loss. Not change it for the sake of it.

[Red ones]

Independent garage to replace the pads and discs is about £210.
I check work on click mechanic which gives estimates for work in seconds and shows the dealer price for comparison.

[NTECUK]

Brake fluid being hydroscopic needs changing regular.
Pads and discs down to quality of parts and driver's style and conditions.

Not difficult to take a look yourself tbh.

[Specialone]

I bought my wife a fiesta last October from a ford dealer, it came with free lifetime replacement of the pads for the duration in which you own it, the cynic in me thinks they've made the pads rock hard so they don't have to replace many, but the discs will wear quicker obviously, that's not covered.

[Starlet_gt]

I've got a clio 200t and I needed new pads/discs all round at 25k! Is it pcp or lease?

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[NTECUK]

Ballon payment id plump.
PCP.

[SV650rules]

The ratio of pads to discs on cars is normally new discs every two sets of pads, never mind the 'lipped disc' corrosion on the unswept area at edge can make the lip grow so it looks like the disc is more worn than it is, the only true test is to measure the disc on the swept area and see if it is near or below the minimum recommended thickness. Brake fluid should be replaced about every 4 years IMHO, it does absorb moisture, which can cause corrosion and premature 'boiling' of fluid under heavy and sustained braking (eg. freewheeling down mount Everest). Modern brake systems are sealed pretty well to stop moisture ingress, and modern fluids are more resistant to absorbing water than they used to be.

I think this is a classic case of a scam on a woman driver, I have seen this happen when my wifes car goes into for work, but not nearly as much with me.

Now let's think, Ford finance plan, Ford dealer advising work on the car before it gets handed back in September - seems like they want to have their cake and eat it.

[NTECUK]

Just look at it
If its got more 2.0 mm of friction material left leave it.
1.5 mm min for mot.
The sales man won't care if you have new or just good enough for the mot.
They need to sell cars to earn money.