XC60 Cambelt change Quote

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by ushes

Looking at the price of the parts around £200, thats £375 labour.
misiequk reckons he did it in a couple of hours, thats quite a labour charge I think for 2hrs work dont you think?

Dealership prices. A dealership is easily £80-£120 per hour labour, maybe even more. The prices vary by location!

The prices you got online for the parts won’t be the same price the dealer will charge. They have a chunk added onto them, like every other dealership does.

Was it genuine parts that you found online? If not, there’s going to be a difference in price straight away.

Originally Posted by ushes

Thanks for the reply, I priced up the parts too at around £200 and in fact I ordered them but they failed to arrive. I spoke to a local garage who weren't interested in doing the work unless they bought the parts themselves so it seemed a blessing in disguise.

Good to know that the originals seem to do the miles without a problem.
It's reading the posts on the forum that makes me twitchy, alternator pulleys failing aux belts snapping etc

Hopefully someone can recommend a good local Indy, then I'll get it sorted

Thanks

Not many garages like you bringing parts to them to fit. Some will, but I find that they’re few & far between. The reason for this is likely due to the fact that garages add extra to the parts to increase their profit margin. If you supply the parts, they can’t do that & turn the work away.

Also, garages like to use their own loyal suppliers & they know the parts they order usually fit. Some people don’t even know how to lift the bonnet of a car, so in a way, I can see why garages are dubious about fitting supplied parts from the public.

[Deck1ng]

Ushes, my local garage are more than happy for me to supply parts, from filters to oil, they changed my belts, tensioners and water pump last year and I got change from £150. I see you are in Sunderland or that region, I’m just below Darlington, not a million miles away.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by misiequk

Unfortunately Volvo main dealers are not cheap. The price quoted by them sounds more less same as my quote from Snows Volvo Southampton for the same service. As it was a bit over the roof for me, I decided to do the job as a DYI challenge (please take in to consideration that I have a car mechanic experience and I know what I was doing). I have bought genuine Volvo parts online (cam belt kit, A/C bet and Aux belt) for £178 and took me about 2 hours to get the job done - the A/C belt installation is a bit tricky but can be done without special tools.
Independent garage will charge you around £400 if you want genuine parts, if you go for INA or other replacement - may be less.

I understand, that you are getting stressed about age of the belt but Volvo recommends cam belt re-placement at 108000 miles. Up to you, but I think you are safe for a few (more) thousand miles - don't panic.

A CURIO:
I have replaced my timing belt kit at 112000miles on 2010 XC60 D5. All belts on the car were original (all from 2009 marked Volvo) and I could not believe how sound the (old) belt and tensioners were - both timing belt tensioners with no sign of any wear, turning exactly like the new ones (with tiny resistance. People who had new roller in hands will know what I am talking about) - l bet the old set (belt and tensioners) could do another 100000 miles without any problems.

I have changed hundreds of these and that's correct ! The belts contain kevlar if you drop them it sounds like solid plastic hitting the ground . so that's why they cost what they do , likewise the tensioner bearing quality is the best available which volvo particularly specify . Bearings are made in quite a few different qualities to suit different situations . . that's why a rear alternator bearing can be bought for £3 up to £200 depending on specification . They are not all the same and buying cheap means early failure ... that goes for belts too .

The most important safety factor is the Aux belt on the D5 it MUST be changed at 54000 mile intervals ( after 2007 ) , so either it was recently done or its well over due on the car in the above post ..

[Easington]

Clan beat me to it with the comment about the aux belt every 54k miles.

Is it just the aux belt or tensioner too?

[100K+]

There are two that get mentioned locally : Autofix by the tyne tunnel (north) and GB Motors in Corbridge. Not used either, but review are on the web. Last invoice I got for service at Mill was £ 120/hour+vat. Was offered £80+vat for a 2005 V70..

Cheers
Bob

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Easington

Clan beat me to it with the comment about the aux belt every 54k miles.

Is it just the aux belt or tensioner too?

just the aux belt at 54000 MILES , it is not time dependant . Volvo found out what was breaking the belt , it is the massive acceleration of the crankshaft when it first starts it gives the belt a very hard tug each time , the wider thicker belt on the pre 2007 models was strong enough to cope .

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by ushes

Thanks for the reply, I priced up the parts too at around £200 and in fact I ordered them but they failed to arrive. I spoke to a local garage who weren't interested in doing the work unless they bought the parts themselves so it seemed a blessing in disguise.

Good to know that the originals seem to do the miles without a problem.
It's reading the posts on the forum that makes me twitchy, alternator pulleys failing aux belts snapping etc

Hopefully someone can recommend a good local Indy, then I'll get it sorted

Thanks

I've religiously used this firm for the last 11 years and have always found them very fair , efficient and knowledgeable.

Definitely worth giving them a try.

https://autofixnortheastltd.co.uk/

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Easington

Clan beat me to it with the comment about the aux belt every 54k miles.

Is it just the aux belt or tensioner too?

Just the aux belt.

The aux belt tensioner should be changed every 10 years or 108,000 miles, whichever comes first on D5’s. Other models vary.

[wilbydoughboy]

When I changed my aux belt at 11.5 years and 57500mls it was in very good condition with just a tiny tear that I know had been there for years. The timing belt was in like new condition.

[Mick787]

Ushes, I understand how you feel. I recently moved home, over 200 miles. The main dealership I left behind I trusted implicitly.

After moving home I went set up a service plan with a main dealership down here and in that plan I wanted to factor in the cost of the cam belt change.

My potentially 'new' dealership said they would change the cam belt at 6 years of age and with under 50k miles, this meant my monthly payments would be very, very steep. I checked with my 'old' dealership who said it was not necessary and that I would be wasting money if I changed it. I checked with Volvo UK who also said it was not necessary.

It goes without saying, I will drive my car 200 miles for its next service at the main dealer I trust rather than be ripped off by a local yokel. I wasn't born yesterday.