Can anyone offer some advice on a timing belt issue? I took my 2006 Audi A4 1.8 convertible into a dealer for brake related repairs. The car runs great. The service technician said even though my car has only 36,000 miles, the timing belt needs to be replaced because it is 8 years old. The cost would be $1,800, including the water pump. Does this sound right to anyone? I appreciate your help.

 

Sounds VERY high to me. At a dealer, you shouldn't pay more than $1200-1300 and at an indy shop probably $750-900. Where do you live? You may have a forum member near you who can do it - many of us work on these cars on the side, know what we're doing with the experience to prove it, and can do it for quite a but less yet as we don't have the overhead a shop would have.

 

Thanks for the reply. The car is in Los Angeles. Does it sound right to you that a 2006 A4 with 36,000 miles should need the timing belt replaced? I appreciate your advice.

 

After 8 years, it honestly is not a bad idea. If the car has been sitting for some length of time, that's even more reason to do so. If you do it, make sure that all the related parts are done. If you look up the timing kits at ECS Tuning or FCPEuro, look at the "ultimate" kits - those will show you the parts to change.