Ford car repair

[SammyJ]

Hello.

 

Is there anyone who could recommend an individual or auto shop that can work on my older model Ford Escape?

 

I have tried a few shops, and they leave a bit to be desired==so. am on the search for a new option.

 

Would greatly appreciate any advice or recommendations--(the best advice i should have followed several years ago

was NOT to have purchased this car to begin with--but, the family likes it, a nice mid-szed SUV, a V6 so has some power, and let's 

not forget the snazzy sunroof.  In reality, i have already put enough money in the darn thing, i'd lose on trying to sell it, so just looking for someone proficient to work on it.)

 

Thanks very much

[yeahbutif]

Rayong garage..

[SammyJ]

54 minutes ago, yeahbutif said:

Rayong garage..

"Rayong garage"  is this a name of  a shop in Chiang Mai??

 

If not, i cannot actually take it to Rayong--just not very practical.

[seedy]

Expat Auto very good.

 English speaking owner

[SammyJ]

45 minutes ago, seedy said:

Expat Auto very good.

 English speaking owner

Yes, I know Expat Auto and actually bought a different vehicle from them--unfortunately, they are not into addressing the needs of older Fords, and are on the more expensive side of auto maintenance and repair.

[taotoo]

A Ford dealer?

[seedy]

6 hours ago, SammyJ said:

Yes, I know Expat Auto and actually bought a different vehicle from them--unfortunately, they are not into addressing the needs of older Fords, and are on the more expensive side of auto maintenance and repair.

How old is it ? My 1997 and 2001's are no problem. And of course the newer model also.

[SammyJ]

17 hours ago, seedy said:

How old is it ? My 1997 and 2001's are no problem. And of course the newer model also.

Mine is a 2004--are you indicating that you take your later model Fords to expat auto for repairs or just general maintenance--oil changes, etc---I had recently taken asked Pro Auto, which is often highly recommended, about working on my Ford, and they declined. 

[SammyJ]

17 hours ago, seedy said:

How old is it ? My 1997 and 2001's are no problem. And of course the newer model also.

Sorry, another follow up and one that might seem obvious and was mentioned here,  and that I should explore--and that is to take it the Ford dealer--I just haven't, assuming their unwillingness for older models or the cost, but I may well be wrong--so I will explore that option as well.

[seedy]

3 hours ago, SammyJ said:

Mine is a 2004--are you indicating that you take your later model Fords to expat auto for repairs or just general maintenance--oil changes, etc---I had recently taken asked Pro Auto, which is often highly recommended, about working on my Ford, and they declined. 

Never in my life owned any Ford

Was replying to your post that the car is too old for Expat to work on it.

[SammyJ]

19 hours ago, seedy said:

Never in my life owned any Ford

Was replying to your post that the car is too old for Expat to work on it.

Ok, I understand--I did check just yesterday at Expat Auto and they recommended another shop at which to check, so hope that might work out.

[seedy]

5 hours ago, SammyJ said:

Ok, I understand--I did check just yesterday at Expat Auto and they recommended another shop at which to check, so hope that might work out.

I am surprised - don't know why at my age I am surprised by ANYTHING !!! 555

[SammyJ]

18 hours ago, seedy said:

I am surprised - don't know why at my age I am surprised by ANYTHING !!! 555

Not really that surprising--Ive lived in Thailand over 20 years, the last 7 in Chiang Mai--very little surprises me anymore.  Were you older vehicles foreign cars?  Or, Toyota, Honda, Mitsu, etc--most local auto shops will work on those cars of any age, but most have rejected working on Fords or Chevys--that's why I posted here, seeing if I could get a lead on a new shop--Expat Auto did recommend one that, time allowing, I will check out later today (Saturday)--will let you know.

Like I offered in my original post--I actually do wish i had not made the Ford purchase--I know better to stick mainly with Toyotas and Hondas--my other three cars are all Toyotas--two trucks and an SUV--anyone can work on them--my new Toyota truck I take to the Dealer--yes, under warranty,   On my older Toyota vehicles I checked around and got recommendations--looked at Expat Auto also, and while i like them, their prices were similar to the dealer's, and when i inquired about purchasing a new set of tires, I was quoted a price, which included  extra charge for balancing and alignment--every other shop I asked, did that for free upon purchase of four tires.

