My first post here and I must get this off my chest. When my Ford Focus (56 reg) windscreen wipers started misbehaving the other day, I didn't think too much of it, that it would be a relatively easy and not too expensive fix.
Hah!
How wrong I was in this age of all simple mechanical car gizmos being controlled by fancy electronics. First garage said (for no charge) that they couldn't do anything and it would be a "Very Expensive" job at a Ford garage. Second garage, after £60, informed me that they could do it and the price, fitted, for the piece of computer wizardry would be £629.
My heart sank and my stomach disappeared into a dark pit.
This afternoon I dropped the car off at a local Ford/TVR/Subaru garage where I had negotiated yesterday for the job to be done for £475. Still a sickening amount for failed front windscreen wipers, but better? So far very pleased with the service as I have been given a (free) Fiesta to use tonight and tomorrow till I pick my car up.
Thanks for listening.
Hopefully that will be the last piece of car talk here.
Well, I believe I promised that was the last of my motoring posting...
ReplyDeleteAlas, I must continue, but then that will definitely be it! It turns out that the expensive electronic controller in my car (the 'GEM' unit) was not the problem. Found that out after the latest garage I took it to had fitted the new part only to discover that the fault with the wipers was still there. I have just picked the car up (a week later) with a bill of £415 - less than all previous quotes, but still crazy.
And the cause of my wipers not working correctly? Rodents. Yes, a loom of wiring under the bonnet near the windscreen had been chewed through, with several wires damaged and therefore shorting. Apparently such a spot is quite inviting to mice, being dry and warm. Don't know when this might have happened - whether before my time or since I've had the car - but I now have to try to ensure it never happens again. Oh, and the garage found that the windscreen was cracked so I have Autoglass coming out on Monday to replace that...