Cambelt Cost. Are you sitting down?!

[miv]

My mate who works for Audi got me a retail price for all the parts needed to do my cambelt change including waterpump, tentioners, pulley's and all relevant caps/seals etc.. (it was a pretty big list). No spark plugs or brake fluid, but all other service parts including gearbox oil and it came to over £800!!!

That was full retail so he was going to see what he can get it for. He said if I phone Audi and ask for a quote to replace the cambelt they won't quote for the other associated parts (as this is what Audi tell them to do!). He said that there's a lot of parts to replace on my engine as the rocker covers need removing and various seals/caps must be renewed or I will have oil leaks. He also said that you must use the proper cam lock tool to tension up the belt properly which makes me wonder if an Independent garage would have the right tools??

Has anyone else taken their cars to the main dealer for a cambelt and then been hit with additional costs?

 

[CHRIS555]

Hmm - I know Audi have been doing an offer for cambelt changes for £349 all done - BUT - I'm sure it was limited "upto" 2L engines - I'd just buz your local dealer. Something worth noting is that me and my friend both had ours done the same week - we both have identical cars. Mine went to Audi - his went to a backstreet garage. Mine went through perfectly, courtesy car, treated very well and I was very happy. He got his job done £50 cheaper so he was happy - then a week later his front bumper sank and they did not manage to refit it properly and he had loads of strange noises from the engine, again, they couldn't fix.

Also, personally, I like to see either Audi or "specialist" receipts for major works- especially when it comes to resale.

 

[CHRIS555]

PS. The only additional charge I had was for the water pump but I did ask them to do it - they did not hit me with any suprises what so ever.

 

[jbcalvin]

Had mine done last year by my local independent. I am in the fortunate position of being a former Audi employee, and my independent is a former Audi master technician who used to work at the local dealer, as are 4 of his employees. Only use genuine OEM parts and have full diagnostics/specialist tools. His reputation is second to none and is taking a shed load of business off the dealer, especially the S/RS owners.

Shop around and get reports from other owners in your area, the local dealer here has a shocking reputation for work not getting done properly/bills through the roof with additional work...

 

[miv]

Thanks for the reply. The plan was for my mate to do the work as he's an Audi Tech and has all the correct tools and knowledge. I'm going to call a few Audi dealers tomorrow and see what they say.

 

[quattrojames]

Stafford Audi used to do an ebay deal for 4 cylinder engines, I can't remember the exact price - something like £300 plus £60 for the waterpump maybe?

A 6 cylinder engine with all ancillaries is always going to be £500 ish so given stealer prices that isn't unexpected.

 

[vorsprung dork]

my brother was an audi fitter for years! he will fit a cambelt to any 1.9 audi for £100 labour! by the time you buy a cambelt kit waterpump ect! its still a very cheap fix! is it really worth paying audi £800 just to get your service history stamped with a dealer stamp! i doubt you would get your money back on resale of the car anyway and any buyer with half a brain wont be put off buying your car if you keep the recipts for the parts! i bought a 1.9 tdi quattro with 63000 miles on that the previous owner had just spent £1400 on a cambelt change and 60K service! what a rip off! stay away from the steelers my m8 runs a very well respected vw audi specalists in the north east and quotes £240 for this job service book stamped!!!!!!!!

 

[Nilz]

Where are you based mate, there are loads of independant specialists with very good reps that will be able to probably do a better job and at a much better price as well.

Im sure if you put your location up, someone will advise of a local specialist garage that will be come from recommendation.

 

[miv]

my brother was an audi fitter for years! he will fit a cambelt to any 1.9 audi for £100 labour! by the time you buy a cambelt kit waterpump ect! its still a very cheap fix! is it really worth paying audi £800 just to get your service history stamped with a dealer stamp! i doubt you would get your money back on resale of the car anyway and any buyer with half a brain wont be put off buying your car if you keep the recipts for the parts! i bought a 1.9 tdi quattro with 63000 miles on that the previous owner had just spent £1400 on a cambelt change and 60K service! what a rip off! stay away from the steelers my m8 runs a very well respected vw audi specalists in the north east and quotes £240 for this job service book stamped!!!!!!!!

The £800 was just for parts from Audi to do the job inc a full service. £90 of that was 9 litres of gearbox oil. This is without any labour as my mate was going to do the job. He said you need far more parts/tools for the v6 engine. When I've questioned a few independents they don't actually have the right tools for the v6 engine and that can mean major timing problems if it's done wrong which I want to avoid!

 

[miv]

Where are you based mate, there are loads of independant specialists with very good reps that will be able to probably do a better job and at a much better price as well.

