Audi A4 2.0TDI Cambelt and water pump cost

fred246

I win. I've saved the most.

ryanm8655

Thanks for the replies all. I was reading but been crazy busy and not had time to respond properly.

Got another quote of £600 but a family member recommended a local
mechanic who is brilliant, he’s quoted £340 and will pick the car up and drop it back. So have decided to go with him. He used to be a mobile mechanic but now has his own premises as he gets so much work.

Also planning to get the CVT serviced but thinking I’ll go to Audi for that as it’s quite a specialised job. They charge £199 and a local VAG specialist quoted £190 so for the sake of £9 I may as well go to Audi and get the car cleaned.

I’m based near to Ringwood, so west hants, east Dorset and south Wiltshire are all accessible, if anyone can recommend a decent specialist?

The aircon isn’t working properly so will also be getting that serviced, any ideas on cost for that?

Thanks,
Ryan

Ganga

My ex boss had his Audi,s cambelt changed by a mechanic who worked for the local dealer ( did it for cash ) i watched him as i used to do my own Transit timing belt,he had to take a lot of the components of the front of the car off,mark the pulley,s and belts etc,would not have attempted it to save my life,best left to someone who knows what they are doing.

fred246

The motor industry is unregulated. If you take your car to a main dealer or independent garage you have no idea who is working on your car. There is no need for them to have any qualifications or experience. Are you told who is doing the work? So people have the most success when they identify the responsible individual by name and then check them themselves. "I have found someone who has been a mechanic for years and changed hundreds of cambelts. No-one has a bad word to say". So in effect you have to check them out for yourselves. You have to identify the mechanic and then check you are happy with their experience and attitude. It's a mistake to think that if you take your car to a garage it will be worked on by someone who knows what they are doing.

Mercdriver

fred246 wrote: »

The motor industry is unregulated. If you take your car to a main dealer or independent garage you have no idea who is working on your car. There is no need for them to have any qualifications or experience. Are you told who is doing the work? So people have the most success when they identify the responsible individual by name and then check them themselves. "I have found someone who has been a mechanic for years and changed hundreds of cambelts. No-one has a bad word to say". So in effect you have to check them out for yourselves. You have to identify the mechanic and then check you are happy with their experience and attitude. It's a mistake to think that if you take your car to a garage it will be worked on by someone who knows what they are doing.

So your advice is to not trust the dealers who at worst have some idea how to do it, and have people do it themselves instead when they have no idea. I hope you win the euro lottery tonight if you are prepared to reimburse people for wrecked engines.

Alternatively people should ignore your advice and regard it as the nonsense ramblings of a wazzock. Yes I think that's what people should do.

Ebe_Scrooge

ryanm8655 wrote: »

I’m based near to Ringwood, so west hants, east Dorset and south Wiltshire are all accessible, if anyone can recommend a decent specialist?

Not a specialist, but I can heartily recommend Longham Motors in Ferndown. I used to live near there many years ago; I - along with pretty much everyone I knew - would never use anyone else. A salt-of-the-earth, real old-school mechanic. You know how on this forum people always say "Use a trusted local independant mechanic" ? Ian is one of those treasured beasts :-) Put it this way - in the 12 years I lived there, he moved 3 times to larger premises as he had so much work coming in - and he never advertised, just word-of-mouth.

fred246

ryanm8655 has saved a fortune over main dealer prices. He has found an individual who he trusts to do the job. He has verified the mechanics experience. How do you become a main dealer? You have a garage. You pay a car manufacturer a lot of money. You put their signs up and that entitles you to charge a lot more money for the same service. It doesn't make them a better garage. Main dealers don't do a better job. They just charge more.

fred990

It's not exactly difficult to change a timing belt and water pump it just takes a bit of time and effort. I've done my own for decades. I recently found a YouTube chap who does his own on several V8 Ferrari's .... A few special tools, job done, kerching.....saved a fortune and no dodgy garage shortcuts.

Mercdriver

More nonsense from The Freds.

fred246

It's worth pointing out though that the 'special' tools only cost £20-£30. Parts and tools are really cheap but people have lost confidence in their abilities. Just turn the engine until you can get the locking tools into position. When the camshaft and crankshaft are locked, take off the old belt. Put on a new one and remove the locking tools. Simples. I always get mine spot on electronically but I can't imagine a garage bothering with that. I am not really suggesting people who have never done any work on cars to have a go. It's the "I used to work on cars but now they are too complicated and have computers" people I am thinking of. YouTube videos are a great help. A good YouTube video is superior to a chapter in the Haynes manual.