Cambelt change costs?

[jagr]

I have recently bought a '58 Passat CC CR140 and it is about due a cam-belt and water-pump change.

After making numerous enquiries for a quote I have found there is a huge difference, can anyone advise why?

VW £469
Mixture of Specialists and Others so far:

£230
£295
£315
£330
£350
£355
£399
£450
£469
£500
£576

Anyone got any other places to try?

[Eshrules]

are the cheapest quotes using pattern or OEM parts and what warranty do they offer?

[tempster]

Just to give you an idea i'm having my cambelt/water pump changed due to a sensor problem causing my car not to start when warm.. and a manifold change probably as well. all the best part of £270-300 for labour plus parts

[zollaf]

some people will do the job properly, some won't. i have even seen people do it without taking the front off to save time. some will drain your old coolant into a bucket and then tip it back in, some will use new coolant. some will use timing tools, some will use tippex. some will check things on a computer afterwards, some will just hope it runs ok and you don't complain.
you pays your money , you gets what you pay for.

[Doctle Odd]

A Zollaf/Crasher/me type or a main dealer some of the lower quotes are worrying

[davmal735]

BVR Longton

[maje]

I paid £349 at a main dealers last January for my 2.0tdi Passat estate. A local garage wanted £420.

[patomlin76]

I've seen promotional £299 prices going round VW dealers. At that price the lower quotes don't seem too out of place, however if you know and trust the garage, let your instinct guide you!

When it comes to mine being done later in the year, I will certainly try to shop around to get a price around £300.

[DSG4ME]

My local VW dealer quoted me £500 with a pump a few weeks back, a trusted mate wants £120 and it's about £120 for the GSF kit so £240 in all but I suspect he's forgot to add coolant to that quote.

Not having it done though, according to Martin and a few other threads I've seen an 07 2.0 PD has no time limit and is set for 93k before needing a new one, I will of course inspect the belt each 10 k until I get there, but the one on my Superb came off at 77k and tbh there was nothing wrong with it, a waste of £430 tbh, anyone else wondering, simply take the engine cover off and undo the two clips on the top cam cover, slide it away and look for fraying (bald tyre syndrome) and if the teeth still look like teeth, if they are lower than expected or rounding off it's time to change it.

[Imran]

Im getting mine done tomorow, weather permitting. Labour £140, that includes waterpump, parts from gsf £110, excluding oil and coolant i already have those. He's my neighbour opposite and been a mechanic for as long as i can remember :D

[jagr]

Cheers for replies

My service book states 120k for belt which I would never trust a piece of rubber for that long.
My car has just turned 81k so thought I should change it.
Re quotes will now double check on parts used and gaurantees and make a decision.

[patomlin76]

Mine has now done 65k and is 4 and a half years old. In no rush to change it now, but its planned for October this year when mileage is closer to 70k

It's always easy to tempt fate, but every belt on any car I've had that was changed at 4 years was perfectly good, and my wife's ford focus has a 10yr or 100,000 miles interval, it is 10 years old next Jan and it is getting changed then!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RichardSEL]

Think it's worth getting timing belt and DSG or Tip box done at same time...

ATF & Timing Belt Change May 2012 Costs Analysis: BWA 2.0L tFSI '06MY B6 Estate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Did my timing belt with a US-sourced Blauparts kit (no connection) You get more bits and a free Serpentine belt too (then at 53k miles, six years) Old belt had slight rounding of teeth, and indy reckoned tensioner was starting to rattle. Nearly one year later and engine is still quiet
Also did the Tiptronic box filter and fluid change at same time. VW Dealers over here still say it's "sealed for life, sir!" But VWoA say change ATF at 40k miles.

Anyways, both kits sent USPS and even with post and VAT, was cheaper than UK dealers. Plus you get more bits in the timing belt kit than you get in a VW main dealer spares' kit.

Fitted a Geba metal impeller water pump as nervous of plastic impeller ones and couldn't see from the Blauparts listing what make or origin water pump they offer. Cheap aftermarket waterpumps from indie shops are typically Chinese clones and only a few quid cheaper than a genuine VAG waterpump from main dealer, with rebate on the return of old unit. VAG ones are still plastic impeller though...

