Please, please help me buy a power steering pump

whyber

whyber

whyber

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I'm going out of my mind here.

Primary purpose - buy a power steering pump for Focus Mk2 hatchback 1.6 petrol '06 plate.

I'm on Autodoc and there's a million of them. What brand do I want. I'm less fussed about the money as I am the availability and quality.

Here's the thing - I already went on there and bought a new (not refurbished, I don't want refurbished) Bosch one. But ********* ********* Evri have failed to deliver the thing for a fortnight. It's in ******* courier limbo. I can't talk to anyone because it's all chat bots. The usual bul****.

I'm in deep trouble and I need it quick. I can't wait for the usual lost delivery returns runaround. I'm buying a new one from them now (they already gave me a 15 quid off voucher 'cos I am annoyed) and will worry about return and refund later on the missing one.

There are no Bosch ones in stock. I've kept an eye on it and there haven't been. It's making me want to cry.

What one shall I buy? I'd buy a genuine Ford one and pay through the nose, I'm past caring. But they have none in stock either on the Ford site.


Can someone please have a look down this list and give me a steer? (pun intended).

Thanks ever so much for help.
 
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Firstly, there is nothing wrong with a remanufactured one. It is very very common practice for you to have to return parts like power steering pumps, even when you buy from a main dealer, for them to be refurbished. It's called a "core charge" which they charge you initially when you buy something like a power steering pump, until you return your old broken one, and then they give you the "core charge" back.

A lot of the time, when you buy a "new" power steering pump or similar from a main dealer, it's actually just a remanufacturered part.

Secondly, just select "Bosch" in the filter, and then you'll see there is only two of them. One remanufacturered and one brand new. Get the remanufacturered part and as long as your engine code is one of those listed, and your car is prior to the listed month/year it should be fine. Also comparing the Ford part number to the new one is a good idea.
 
Go to either Euro Car Parts if there's one local, or a local Auto Factors, there's hundreds of them around. Give them your reg, they'll order one in and you can pick it up in store. No messing.
 
Here's some more background, though I don't want it to detract from the purpose of the thread:

Car dumped out power steering fluid. Couldn't get it booked in anywhere to a proper mechanic so ended up taking it to an "autocentre" (an independent, not a chain one).

The pump had been noisy since I owned the car (I bought it 2 years ago at 52k, now has 72k on it). More noisy at full lock.

They told me new rack. Did that. £500 fitted. Drove away. Leaked again.

Took it back. New seals they said. £15. Not confidence inspiring. Drove away. Leaked again.

They told me their supplier had given them the wrong rack, so they put on a new, different one (at their expense of course). Drove away. Leaked again.

They said it must be the pump or pipes. Suggested, to save me throwing tons more money at it, I should go to a breakers. I did. Bought a pump and pipes

They fitted the pipes. Said they leaked and were no good. So I bought genuine Ford ones at stupid money because I'm going crazy, which they fitted.

They put the pump on. Said it didn't work properly, was good at revs but no good at low revs, when you need it.

So that's when I went to Autodoc for the Bosch. I made the mistake of getting the pump delivered to them instead of my house, and Evri turned up at 7pm when they were shut because they are ****. It;s been missing ever since. I would (hopefully) have a working car over a week ago if I'd had it delivered to my house. Let this be a lesson to everyone.

If I don't get a pump delivered and in the car so I can get the breaker ones back, I won't be able to get a refund from the breakers and I'll be another £140 down. So far, this has cost me over a grand. I can't believe how this has gone. Astonishing isn't the word.

I need a hug or something.
 
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andy_mk3 said:
Go to either Euro Car Parts if there's one local, or a local Auto Factors, there's hundreds of them around. Give them your reg, they'll order one in and you can pick it up in store. No messing.
Click to expand...
Euro Car Parts, none in stock.
 
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LMAO, I just saw that there's an additional £194 surcharge on the TRW if I don't give them a used unit in return.

I'll get the refurbed Bosch then

All of this beggars the question - what are the mechanics doing with my ORIGINAL pump? Are they stealthing that away to sell to a refurb place? Is that why they suggested I go to a breaker?
 
whyber said:
LMAO, I just saw that there's an additional £194 surcharge on the TRW if I don't give them a used unit in return.

I'll get the refurbed Bosch then

All of this beggars the question - what are the mechanics doing with my ORIGINAL pump? Are they stealthing that away to sell to a refurb place? Is that why they suggested I go to a breaker?
Click to expand...

That's a common situation. You hand the old one back and get the money back.

The garage will either be fitting a new pump or they will return the old one. They don't make money out of it.
 
They have two pumps of mine now, you see. The original one that they say must have been the source of the problem. The one I got from the breakers that they said didn't work properly. The one from the breakers I absolutely must get back because I'll get a refund from them.

Aaaanyway, thx for the advice :) . I have ordered the refurbed Bosch one and told Autodoc to tell crappy Evri to put the first Bosch one I bought from them on return without delivering to me. What's the betting it gets ******* delivered first thing in the morning now lol.
 
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That’s always the risk with going to a breaker for an old car part, I would have just give them the original faulty one if you wanted TRW.

My local garage has a trade account with ECP and other suppliers, so I’m surprised yours couldn’t just source the part for you and deal with the swap directly?
 
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I have no idea fella. He whined a bit to me about the supplier after the first steering rack he fitted was no good, saying that, his expense, he's had to buy another rack. That second rack didn't feel as good as the first one either while I was driving it before it failed again.

He suggested I source the pump and pipes because it would save me money. I suppose it's possible that they really did that so that, if it all fails again after new pump and pipes, he can then pin it on me for sourcing bad stuff and so keep charging the labour, instead of it being his own fault.

I dunno. I was a motorcycle courier for nearly 10 years (I know naff all about cars stuff like PAS) and while I most certainly did encounter crooked mechanics over that time, most are honest so I don't like to think that they're all out to skank me :D . Some are incompetent, of course, but even good mechanics make mistakes and have bad days.

I have no confidence whatsoever though that after I finally get this pump that it's going to solve everything. I'll be over a grand on this when the new pump's gone on. Hard to swallow on a £1500 car. But at least it's got 72k on it and I'll know it's been fixed until the end of the car's life. Maybe.
 
whyber said:
They have two pumps of mine now, you see.
Click to expand...

To be clear also, they can't just sell old units back that they feel like doing. If you buy an exchange pump, you pay the surcharge then get that refunded once they get the old one back. It's not like they have two pumps they can return for an exchange fee.
 
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