80 timing belt guarantees

[Confiteor]

Hello

I have an 80 2.0E, registered in 1993.

It was fitted with a new timing belt at 113283 miles in June 2003.

The car has been used fairly intermittently for the last couple of years.

My uncle borrowed it this summer, and the timing belt failed at 135701 miles.

The belt only covered 22,000 miles but the time period was just over three years.

The guy who fitted it at 113K says I have no claim. He claims the guarantee period would only be a year.

Since belts are meant to be replaced every 60k miles, I find this claim of a one-year guarantee ludicrous, since very few people do such mileages in a year.

Luckily, there was no damage done to the engine, and a simple replacement of the belt was all that was needed. The bill came to £163.

Should I pursue this for a refund?

[Marc97]

I think the mechanic is correct unless you had it done at a main dealer or used genuine parts.
Even if it was a genuine Audi belt but not fitted by them, they will still fob you off, VW/Audi customer service is legendary for all the wrong reasons!!!!

[Confiteor]

Thanks very much for replying.

So I wouldn't be able to claim a refund from the guy who fitted it? I was thinking that he in turn could claim from the belt's manufacturer.

[Marc97]

Unfortunately, no. Unless the belt manufacturer put a 4 year guarantee on it, even then, you would have to claim from the manufacturer direct and not the supplier.
Audi recommend a belt change at 120,000 or 4 years, whichever comes sooner with a genuine belt (on later cars, although 70 - 80k is highly recommended).

[Confiteor]

Thanks again. I was just concerned that he might have been taking advantage of my mechanical ignorance.

At least you've cleared up any doubt.

[adamss24]

Consider yourself verry lucky and forget about a refund or claims. The mechanic is right, he is forced by law to give 1 year guarantee for the parts and labour if he is suplying them. 163 quid is nothing compared with over a grand in parts and labour to overhaul engine/repair damage caused by a broken cambelt.