MOT, Service and cambelt change !!! I am screwed !!

[Bahney]

well my car has just ticked over the 48,000 mark so it is in need of it's 48,000 service, i have a full service history so i want to keep it going.

my MOT is due october, and also my car is 5years old now so i need the cambelt done !

if i take it into a fiat dealer how much would be a good price ? i mean am i talking £200 or nearer £400 ?

i need to know what to budget for it, i rang fiat today to ask but they kept bumping me from department to department i was on the phone for 20minutes and all i found out was that it is £99 for 2 hours labour for the cambelt change and the belt itself is £20 then i kinda had to get back to work so i couldent find out more.

any prices would be good from anyone who has recently had any of these done

 

[Alan]

i had mine serviced at a garage which i trust and it cost me just over £130. I think fiat charge more like £160 and i would doubt they would do the nice things like clean the brakes and adjust the handbrake so it grabs on the first notch etc.

They may wash it though!

However worth taking it to fiat if it has a full dealer history as people seem obsessed with service history when buying a car at the mo!

 

[Marko]

Take it to an independant garage. The one I use quoted me £120 for my 1.6 bravo...very reasonable.
You don't need to use the FIAT dealer unless you want a Full FIAT service history maintined.
I have not bothered because I won't pay main dealer rates on labour or parts and i'd rather start a relationship with a mechanic that is prepared to talk to me about the car, not just suck and blow air over his teeth.
The Service history? Well I don't believe it will do much more towards maintaining the value of the car than keeping her clean and regular services would.
Just what I think, as always.
Good luck with it.
Marko

 

[Jay]

Re: Re: MOT, Service and cambelt change !!! I am screwed !!

My car just reached 40K miles (S reg 1.6 16v). I'm taking it to Avantec in Aldershot. I'm paying £180 for the job and this includes all parts, labour and the dreaded VAT.

This guy is a FIAT / Alfa specialist, especially the 20v engines and even has a race car that he runs at the weekend.

I remember going to the Mr. Clutch for a quote on a belt change for my car (to compare) and they said they contract all the Bravos out to Avantec as they did not like working on the engines!

 

[Alan]

Re: Re: MOT, Service and cambelt change !!! I am screwed !!

i tried to sell an astra a while ago, nightmare of a task! You would think a V plate astra would sell easily!

Anyway, the first question people asked was does it have the full vauxhall service history! That was before they saw it! I guess it's just because people expect if its been to a dealer they get a certain standard of work. In my opinion it's worse then a good back street garage, but the buyer doesn't know that it was serviced by a good one, there are too many shoddy ones!

 

[SyB]

Re: Re: Re: MOT, Service and cambelt change !!! I am screwed !!

I got my 1.6 16v (s reg) done at an independant, cost me £80 for the service then a month later i took it for the Cambelt and that cost me £120.

 

[stu]

service history

I dont work for no big dealer but a pal of mine bought a 406 executive with full dealer history and it was 1500 miles since the last service, and I was just to check the car over. I tried to take the alloys off which were locked onto the hub and I wouldnt like to hazard a guess the last time the"dealer" had those off ,I had to knock them off with a copper mallet (a little rub of copperslip would of prevented this). The door hinges were rusty and never had been oiled,this is one of the basic servicing points what the customer can see. Wont bore you anyfurther but I personally wouldnt wipe my arse on a full service history as dealer mechanics are mainly new part merchants (bar a few)only good to put in air filters and the basic components,and wouldnt know how to diagnose a fault without there computer that is not right 80% of the time .I would'nt let them loose with a sponge on my motor.

 

[Alan]

Re: service history

i agree with you, dealers only do the basics and employ minimum wage just out of college mechanics that don't care. i think its very hard to find a garage that you can trust but if i were you i would try find one.

I really dont like dealers, the only thing they have worth while is a rubber stamp with the manufacturers logo.