I may just be unlucky but it seems I am experiencing (by proxy - my son is the driver of these vehicles, but bank of Mum & Dad is involved) two cases of engine damage/destruction by timing chain/belt failures within 3 years.

Both cars were mine and I passed them onto my son (now 33). The first was a 1999 Nissan Primera 2ltr petrol. Timing chain not belt. It broke when he was on the motorway in May 2008 and wrecked the engine. Sold the car for scrap. Nissan agent said £8K for replacement engine!!!

Now, the January 2003 Ford Focus 2ltr petrol I subsequently passed onto him cut out over the weekend and has been diagnosed by Ford main agent as having collapsed timing belt tensioner, with some bent valves resulting (at least). It's done approx 60K miles. It has been serviced regularly since new by the same Ford main agent, including mid. Jan 2010 at 56K miles. Son was about to book it in for this year's service and MoT. Nothing was mentioned last year by the garage about the need to replace the cambelt soon. Having Googled, it seems 60K is the time for this to be done with an interference engine on this car, 100K with non-interference engine, but there's nothing about it in the car's user manual or service record.

There are two common factors - (a) cars 8/9 years old, (b) my son as driver - his driving style can be, shall we say, 'vigorous' at times. Is hard driving likely to precipitate this problem?

Threads on various unofficial online fora contain suggestions to have the cambelt changed earlier than manufacturers' recommendations - and various figures are quoted for Ford's recommended time to do it. My son says he emailed a Ford main agent last year about it after I urged him to check up and was told 80K miles.

Given the seriousness of problems caused when the belt breaks, I find it very surprising, indeed reprehensible, that this matter is not given much more prominence and a more cautious approach taken.