"my old Renault extra did 120,000 without fault then the cambelt snapped never thought to change it"
Well theres your problem! Regular servicing/preventative maintainance is common sence especially as a van is the main tool for any tradesman.
yes on that one can't blame anybody but myself paid£6k for it and as far as i'm concerned had my moneys worth from it.
The old 1.8 engine is bomb proof,
unfortunately this is untrue it has a weakness in the front of the main engine block and my sons garage (he works there rather than owns it) have had several to repair with this problem.
As for Ford customer service...? Dealerships are independant franchises flying the flag for the manufactuer, some are good at what they do & others obviously arn't.
i'm talking not only about the dealerships but also Glasgow Customer services. so far it has been to 6 different dealerships none have been able to rectify the numerous faults
my van has never been reliable or fault free from day 1 and has had several electrical problems even to the point of the entire wiring loom being changed (new 1 now has exactly the same fault) speaking to an auto electrician a few weeks ago whilst there with 1 of our cars, asked him about the van electrics, he immediately told me what was not working and where the main fault lays, apparently he also has had several for repairs to the electrics
I think if you go into any main dealer with an attitude telling them their product is crap you might not get a great reaction from service reception.
i never go anywhere with attitude only get that after several trips somewhere and they fail to retify a problem.
if having a wiring loom, a cam belt sensor, an alternator drive shaft, 3 alternators, every door lock changed some twice, a flat battery if you leave the vehicle for more than 2 days, aerial breaking off for no reason, spare wheel carrier breaking the first time its used and numerous problems with the central locking (blip key and receiver changed at least twice) is your idea of reliable then ok but its not mine.
i've had a renault extra, kangoo, master and traffic (6 speed version), bedford minivan, standard transit (new style), fiat scudo, vauxhall vivaro,
iveco daily, and a mercedes vito all have been reliable with one exception traffic's engine mounts broke but it still got to the garage under it's own power even with the engine only hanging on the gearbox
sadly my view on the connect is tainted by my very bad experiences of ford and this particular vehicle. no i would never have another ford connect.