MickLang

Everywhere I look, they say, 'Sold Out' and are enormously expensive. Must I go through a dealer? Any thoughts? I definitely need new dampers (I have 125k on the clock) and when hitting a bump, the rear end does a kind of minor fish tail. MOT is looming and I need to source these parts. Any help appreciated!

I have the 1.4L TSI-- 150bhp. I know the water pump is on the opposite side of the cam belt-- the pump is run off the balance shaft (apparently). The service manager explained (during his lengthy apology) that in former engines, water pumps could leak around the cam belt, causing early failure due to it being effected by the chemicals of the fluid. I would like to know if you truly *never* need to replace the cam belt though. Seems fishy to me.

Or so I thought. I dropped it off at the dealership and walked home. When I got home, the dealer's rep called and said that he didn't have the cam belt in stock. Not to worry-- the mechanic says it's good for the life of the engine! My car is a oh-so-babied, Superb mk3. What? I told him to replace it anyways as it was part of the package. He said that if they needed to order one, they'd charge me additional money for 'labour' to order one. What again? I told him I wanted to speak to a manager! I told him this repair had been on the books for three weeks! They damn well better have parts! He back-pedaled and five minutes later said they located one. All is well. I picked up the car and when I popped the hood, saw the new water pump... but there was still undisturbed dust on the opposite side where the cam belt lives. I removed the cover and was face-to-face with my 70+k cam belt! I took pictures and emailed the manager. They've since apologized and are returning 200 quid, but they still say that you don't replace the cam belt as it's 'good for the life' of the engine-- or whatever that means. Can anyone confirm please?