Hi

I am from India living in Delhi/NCR area. Last time when I was at the service center, the service advisor recommended a timing belt kit replacement as the car had run 85,000kms but was more than 5 years old. When I got the bill, I was surprised to see 1200 TU labour charges while they only took less than 4 hours to get the job done!

According to the chart provided by Skoda India, 100TU = 1 hour.

The same chart the only two items related to timing belt added up to 630TU.

On asking for clarifications, they said that to change the timing kit, we have to remove the front tires 75TU, remove the gearbox mounting 330TU, remove the coolant pump 290TU. Although the 330TU is for completely removing and reinstalling the gearbox, they say removing the mounting also will cost the same!!!

Can anyone confirm if this is right or was I duped?

They charge INR 500/- (approx $10) for each 100TU or 1 hour of labour. The cost of the complete timing kit was approx INR 12,000/- while the labour for the same was INR 6000/-

Sounds like you were "duped" removing tyres, gearbox and mount isnt necessary, removing the water pump is and its reccomended to change that pump.

My timing kit,water pump and new coolant from VW costs £155, It took an independant garage 5hrs at £30 per hour.