Secod Hand Car and Cam Belt

kitt19804

Hi All,

My GF has just bought a 7yr old Clio, from a main dealer. It has 40k on the clock. It was serviced before she picked it up, and a few items were done.

However, it seems that due to the age of the vehicle that cam belt should have been changed at some point, and I cant see any evidence of this.

Should this have been something that was mentioned by the garage or highlighted in the service?

Thanks

C_Mababejive

The dealer isnt obliged to change the cambelt unless it was made a condition of sale. Any mention of cambelt change should have been recorded in the service history booklet but this may be incomplete depending on who the previous owners used to service the vehicle. It may well have been changed and not recorded..who knows? If previous owners have failed to service the vehicle in accordance with manufacturers spec,then the garage is not to know this and he can only sell the vehicle as he sees it and along with documentation he received with the vehicle.

LandyAndy

And now you have a choice. Get it done asap (and change the water pump at the same time) for a few hundred quid or keep your fingers crossed and risk a much bigger bill.

Kurtis_Blue

If it was advertised as FSH and that is not the case then get back to them as the car was miss-advertised.
Shouldnt be a massive issue the main dealer can swap the belt for minimal real cost to them.

kolin_2

I always thought a cambelt shoul;d be changed around the 80K mark.... if it has been serviced by the dealer, they would have done it if needed doing.

kitt19804

Thanks for prompt replies.

I am annoyed really that nothing was said, as I feel like it should have been mentioned, esp with the age of the car and that they had serviced it.

Looks like i'll have to get some prices now.:(

Thanks

LandyAndy

kolin wrote: »

I always thought a cambelt shoul;d be changed around the 80K mark.... if it has been serviced by the dealer, they would have done it if needed doing.

Cambelts should be changed at the intervals specified by the manufacturer (either time or mileage based).

How would the dealer know if it needed doing if he doesn't know when or if it was done in the past?

A dealer selling a car isn't going to do a cambelt unless asked.

kitt19804

kolin wrote: »

I always thought a cambelt shoul;d be changed around the 80K mark.... if it has been serviced by the dealer, they would have done it if needed doing.

Thats what I thought too, forgot that it can also be based the age of the car

C_Mababejive

kitt19804 wrote: »

Thanks for prompt replies.

I am annoyed really that nothing was said, as I feel like it should have been mentioned, esp with the age of the car and that they had serviced it.

Looks like i'll have to get some prices now.:(

Thanks

No no...please dont be annoyed. You bought a new car,your generally happy with it,it does what you want it to do.I dont feel that your dealer has swizzed you. Why you might as well say he should point out tyres/exhaust and umpteen other things. Cambelts are an unfortunate fact of life for many motorists. At 40k your isnt critical. What do Renault recommend as the change interval? Have a good,recommended local garage take a look,,phone your local renault dealership. you might get lucky and they might have service history on their system for your motor and/or advise accordingly. For info,on my car main dealer wanted £250 about 6 months back,local garage£150,i diy'd for £25.

rev_henry

A quick google seems to suggest 72k or 5 years, whichever comes first, so you should probably get it done about now.

kitt19804

Just don't want to panic the GF as her last car was never out the garage and cost a fair bit.

I know what she's like and as she loves the car she may see it now like her old one, even if I explain its maintenance rather than a repair.

As previously stated they rec changing it at 5yrs/72k, which ever comes first.

I am annoyed at the garge anyway as they wouldn't accept a bankers draft, as it was from a bank not a building society! Then they said we never asked about bankers drafts. (We did as the manager made a joke when we asked you to make it payable to). That cost me £10 to get issued.

Anyways,

Thanks for the quote info, feel a bit better with those costs