[Adiudon]

I own an old Ford, a 15 year old Focus that I bought cheap with a few problems 5 years ago.

I am a mechanic so it wasn't a problem to fix but finding the parts local to my area was, but a quick search of Lazada found everything I needed, either here or from China.

When I was asking around locally for parts it was amusing to see how scared the Thai mechanics or shop workers were about anything other than the usual common makes of vehicles, other than basic items the answer was always no, no have.

One of the best sources of information I found which could help your search is joining a Thai based facebook group for your vehicle, (there is one I looked) you could be lucky and find a competent repairer close to your area.

[SammyJ]

11 minutes ago, Adiudon said:

I own an old Ford, a 15 year old Focus that I bought cheap with a few problems 5 years ago.

I am a mechanic so it wasn't a problem to fix but finding the parts local to my area was, but a quick search of Lazada found everything I needed, either here or from China.

When I was asking around locally for parts it was amusing to see how scared the Thai mechanics or shop workers were about anything other than the usual common makes of vehicles, other than basic items the answer was always no, no have.

One of the best sources of information I found which could help your search is joining a Thai based facebook group for your vehicle, (there is one I looked) you could be lucky and find a competent repairer close to your area.

Yes, I found, basically, the same thing--pretty much automatic rejection of wanting to tackle my Ford--unfortunately, I am not a mechanic, so could not tackle the problems myself.  But, as you mentioned, i found a lot of accessories and a few parts on Lazada--looked overseas to ship some from the US, but very expensive--I also did join a FB group of Ford Escape owners, all Thai, but they accepted me in and were of help at times, but most of them lived in Bkk or other provinces than Chiang Mai.

I have a repair guy who is "ok" and we have made do for now, but I was on the search for someone better--thanks for the suggestions!

[actonion]

Nothing wrong with Ford's  easy to work on, parts not overly expensive, and twice i have been smashed into by Thai driver's driving  Toyota's, Isuzu's , both sustained serious damage, but my old Ford Ranger 2002   had little damage..       Never had a problem finding a  garage to work on it ( in East Pattaya)..

[seedy]

3 hours ago, SammyJ said:

Not really that surprising--Ive lived in Thailand over 20 years, the last 7 in Chiang Mai--very little surprises me anymore.  Were you older vehicles foreign cars?  Or, Toyota, Honda, Mitsu, etc--most local auto shops will work on those cars of any age, but most have rejected working on Fords or Chevys--that's why I posted here, seeing if I could get a lead on a new shop--Expat Auto did recommend one that, time allowing, I will check out later today (Saturday)--will let you know.

Like I offered in my original post--I actually do wish i had not made the Ford purchase--I know better to stick mainly with Toyotas and Hondas--my other three cars are all Toyotas--two trucks and an SUV--anyone can work on them--my new Toyota truck I take to the Dealer--yes, under warranty,   On my older Toyota vehicles I checked around and got recommendations--looked at Expat Auto also, and while i like them, their prices were similar to the dealer's, and when i inquired about purchasing a new set of tires, I was quoted a price, which included  extra charge for balancing and alignment--every other shop I asked, did that for free upon purchase of four tires.

Mine are one Nissan, One Honda, two Isuzu

Brand loyalty not my thing I guess !!! 555

All bought second hand too.

Tires I go local - great shop close to home.

[SammyJ]

3 hours ago, seedy said:

Mine are one Nissan, One Honda, two Isuzu

Brand loyalty not my thing I guess !!! 555

All bought second hand too.

Tires I go local - great shop close to home.

Yes, most any local shops will work on those--try taking in an older model Ford, and as another poster also commented, and they will not want to work on it.

[SammyJ]

5 hours ago, actonion said:

Nothing wrong with Ford's  easy to work on, parts not overly expensive, and twice i have been smashed into by Thai driver's driving  Toyota's, Isuzu's , both sustained serious damage, but my old Ford Ranger 2002   had little damage..       Never had a problem finding a  garage to work on it ( in East Pattaya)..

Unfortunately, haven't found that to be the case here in Chiang Mai.