Cambelt - change it or risk it?

Fireflyaway
Fireflyaway Posts: 2,766 Forumite
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in Motoring
My astra has done 120,000 miles and is 12 years old. At recent service, mechanic advised I replace the cambelt.

My dilemma is I'm planning to save for a new car and can't decide whether to do the cambelt now ( prob cost more than car is worth) or risk it for a few months till I buy a new car? I've been told if the belt fails the car will be wrecked but I'm reluctant to spend money on a car I only need for a few more months.
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Comments

  • DUTR
    DUTR Posts: 12,958 Forumite
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    So what is it you are asking? As you have already considered the car may run for a while it may not, nobody on here can predict the out come.
  • Stoke
    Stoke Posts: 3,182 Forumite
    Fireflyaway wrote: »
    My astra has done 120,000 miles and is 12 years old. At recent service, mechanic advised I replace the cambelt.

    My dilemma is I'm planning to save for a new car and can't decide whether to do the cambelt now ( prob cost more than car is worth) or risk it for a few months till I buy a new car? I've been told if the belt fails the car will be wrecked but I'm reluctant to spend money on a car I only need for a few more months.

    How much of the car actually worth?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
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    Without proof of the cambelt being done you are likely to find it very hard to sell. If the cambelt goes you may as well just phone a scrap merchant to come and collect it.

    You are planning to save for a new car but how would those plans be wrecked if your engine got totalled before you'd saved enoug to save you £100 or so now on having the belt replaced?

    False economy not to change it.
  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,884 Forumite
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    Fireflyaway wrote: »
    My dilemma is I'm planning to save for a new car and can't decide whether to do the cambelt now ( prob cost more than car is worth) or risk it for a few months till I buy a new car? I've been told if the belt fails the car will be wrecked but I'm reluctant to spend money on a car I only need for a few more months.

    Not much of a risk, unless you do loads of miles.
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,384 Forumite
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    Stoke wrote: »
    How much of the car actually worth?

    I appreciate that this is the way most folks would look at it, but in my view, the world of bangernomics works differently. The question for me would be how much extra life would it give the current car, costed against the potential costs and depreciation on any replacement.

    18 months ago I got a new timing belt on my 13-year-old car, it definitely cost more than the car was worth, but I have had another 36,000 miles out of it since then. Tomorrow it is getting a new exhaust, again probably costing more than I could get for the car, but as long as the car lasts for another three months/6,000 miles, I’ll be happy with the return on the investment.
  • Frozen_up_north
    Frozen_up_north Posts: 2,420 Forumite
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    sevenhills wrote: »
    Not much of a risk, unless you do loads of miles.
    Breaking a cambelt has nothing to do with how many miles you do, the age of the belt comes into it too. A friend bought a "decent" second hand car with low mileage, was only a few miles from home on a shopping trip and it went... The car had cost him £4000 and he got little more than scrap value when it was collected, the loss left him unable to afford a replacement car.

    Changing a cambelt on age or mileage is in my opinion a vital part of car servicing.
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,473 Forumite
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    Fireflyaway wrote: »
    My astra has done 120,000 miles and is 12 years old. At recent service, mechanic advised I replace the cambelt.

    My dilemma is I'm planning to save for a new car and can't decide whether to do the cambelt now ( prob cost more than car is worth) or risk it for a few months till I buy a new car? I've been told if the belt fails the car will be wrecked but I'm reluctant to spend money on a car I only need for a few more months.

    Whats the car and what are you being quoted for a cambelt change? Unless its something oddball, its likely to range from £50 to £150 to do.

    Any 2005 car with a years MOT is worth £750 i'd have thought, maybe more.

    If you're only planning to start to save for a new car then what happens if the belt snaps next week?

    Unless the belt price is ridiculously prohibitive, i'd be getting it done. You're driving around in a time bomb and having the belt done means you've something thats going to be worth a bit more come resale time too.
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,473 Forumite
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    sevenhills wrote: »
    Not much of a risk, unless you do loads of miles.

    Very real risk. It could snap any time. That wholly leaves the O/P on the back foot with no means of travel (to work presumably) and no savings yet towards a new car.

    Wholly unnecessary risk for the price of a belt change.
  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
    First Post
    motorguy wrote: »
    Whats the car and what are you being quoted for a cambelt change? Unless its something oddball, its likely to range from £50 to £150 to do.

    £50? That's the costs of the kit on it's own without labour. I've been quoted £250-350 for my 1.25 Fiesta and that's hardly oddball.
  • onomatopoeia99
    onomatopoeia99 Posts: 6,964 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Fireflyaway wrote: »
    My astra has done 120,000 miles and is 12 years old. At recent service, mechanic advised I replace the cambelt.

    My dilemma is I'm planning to save for a new car and can't decide whether to do the cambelt now ( prob cost more than car is worth) or risk it for a few months till I buy a new car? I've been told if the belt fails the car will be wrecked but I'm reluctant to spend money on a car I only need for a few more months.
    If you can save for a new car in a few months, since you say you're only planning to start saving at this point and only need the existing car for a few months, then you must have quite a lot of disposable income each month, so the cost of a cambelt change will be negligible in the grand scheme of things.

    Basically the longer you leave it, the more likely it is to fail. Both age and mileage affect the lifespan of belts (and a host of other factors) so it's a sliding scale. It'll probably be OK for another few months as the replacement intervals tend to be conservative, but no-one will tell you it definitely will be OK.
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
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