Im sure if you put your location up, someone will advise of a local specialist garage that will be come from recommendation.

I'm based in the North West, just outside Chester.

 

[vorsprung dork]

sorry yours is the 3 litre! still 800 just for parts is bad! i got a 2.5 tdi and the cambelt kit for this cost £187 plus vat water pump £44 plus vat! they are a **** to do if you aint done a few! but a good reputable specalist will be very capable of doing them! if not they aint a specialist!!!

 

[Cabbyfan]

Mine is going in tomorrow for cambelt (inc all the rollers and tenstioners) , waterpump, thermostat, etc .... £700 inc VAT at an Audi main dealer. I posted a week ago about some of the cheaper Audi cambelts offers, they dont include all the rollers and the waterpump. I got a full price from Stafford Audi (very helpful by the way), and it was about £40 cheaper hence not worth the petrol to travel...... cheap isnt always that cheap when you look into what you are actually getting.....

 

[BahnStormer77]

The £449 special is 4 cylinder models only.

End of last year, I was quoted £700-odd, parts, labour, VAT for cambelt and all recommend extras (water pump, etc) from a Audi main dealer.

That's for the 2.5 V6 TDI... slightly smaller engine capacity, but heavier and less room to work around the intercoolers, etc, so I can't imagine that they'd charge less.

I think my local indy was saying around £550. For the size of the job, I might pay the extra and get an Audi courtesy car, so I can test drive an A5 Sportback

 

[pjmspeedy]

Mine was done at Audi for £350.00 and I suppplyed my own water pump as they wanted £80 on top! I know that at some dealers they don't change the rollers and tensioners but asked to make sure they did, so to prove it I asked for the old ones back. I got them and the part numbers matched for a Cab so I'm pretty sure they were mine.

Miv - E-mail me what you want and I'll sort you out. I'm not far from you either so you can pick them up off me.

 

[adamss24]

The £449 special is 4 cylinder models only.

End of last year, I was quoted £700-odd, parts, labour, VAT for cambelt and all recommend extras (water pump, etc) from a Audi main dealer.

That's for the 2.5 V6 TDI... slightly smaller engine capacity, but heavier and less room to work around the intercoolers, etc, so I can't imagine that they'd charge less.

I think my local indy was saying around £550. For the size of the job, I might pay the extra and get an Audi courtesy car, so I can test drive an A5 Sportback

The dealer does not allways replace all the parts when they do a cambelt and the way they list the parts isnt too clear either ! Anyway, for the v6 tdi engines a lot goes on parts as you have a rather complex belt system. I allways use the full Contitech cambelt kit wich includes the vibration damper (115 quid part on its own from dealer), genuine thermostat and seal (25 quid), 5L of Longlife antifreeze, aux. belts (2 of) kwp water pump (with metal impeller). If you guys are feeling brave you can buy cambelts kits off ebay for about 160-170 quid but they dont include the vibration damper and are of unknown age or make. I would stress to avoid DAYCO belts for the v6 engines (petrol or diesel) as they're just crap and snap at the joint line thus wrecking the engine- had one failed on one of my cars due to a garage trying to save a few bobs. The powerfull v6 engines came with a Contitech cambelt, even the dealer supplied kits. All tensioners/rollers should be either made by Littens,INA or SKF and they are proven and tested. Stay away from cheap water pumps as the bearings can colapse (fitted a Topran/Isoran-pump to a mate's passat v6 tdi wich he bought from GSF and it started desintegrating after less than 9 months and 7k miles. Topran is also part of Dayco group !) and if it makes you feel safe fit only genuine. I fit KWP/Meyle water pumps as they are made in Germany and feature genuine bearings and in over 5 years i had none failing. The water pumps for the dealer are made by Circoli (made in Italy) and feature plastic impellers...but are over twice the price. For all the above and dynamic testing/seting of injector pump i charge 450 quid(480 with genuine thermostat and seal), parts alone are over 350 pounds trade prices and the job takes between 6 and 8 hours ! I also like to check and replace the aux. belt tensioner bushes and braket especially if the car is high mileage as they wear and when the braket wears out (cast alloy) it costs 115 quid +VAT and it's a pain to replace. The bushes/spindles/seals and bolts i allways have a handfull of these as they are a common failure. I allways flush the coolant (dealer only top it up) and mix it good enough for -30 Celsius. I've done countles cambelts and from time to time i have the odd leaky pump gasket or thermostat seal (done a few to forum members as well) wich might take a little longer but thats unfortunate-i'm afraid ! Regards,
Chris.

 

[aragorn]

Buy the parts elsewhere?

Whats the point paying Audi for a belt that just comes from Conti or Gates anyway. Same story with the oil and infact everything else you've probably been quoted on.

