Is this quote for work on car fair? CAM belt, brake fluid and battery

Elisheba

Hi all,

I'm not a car person, so I always worry when I get work done on the car as I have no idea what the proper going rates for things is. Hoping all you knowledgeable people can advise me if this sounds reasonable, or if I should shop around? I can't really afford it just now, and I'm not using the car much so I'm hoping I can leave it for a few months. I drive a Renault Modus with about 45k miles on it.  I think its 2008. Oh and I live in the West Midlands as I'm sure that affects things as well.

My car passed its MOT and only needed new tyres.  However when I went to collect it the garage said that it probably needed a new Cam belt as they were recommended every 3 years and they didn't know when it was last changed.  They also said the brake fluid had looked low, and that the battery only tested at 30 percent.  They send me quote for the work as below.

Brake fluid labour- £39
Timing belt and water pump kit - £121.69
Battery - £73.34
Labour  - 3 hours 55 mins @ £63/hour
Total -  £470.28 plus £94.06 VAT

Paula_Smith

You can get a can of brake fluid from Halfords and top it up yourself - check the owners manual to get the correct grade.
Does the battery turn the engine over and start it ok on a cold day? If so the battery has enough life in it for a while.
Cam belt is a tricky one as if it goes it will be new engine time (on most cars), but changing every 3 years seems a lot. However if you don't know if it has been done it could be 12 years old now. You could wait a couple of months but you have that risk.

Elisheba

Thanks Paula. I'll google how to top up brake fluid!  Battery starts fine every time so I'll leave that for now as you suggest.  I don't have a service record annoyingly, but I do have a lot of receipts which seem to cover the life of the car so I'll see if I can find any work done on the Cam belt on them, but it may well be 12 years.  I guess I'll need to prioritise that then.

AdrianC

If the brake fluid is low, the question is where it's gone. And there's an obvious answer, especially if it's not been changed every few years... The wheel cylinders and/or calipers have rusted internally and are leaking. So the level is the least of it.

SteveJW

As the brake pads wear the fluid level goes down, the pistons are further out, more fluid behind the piston less in the reservoir

ricky101

Agree with Adrian, the brake fluid should be changed every 2 years, not just topped up.

The apparent fluid 'loss' could just be due to brake pad wear, though expect the garage would have reported that if too low and any signs of a leak would have resulted in a fail.

The battery, if its more than 5 years old, they tend/can to let go completely when you least expect it, as we have found to our cost, so think you would be wise to follow their advice.

The timing belt, unless you are certain when it was last replaced, miles or years equally important as rubber perishes with age, then think the price they quote is very good,  if it breaks you could blow the whole engine;  a water pump is a normall part to have replaced when doing a timimg belt , both needing a lot of work to get to.

shaun_from_Africa

Elisheba said:

the garage said that it probably needed a new Cam belt as they were recommended every 3 years and they didn't know when it was last changed.  

Every 3 years seems a bit often to me. Have you had a look in your service book to see what is stated in there?

Chipesh

I had cam belt and water pump done on my 2006 Kangoo a while back and charged £280 for everything. They said it had never been done since new and showed me water pump with 2005 stamp on it! This was at 75,000 miles and 12 years old.
The motability service record said it had been done!
If you think it's high as I do ask round for different quotes.
Whoever does it, ask to see the old belt and pump.
Cam belts are a nice way to make money without doing the work.

EdGasketTheSecond

Some cars are every 3 years. Renault Modus = 5 yrs, 72K miles whichever is sooner.