Cambelt change or dont bother
Discussion
How long do you think it would take to win the lottery jackpot if you played every week?
Impossible to say over the Internet without seeing the belt.
Depending on what sort of mileage you do and in the understanding that you're driving the car to run it Into the ground I wouldn't bother
Impossible to say over the Internet without seeing the belt.
Depending on what sort of mileage you do and in the understanding that you're driving the car to run it Into the ground I wouldn't bother
As long as the car's not a POS why not just get it done?
If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
I've got a 150k polo bluemotion.. worth bugger all but I put on a new turbo last year (£1800) and did the belt and clutch in 2014 (I'll do the belt again next year). I'll probably refresh the shocks and bushes next year too.
My view is it's a known quantity.. cheap to run and I know it's been maintained well by me over the last 30k, plus if I amortise the cost over the next 5 years it'll be peanuts (or potentially 3 months of the cost of a lease car) plus zero depreciation
If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
I've got a 150k polo bluemotion.. worth bugger all but I put on a new turbo last year (£1800) and did the belt and clutch in 2014 (I'll do the belt again next year). I'll probably refresh the shocks and bushes next year too.
My view is it's a known quantity.. cheap to run and I know it's been maintained well by me over the last 30k, plus if I amortise the cost over the next 5 years it'll be peanuts (or potentially 3 months of the cost of a lease car) plus zero depreciation
Any history of a prior cambelt change?
I'd say since you plan on a different car in the new year I would run the risk. Maybe just give it an oil service.
I took the bother of changing the cambelt on my 120k mile Astra diesel (at a garage) and the new belt snapped a few thousand later resulting in it needing a replacement engine. I'm convinced that if I'd have left alone I'd still have my original engine. I suspect poor workmanship may have been the cause or (less likely) something just didn't like being disturbed, but it was supposed to be a full kit replacement not just the belt.
I'd say since you plan on a different car in the new year I would run the risk. Maybe just give it an oil service.
I took the bother of changing the cambelt on my 120k mile Astra diesel (at a garage) and the new belt snapped a few thousand later resulting in it needing a replacement engine. I'm convinced that if I'd have left alone I'd still have my original engine. I suspect poor workmanship may have been the cause or (less likely) something just didn't like being disturbed, but it was supposed to be a full kit replacement not just the belt.
I just changed the belt, water pump etc on a car worth about £600. My understanding is that it's a maintenance part and I've had the car long enough to have changed the belt twice now and despite it being worth very little it is reliable, does the job we need of it and replacing it would be expensive ( - better the devil you know and all that) and an avoidable breakdown would be really annoying!
Personally if you know the car well and know it’s been well maintained otherwise, I would. I’ve put new cambelts on cars worth very little in the past and they’ve gone on to serve me well for years at very little extra cost, because the cars are otherwise in good mechanical condition (shocks, brakes, drive and suspension components etc).
Alternatively you don’t spend 600-700 pounds, it goes bang, and you spend twice that replacing it with a banger which has scraped through MOTs for the last five years, and thus is ready to through a bill worthy of putting on the scrap pile.
That’s aside from the environmental issue of running a car into the ground vs changing a bit of rubber, and the general arseache of shopping for mundane cars.
Alternatively you don’t spend 600-700 pounds, it goes bang, and you spend twice that replacing it with a banger which has scraped through MOTs for the last five years, and thus is ready to through a bill worthy of putting on the scrap pile.
That’s aside from the environmental issue of running a car into the ground vs changing a bit of rubber, and the general arseache of shopping for mundane cars.
Cambelt roulette is a game of skill..
One needs to balance the savings from not having the cambelt replaced Vs the holy terror unleashed should the belt fail and the good lady is unable to complete her journey.
At the bottom of the market where I procure cars from, I just have multiple cars she uses to spread the risk
One needs to balance the savings from not having the cambelt replaced Vs the holy terror unleashed should the belt fail and the good lady is unable to complete her journey.
At the bottom of the market where I procure cars from, I just have multiple cars she uses to spread the risk
As long as the car's not a POS why not just get it done?
If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
I've got a 150k polo bluemotion.. worth bugger all but I put on a new turbo last year (£1800) and did the belt and clutch in 2014 (I'll do the belt again next year). I'll probably refresh the shocks and bushes next year too.
My view is it's a known quantity.. cheap to run and I know it's been maintained well by me over the last 30k, plus if I amortise the cost over the next 5 years it'll be peanuts (or potentially 3 months of the cost of a lease car) plus zero depreciation
If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
I've got a 150k polo bluemotion.. worth bugger all but I put on a new turbo last year (£1800) and did the belt and clutch in 2014 (I'll do the belt again next year). I'll probably refresh the shocks and bushes next year too.
My view is it's a known quantity.. cheap to run and I know it's been maintained well by me over the last 30k, plus if I amortise the cost over the next 5 years it'll be peanuts (or potentially 3 months of the cost of a lease car) plus zero depreciation
fourstardan said:
On a golf thats 54 plate, 140k. (er indoors motor)...
It also needs a service so looking at 600-700 for this.
How long do you think i'd get not doing the cam? she does local shops mileage and im thinking to look for something else in the new year.
Where did you get the price for the service from? It shouldn't cost anywhere near that. It also needs a service so looking at 600-700 for this.
How long do you think i'd get not doing the cam? she does local shops mileage and im thinking to look for something else in the new year.
VW offer fixed price servicing on older cars, for you car (up to a 2.0L engine) it is £179 for minor/annual service and £349 for a major plus £494 for a cambelt kit - which i believe includes the tensioners + rollers as well as the belt itself.
Independents can save even more money, I don't know where you are in the country but in the South West there are a few VW specialists that quote around £280-350 for a 2.0 TDI Cambelt kit supplied + fitted.
Personally, I'd get the belt done & a minor service because it's one less thing to worry about and one major selling point if you do get rid of it in January.
slk 32 said:
As long as the car's not a POS why not just get it done?
If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
Indeed. Why would't you? Just shows how stupid and wasteful we are as a society. Disgusting. If the belt goes It'll just be scrap value so less than £100 - if you get it done then you've got another 5 years / 60k potentially.
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