I buy all my parts from AllGermanParts, they're efficient, always make sure you get the best quality parts and many times cheaper than the main dealer. Service items like spark plugs and oil i just buy from my local motorfactors.

The Conti belt kit i baught was identical to the Audi parts i removed in every way, you could even see where they had ground the audi logo off the tensioner.

If you pay main dealer prices your quite simply a mug.

 

[adamss24]

As above, the dealer puts a huge mark-up on their parts but i notticed that the oils are quite cheap at the dealer now(cheaper than ECP)- 5L of Longlife SLX3 for 35 quid or 18 quid for Quantum 10w40 semi is not something to be sniffed at + a get a further 10% discount of the retail price... I buy cambelt kits from Euro Car Parts as they have a massive turn-over and their belts have a date stamped on the box on when they were made- rubber deteriorates if kept on a shelf in a warehouse...

 

[j033y]

****** hell, that's a lot of money for a cambelt change.

I would just send it to a local indy. Never would i send my car to a stealer. In my experience, local indy has a bloke with a bit more experience than the 16 year nvq lad at a stealer.

If i remember rightly mine was £250 all in and thats for a new water pump.

Indy's and garages always have the right tools, and use the same parts. Audi just double price of parts and labour all for a fancy showroom to sit in and potentially a hire car for the day.

But everyones different, it's your money.

Personally when I buy a car, I dont care if it has full audi history, full history is more than enough for me.

 

[BahnStormer77]

adamss24 - that was definitely including the waterpump, not certain what else was included.

jo33y - as mentioned before 4 cylinders are a LOT cheaper, especially at an indy...

I'm always game for finding the Audi supplier and buying the OEM parts without the Audi stamp and markup, but there's simply no way in hell I'd pick up a budget kit off eBay, etc... complete false economy and likely to result in a lot of tears: I need to keep the car for another 3 yrs (probably another 50k-odd miles)....

 

[miv]

Thought I would update you with the prices;

Unit 20 (Independent)
£995.88 for cambelt with rollers, tensioner, waterpump & thermostat
£265.07 for service

Warrington Audi
£677.15 for cambelt change or £983 to include replacing the rollers, tensioner, waterpump and thermostat.
£289.04 for service including pollen filter.

Stoke Audi
£625 for cambelt but couldn’t confirm if that includes rollers and tensioner. They just said it included all that needed to be done.
£273.34 for the service

Stafford Audi
£626.58 for cambelt including all rollers, tensioner, thermostat and waterpump.
£327.64

Cheshire Audi
£766.20 for cambelt without waterpump, rollers or tensioner
£376 for service

Asked Cheshire Audi to price match but they wouldn’t and said that Stafford Audi are currently doing some very good deals.

 

[adamss24]

I am very surprised that Stafford audi does the cambelt job for the 626.58 including the water pump, you shure its not extra ! . They must have very low rates to be able to survive ! Mind you, i supply the auxiliary belts and the vibration damper for a good 150 quid less...the job is the same regardless who does it, 6 hours minimum !

 

[Mike B]

adams24 could you let me have your exact location .My sons 2.5TDi needs doing he is in southampton but visits friends in london and may be able to arrange something with you

 

[miv]

I am very surprised that Stafford audi does the cambelt job for the 626.58 including the water pump, you shure its not extra ! . They must have very low rates to be able to survive ! Mind you, i supply the auxiliary belts and the vibration damper for a good 150 quid less...the job is the same regardless who does it, 6 hours minimum !

I thought it was cheap so called him back to double check, and he said it definitely included the belt, pulleys, tensioners, thermostat, waterpump and free courtesy car!

 

[adamss24]

N10 2NH, Muswell Hill, North London... Chris- 077 899 12128.

 

[SiGainey]

I'm based in the North West, just outside Chester.

Try QR Sport in Tattenhall then

 

[SiGainey]

I'm based in the North West, just outside Chester.

Try QR Sport in Tattenhall then

 

[miv]

Try QR Sport in Tattenhall then

I used to live in Tattenhall and use QR Sport. Going to use Stafford Audi for that price and keep the full Audi history.

 

[Widemonkeys]

my brother was an audi fitter for years! he will fit a cambelt to any 1.9 audi for �100 labour! by the time you buy a cambelt kit waterpump ect! its still a very cheap fix! is it really worth paying audi �800 just to get your service history stamped with a dealer stamp! i doubt you would get your money back on resale of the car anyway and any buyer with half a brain wont be put off buying your car if you keep the recipts for the parts! i bought a 1.9 tdi quattro with 63000 miles on that the previous owner had just spent �1400 on a cambelt change and 60K service! what a rip off! stay away from the steelers my m8 runs a very well respected vw audi specalists in the north east and quotes �240 for this job service book stamped!!!!!!!!

