Garage near me quoting £580 to change the timing belt on a seat exeo. Is this the sort of generic job that it’s worth shopping around for? Seems steep but then I don’t know what’s involved – guess you need to hoist the engine out?

Whether it was a one time offer or something they’re still doing I don’t know, but Google showed up:

http://www.sytner.co.uk/seat/aftersales/aftersales-offers/seat_offer_q1_2012_cambelt.aspx
Transparent Fixed Prices
Only £299 for petrol SEAT’s and £349 on Diesel models at Huddersfield SEAT.

Edit: The new link appears to be:
http://www.sytner.co.uk/seat/aftersales/aftersales-offers/new_cambelt_offer.aspx

£299 petrol or £369 diesel

WOW thats alot.

Any VAG indie specialist can help. Its a A4 afterall.

Oddly my local Honda dealership is cheaper for big jobs like these.

Deffo worth shopping around.

Seems steep but then I don’t know what’s involved

Last time did one (A while ago admittedly) it was:

Remove belt cover
Turn engine with spanner on crank pulley nut until timing marks on pulleys line up with pointers
Loosten water pump, because that was the belt tensionner
Remove belt, fit new one
Adjust tension
Refit cover

The only thing I can imagine that will have changed it that it’ll be harder to get to.

Thanks all – does seem excessive so I’ll look elsewhere.

All cambelt changes are not the same. Changing just the cambelt is relatively cheap;on my Subaru it’s £30 odd for the belt and £75 labour. However, for the next one I’m also probably looking at changing the tensioner,idler bearings(x4) and water pump. Another £300, but it’s unlikely to last another 200k miles unless I do…
Don’t just gofor the cheapest price; check what they’re actually changing.

Last time did one (A while ago admittedly) it was:

Less amusingly I once had a 3 litre 406 where the engine had to be dropped to get proper access. Yee-owch.

Garage near me quoting £580 to change the timing belt on a seat exeo. Is this the sort of generic job that it’s worth shopping around for? Seems steep but then I don’t know what’s involved – guess you need to hoist the engine out?

What engine? And what miles?

I wouldn’t have thought its an engine out job. suburbanreuben makes a good point about cost of new tensioners & water pump & whatnot, if you’re at the miles where they are service items, price will be much higher.

Does seem a lot, but depends on the engine and access. Although if those dealer links are quoting £370 at the most, then you would probably be paying over the odds.

I think last time I had the cambelt on my 1.9TDi changed it was £280 and that was with a minor service too. Local independent garage that I’ve used for years, rather than a dealer so I didn’t get a cup of vending machine coffee or a follow-up courtesy call.

It that price from a SEAT dealer Garry? Cambelts are included on the current “it’s fixed” promotion so should be a lot less than that. Can get you an exact quote if you’d like? Bit more involved on an Exeo than normal as it’s a north/south engine layout. Email in profile if I can be of help.

Rgds,

Dai

£299 all in with us Garry, plus £60 for a water pump.

Dai – I assume that’s for the petrol and for the Diesel it’s £369 as I linked above?

Quite right mate, service manager gave me duff info 🙄

Sounds decent that – thks for the info.
I got a breakdown of the orginal quote (the car was in for a service anyhow – large independent garage) and it was belt kit £229, antifreeze £20, water pump £43, labour £190 – add vat and that’s £578.

Must be a hell of a belt kit. Sounds like the dealer might be the best bet. Cheers.

Many VAG engines have an engine mount in the middle of the timing belt – you don’t have to take the engine out but you do have to unbolt the mount and jack up the engine.

It may also be a twin cam engine so you have two lots of cams to stabilise – from reading the manual on my car it’s a right fiddle to pin everything in place. Then there’s the water pump, as above.

Having said that, on my car with the abovementioned twin cam and engine mount, my main dealer only charged me £299 special offer, £349 normally.