Used a VAG-trained VW indie in SE London for installs with one-year warranty

The costs (May, 2012) worked out at:
Blauparts for both kits inc. USPS £277.04 (US$426.90)
UK VAT & "Clearance Fee" (£8) £ 58.21 (UPS or FedEx charge £10 or more for "Clearance Fee")
Water pump inc. VAT £ 46.30
Special tool VAS6262/2 for ATF drain and refill inc. USPS £ 19.14 (US$28.81) Didn't need this as indie already had one
Rubber hose for ATF drain out refill inc. VAT £ 5.94 (ditto)
Install both kits VAG indie inc. VAT £280.80 (-10% discount for VWAudi Forum members if 1st time customer)
--------
TOTAL (less tool & hose) £662.35 ( = £634.27)
--------

Compared to:
VW main dealer ATF & filter parts £ 79.85
ATF fluid Fuchs Titan 4400 6L £ 81.50 (4L only needed)
VW main dealer cambelt kit £187.97
VW main dealer serpentine belt £ 27.22
VW main dealer waterpump £ 46.30
VW main dealer labour Cambelt £271.03
VW main dealer Tip box 3 hours £216.00
-------
TOTAL UK inc. VAT £721.90

Saving and getting a better job (IMO)! £ 87.63
-------

Getting both jobs done at the same time helps

Hope this assists someone...

[Doctle Odd]

It's not a huge saving IMO, hassle ordering parts online from US would put me off. If something fails who's responsible? The indie? He's likely to say the parts, so you pay him to remove them and then return them at your expense. When they get to America they blame the mechanic! Most Indies can source parts at a better rate than Joe Public

[DSG4ME]

Rich

I think the VWoA thing is due to they have to cover the DSG for 100k in the USA, I still thought it was a 40k change in the UK for DSG though not heard of it being a sealed for life job, pretty sure my service book also says 40k as well,

Good point about DIY, at least you know it was done, I suspect I shelled out £180 and didn't get anything done, when I got it back I had a drop of fluid sitting by the filter cap which says to me it was left there for me to find to suggest it had been done when it hadn't, I never leave residues so I don't expect a mater tech to, lets just say it's not going back to them again, oh and they wanted £600 originally to do the belt.

[SebastianTDI140]

We've had whole belt kit and water pump done at vw , anything over 4 years old they were giving 20% off at the time so total bill was 349£ , at least u have some sort of comeback if anything goes wrong

[RichardSEL]

I think the VWoA thing is due to they have to cover the DSG for 100k in the USA, I still thought it was a 40k change in the UK for DSG though not heard of it being a sealed for life job, pretty sure my service book also says 40k as well,
<snip>

Mine's the Tiptronic box (09G) where UK VW main agents are still saying "sealed for life". Yes, according to what I've read in Vortex it's 40k both sides of the pond for the DSG

[DSG4ME]

Mine's the Tiptronic box (09G) where UK VW main agents are still saying "sealed for life". Yes, according to what I've read in Vortex it's 40k both sides of the pond for the DSG

Ah yeah, normal automatics are supposed to be sealed but when you see the filter it makes you question why.

[jagr]

We've had whole belt kit and water pump done at vw , anything over 4 years old they were giving 20% off at the time so total bill was 349£ , at least u have some sort of comeback if anything goes wrong

Which dealer was that? Was it done recently?
Cheers

[SebastianTDI140]

Colbornes in Hersham , Surrey , it was done not long before Xmas

[-M-]

Mine's the Tiptronic box (09G) where UK VW main agents are still saying "sealed for life". Yes, according to what I've read in Vortex it's 40k both sides of the pond for the DSG

09G auto boxes had a service item addition to include a oil and filter change every 60,000 miles in the UK.

[RichardSEL]

09G auto boxes had a service item addition to include a oil and filter change every 60,000 miles in the UK.

Thanks -M- didn't know that. Must've been in the last year then? VWoA publish their TPIs, shame we can't get UK ones.
When I found out there's a VWoA TPI for the EPB Control Module took it to main agent. Front desk were more interested in where I'd got it from (reproachful glare) rather than finding out whether they can do the update. Does VW Auz publish theirs?

[RichardSEL]

It's not a huge saving IMO, hassle ordering parts online from US would put me off. If something fails who's responsible? The indie? He's likely to say the parts, so you pay him to remove them and then return them at your expense. When they get to America they blame the mechanic! Most Indies can source parts at a better rate than Joe Public

It's £88 saving! As to the quality of parts, well you get more than in the VW kit:


1 Timing Belt - OEM
1 67mm OD 'Lintens' Adjustable Timing Belt Tensioner Idler - OEM
2 28mm OD 'NTN' 'INA' Fixed Timing Belt Tensioner Idlers - OEM
1 Viton Front Crankshaft Seal
1 Viton Camshaft Seal
1 Tensioner Idler Securing Nut for 67mm Tensioner (w/ Thread Locker)
2 Tensioner Idler Securing Bolts for 28mm Tensioners
6 Serpentine Pulley Bolts (Lower Crank)
2 Turbo Crossover Coolant Pipe Sealing Washers
1 Turbo Crossover Pipe Hose Clamp
Blauparts™ Vw Passat Timing Belt Installation Guidelines
FREE Serpentine Belt


