Sensible to try and find a Ford Focus specialist?

My friend with a smart car said he took all the way to London to have it worked on by a specialist and said it was well worth it, the guy worked out all the problems swiftly etc.

I don't mind paying, but not sure how to go about finding a local reputable independent specialist? It's a Mk1 Focus. It's been cheap to maintain so far so I don't mind the idea of spending ~£600 on it for a general health checkup and make it run smooth e.g. engine mounts etc.

But don't want to take it to another average & dodgy mechanic.

It's only a Focus, just take it anywhere reputable.

Pretty much every garage will be familiar with a mk1 focus. i don't think it would be worth your time finding some one with specialist knowledge. If you want to spend the money on it to make it pristine go for it but at the end of the day you could replace it for £600.

shauncr91 said:

It's only a Focus, just take it anywhere reputable.

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Do this

You'd think I could just 'take it anywhere', but you'd be amazed how junky it feels after being worked on by the average mechanic. I mean, they get the job done, but every visit results in a repair and downgrade. The average mechanic just doesn't know how to make it smoother.

Literally, I had an alternator replaced and then immediate downgrade on how smooth the car runs, I did not cheap out on the part. Clutch replace, then immediately changing gears gets a downgrade, I didn't cheap out on the part. It's like these guys don't know how align parts properly and give it that extra attention to make sure it's all slick and proper. I'd pay extra for that extra care.

p1RATE said:

Pretty much every garage will be familiar with a mk1 focus. i don't think it would be worth your time finding some one with specialist knowledge. If you want to spend the money on it to make it pristine go for it but at the end of the day you could replace it for £600.

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I could take a £600 gamble and replace it, or I could make this car run nice and smooth for another 2 years by investing that money on it etc. In my experience, better to stick with the known quantity.

Is there even such a place as a Focus specialist?

delta0 said:

Is there even such a place as a Focus specialist?

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Maybe, but I'd imagine they'd be ST/RS specialists as opposed to generic MK1 Focus specialists.

You'd also have to question the sanity of any garage claiming to be a MK1 Focus specialist, as a) they aren't in any way complicated machines, b) are now that old that you can't really charge a "premium" over a normal back street garage, and c) your target audience would be rather small due to declining numbers on the road.

Take it to a well reputed garage and be done with it. If you're really struggling, take it to Ford.

Any independent garage that struggles or refuses to work on a Ford Focus doesn't deserve to be in the motor trade.

Good thing about Fords is they are easy to work on. Take it to any good garage

You will probably only find ST/RS specialists, they might do a standard Focus though.

Marcos said:

You'd think I could just 'take it anywhere', but you'd be amazed how junky it feels after being worked on by the average mechanic. I mean, they get the job done, but every visit results in a repair and downgrade. The average mechanic just doesn't know how to make it smoother.

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It's at best nearly a 12 year old car - as others have said it's worth next to nothing, it's not anything special and it's not rare, as long as it works then that should be good enough. Mechanics change parts - there is very little they can do to make anything smoother.

Marcos said:

Literally, I had an alternator replaced and then immediate downgrade on how smooth the car runs, I did not cheap out on the part.

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The battery would have been disconnected whilst changing the alternator - this likely cleared any "learnt" information from the ECU, requiring it to go through the learning process again. Nothing a mechanic could do to stop that happening.

Marcos said:

Clutch replace, then immediately changing gears gets a downgrade, I didn't cheap out on the part.

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A new clutch maybe just highlighted issues in other areas e.g. wear in the gearbox - it's an old car. Clutches also may need a bit of time to "bed in".

Marcos said:

I'd pay extra for that extra care.

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I honestly don't think it would make a difference. However, what you need to be looking for is just a "Ford Specialist", rather than a "Mk1 Focus specialist".



Also not sure the word "downgrade" is appropriate in this context, it grates in the same way dpf or egr "delete" does

If you really feel the need to spend money on it for no good reason then just take it to "Ford"

rodenal said:

If you really feel the need to spend money on it for no good reason then just take it to "Ford"

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This was my thinking also

Marcos said:

It's been cheap to maintain so far so I don't mind the idea of spending ~£600 on it for a general health checkup and make it run smooth e.g. engine mounts etc.

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You are on about spending more than the car is worth to get a checkup that will not guarantee it will keep running smoothly for another week let alone years.

don't get how an average mechanic is worse than a ford one. A standard mechanic replacing simple parts is going to be the same as a ford one if using ford parts. Our vauxhall garage was advertising apprentice mechanics , whats stopping ford doing the same and having them do the simpler bits on your car?

Absolutely nothing other than more likelihood of some sort of recourse if something goes wrong.

That was exactly the point, it's a waste of money on an old focus imo.


As an aside, the people working on / some of the things I've seen "specialists" doing means I am a bit more selective with them than randomly browsing google

i'm sure a non RS/St ford specialist will exist somewhere, We have a garage along the road from us proudly advertising the fact they are Vauxhall specialists.


OP it doesn't sound like you need a specialist, just a competent mechanic that will take a bit of pride in their work and show a bit of TLC. ever thought about breaking the spanners out and doing it yourself. Mk1 focus is a great car to work on

I could take a £600 gamble and replace it, or I could make this car run nice and smooth for another 2 years by investing that money on it etc. In my experience, better to stick with the known quantity.

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That's not what i was suggesting at all. If you want to spend money on it by all means go ahead, but bear in mind that spending hundreds/thousands replacing engine mounts and suspension is hardly worth it when the sum of all the parts you currently have only amount to around £600.

If you want a smooth or refined car, ditch the mk1 focus altogether and buy a cheap luxo barge, something like an LS400 or xtype.

May not be any Mk1 Focus specialists but I'm sure there are planty of Ford specialists about, even if they specialise in a few makes. e.g. http://www.mikegoreandsons.co.uk

p1RATE said:

If you want a smooth or refined car, ditch the mk1 focus altogether and buy a cheap luxo barge, something like an LS400 or xtype.

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I think the part that annoys me most is that it was really smooth when I bought it at 97k miles, then every visit to the mechanic just downgraded the smoothness of it. Weirdly, the clutch was better before it needed a change. Then the day before and day after getting a new alternator were night and day difference.

Car has not improved since and has had plenty of time to bed in.

I know enough money could restore this car to smooth, so it's not necessarily that the car is old, it's that it takes TLC for someone to go over the car clean things up.

But yes, ultimately probably a waste of money.