Quote for new cam belt ?

loopy-loo73

Hi,

My OH had his car serviced today (using Tesco deals ) but it came back with a few recomendations ...

They said the cam belt needed doing urgently and quoted him £185 +vat to do it :eek: that seems an awful lot. But then i'm not a mechanic so wouldn't really know.

Also does it really need to be done urgently? What happens if it just breaks? Can't we wait til then to get it fixed or will that cause more damage?

Problem is we were supposed to be going down south bank holiday weekend & he doesn't reckon we should now cos the car won't make it ...

Don't know what to do?

Any advice welcomed

Thanks,

Lou.

jon2432

Depending on your car that seems about right.

If it breaks whilst your driving, kiss your engine and everything associated withit good buy.

:eek:

loopy-loo73

:eek:
that bad ... ok ... its a ford escort S reg & still in relatively good nik for it's age
although they reckon the brakes will need doing too (but not as urgently)
i guess driving it to brighton is out the question til we get it sorted :sad:
thanks

BenL

I had the timing belt done on my P Reg Renault Megane recently.

I paid £140 all in.

I'm in West Yorkshire and have used the garage before.

Was no sign on the invoice of any discount though but some may have been applied.

Ben

mr_accountant

loopy-loo73 wrote:

Hi,

My OH had his car serviced today (using Tesco deals ) but it came back with a few recomendations ...

They said the cam belt needed doing urgently and quoted him £185 +vat to do it :eek: that seems an awful lot. But then i'm not a mechanic so wouldn't really know.

Also does it really need to be done urgently? What happens if it just breaks? Can't we wait til then to get it fixed or will that cause more damage?

Problem is we were supposed to be going down south bank holiday weekend & he doesn't reckon we should now cos the car won't make it ...

Don't know what to do?

Any advice welcomed

Thanks,

Lou.

Who is he? Is he 'the mechanic' if he can predict the future so clearly, i would like to meet him!

Seriously though if it is due then change it, don’t forget to change the water pump and tensioners as if this breaks the can destroy the belt and thus the engine.

If it a s reg its around a 1998, so its due a change urgently, unless its been changed before.

whatamess_2

My father had a cam belt go on a Rover 200 cost him nearly £600 to get the engine sorted out.:eek: That was eight years ago. It can do serious damage when they go.
I had one go on a montego long time ago and got away with it. £90 for belt and water pump.

Messy

highguyuk

I had mine done on my Peugeot 306 for £90 including all the belts and aux. belt ... at a local independant garage.

rchddap1

Cost partly depends on how hard the belt is to get at. On some cars its a right pain it takes ages simply to get to the right spot. My last service was one that required a cam belt change. Got the belt and the service for around £300 (ish)...for a Peugeot 406.

Yes a belt change is expensive, but it can trash your engine. If the belt snaps it essentially flails around the middle of your engine at high speed trashing anything it comes into contact with. Usually it means either a full engine replacement, or a new car. I know two people who've had belts go on them...fortunately they were both extremely lucky as the cars were fixable....but in my opinion its not worth the risk.

tomstickland

Escort 16v engines are a bit of an !!!!!! - we looked at doing the belt on a friend's car. I reckon it's 2-3 hours work. Belt itself will cost £15-20 from motor factors, then 3 hours at £50 per hour, it sounds about right.

Belts can last a long time. Obviously, a belt doesn't break at exactly 60,000 miles, but an old one or one that's done a lot more miles is more risk of breakage.

inkie

Personally would get it sorted asap - its not worth the risk of needing a new engine (or a new car!) if it goes whilst driving. The price you have been quoted seems reasonable. Cost me £147 for a fiat about 6 yrs ago. Hubby does his own - thinks nothing about taking the engine out of his rover - the belts them selves cost about 12 quid. What is it my mum used to say - have car - will always have a hole in your bum.

trets77

cam belts the curse of the used car owner.

a snapped cam belt and you can basically write your engine off. cannot comment on escorts but my last change cost £50 on my 205 you should look for the cheapest garage around or a do it on the side mechanic. lol.
.
guy at work purchased a shiny Clio SPORT with 45K on it for £4500 cam belt snapped and he was forced to write the car off because of the damage. he only he had it month.

change your belt every 40K at least otherwise is just a expensive repair or write off waiting to happen. change it the second you buy your next car unless you have proof it was done very recently.


chains may rattle but they DON'T break. hence my next car will be a Nissan Micra. no belt cheap insurance and japanese reliabilty . what could go wrong when you can get a good one for about £400 ????