Hi, my Octavia 08 Estate 1.9 pd has never missed a main dealer service and is running beautifully having just had a minor service earlier this month. I've just had a reminder from our Skoda dealership that the timing belt is due to be replaced. Since that last time it was changed, almost 4 years have passed, but the car has only done 33,000 more miles. Bearing in mind the age and value of the car and that I'm intending on replacing it this year, is it necessary to pay in the region of £400+ to have this done, or could the timing belt last another year? Most modern diesel cars seem to have the timing belt changed at far bigger intervals without problems.

Edited 19 December, 20196 yr by BorderCollie
Omission of text

Always a tricky one this. 

The question is the car is worth more to you and resale running. 

Cam belt and water pump etc changes are mostly precautionary and 4 years is this case the sooner than the miles situation. If it’s of low value the car, perhaps don’t go main dealer a reputable garage with decent parts should hopefully be less than £400+ 

 

Some may say a low miles car that’s done town miles is more stressed than a motorway miler. So in turn the belt too. 

 

The decision on if you do it or not lays with you. 

 

I am am at the same crossroads but my Octy2 will have done 240k. 

 

Dead easy to remove the upper belt cover and inspect the whole length of the belt inside & out, no tools needed.

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Dead easy to remove the upper belt cover and inspect the whole length of the belt inside & out, no tools needed.

 

It can be almost impossible to tell if a belt has reached end of life by looking at it. They can go even if they look fine.

 

My belt was 8 years and 50,000 miles old when I got mine changed recently. Looked visually OK but I wouldn't have trusted it long term. 

 

See:  

 

As was explained to you at the time that is completely normal and not an indication of impending failure.

 

It certainly is not impossible to tell visually that a cam belt needs replacing, I have been doing it for decades and  in excess of a million miles and will carry on doing so.

 

The OP is free to take whetever advice & course of action that he feels comfortable with but he should not be dissuaded from doing a visual inspection.

There is also condition and reliance of other parts like water pump and tension rollers to consider?

Absolutely, if a belt in perfect condition fails its likely to be due to something external failing.

8 minutes ago, gav_is_con said:

There is also condition and reliance of other parts like water pump and tension rollers to consider?

The water pump etc has always been replaced at the same time as the timing belt, so it's also 33,000 miles old.

How much do you like your car? I like mine enough to do it a bit early, will probably do it next summer about 10k before it is due.

 

Costed it DIY recently for other reasons, about £100 for parts (aftermarket but decent brands) to do belt, rollers and pump, + £30 for a timing tool kit from ebay which appears to include what would normally require 3 tool kits each costiong £30+, I will probably find the locking pins are made of cheese or don't fit the holes in the sprockets or something, but I since it should be possible without those tools anyway I thought they were worth a punt. Have probably neglected some other items which I will find need to be replaced when i have it disassembled though...

 

Tough one as said,

 

Not related entirely but my last car was a runaround MK4 Astra SRI, which I ended up keeping for 4 years! 

 

It had done about 100K and I always knew the belt and pump hadn't been changed but I wasn't bothered, it owed me nothing but the work would have been around £550, more than the car really, I visually inspected the belt and it looked fine! No marks, not frayed in any way etc etc. Driving it home one day and it started making a hell of a noise, tensioner went a mile or so later and it killed the engine.

 

I was quite gutted actually and really regret not having the work done as other than that i'd really looked after it and it did everything I needed it to. 

 

So in all if it's a decent car and it will serve someone else in the future get it done 🙂 you don't want some poor bugger who NEEDS a cheap car to buy it in the future and it snaps, integrity an all that, the universe will thank you for it in it's own special way.

I've had quotes ranging from £250 to £300 from local garages to change my belt and pump using a Dayco Belt kit ... Not been able to find anyone using a Gates Kit ,,, a few places using genuine parts wanted more than Skoda for the job 

It amazes me that people complain about the price of cambelt change on an Octavia when Skoda themselves do the job for only £400. My old car cost over £1000 to do the belt and pump, at an independent specialist.

 

Mine was done at around 75k, it's on 135k now, I'll probably get it done again at 150k which will be in about 18 months for me. 

12 hours ago, slow_nick said:

It amazes me that people complain about the price of cambelt change on an Octavia when Skoda themselves do the job for only £400. My old car cost over £1000 to do the belt and pump, at an independent specialist.

 

Mine was done at around 75k, it's on 135k now, I'll probably get it done again at 150k which will be in about 18 months for me. 

 

 

Its over £500 to do the belt and the pump and when that's roughly 30%-50% of the value of your car it's a big outlay 

Having had a cambelt snap on my 1.9PD Fabia (ASZ engine) 4 years and two months after the last time I had it changed (I had covered around 26/27k miles in that time) ~£350 (what it cost me for a belt and water pump change)  is cheaper than £1k+ if it goes. 
 

Only take the risk if you’re willing / able to deal with the worst case scenario, IMO.

You won't get the £400 back when you sell the car next year.

 

Personally I'd risk it, knowing I was definitely selling it soon.

 

Only you can assess the risk.

 

Best case = £0

Risk mitigation = £400

Worst case = £2,000 (car written off)

7 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

You won't get the £400 back when you sell the car

I'd question your calculations - Not doing it you can lose 2 grand, but doing it you spend 400 and it will probably run another 5 years...

