Wet belt , 64000 miles or 6 years

Lisag010

I brought a 70 plate Vauxhall from a local garage, with an AA inspection done on it, I  partially paid on credit card. 

The lights have started to go off with faults 6 months on. Rang the warranty was told to get a quote, went to a garage got told Vauxhall says 64,000 or 6 years for a wet belt replacement. This is showing on diagnostic check 

The MOT in 2023 was 61,000 the 2024 MOT at 71,000 the garage I brought it from did the MOT 

it’s a £1k job to fix

I have complained as I’ve found looking at the MOT (wasn’t given to me at the time of sale ) there is a discrepancy in mileage to sales document but the garage did the 2024 MOT and are saying it was fit for purpose. 

Surely the car wasn’t as it needs the wet belt changing and could go at any time so they technically sold me a faulty car !

paul_c123

When did you bring the car?

forgotmyname

It's a service item, you did not request the belt was changed as part of the buying process.

No idea what the MOT has to do with it?   Owners can reject the additional work done at services, you can take
a car in for a major service where they recommend all the belts and fluids etc. and the owner can say no thanks
just change the oil.  They maybe told any belt failure would not be covered and the owner takes that risk.

Does not make the car unfit for purpose, would I risk it?  No but many would take the chance.

Wet belts can last a lot longer than the recommended change interval and some can fail with just half the time
and/or mileage done.  They are very hit and miss.

sheenas

Not sure what is wrong here, has the wet belt failed. A wet belt replacement should be £400-£500.

35har1old

sheenas said:

Not sure what is wrong here, has the wet belt failed. A wet belt replacement should be £400-£500.

I have heard that some drivers change these on certain manufacturers vehicles 
at 10000 miles due to high failure rates
A Ford transit custom £900 to £1200 independent garage
Main dealer £2400

Goudy

sheenas said:

Not sure what is wrong here, has the wet belt failed. A wet belt replacement should be £400-£500.

A replacement may cost around that at an indie but I dealer will charge more.
Plus it depends on what else needs doing. By the sounds of it the wet belt is already breaking up so it's hardly a straight swap.

Often the debris from the belt breaking up causes other problems within the oil system.
It's common on these for the vacuum brake booster pump that runs off the cam shaft and is fed with engine oil fails because of belt debris getting in there, so there's another couple of hundred quid to add on to the bill.

Quite often a brake booster fault is the first sign there's a problem with the wet belt.

The OP have been unfortunate and fortunate at the same time.
By the sounds of it that have bought the car when the wet belt replacement was due or over due.

Luckily it looks like the issue hasn't written of the engine.
If that had happened, you could probably times that £1k by 8.

Unless they can prove they were told it was already replaced, they would have had to pay for the replacement anyway, as it was due at this 6 year/64k interval.


It's worth noting to anyone considering a used car that they know what the service schedule is and check it's been done rather than just reply on stamps in a book or the lips of a dealer.

Most modern cars from new only usually need basic servicing for the first 4 or 5 years, things like oil, filter and fluid changes and checks.
After that they often need a bit more expensive servicing, cam belts, gearbox servicing and things like that, plus you are like to find things are starting to wear out.

My car is 6 next March and needs a fairly expensive gearbox service along with the bigger B service plus plugs, brake fluid and coolant change.
I'll get my B service at the dealers but the dealer won't be doing the rest, that's for sure!

So if you are in the market for a car this age, make sure you know what it needs, check want it needed and if it has been done.

Bigphil1474

I paid around £1k for MOT , service, and wet belt changed on a Peugeot car on its 6 year service. They did check the old belt as I'd had a rogue warning a year before and it was fine. If it was sold as FSH, then you could argue it hadn't been fully serviced in line with manufacturers recommendations.