Where's your mates garage, mine is due soon and I'm from the durham area.

Cheers

 

[Widemonkeys]

my brother was an audi fitter for years! he will fit a cambelt to any 1.9 audi for �100 labour! by the time you buy a cambelt kit waterpump ect! its still a very cheap fix! is it really worth paying audi �800 just to get your service history stamped with a dealer stamp! i doubt you would get your money back on resale of the car anyway and any buyer with half a brain wont be put off buying your car if you keep the recipts for the parts! i bought a 1.9 tdi quattro with 63000 miles on that the previous owner had just spent �1400 on a cambelt change and 60K service! what a rip off! stay away from the steelers my m8 runs a very well respected vw audi specalists in the north east and quotes �240 for this job service book stamped!!!!!!!!

Where's your mates garage, mine is due soon and I'm from the durham area.

Cheers

 

[macpdm]

I used to live in Tattenhall and use QR Sport. Going to use Stafford Audi for that price and keep the full Audi history.

Crewe Audi quoted me about 500 to do the cambelt on my 1.8T but I got everything done including waterpump for 285 inc vat.This was by PSi tuning in Newcastle SOT and they used genuine VAG parts.Really good people who know these cars inside out.

 

[BahnStormer77]

Mine was just under £800 in the end: Walton Audi - incl waterpump, pulleys, rollers, thermostat, etc.

Courtesy car was a £10 admin fee, but I got an A4 S-Line Technik Edition 170TDI... it was a service too (so just over £1k in the end). But they only had workshop time for the service on the one day and the cambelt the next day (and it failed the MOT due to a bubbled tyre - so I had to drop off the summer wheels and they swapped them over and re-MOT'd the car)... so I had it for a few days while I played with the toys

 

[Widemonkeys]

Mines a 2002 1.9tdi, audi do a fixed price £399. Is that cheaper if you have that premier plus membership with Audi

 

[Seeker_UK]

My local Audi (Northampton) quoted me £1100 (inc VAT) for cambelts and pump.

My specialist quoted £660.

I got it done for £461 (Belt, Pump and Damper) but I got free labout (so add £200).

I'd say £650-£700 is about right.

 

[Malko]

Thought i'd chip in quickly as this is something i'm in the process of doing on my B6 1.8T Quattro. . . .

I'm very very lucky in that my mate works at the VAG parts place in Coventry and including his discount got me eveything, cambelt kit, pulleys, rollers, thermostat, water pump, rocka cover, cam chain tensioner gasket, for £197. Another mate who works for Audi says he'll do it for £100 so £297 total.

I was completely shocked to see the prices some places are charging for this service when this post was bumped, as it's not something i really looked into when i was sourcing the above parts a coupe of weeks ago. I knew it wasn't cheap but WOW . . . . . . I now feel even more grateful for having a couple of good mates!

I believe Stafford Audi offer such good deals due to the amount of business they take in. They certainly get a lot of good coverage on the forums i visit. Fairly central location i guess and good reputation.

 

[marktdisport]

try midlandvw in norton canes near cannock m8 my 1.9tdi just cost me £270 cam belt water pump and new drive belts for alternator but did have to purchase alternator tensioner as there was small play in it so thought best to spend the extra wgilst job is being done

 

[murran]

2.5 tdi? if your familiar with doing them with the right tools its a 4 hour job not 6.

 

[Seeker_UK]

2.5 tdi? if your familiar with doing them with the right tools its a 4 hour job not 6.

IIRC, Audi book it as a 6 hour job. But then an Audi tech isn't always the most familiar with this sort of job.

 

[stumcd]

Hi adamss24. I've only just discovered & joined this forum...but it already looks like you might be the man I need! I'm in Harrow & am looking to get a cambelt change + a full service & possibly brakes done...on a 1998 A4 1.9TDi Quattro. Are you able to give any ideas on prices & how soon I could pop to see you?

 

[adamss24]

Hi adamss24. I've only just discovered & joined this forum...but it already looks like you might be the man I need! I'm in Harrow & am looking to get a cambelt change + a full service & possibly brakes done...on a 1998 A4 1.9TDi Quattro. Are you able to give any ideas on prices & how soon I could pop to see you?

Hi Stu, give me a ring when you have a minute and let me know a few details of the car... Cheers,
Chris- 07789912128.

 

[matttrs]

I've had three quotes from bedfordshire Audi specialists yesterday all at about £400 which I'm guessing is pretty good.
one even has a courtesy car!