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New cam belt cost...?

Hello all.I own a very old land rover which is used as my company car. It broke down yesterday and today I had an email from the garage that it is looking like it needs a new timing belt.They quoted me approx €1000 euro. ( they will turn it around maybe by the weekend)Does this price seem competitive or does it appear very high?Personally I would expect a £500 bill but that was going back a few years and I do not know what other damage has been done.The garage are a Land Rover specialist and have worked on my truck before.The funny thing is. Every time I have work done it is around the €1000 price!Naturally I'm gutted to be spending another €1000 before the season has even started and my other advertisement campaign goes live in two weeks.I'm gutted to say the least.Regards

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  • Hi Duncan.

    They do not have the head off yet and it sounds to me like they will not remove the head so it would only be belt and maybe water pump and tensioner hence why I thought €1000 for only a belt and ancillary s is rather steep.

    I will have to talk to them directly tomorrow and maybe get it recovered to another garage.

    Cheers for the reply
  • Cambelts only £5, let me know where you get them from. I have changed timing, balance and auxiliary belts on an Escort van, a Pajero twice, a L200 , a Galaxy and only last week my wife's Leon FR. You might get an auxiliary belt for a fiver, but you will be looking at a little more for a cambelt. Last week on the Leon I did cambelt change, new tensioners and bearings, a new water pump fitted as it was accessible and a full service. It took three and a half hours. I would ask the garage to write down what exactly what there diagnosis is, and what work they intend to carry out to repair your Landy. Break it down parts / labour and see what you think. I hope your back on the road soon.

    Duncan said:

    Depends on whether it is an interference engine or not, ie. the valves will hit the pistons if the camshaft stops rotating and the pistons keep moving? £1000 over here might be - cylinder head off, new valves, vlave stem oil seals, skim cylinder head, new head bolts, gaskets, belts etc.

    €1000 would suggest to me that they have the head off already and there is no damage to the pistons, but a few bent valves? If you had to overhaul the bottom end too it would cost a lot more than that.

    I could put you in touch with a very clever landrover mechanic down south if it was any help, although remote diagnosis is never really possible.

    Belt only job (ie, belt snapped and no damege was done) should be nearer about £200 I'd say, the belts are only about £5.
  • Ryan what would realistically pay for a dealer to do this work?

    With exchange rate it works out to approx £850-£900

    I will give them an email tomorrow.

    Gutted as this was money towards a trailer!
  • Thank you for all your input.

    If you have have recently received The Landscape Juice Newsletter you would have noticed a picture of my Land Rover and I together. (Thankyou Phil)

    It is pure unfortunate timing (sods law) that it had to happen now as I received a phone call yesterday from a client asking if Monday was ok to work at his address. I had to put Monday off and offer Wednesday.

    The weather looks like it is going to rapidly warm up, so I hope the grass will finally awaken.

    What a challenging start to an already difficult season!
  • PRO
    How can they tell if the valves are not damaged if they don't take the head off? I think it's worth asking for a bit more detail.

    I had an old 90 and when the cambelt went it definitely bent the valves and it was only ticking over at the time.

    Landy's ... I love them but they're a hobby!
  • Cheers Darren.

    I have just sent another email asking for a break down of costs.

    I am just gutted as an awful lot of money has been invested and it seems one thing after another with this Land Rover.

    It has the 200Tdi engine by the way.

    It is also a pain in the bum that all marketing has been based around this old skool truck and it is very very recognisable and absolutely stands out from the crown.

    (Probably something to do with all of the rattling it does whilst sat idling at the traffic lights and the window falling out every time you close the door.) ;-)

    Or it maybe because the locals look at me and feel sorry for me whilst driving it. Its great when the wife is a passenger as we cannot talk due to the noise)!

    Having a Hobby as an everyday self employed person is certainly extremely challenging for the mind, body and mechanical skills!!!

    Regards

  • About £200 for a simple belt change. If the head hasn't come off, then they cannot know how the engine is affected and therefore cannot justify 1000 euros. Ask some awkward questions and/or consider moving the vehicle elsewhere and saving yourself a shed load of money...

  • 3 Years ago a good friends 200TDI 110 defender had the same issue - snapped cam belt, it happend while doing 40mph so all the valves were buggered... cost him £700 all in. If the valves are not broken then £200 max.

    That said - if the cam belt HAS snapped (you have not said whether it is, or just worn out according to garage) i would be shocked if the valves were intact. Expect £700-£1000 depending on damage.

    Andrew Baker said:

    About £200 for a simple belt change. If the head hasn't come off, then they cannot know how the engine is affected and therefore cannot justify 1000 euros. Ask some awkward questions and/or consider moving the vehicle elsewhere and saving yourself a shed load of money...

  • Sounds to be like the garage is assuming that there will be damage to pushrods, rockers but don't want to strip it down to find out for sure.

    It may only be a pushrod or two, so 1000 euros sounds like they are covering their backs. ask to see the damaged components in situ.

  • Fair enough, bargain belts for the LR, which is great for you and I who can do them ourselves. Although I cannot see the garage charging English Sheep £5 for a belt. With regards to cost, if they are only changing belts £850 - £900 is way too high. Some sound advice on the previous comments.

    Duncan said:

    Take your pick.


    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=La...

    Well ok, £5 + postage. I've changed a few myself.
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