406 - Extortionate cam-belt quote

I can't help you re the Essex area but as a guide in Central Scotland I had= =20 my timing belt changed and both of the smaller rear suspension mounts=20 replaced in my 306DT for a total of =A3300 at Hardie's of Larbert who are a= =20 Peugeot main dealer but in their fast fit dept. I don't know if there is=20 more work involved in changing a 406 HDI timing belt but I would think the= =20 price quoted is very excessive.

Jim

--=20 Take out thebairns to reply off-list

That's rediculous. I'm having a major service and cam belt change on my 1.8, 16V 406 done for £340 inclusive. This is with an independent Peugeot?Citroen specialist in South Wales. The local Peugeot dealer quoted me £450 for the work. (£240 for the service

• £210 for the cam belt change.)

Andrew

I understand the HDI engines are the hardest timing belts to do on any Peugeot Citroen

Two points.. First.. of course they're taking the piss. They simply don't want to do it. Secondly.. You have no real 'come-back' against anyone with a cam belt. If a dealer-fitted one snaps two days later there's no getting em to shell for the repairs.. it's virtualy act of god as far as they're concerned. My money would be on the trusted mechanic every time and get a view of the old one. Even main dealers grease monkeys have been known to take the covers off and replace them without a sniff at the belt.

Rick.

when you think about it even £200 odd is a bit much; i know its a far more high spec engine on your car but, my bro' in law could change my escort timing belt in about 10 mins and when he checked it with a timing gun, it was perfect, no adjustment needed!! Cars are alot more tecnical these days arent they?? i'm gonna ask my bro in law if he can do mine when the time comes, and if he cant well at least he's being honest, and he wouldnt touch what he doesnt know (which isnt much by the way when it comes to cars!). Failing that i'll find a local specialist to do it, i can do this as i have no outstanding warranty.

Thats pretty stupid TBH. I can get a timing belt changed on a Celica GT4 (try getting your hands down the sides of that beasty) including a genuine toyota belt for 140 inclusive of vat, labour etc. Toyota garages quote

I m a mechanic for Peugeot in Belgium... Sorry for my bad English...

The belt on a 2.0 HDI should be changed every 6 years or 93210 miles.

It takes 3 ours of work. The dynamo belt should be changed at the same time. price for 2 belts: 180 euro price for 3 hours work: 100 euro

But...We don t take risks...we also check the water pump and the belt fastener..and if nessesary we change them to...becouse it isn t much work when the belt is off...

So probably the dealer didn t take a risk and made you the price for changing everything... ( i suppose )

groetjes,

Tim "Longshot" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...

Try this site

Thanks for the replies. I reckon the easiest way is to get the belt and bits from dealer and let the mechanic do the work.

Its just so frustrating that you spend all this money on buying the car in the first place and then they treat you like a cash cow afterwards. Makes you wonder how many mugs just trustingly allow them to do the work and pay through the nose for the privilege.

I had a cam belt changed on a 406 3.0 ltr coupe and although it's hard to extract the exact price because a lot of other work was done at the same time it looks as though it was around £250. They found that the water pump was weeping and changed that at the same time.

I had the work done at a Peugeot main dealer and they warranty the work for one year. I asked that if the cam belt broke in that time and wrecked the engine what was the limit of the warranty and the answer was that it covered any failure and consequence of any failure which means a rebuilt engine. The dealer stated that 2 or 3 had failed and Peugeot cover the costs irrespective of what is needed. It costs the dealer nothing if they make a warranty claim off Peugeot.

I would suggest that you ring a main dealer and speak to a service manager, as opposed to a Saturday morning mechanic who was passing the telephone and knows nothing. Ask the service manager if the price quoted is the Peugeot suggested menu price and if he\she will not give a solid answer say that you will e-mail Peugeot UK and Peugeot head offices (France).

As a Peugeot customer you have a right to expect that (1) a main dealer will give a costing for the job (2) will show a willingness to maintain the vehicle (3) treat you with the respect that a customer deserves, and (4) will not try to profiteer from your ownership of a Peugeot. Violation of any of these issues warrant a call\e-mail\letter to Peugeot head office. Main dealers are under franchise from Peugeot and Peugeot call the shots, so don't be palmed off by a Saturday morning overtime working whoever he\she was.

Traduk

Thats a cheap rate, even in Yorkshire. Manchester is more like £60 an hour!

Do it yourself, unless you have a well trusted mechanic that you know by name. Too many of them rip you off and do a poor quality job. Dont know how many TV programs have been created where the car has gone in for work and come out having been wiped and botched. So far in my family alone, when trusting dealers and mechanics we have had:

Wheel bolts left loose. Rocker cover bolts ripped out of the head. Radiator caps taken off while at full heat and pressure, then cold tap water poured back into the system. Manifold bolts left loose Wrong gaskets bodged to fit Wrong belts bodged to fit at max extremes of adjusters.

All at different mechanics/dealers. And not cheaply. Only one dealership gets a good comment, and thats the main toyota one in Manchester - salford area car spent a week being tested - ecu, all sensors etc, swaps made, several hours alone with us there, never charged a penny as they couldnt fix the odd fault that went away shortly afterwards anyway.

But thats just

My 406 V6 cambelt change cost me £246.00 inc VAT and the mechanic gave a years warranty! The job took close to a whole day

I put a new cam belt in a friends 406 V6, belt cost £18.99p and it took me less than 2 hours to fit, charged him £20.00p, the job is easy, give it to your friend (mechanic) to do and buy the belt yourself from a motor factors. Rs

I had mine done for 98 quid which included a new fan belt as well! this is my local garage that does all my MOT and repairs.To be fair as a TV engineer I repair his TV/Video etc at cost so I can't give a true estimate but it shows what in can be done for if you then add labour.