This is my first post here , however i have been an avid reader for some time . Today i had my Cam belt replaced and while the car was at the main dealer i thought i would get them to fit the rear Buffers ( Bump stops ) i was going to do this myself but they quoted a good price so i thought what the hell !

Imagine my suprise when the car is delivered home to see a gaping hole cut in the rear wing liners so that the "technician" could access the upper damper mountings without dropping the back wheels and taking out the liners . Its a pretty neat hole to be fair but if i had wanted it hacked about i could have done it myself for nothing . Plus this now totally ruins the wing liners and will let a ton of moisture in .

Has any one heard of a similair story ? Bear in mind this is a main dealer ! Do these people think we dont inspect the work thats carried out to our vehicles ?

I took the car straight back to the workshop and to there credit they are fitting new wing liners tomorrow !

Total cost was £330 incl for this and the cam belt .

I am in the south west !

Cheers .

This is my first post here , however i have been an avid reader for some time . Today i had my Cam belt replaced and while the car was at the main dealer i thought i would get them to fit the rear Buffers ( Bump stops ) i was going to do this myself but they quoted a good price so i thought what the hell !

Imagine my suprise when the car is delivered home to see a gaping hole cut in the rear wing liners so that the "technician" could access the upper damper mountings without dropping the back wheels and taking out the liners . Its a pretty neat hole to be fair but if i had wanted it hacked about i could have done it myself for nothing . Plus this now totally ruins the wing liners and will let a ton of moisture in .

Has any one heard of a similair story ? Bear in mind this is a main dealer ! Do these people think we dont inspect the work thats carried out to our vehicles ?

I took the car straight back to the workshop and to there credit they are fitting new wing liners tomorrow !

Total cost was £330 incl for this and the cam belt .

I am in the south west !

Cheers .

Well, for a start that price is pretty good just for the cambelt, so with the other work done, and now new wing liners, I'd say you've done alright

Did you get the waterpump done at the same time as the cambelt?

Water pump not done , they have supposedly inspected it and said its perfectly servicable for another 40K until the belt is done again , the car has done 110K . To be fair the other dealer i usually use also said they would inspect and not renew water pump unless it was deteriorated ...... Its probably all BS !!

I realise this is a good price but still dont expect the wing liners to be hacked about ;-)

That sort of workmanship just goes to show that even dealerships don't always get it right! Still, at least something is getting done about it. Really shoddy, such butchery considering its done at a skoda place. For the sake of another £30ish did you not considering the water pump for piece of mind?

Still, bloody great price you paid there mate!

Why would they suggest changing a water pump at the same time and saving you costs when they can change it at a later date and charge you all the labour for taking the same bits off twice - my water pump went last week and Lissy has only done 74k

If its on 110, this is its second cam belt, so it`ll already have the uprated one fitted, would have though it`ll last another 40k easy tbh

matt

To be honest I always trim the back arch liners out when getting to the top damper bolts. A couple of neat cuts with a stanley knife and its done, the Ibiza allready has the bits removed.

dealer advising you not to change the water pump??? that sounds very odd to me, i always thought they replaced it as a whole kit regardless of what condition it's in

@ TeflonTom , Thats exactly what i thought but 2 dealers gave the same opinion !

Hopefully as Matt1chelski said it will last another 40K and yes this is its second Belt .

I think its fine if an individual wants to chop some holes in their liners for access but i just dont think main dealers should be doing this sort of short cut surgery without asking the owners first !

But all in all a very good price and certainly £160 cheaper than another dealer quoted .

dealer advising you not to change the water pump??? that sounds very odd to me, i always thought they replaced it as a whole kit regardless of what condition it's in

the timing belt kit only has the belt, tensioner and idler roller in, water pump is not part of the kit

i have one waiting to be fitted to my motor indoors

dealer advising you not to change the water pump??? that sounds very odd to me, i always thought they replaced it as a whole kit regardless of what condition it's in

The water pump does not come as part of the cam belt kit......you only get the belt, tensioner, idler roller and two new nuts to secure the idler roller and tensioner in the kit.

IMO the water pump should always be changed on the PD engine due to the amount of stress the shaft bearings are under due to the belt running so tight on these engines, and the fact that the water pump is located on the driven (stressed) side of the belt between the crankshaft and camshaft.

For info; I've just changed two fabia vrs cam belts, water pumps, aux drive belts, G12 antifreeze and 9 engine mounting bolts, and the total cost of genuine VAG parts from TPS was £134 (for each car).

Bill.

the timing belt kit only has the belt, tensioner and idler roller in, water pump is not part of the kit

The water pump does not come as part of the cam belt kit......you only get the belt, tensioner, idler roller and two new nuts to secure the idler roller and tensioner in the kit.

yes yes, i know on both counts, i've changed loads of them before but it seems like fools economy to me to not do it for the sake of a £40 pump seeing as they are known to fail prematurely

@ vrs180, if that's the best price tps can do for you, you should consider opening an account with them, they often do discounts for account holders

Edited 24 August, 201015 yr by TeflonTom

How can you inspect the water pump condition? Surely you'd have to drain the coolant system and remove the pump to look at the impeller, by which time you'd need a new gasket anyway? Seems odd to me. After bitter experience with these VAG cars being made from paper mache I'd renew the water pump at every cam belt service.

I would hardly say that 110K miles without missing a beat is a car made from paper mache !!

Anyway , you pays ur money u takes ur chances so... getting back on topic , what about the way they fitted the buffers ! ? !

I would hardly say that 110K miles without missing a beat is a car made from paper mache !!

yes granted, but it takes less than 100 yards to completely ruin an engine beyond repair caused by a jumped timing belt from a water pump breakage

getting back on topic , what about the way they fitted the buffers ! ? !

cutting corners to save time, we're all guilty of it sometimes :wonder:

When my belt was done the pump wasn't changed, The guy that did it was very thorough in every other way so I'd like to hope he inspected it.. but I've never been completely sure and don;t really talk to him much now (long story).

My car is a ASZ on an 04 plate.. but with all the pre 05 updates (the 2004 revisions) so don't think it sat around for long before being registered in.

Does anyone know if it is likely to have the revised part? Or is it a lottery?