Bangernomics - the timing belt question

[Tophatron]

A few months ago I bought a Citroen C5 HDi estate for a bit of a laugh. It drove nicely and was only £800 so I thought I'd give it a punt.

It's turned out to be a great car - ugly as sin but absolutely massive, capable of over 50mpg and super comfy (it's been christened "the boat" by my friends).

Now, the question comes to the timing belt. It's not been changed and as it's just ticked over 100k miles it's now due. What do other practitioners of Bangernomics do in this situation? Take the £240 hit for replacing the belt, or just keep running it until it breaks then bin it?

Edited by Tophatron on Saturday 31st August 10:50

[ShampooEfficient]

If its been a good car, I would change it. I would only neglect it if the rest of the car was starting to let me down.

[Raize]

£240 for a belt? Why?

[Puddenchucker]

Tophatron said:

Take the £240 kit for replacing the belt, or just keep running it until it breaks then bin it?

How much will it cost you to buy a replacement car?

[crossy67]

Or just buy the belt at £20-40 and risk the tensioners and water pump. All can be inspected when replacing the belt, any dodgy looking ones can be changed if needed.

[Tophatron]

Raize said:

£240 for a belt? Why?

Sorry, typo - should have been "hit" instead of "kit". The price is the total cost to replace it.

[Tophatron]

Puddenchucker said:

How much will it cost you to buy a replacement car?

True, but my thinking is that if I replace the belt and then something unrelated goes - spending money on it makes me more committed to fixing other things in the future rather than just cutting my losses.

[exgtt]

If you wanna hang onto it get it done. Its usually the tensioners that go so it would be silly just to put a belt on, get the water pump done too yer tight wad! A leaky water pump after a belt change will piss you off.

I wouldn't risk a belt on anything French. The cars scrap if it goes, then its onto finding another decent shed.

[HaloGen8]

If you like the car then get it done. A replacement vehicle will be far more. Once the belts and tensioners are done then that's probably the most expensive bit that could cause issues i.e. dead engine.
Clutches and gearboxes can die on any future car you buy too.

£270 now and just drive drive drive.

[CDP]

exgtt said:

I wouldn't risk a belt on anything French. The cars scrap if it goes, then its onto finding another decent shed.

My dad's old Peugeot 405 estate was still good at 220,000 miles so I'm not sure where the anti French (and British/Italian) pro German/Japanese bias comes from. (4 cylinder heads replaced on my VW makes me very wary of them and as for my Toyota...)

[exgtt]

CDP said:

My dad's old Peugeot 405 estate was still good at 220,000 miles so I'm not sure where the anti French (and British/Italian) pro German/Japanese bias comes from. (4 cylinder heads replaced on my VW makes me very wary of them and as for my Toyota...)

I'm not anti French, far from it, just most French stuff doesn't tolerate belt neglect. Fact.

[CDP]

exgtt said:

CDP said:

My dad's old Peugeot 405 estate was still good at 220,000 miles so I'm not sure where the anti French (and British/Italian) pro German/Japanese bias comes from. (4 cylinder heads replaced on my VW makes me very wary of them and as for my Toyota...)

I'm not anti French, far from it, just most French stuff doesn't tolerate belt neglect. Fact.

Sorry, I misread you.

I'd pay for the belt. Servicing is part of bangernomics for me. Fixing little things (like aircon) isn't.

[exgtt]

CDP said:

Sorry, I misread you.

I'd pay for the belt. Servicing is part of bangernomics for me. Fixing little things (like aircon) isn't.

Aye same here

[bimsb6]

I bought an alfa 146 4 years ago on ebay from a guy 300m from my house , the belt had been done some time in the distant past , i ran it for a year replaced the lamda sensor and changed the oil and filter . 2 years ago i sold it on to a guy at work who is still running it on the same belt ! Oh i paid £350 for it .

[VinceFox]

I wouldnt do the belt and not do the pump. You cant tell from a visual inspection that it's disturbed, it's the loss of tension that starts them packing up.

[aw51 121565]

HaloGen8 said:

If you like the car then get it done. A replacement vehicle will be far more. Once the belts and tensioners are done then that's probably the most expensive bit that could cause issues i.e. dead engine.
Clutches and gearboxes can die on any future car you buy too.

£270 now and just drive drive drive.

^^ That's "Bangernomics Plus" - better the devil you know, "it's a known quantity" and all that - rather than taking on potentially a (different) pile of problems when aquiring the next Bangernomics car .

[JagXJR]

HaloGen8 said:

If you like the car then get it done. A replacement vehicle will be far more. Once the belts and tensioners are done then that's probably the most expensive bit that could cause issues i.e. dead engine.
Clutches and gearboxes can die on any future car you buy too.

£270 now and just drive drive drive.

What about a replacement engine instead? How much would this cost from a scrappy?

Of course there is the inconvenience and expense of being stranded at the roadside to consider.

Good post as I have the same dilemma about the OH's Scenic

It needs a service and a belt, is likely to be more that half the value of the car

Edited by JagXJR on Saturday 31st August 11:42

[Futuramic]

I'm guessing it's the Hdi 90 or 110 model? If so the timing belt is fairly straightforward but I think you have to have locking tools and a weird Citroen tensioning device. However the £240 quote sounds expensive if anything.

My local Citroen dealer does them more cheaply, £200 odd for the whole lot. Perhaps you ought to shop around as the parts are going to be fairly cheap.

[martin mrt]

I bought my snotter mondeo for £200 based on its thirst for oil, apparently 1l per 100miles,
500 miles in its used nothing, however

I'm not doing the timing belt, if it passes its mot in March I might but my intention was to junk it after the mot ran out

[Condi]

aw51 121565 said:

HaloGen8 said:

If you like the car then get it done. A replacement vehicle will be far more. Once the belts and tensioners are done then that's probably the most expensive bit that could cause issues i.e. dead engine.
Clutches and gearboxes can die on any future car you buy too.

£270 now and just drive drive drive.

^^ That's "Bangernomics Plus" - better the devil you know, "it's a known quantity" and all that - rather than taking on potentially a (different) pile of problems when aquiring the next Bangernomics car .

This was my thinking. Your car will always be worth £500+ - its barely depreciating at all - so spending a bit here and there to keep it running makes sense. The belt is likely to be the most expensive wearing part you need to change regularly anyway.

Buy another one in 6 months time and you take on more problems which are potentially more expensive to fix.

Oh, and the HDi engines are near as damm it bullet proof, spend a little money on it and it should see you through many more miles yet. My Hdi is on 170k and still going well.