Can you tell if your cambelt needs changed?

sheilakellas

I bought a cheap car last friday but didn't have an mot or any service history, it has done 72000 miles and is a 2001 plate, as there any way to check to see if the cambelt needs replaced?

chunder

hi, what car is it???? some dont need changing till 100000 miles, or 10 years, without taking the timing belt covers off its impossible to know, if its got nice bright white writing then chances are its been done recently....however if it was mine i would probably get it done anyway and start a fresh...........hope this helps

casper_g

Call a main dealer and ask them how often they suggest the belt should be changed. It is probably due soon. If you have no evidence it has been done, assume it hasn't been. Don't start trying to convince yourself that "the belt looks fine, so I'll leave it a while longer". By the time there is visible damage to the belt it's on its last legs and you should think hard before risking even starting the engine!

shortchanged_2

I personally would always advise to change the cambelt unless there is some sound documented evidence that it has been changed.

That mileage sounds suspiciously around cambelt change time.

Also can you actually guarantee that the mileage is genuine? Probably not.

Strider590

Don't risk it.....

Mine's going in for a change next week, it's done 74k miles...... I thought the interval was 40k, turns out it's 60k. If it should be 40k then it would defo have been done, but ive had the car since 63k and so now I can't be sure.

steveo3002

best get it changed if you need to rely on the car

Sssssss

don't agree it's that simple everyone saying get it changed. You said you bought the car cheap, how cheap. It's your call can you afford to write the car off should the worst happen. A cambelt change is not cheap!

Class_keeper

Personally i would look at getting it changed. Different manufacturers vary anywhere between 50-100k Miles so definitely worth considering.

gabyjane

Hi read that and thought ide posted it for a minute! We bought a cheap car last thursday and it is a 2001 and 70k on the clock but it has had a new engine and has done i think 20k by the new owners and was on 30k so around 50k if i have that right..anyway we knocked them down on price due to being unsure if the cambelt needed to be done. The people who owned it have fab records since it was bought and even had special spreadsheets typed up for all the work done and the dates we aprox need them checking changing which is great. Ours is a 7 seater and needed for my work although we have another car so? Will get ours done but our garage is chocka block at mo so trying not to overly use tbh.

Id'e say get it done if no records etc just to be on the safe side. We have just had our MG done amongst other bits and were skating on thin ice driving it round..id'e have been gutted if that had blown up!

Good luck x

Strider590

Sssssss wrote: »

don't agree it's that simple everyone saying get it changed. You said you bought the car cheap, how cheap. It's your call can you afford to write the car off should the worst happen. A cambelt change is not cheap!

It's cheaper than a new engine.

Hammyman

Sssssss wrote: »

don't agree it's that simple everyone saying get it changed. You said you bought the car cheap, how cheap. It's your call can you afford to write the car off should the worst happen. A cambelt change is not cheap!

Its £150 or thereabouts which is far cheaper than £600-£2000 for a replacement engine. And on a 2001 plate, there's a chance its nearly 10 years old and nobody would've bothered replacing it because most muppets think you only change the cambelt based on mileage.