I'm new to this forum, but hopefully some of you guys could answer a question for me and help me out. If you read my earlier post in the newbie section..... I've moved to a city (Charleston, SC) with the worst Audi dealership in the US and I can't find another mechanic (after calling prob everyone in the phonebook) who will even look at my car, let alone touch it. I took my car in for the 90K service (I have a 99.5 A4 quattro till next year, and drive it a lot, so it's getting up there in miles) and they told me that I need to replace the timing belt and V-belt and that I'm luckily it hasn't broken yet because in A4's they usually break around 40K. I've never heard of this before in my life with any car, nor has anyone else I've talked to. But down here in the south, most people only drive american made cars.... so I can't find anyone too reliable to talk to about the situation. And the dealership is no help at all, I'm 22 and seem to know more than those idiots.....lol ) My friends from Cali (where i moved from), all drive BMW's so they aren't any help either.

So who here has replaced all of these things and should it cost 2000??? Thanks.

 

Well they are a little off. Audi timing belts begin to break around 60-70k miles, that is a fact. I have replaced all of the parts involved on my 1997. Parts cost me around $200. To have the job done it should cost ~$400-600 from an independent mechanic, and ~$800-$1200 from the stealership.

 

In other words, you're zoomin around on borrowed time... Better done BEFORE than AFTER.

 

www.audifans.com

http://1.8t.org

 

Hey all, thanks for the reply. I'm glad i found this forum, because I wasn't sure if they were telling me the truth or not. I've found that when I go to any of these people I get a totally different price than when I have my dad call to "verify" the process. If I ever have him call or go with me (he's a big guy) they always "misquoted" me or "misunderstood" whatever situation I'm asking about and the price goes down down down. No one will work on my car, which seems strange cuz it's a pretty big city, so I guess they bank on that. I guess I'll have to make dad tag along this time. Oh well, I'll go and get that done soon..... thanks again.

 

Hey Crazyhawk... you know what, a few of those on 1.8t.org I've called myself and they've told me they won't work on audi's. It's too complicated and confusing they've told me. I'll try them back though. Thanks.

 

A timing belt can break, or an axle, or an engine, the next day.

They are rated at MTBF, mean time between failures.

Yours could be the bad one, and there are many bad ones..

Get it repaired with a waranty for at least 90 days, and in writing.

Should it blow up the motor, they should be liable for the repairs. That is no big deal, actually. Most interference engines will just bend the valves, not do any serious damage to the pistons.

Cheers,

George