cambelt question - 1.9 TDI beetle 54 plate

[kirmankatz]

Hi,

Firstly apologies as I'm sure this will have been asked before I just can't find an answer at the moment.

I think I am just about to buy a new beetle 54 plate 1.9 TDI which has done 69000 miles.

VW dealer is saying cam belt should have been changed at 4 years or 60K but the seller is telling me (and showed me) that the service book says 80K.

I've been quoted by the dealership £400 for the job and just need to have some hard proof that the dealership is right and the service book is wrong.

Someone has told me that VW changed the advice but I can't find anything online.

Any pointers would be helpful as I really want to go and secure the sale of the car tomorrow if possible.

Thanks in advance

Lisa

[adamss24]

They had quite a few failures before the 80K term so they reccomend replacing the cambelt belt at 60k or 4 years wichever come first ! I would not let a cambelt more than 5 years as rubber perishes with age and if you do a lot of start/stops or driving short distances in town, it puts masive strain on the timing belt. Replace the water pump as well as its crucial...