Indy VAG trained was a bit nervous at first at using this kit but when saw major parts were VW OEM anyways, went ahead

OEM kit 06F 198 119 A has one off each:
Toothed belt
tensioning roller
hexagon nut, shouldered
relay roller 06D 109 244 E
hex collared bolt
relay roller 06B 109 244
At £165.29 inc VAT (Jun '12)

[-M-]

I dont think they publish them but will find out. It was released in 2011 iirc so a while now I dont understand why dealerships are still quoting them as filled for life as there was a specific tech information given out explaining the change and why - it is another item that they can charge for so I dont know why that is as the tech info was a worldwide issue as well.

[RichardSEL]

Dunno about today, it was end-2011 I made enquiries about Tip box with main dealer as then started thinking to have both Tip and Cambelt done at same time. Didn't get both done until Jul '12 after finding copy of the US Tip box TPI, and sourcing bits per previous post.

BTW, forgot to mention earlier that Camshaft and Crankshaft seals should only be changed on a BWA if showing signs of leak

[jagr]

Looks like VW will be getting my business as I am unsure of the parts the cheaper quotes will use and the ones who say they will use genuine parts are either the same (very near) or more expensive than VW themselves.

[vince47]

It's £88 saving! As to the quality of parts, well you get more than in the VW kit:


1 Timing Belt - OEM
1 67mm OD 'Lintens' Adjustable Timing Belt Tensioner Idler - OEM
2 28mm OD 'NTN' 'INA' Fixed Timing Belt Tensioner Idlers - OEM
1 Viton Front Crankshaft Seal
1 Viton Camshaft Seal
1 Tensioner Idler Securing Nut for 67mm Tensioner (w/ Thread Locker)
2 Tensioner Idler Securing Bolts for 28mm Tensioners
6 Serpentine Pulley Bolts (Lower Crank)
2 Turbo Crossover Coolant Pipe Sealing Washers
1 Turbo Crossover Pipe Hose Clamp
Blauparts™ Vw Passat Timing Belt Installation Guidelines
FREE Serpentine Belt



On a lighter note, while looking at the above on ebay, I found this
VW PASSAT B5 - TIMING BELT TENSIONER -06A 109 479 C AHL 1.6 Engine | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-PASSAT-B5-TIMING-BELT-TENSIONER-06A-109-479-C-AHL-1-6-Engine-/370780180410?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3APassat|Plat_Gen%3AB5%2C3B2&hash=item5654388fba)
ok, wrong model but its a bargain for £1 +p&p..I must watch to see if it sells. :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh: You see it all on ebay.

[DSG4ME]

Well according to Martin it's like this

74000 for pre 07 cars

93000 for 07 onwards

And no time limit's, as the Passat manual says different I would say they didn't re-print in 07 and dealers are quite happy to squeeze you early, a belt today is double the thickness of belts of yesterday and the easy way to see is to take the engine cover off and then the top belt cover by way a few clips and check it for fraying,rounding and general degradation all round the whole belt.

Nice tin Jag.

[RichardSEL]

And here's a copy of the letter Tip box owners are getting in the US. In addition to the 40,000 mile ATF and filter change now recommended for both DSG and Tip boxes
Coz it's a .pdf of >97kB can't attach. But if anyone wants PM me your e-mail adds and will reply with attach
Basically it extends box warranty to 100k mile or seven (yes 7!) years. And info on hard shifts

[jagr]

I haven't had time to get cambelt/waterpump sorted yet but am going to be booking it in for either next week or week after.
Decided against VW as I have had 2 good quotes using genuine parts but just wondered if anyone had used them and had any positives/negatives for them.

The 2 garages I am contemplating are:

MidlandVW and VAGBolton

Cheers

[cunny678]

I paid £319 at a VW dealer earlier this year although I think it has now gone to £369!

I must admit that over the past few years I have generally found both VW and Citroen dealer prices not that much more expensive than non franchise garages and in some cases cheaper :)

[bigrich1]

I haven't had time to get cambelt/waterpump sorted yet but am going to be booking it in for either next week or week after.
Decided against VW as I have had 2 good quotes using genuine parts but just wondered if anyone had used them and had any positives/negatives for them.

The 2 garages I am contemplating are:

MidlandVW and VAGBolton

Cheers


.....if you are in Congleton, then not too far to Stoke On Trent - BVR quote really competitive prices, and others on the forum have good things to say about them.