Just taken in my car for servicing and they rang to ask if I want the cam belt changing, I said I guess so - how much - they quoted £200! :eek:

Is that right? Ive told them to leave it for now then as the service is costing enough as it is.

What engine do you have? This link for one of our site sponsors is a pretty good reflection of what you'd pay at a non-franchised specialist (although there are other garages that sponsor the site, of course!) £200 is pretty competitive, by the looks of things. And remember, yes it's a pi$$er, but it's a lot cheaper than a new engine... :(

Many thanks. Its a Fabia 1400 16 valve engine.

Ive bitten the bullet and rung them to say go ahead and he said he will also check the water pump while he is doing it and if that needs replacing it will be extra. Oh well, as you say, better than an engine rebuild.

Theyve just rung again - rear brake pads are low - eek. Ive said Ill have that done later.

Hi there! just had mine done by a mobile indie on my vrs for 190 and he came out to me and used all vw parts! he did all the pulleys and tensioners too!

He is based in the midlands, if you want his no PM me!

Hi there! just had mine done by a mobile indie on my vrs for 190 and he came out to me and used all vw parts! he did all the pulleys and tensioners too!

He is based in the midlands, if you want his no PM me!

Don't forget that the 1.4 16V has 2 belts plus idlers, so £200 isn't too bad - genuine parts are about £150

Many thanks for the offer Torque but its done now (and the Midlands is a bit far for me Im in Norfolk

Well, had the full service, the cambelt and the rear brake discs and pads and it came to - gasp - £470.

The cam belt is listed as £130 + VAT..

But, the mechanic said to me that it was very lucky I had the cam belt done as it was already "scoring the belt"?? and he reckoned at any time the "tension would have gone"?

So I guess the money was well spent.

A cam belt for a Fabia vRS is £300 :eek:

But, the mechanic said to me that it was very lucky I had the cam belt done as it was already "scoring the belt"?? and he reckoned at any time the "tension would have gone"?

IIRC the belt will only go slack if the idler breaks, in which case the belt may come off.

I thought that the cambelts are special construction which is designed not to stretch, (unlike the drive belt). Cut one in half and look at the construction of it, it's quite hefty.

Most of the time the teeth will come off the belt rather than a snap occouring.

The rubber will probably deteriorate over time (hence 4 years or 60k on my Fabia vRS) and small cracks may appear to run along the belt.

I wonder if it's possible to have a butchers at the belt after they take it off?

May ask them when they do it.

Better to pay the 200 sheets than probably 1500 to £2000 for a new engine!

Ben

Just to pipe up here..

£200 is good. Had my 1.4 16v done (AUB).. cost me £180 so your quote is pretty much bang on!

Take note of how rattley it is when you start it in the mornings on the old tensioners.. and then again once it all new and tight.. Mine became allot quiter as my mechanic explined allot of the noise was the old belt and tensioners rattling around as they'd lost tension.

Rob.

gonna cost me £270 for mine next friday for cambelt, from main dealers

Cam defo £300 on vRS.. quoted £297 exactly from local dealer

[quote=Conshine;1176545 Most of the time the teeth will come off the belt rather than a snap occouring.

The rubber will probably deteriorate over time (hence 4 years or 60k on my Fabia vRS) and small cracks may appear to run along the belt.

I wonder if it's possible to have a butchers at the belt after they take it off?

May ask them when they do it. Ben

When I got the 2003MY Polo with 45K miles cambelts changed by a VAG indep, he gave me all the parts back and they were all in very good condition - but I would not let that fact influence anyone that might consider delaying this work - he even changed the small idler that is not supplied in the VAG kit for 1.4 16V engines - as he reckoned that they are quite often the part that fails and stalls the belt. Incidentaly I also supplied an exchange VAG water pump so that was changed as well. BTW, the extra small idler was the same part number as that supplied with the TDI cam belt kits.

For a cam belt plus water pump it's £350 all in from Awesome inc vat. That's what I paid a couple of weeks ago.

Im really grateful for everyones input and really pleased I had all the work done as, as someone else said here, the engine is so quiet again now - I thought Id cut out at the junction the first time I drove it after the work as Id had a strange whirring noise for the last couple of weeks (eek, maybe that was the cam belt telling me it was about to bust!) Id done 58k - didnt realise it was 4 years OR 58k whatever the sooner - mine is nearly 7 years old.