The Dreaded Belt Change

[krusty]

I'm approaching the 40K belt change and was wondering if it's a job that an indie can do or is it purely a Main dealer job??
I'm in the Southampton area and have used Southampton Audi before but they're quoting £1300+ so am looking for alternatives
TIA
K

[RSVI]

To be on the safe side and if you're extending the warranty I'd use an Audi main dealer.
At least you know it's been done right and if there is any future problems you have a better leg to stand on.

[Rupert]

Just because it has been done by an Audi garage does not mean it will be done right!

[bobjebb]

PM me if you are prepared to travel to the SE.

[RSVI]

Just because it has been done by an Audi garage does not mean it will be done right!

That was something i was going to add but felt i didn't need to.

If the car's been worked on by the manufactures franchised dealers then you have a better chance of sorting out problems in the future compared to getting the belt change, or anything else, done at "toms auto car services"

(Sorry to Tom if there is such a garage )

Plus, if i was buying a car i would be happier to buy one with full dealer service history.

IMO.

[Wolverine]

Dulwich Audi did the belt & tensioners for me for £850. Shop around with Audi dealers !

[mwcltd]

The advantages of going to a main dealer is that the warranty is intact with no arguement and the belt job, which is complex, is done by someone who should know what they are doing. I had the belt, followers and tensioner changed at 38k miles. My dealer showed me evidence of the V8 engine sometimes having water pump problems at 50k - 60k miles. I had the pump replaced as to do this requires the front of the engine to be taken apart and only cost me £65 as the belt etc required the front of the engine to be taken apart anyway.

[SteveH]

It really annoys me the inconsistency of pricing by dealers, I got belt and all the bells and whistles of tensioners etc in December '05, but only paid about £850.

Saying that, when I shopped around to buy my RS6 in 2005 it was far cheaper to head North West to buy the car. If you can save best part of £500 for exactly the same scope of works in your belt change by spending £40 on fuel your quids in (and make it a day out!).

Yesterday I called the two VW dealers in Nottingham for a price for a cam-belt change and one dealer advised £430, the other £230 and they are the same bloody franchise company! I queried the difference and the latter dealer said they would stand by the £230 price. Even more annoying, for the service that I'm also after the first dealer was cheaper for the same work, so it looks like I'll take our VW to one dealer for the cam belt, then drive about 5 mins to the other dealer for the service to save us a total of £300. What a frickin joke!!!

[bbigman2000]

The only benifit with a dealer is obviously the stamp in the book speaks volumes to buyers.

And they have the corrent tools which make the job a lot easier.

[mwcltd]

My belt change costed £1,488.29 including VAT. This included exchange water pump, relay roll, lever, belt damper, roller, v belt, roller, tensioner, roller, nut, gasket. The labour charge is £903.69 which is fixed, the parts charge being higher because I had everything changed. This service was massive as I had all tyres, brake discs, brake pads, spark plugs, gearbox oil replaced as well as the 4th AVS service. However on return the car was as tight as new and the performance had noticeably increased due to a couple of pipes being unkinked when the mechanic put the engine back together.

[SteveH]

nut

Was that a Brazil, Pecan or Almond included in the price?

Not wishing to be picky but the labour hours are fixed, not the £'s rate, so depending on where you go in the UK there are hhuugggeee differences.

[mwcltd]

Sorry, you are correct, the hours are fixed, not the rate. However, I have been reliably informed that the Audi stated hours are well in excess of reality and guess which ones are used when we are invoiced.

[Rupert]

Well, I recently found that two dealers quoted £410 for the 30k service, the point is that they came to the same price despite having different labour rates. The garage with the cheaper labour rate quote 2.2 hours for the job and the one with the higher labour rate quote 1.9 hours for the job.
Audi, vorsprung durch consistently inconsistent.

[bbigman2000]

My belt change costed £1,488.29 including VAT. This included exchange water pump, relay roll, lever, belt damper, roller, v belt, roller, tensioner, roller, nut, gasket. The labour charge is £903.69 which is fixed, the parts charge being higher because I had everything changed. This service was massive as I had all tyres, brake discs, brake pads, spark plugs, gearbox oil replaced as well as the 4th AVS service. However on return the car was as tight as new and the performance had noticeably increased due to a couple of pipes being unkinked when the mechanic put the engine back together.

Any change out of 5k

[grizz]

Once the front end is off the v6/v8 engine range is the same , I have all the tool's for timing them up . The book time is 6.8 hr's . All the parts inc w/pump ect will cost £500 (ish) From the agant . my local agent want's £918 inc for just a belt change !!! so i'll be doing mine in a week or so .
Should be fun but makes a change from doing rs4 one's .