My point was that the OP has said he is selling the car soon.

 

His buyer is unlikely to pay an extra £400 (25% of the cars value) just because it has had the cambelt done.

34 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

You won't get the £400 back when you sell the car next year.

 

Personally I'd risk it, knowing I was definitely selling it soon.

 

Only you can assess the risk.

 

Best case = £0

Risk mitigation = £400

Worst case = £2,000 (car written off)

Are you also going on the fact he’ll part exchange it as well? As selling privately he’ll be in a lot better position if it’s had the belt done.

It's a £2K car, a new cambelt will make it easier to sell, but won't necessarily add value.

I beg to differ, are you going to pay the same money for a car needing a £400 job doing straight away or buy another car for the same price with it already done? I certainly wouldn’t, and frequently do knock good money off for a cam belt needing doing.

 

edit: and to add, at the £2k car market your clientele are mostly the kind of people that want a brand new car for £500 or “will you accept £800 now bro” type customers.

 

Edited 23 December, 20196 yr by Vrsburnzy

Everyone places different values on things.

 

For some people it is all about the depreciation and re-sale cost of the vehicle, if so decisions actually become pretty easy.

For many of us a car value apart from money. If it runs well and we like it, changing cars for monetary reasons doesn't necessarily make sense to us.

I have about a 50/50 rate of picking good cars from pups, so it makes sense to hang onto the good ones and drive them until they really can't be mended any more! by the time I come to sell a car I like, it will be for scrap.

 

But if you are the kind of person that regularly renews your car (there are many good arguments for this), and it all comes down to money, then you still have to factor in annual maintenance costs, how much does/should it really cost you per year to keep your car in roadworthy condition? One or 2 services per year, a set of tyres, the odd spring or shock, set of brake pads and percentage of the bigger items like a timing belt or clutch? I have no idea, I never keep track because I just fix stuff as it is needed, which means than when a bigger bill comes along occasionally, I already know that a good chunk of the rest of the car is in good condition and not likely to fail in the next couple of months, so I'm not just weighing up the value of the car vs repairs vs another 2nd hand one, but also against the possibility that the second hand one may be about due several routine items that I just did on this car (springs, shocks, bushes, brakes...).

 

Is it worth spending £400 on a timing belt when you only aim to have the car another year - depends how much you expect to spend on maintenance in that year and whether you can expect to have other major(ish) maintenace expenditure. If you have spent nearly nothing on maintenace for a while then you may be due other problems, where are you going to draw the line? So many friends seem to end up spending and spending and spending, and then get fed up and sell the car wishing they had sold it before spending out...

 

4 minutes ago, Vrsburnzy said:

edit: and to add, at the £2k car market your clientele are mostly the kind of people that want a brand new car for £500 or “will you accept £800 now bro” type customers.

I resent that, at £2200 my Octavia is the most expensive car I have bought, I usually spend less because I know I am in a price bracket where there will be other expenditure soon and the difference between an £800 car and £2000 one doesn't seem to alter the chances of that!

4 minutes ago, Vrsburnzy said:

 

 

15 minutes ago, Vrsburnzy said:

I beg to differ, are you going to pay the same money for a car needing a £400 job doing straight away or buy another car for the same price with it already done? I certainly wouldn’t, and frequently do knock good money off for a cam belt needing doing.

 

We all have different views.

 

If I were selling a £2,000 car, I'd advertise it for £2,000 and make it clear in the advert that the cambelt was due.

 

If the cambelt had just been changed it is still a £2,000 car, but it will likely sell quicker, or before one that is due a cambelt. but it's unlikely to sell for more.

 

Edited 23 December, 20196 yr by silver1011

16 minutes ago, Jim-octavia said:

I resent that, at £2200 my Octavia is the most expensive car I have bought, I usually spend less because I know I am in a price bracket where there will be other expenditure soon and the difference between an £800 car and £2000 one doesn't seem to alter the chances of that!

 

hence why I put mostly 😉 I know not all are the same, I don’t know if you sell many of your cars privately, I sell most mine privately and that is a large percentage of the clientele, I change my cars very frequently as I get bored quickly and maintenance has always been at cost as I do all my own work.

 

current steed is a £1700 A6 2.0tdi avant that I knocked money off because of it needing a belt, was up for just under £2k iirc.

 

edit: I will admit I was stung by this car though as it had an oil leak that turned out to be bad workmanship as someone had cracked the rear main seal housing meaning the box and flywheel had to come off for repair, but that was me just being very unlucky more than anything, and I won’t do it again 😂

Edited 23 December, 20196 yr by Vrsburnzy

3 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

 

We all have different views.

 

If I were selling a £2,000 car, I'd advertise it for £2,000 and make it clear in the advert that the cambelt was due.

 

If the cambelt had just been changed it is still a £2,000 car, but it will likely sell quicker, or before one that is due a cambelt. but it's unlikely to sell for more.

 

ok so what your saying is you’d buy a car needing a cam belt over one that doesn’t for the same money, bearing in mind they are of similar statistics and condition, and let’s be honest an octavia diesel is not a rare car so the market is full of them, it’s not like you’ll corner the market as they haven’t got a choice, even if the belt on another car is dues in 12 months you’d still buy that one over one that’s 12 months overdue.

 

if that’s what you’d do then fair enough, I know I wouldn’t.