Page 1 of Car Advice...

First off, I know sweet FA about cars (as Jimbo will no doubt confirm ;))...so please excuse the ignorance.

I have a 4 year old VW Passatt (2.0 FSI), which I`ve had from new.
It`s done 21,000 miles which is bugger all these days.
It went in for the service and MOT today and they`re saying it needs a cam belt change (not that I know what that is!).
They`re quoting £650 for it. Now I can appreciate it`s probably fairly labour intensive, but that seems high to me. Anyone got suggestions on where I should get it sorted?

And also - is it really needed??

It doesn`t help that the garage are a bunch of tossers.

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Anyone got suggestions on where I should get it sorted

i assume you took it to the dealer

If so ring round you`re sure to get a cheaper quote

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And also - is it really needed??

Yes if the cambelt snaps your engine is FUBAR. Just check with your cars service manual on the timeframe when it should be changed

I always find these guys to be very reasonable and honest, and it sounds like they`ll confirm for nothing if your cambelt needs changing or not.

I should add that I like them as when they tell you need something doing they just tend to tell you without giving you the hard sell.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 24th February 2010, 18:13

The cambelt is a pretty big job - I bought an original renault belt for my van recently at a cost of aroud £80 so i suspect yours would be around the same.

It all depends on the mechanics hourly rate - i`m quite lucky in that my neighbour is a mechanic and charges me £20 per hour - in all it took him 4 hours.so parts + labour 80+80= £160 (but this literally was this bloke doing it in his front garden)

You can probably buy the part fairly easily yourself and just find a mechanic/garage to fit it for you - i would :)

OK first off, to let you know what a timing belt is, it`s the toothed rubber band that goes around the top of your engine and mates it with the bottom.
This is then set to a precise position so your engine will go through it`s motions with the top and bottom of the engine doing what they are supposed to do "in time", hence the name of the belt.

Yes, it`s a big job. It`s not humungously big but it`s a fair old job on a Passat requiring the front bumper etc to be removed.
£650 is ripping the absolute cnut out of it.

At £450 when I sold mine I was feeling ripped off. My mate we spoke about does them for about £200 using a damned good belt.
Most local garages should be under £300, just need to find a trustworthy and decent one.

Contrary to belief, the engine will not in fact be FUBAR`d by a snapped belt.
The belt itself snaps, the engine stops. Most people then try to turn over the engine again and this then knackers the head and causes the pistons and the valves etc to hit each other as they are no longer timed to miss each other. Valves etc can be rebuilt again by decent mechanics but would cost around £800 on your Passat.

Shame you weren`t up here, I`d get my mate to look at it for you :(

Another thing to watch, some garages charge more for work if YOU supply the part. This is because you buy the parts at customer price, sometimes with a small discount, but they then only get the labour.
If THEY supply the parts then they get them at a much heavier reduced rate and some of them then pass some of that along as a "total" cost.

IIRC a Passat TDi timing belt needs changed at 80K miles but there`s also a time period when it`s recommended it`s changed. That will be in the wee service shedule book.

It`s a gamble. The belt may be worn and will snap if you do too many miles but in the same respect the belt may be absolutely fine and will last another so many thousand miles.

It`s the only thing other than the extra 2 seats that the Zafira wins over the Passat on in that it has a timing chain not a belt and therefore doesn`t need changed.


Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

A gamble maybe but not a chance in the world would I get it changed after 21K and 4 years...

Ste

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A gamble maybe but not a chance in the world would I get it changed after 21K and 4 years...
Problem is that the belt is rubber and rubber festers, sometimes with no visible marks and I`ve seen Miles` Passat and it`s a nice motur....

Saying that though, my mate is checking into the recommendations for the car and thinks it might be premature to change it :)


Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

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Problem is that the belt is rubber and rubber festersYeah I know but that is to cover themselves.  I would bet anything (well, my engine )that it`s pretty much perfect.  Rubber, especially the type used for cambelts, lasts a lot longer than 4 years.
Mind you I know a few people who have had them go and needed expensive (if they`d had to pay) repairs (within warrantee .)  Belts went - holes in pistons, bent pistons and damaged crank.  Not a result of trying to turn it over.  What makes you say an engine isn`t FUBAR`d if the belt goes?  As you know the piston goes up and down in perfect timing for when the valves are up or down - and it is solely the belt keeping this synchronisation.  A belt goes and the engine and valves don`t just stop - it`s spinning at a few thousand rpm.  Chances are those pistons and valves are gonna hit.....  Although I had a chain go on me (a 1.1 X reg Fiesta shhhh, don`t tell anyone - first car) and it was fine.  £30 later - fine.  And so quiet.

Ste

My Dad`s in the motortrade and has always recommended getting the cambelt changed around the 60k mark, 21k after 4 years should be nowhere near needing one.

Secondly £650 is absolutely insane, I just bought a new car and had mine done last week at the garage, was under £100 for the parts and under £100 for the labour - that was slightly discounted due to knowing my Dad, but still 3.5 times the price is taking the p***.

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Don`t ask me how it goes Ste cos my head works in the same way that everything is still turning, but 9 out of 10 belt snaps that are recognised by the owner and not tried to then turn them over end up just needing new belts/tensioners etc and a set up again of the timing and off they go.
Those who try to turn it over when it chucks it on the other hand almost always screw it up big time.

All I can think of is although everything is turning at so many revs they also slow down either at the same or similar rates enough to cause them to miss slapping each other.

TBH I don`t know the reasons though, only of the experiences of others and talking to people in the trade

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"