Evans Halshaw - Ford Merthyr Tydfil Reviews 

Edited Friday 27th September 2024
I have a Ford Fiesta with a 1.0L Ecobooster engine which has a wet timing belt.
As per original post below we had this changed in April 2024.
Not because it was faulty because we knew they caused issues and wanted to get it done before it did. We also had the oil pump changed. We chose Evans Halshaw Merthyr Tydfil because we wanted to ensure genuine Ford parts were used and I naively assumed Ford was fairly reputable as a company.
I also had a service done.

Let me reiterate, my car was working fine before I took it in.

A few days ago I heard a loud ticking noise coming from the car, so we took it back to Merthyr because they had done the work previously.

Though we didn't know for definite, we suspected it was an engine problem and mechanical knowledge (my partner has been a mechanic for over 30 years) and research shows the two main causes of engine problems with an Eco Boost 1.0L are overheating and oil suppression.

Oil suppression can be caused by filter being clogged by debris, often the result of a faulty timing belt, another reason may be the actual pump maybe faulty or someone used sealant to put in place and didn't give it enough time to set so bits of it may have flaked off.
For these reasons we took it to Ford, naively expecting them to investigate thoroughly and provide a detailed report.

They advised if the issue wasn't related to their work I'd be charged £120 investigation fee. As my car was unsafe to drive I had no option but to agree.

In the afternoon of Thursday 26th, I received a phone call to say it needed a new engine but it was nothing to do with the work they'd done.

I asked for a reason for the engine failure and a step by step guide of how they had investigated.

This was their response
"The vehicle requires an engine replacement due to the Small piston end bearing rattling. The piston is within the engine which is a sealed unit and requires the engine to be replaced.

I understand you've had the timing belt replaced with us earlier this year but the failure on the engine now is nothing to do with the timing belt.

The total of the engine replacement is £6818.49. I have sent across the Vehicle health check we've carried out today which has the price of the engine along with other things we've picked up on. "

One reason for a small piston bearing end to be rattling is .....(no surprises) OIL SUPPRESSION! Which as noted above is most likely caused by timing belt, filter issues or a dodgy oil pump.

Whilst they were able to tell us that the filter was free of debris, they were not able to explain why the piston bearing was rattling.

I appreciate that there are other reasons, but aside from telling us, they have not proven that it wasn't the work they did.

They said they couldn't investigate further because they have to strip parts, but they can't even specifically tell us what I paid the £120 investigation fee for, other than noticing a very obvious rattle and checking the filter.

If you can charge £120 to do those things I'm becoming a mechanic!

It maybe worth noting the work we had done in April cost over £2,000 so another £6,800 was a bit appalling to think about.

So I now have a car that needs a new engine.
Thankfully we found somewhere else to get a genuine Ford engine fitted by an approved mechanic at a much better price.

Thank you for reading this if you got this far.
My original post from April is below. At the time I was happy with the work.

Please avoid this place and engines with a wet timing belt as much as possible.

ORIGINAL POST
Booked car in for timing belt replacement, service and investigation of air ventilation system.
Really happy with quality of work but the communication really let it down, to the point I may not use them again.
Car went in Tuesday morning, they left an answerphone message to ask can they keep it overnight (due to timing belt being replaced) called a few times and was lucky as I got through within an hour, was not person who left me a message so I asked for my response to be passed on. Approx an hour later (around 1pm by now) the original lady called to ask if I got her message! So work hadn't even begun.
Second phonecall Wednesday morning to advise they needed to replace a couple of other bits, asked if additional cost ok but no mention of time frames. No update since Wednesday morning.
Today, between 14:30 and 17:30 I have called 11 times, and waited different times (varying from 1.5 minutes to 18.5 minutes) totalling over 45 minutes in those 3 hours. My partner even tried calling too within that time.
This also included speaking to the sales team (as I knew they'd answer) and asking them to pass a message on to service to call me back (at approx 15:30)
Went to garage Friday morning to ask in person and car picked up 17:00 Friday.
Happy with the work done, car seems great but the communication was not good.

Dealt with a man called James, he was great and knowledgeable and got the car sorted for me quick to be able to have my new car. Very happy, thank you!

It was really good and friendly, Adam explained things to me very well as I was not 100% about buying cars, but made me feel at ease and great, recommend highly

top class service was made to feel special

Had the pleasure of buying a car through James and couldn't have faulted his customer service. I'd definitely recommend, any questions asked were answered - nothing was too much trouble. Would never hesitate to buy another car through James.

All round good service and staff

Excellent experience, James was very knowledgeable, and was in no way pushy, which would have put us off..great communication, and went above and beyond to make sure we were happy...nice coffee too..many thanks james

Had a great experience in Evans halshaw, James and Tyrone were extremely helpful and would 100% recommend to coming down and talking these two gentlemen

Great service, friendly staff, lots of coffee, no hassle.

Smooth transaction.

James provided all the help, support and information needed in purchasing a car, also offered great recommendations

Absolutely the love the car. Cheer mate

bought a car from them in November, i’ve drove the car 1 month tops. been in the garage more than i’ve had it. numerous problems with it, would tell me i’ll have a call back but don’t call to update you. currently been on hold to them for 40 minutes trying to get an update on my car.

Dealing with Tyrone last 5 years treated me very well

Excellent customer service from Tyrone and James ,5 stars

Good effective service from Adam and Tyrone

Made to feel very welcome, offered coffee or tea and had great chats. Really great experience

Excellent service Adam and Tyrone

Good effective service yet again as returning. 4th car purchased

Excellent service from Tyrone and James. Highly recommended

Great experience and excellent customer service.

The transaction went smoothly and Adam was very helpful. After having the car for a few days now we are very pleased with it.