new owner to audi

[kev young]

just like to say hello have just bought my first audi  , a3 2.0tdi sline on a 56 ,.

i could do with a little bit of info and advice service history on car is a bit suspicious for the ;last  3 yrs car has covered 80k its due a timing belt and waterpump change was wondering which is the best kit to buy ive seen lodsa advertised at different prices  the local garage has quoted £160 plus vat for a gates kit ,ive   looked about and there are many different named kits ,which is the best for my engine ,

thnx in advance 

  kev

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Kev :) 

youll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :) 

if it's due to cambelt and water pump change I hope you got this knocked if the price? 

Also if the car has been serviced at Audi you can ring them and find out what work it's had done :) 

cheers

steve 

[Magnet]

Hello Kev, Welcome.

I think Steve's advice of checking with your local Audi dealer regarding any recorded service history is well worth following. I'm sure Steve will be better placed to know about this than me, but I think it may be useful to have the VIN (number) to hand when you contact them, as well as the registration number.

Timing belt?  Those more knowledgeable on diesel engines than I, will advise you whether this is a chain or belt driven engine. Even if a chain, it may be wise not to ignore it anyway. 

If a belt, it is indeed very wise to consider changing this if you cannot establish when it was last done, and indeed, even if this may not be too long ago - find out what make if belt was used. As you will know, the belt, tensioners, and water pump make up a "critical parts" application package on belt driven engines, and in my book the first choice would always, alway, be main dealer parts (at discount would be great and is usually possible). The only aftermarket belt I would consider is the one your garage mentioned - Gates. Gates are reputable and manufacture belts for motor manufacturers. Draw the line at these two Kev. If you start delving into cheaper kits then you start to lose the plot. This certainly isn't a cost-is-King job. 

The quote of £160 from your local garage (not main dealer?) - is that for the supply ( of Gates kit) and fit? If so , this seems rather cheap (too cheap?) to me.

Where to beware:- OK , so you decide to go for Gates and see a kit at a great price on the Internet and decide to go for that. Beware, since these may be old stock and perhaps even older than the recommended years- change interval that Audi recommend as a change! Same with the odd Audi kits which turn up from time to time.

Water pumps. Critical part of the set up, and believe me,  there are some .....p aftermarket pumps available. My advice is to just don't go there, You can get Gates kits with water pumps, but I don't have any experience of who makes the pumps for their kits, so I would be rather hesitant to go with that. For me, it would be a VAG only part, and I know they did actually do reconditioned exchange pumps. 

It would probably be well worth changing the auxiliary (serpentine) belt at the same time, since if these go, they can wrap themselves around all sorts of moving parts which can lead to the timing belt jumping a tooth. Again, main dealer or Gates only. 

Last point Kev. Main dealers sometimes have offers on timing belt changes so could be worth looking into that.as well.

I mentioned main dealer at discounts, and I know Rainsworth Skoda (Nottingham?) usually offer mail order discounts. No connection, and no doubt there are others. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, Magnet said:

Hello Kev, Welcome.

I think Steve's advice of checking with your local Audi dealer regarding any recorded service history is well worth following. I'm sure Steve will be better placed to know about this than me, but I think it may be useful to have the VIN (number) to hand when you contact them, as well as the registration number.

Timing belt?  Those more knowledgeable on diesel engines than I, will advise you whether this is a chain or belt driven engine. Even if a chain, it may be wise not to ignore it anyway. 

If a belt, it is indeed very wise to consider changing this if you cannot establish when it was last done, and indeed, even if this may not be too long ago - find out what make if belt was used. As you will know, the belt, tensioners, and water pump make up a "critical parts" application package on belt driven engines, and in my book the first choice would always, alway, be main dealer parts (at discount would be great and is usually possible). The only aftermarket belt I would consider is the one your garage mentioned - Gates. Gates are reputable and manufacture belts for motor manufacturers. Draw the line at these two Kev. If you start delving into cheaper kits then you start to lose the plot. This certainly isn't a cost-is-King job. 

The quote of £160 from your local garage (not main dealer?) - is that for the supply ( of Gates kit) and fit? If so , this seems rather cheap (too cheap?) to me.

Where to beware:- OK , so you decide to go for Gates and see a kit at a great price on the Internet and decide to go for that. Beware, since these may be old stock and perhaps even older than the recommended years- change interval that Audi recommend as a change! Same with the odd Audi kits which turn up from time to time.

Water pumps. Critical part of the set up, and believe me,  there are some .....p aftermarket pumps available. My advice is to just don't go there, You can get Gates kits with water pumps, but I don't have any experience of who makes the pumps for their kits, so I would be rather hesitant to go with that. For me, it would be a VAG only part, and I know they did actually do reconditioned exchange pumps. 

It would probably be well worth changing the auxiliary (serpentine) belt at the same time, since if these go, they can wrap themselves around all sorts of moving parts which can lead to the timing belt jumping a tooth. Again, main dealer or Gates only. 

Last point Kev. Main dealers sometimes have offers on timing belt changes so could be worth looking into that.as well.

I mentioned main dealer at discounts, and I know Rainsworth Skoda (Nottingham?) usually offer mail order discounts. No connection, and no doubt there are others. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

Have to agree with you Gareth, £160 is far too cheap for a cambelt and waterpump replacement. Cheapest I saw when I was at Volkswagen was £400. This engine is a cambelt btw. And again your right the main dealers do have offers for cambelt and water pump changes. 

Cheers

Steve 

[Trevor]

Hi Kev...welcome to the Forum

Can't go wrong with a Gates belt and associated hardware.

Keep us updated with the progress of the cambelt

Cheers, Trevor

[kev young]

the kit alone from local garage is £160plus vat then service and labour total job £380

 

[Trevor]

That's a good price really and the fact that they want to fit a quality cambelt kit is a very good sign

[Magnet]

Thanks Kev, Now things start to make sense.

£160 + VAT for the part, which equals £192 in Welsh money. These kits appear to be on a certain bay auction from £111 and trending at around £150 - these prices inc. VAT and delivery. Obviously your garage make a margin on the parts, and that is to be expected. 

Your call but:- 

 I still stand by my original advice, and although I would use Gates aftermarket as a second choice, I would not use their water pumps, since I don't know who's pumps they use ( I know which tensioner manufacturer they use). 

I would check with the VAG contact I gave you and get their discounted price for the cambelt kit, and then the price for the water pump. You then have your full set of information to compare and see if it's worth saving £X over the main dealer parts. Don't forget to check on the auxiliary belt cost as well.

Of course, the best option may be to try to source a main dealer who has an offer on cambelt changes as I and others had mentioned. You might well find the best deal may not be thst much dearer than your local garage.

Let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, kev young said:

the kit alone from local garage is £160plus vat then service and labour total job £380

 

Gotcha now Kev. That makes more sense. Sorry for the confusion. Parts are about right for price :) and that's about the right price for labour is say. 

cheers

steve