Replacing Car Advice (Citroen C4 HDI 1.6 Diesel 08)

Ebe_Scrooge

Cambelts on diesels generally do seem to have a longer replacement interval than petrols.  I've no idea why - maybe because the engine revs at a much lower speed than a petrol?  Dunno.  But at 14 years, I'd be replacing it if it were me - rubber will degrade to a certain extent over time, irrespective of mileage.  And aside from that, there's not a lot else to go wrong with those engines.  I used to have a Peugeot 1.6 Hdi, most likely the same engine as yours I'm guessing.  I part-ex'd it for a "new" (i.e. old second-hand) car with 190,000 on the clock.  Last time I checked out of interest, it was still taxed and MOT'd, so presumably it's still going strong.

throughtheblue said:

The catch is they don't have many reviews online.

To my mind, that means nothing.  My local mechanic has no reviews, doesn't advertise anywhere (OK, a small ad in the quarterly parish newsletter), but gets more work than he can handle from word-of-mouth recommendations.  He's that mythical "honest and fairly-priced" independent mechanic.  Everyone in the village uses him, and some people travel from quite a distance away to use him because he's so good and reliable.  I'm always a bit sceptical of online reviews.

One other point - if you have a garage/driveway that you're able to do it on, learn how to change the oil and filter yourself.  It's a doddle of a job, and regular changes will keep the engine going forever.  That's about all I used to do with mine - didn't bother with "proper" servicing most of the time, but oil & filter change religiously as specified in the manual.  Diesels are fussy beasts when it comes to oil, but apart from that they tend not to get too upset by lack of other servicing.

Grumpy_chap

throughtheblue said:

Finally looked through the service history.

It had a full service just over 12 months ago, and since it's done 7k miles.

(Oil filter, engine flush, air filter, cabin filter, fuel filter + full vehicle check).

The maintenance guide is for the cam belt to be replaced 150k miles, 'severe' conditions 120k, or every 10 years.
The car is 14 years old, but it seems a lot of miles before replacing compared with petrol/other cars?

A more reputable garage has quoted £366, but earliest is late November. Is that too much of a risk waiting?

I don't think that anyone can give advice on this.  It's not even as though the belt can be easily inspected and indication given on "OK to wait" or otherwise.

The recommended interval to renew the cam belt will have been set by the manufacturer (both the time and the distance criteria) with some margin of safety.  Regardless, there will be some cars where the failure occurs prematurely before the recommended interval.

If the belt fails, it will likely cause engine damage and, on an old car, mean that the vehicle is considered beyond economical repair.

I'm afraid you will have to take your own judgement on the level of risk you are willing to take.  That risk is no greater tomorrow than i was last week when you were using the car quite merrily.

If you go through the service paperwork, was the belt changed before?

throughtheblue

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Cambelts on diesels generally do seem to have a longer replacement interval than petrols.  I've no idea why - maybe because the engine revs at a much lower speed than a petrol?  Dunno.  But at 14 years, I'd be replacing it if it were me - rubber will degrade to a certain extent over time, irrespective of mileage.  And aside from that, there's not a lot else to go wrong with those engines.  I used to have a Peugeot 1.6 Hdi, most likely the same engine as yours I'm guessing.  I part-ex'd it for a "new" (i.e. old second-hand) car with 190,000 on the clock.  Last time I checked out of interest, it was still taxed and MOT'd, so presumably it's still going strong.

throughtheblue said:

The catch is they don't have many reviews online.

To my mind, that means nothing.  My local mechanic has no reviews, doesn't advertise anywhere (OK, a small ad in the quarterly parish newsletter), but gets more work than he can handle from word-of-mouth recommendations.  He's that mythical "honest and fairly-priced" independent mechanic.  Everyone in the village uses him, and some people travel from quite a distance away to use him because he's so good and reliable.  I'm always a bit sceptical of online reviews.

One other point - if you have a garage/driveway that you're able to do it on, learn how to change the oil and filter yourself.  It's a doddle of a job, and regular changes will keep the engine going forever.  That's about all I used to do with mine - didn't bother with "proper" servicing most of the time, but oil & filter change religiously as specified in the manual.  Diesels are fussy beasts when it comes to oil, but apart from that they tend not to get too offended by lack of servicing.

I've found another garage in the end, mainly because of the potential language barrier. They provided the cheapest quote from about 20 other garages, but I will keep them in mind for smaller jobs and build a rapport with them for the future.

I will soon have a driveway and I think after some research, I'll be capable of changing the oil and filter.

throughtheblue

Grumpy_chap said:

throughtheblue said:

Finally looked through the service history.

It had a full service just over 12 months ago, and since it's done 7k miles.

(Oil filter, engine flush, air filter, cabin filter, fuel filter + full vehicle check).

The maintenance guide is for the cam belt to be replaced 150k miles, 'severe' conditions 120k, or every 10 years.
The car is 14 years old, but it seems a lot of miles before replacing compared with petrol/other cars?

A more reputable garage has quoted £366, but earliest is late November. Is that too much of a risk waiting?

I don't think that anyone can give advice on this.  It's not even as though the belt can be easily inspected and indication given on "OK to wait" or otherwise.

The recommended interval to renew the cam belt will have been set by the manufacturer (both the time and the distance criteria) with some margin of safety.  Regardless, there will be some cars where the failure occurs prematurely before the recommended interval.

If the belt fails, it will likely cause engine damage and, on an old car, mean that the vehicle is considered beyond economical repair.

I'm afraid you will have to take your own judgement on the level of risk you are willing to take.  That risk is no greater tomorrow than i was last week when you were using the car quite merrily.

If you go through the service paperwork, was the belt changed before?

Managed to get a booking in two weeks, so if it lasts till then I will keep the car, if it doesn't, I'll replace it.

The belt hasn't been changed. It was noted as due on the service.

I'm guessing because it looks a post-apocalyptic escape vehicle they didn't want to spend the money on it.