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sharonlesley

I have a 1996 ford laser NZ new. It took a few seconds to start one day so I took it into a workshop who said I needed a new battery. When they checked it they said battery is fine it must be the starter motor. They said they would rservice it and replace brushes or the whole thing for $250. They insisted I did this asap as it would give up very soon. This was two months ago now and car has been running fine since. Should I gorget about it or just get it checked on the next service?
It has done 120,000 km.
When is it due for cam belt please?
Thank you

ABayliss

I'm not sure how they could have reached the conclusion that the starter motor needed repairing. Perhaps they were going by mileage, however that's not always a good reference point, as a courier driver (for example) who is stopping and starting his vehicle ever few minutes will burn out a starter motor at a much lower mileage than his counterpart who does the daily run from Auckland to Wellington. If it's working fine, I'd leave it alone.
The cambelt is a diffent story. If there's no record of it having been replaced, it needs to be changed ASAP. Although your car is low mileage for its age, time is also a factor and at 15 years old, it's well over the 5 years or so that most manufacturers recommend. Of course, it's due on mileage now too.