VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please.

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 6 Sep 2022 10:33
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Bethiboo22

Hi,

So timing belt is due on my 2017 Golf. I got a reminder from dealer rang them up for a price and came back at over £820 including water pump. I nearly passed out. I have found a local VW/Audi/Skoda specialist independent garage who have have quoted £530 Inc vat and confirmed all VW approved parts, stamp book etc.

Do I have to go with Main Dealer or can I choose an alternative VW approved garage? I've looked and looked through the "small print" and tbf it's just got my head battered. This is my first car on PCP and I'm sure you'll have had this kind of thing asked a million times before all you wise and wonderful people. ??

Any help or advice would be appreciated, nearly £300 difference is unreal - I'm sure you'd agree and as the saying goes every little helps.

TIA

Bethi

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 10:37
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Cris_on_the_gas

I'd be saving the £300

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 10:48
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - veloceman
You could try Seat. Mechanically the same car as a Leon.
I was quoted around £450 when I had mine.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 11:04
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Adampr

I'd be saving the £300

But you would be missing out on a cup of tea from a machine, obsequious service and having to do everything on an iPad.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 10:46
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Adampr

You can take it to any garage as long as it's of equal quality (as you say, genuine parts, stamps etc).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 11:44
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - John F

Mileage? Why does the cambelt need changing on such a young car? Is the OP's 'advice' that of VW Wolfsburg engineers or merely a greedy opportunistic UK VW dealer?

Ford engineers designed their 1.6 Zetec cambelt system to last the life of the car. Our Mk1 Focus went to the scrapyard at over 21yrs old and 160,000+ miles with its original cam and poly-v belts. Are 21st century VW Golf engines designed with such built in obsolescence to render them so inferior in quality and longevity?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 11:47
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Adampr

The standard VW cambelt interval is 5 years. Probably pointless but as the car is on PCP, 8t has to be done or will be chargeable at the end of the finance period.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 12:13
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Bethiboo22

Mileage? Why does the cambelt need changing on such a young car? Is the OP's 'advice' that of VW Wolfsburg engineers or merely a greedy opportunistic UK VW dealer?

Ford engineers designed their 1.6 Zetec cambelt system to last the life of the car. Our Mk1 Focus went to the scrapyard at over 21yrs old and 160,000+ miles with its original cam and poly-v belts. Are 21st century VW Golf engines designed with such built in obsolescence to render them so inferior in quality and longevity?

That was my thought aswell. So it is recommended every 5 years or 60k miles whichever is soonest. It's only got 22k on! So less than average milage of a 2yr old car (imo)

Like I said the car is on PCP and I have no intention of keeping it so I "have" to follow their service and maintenance schedule but do feel like it's a money maker. If I was intending keeping car then I definitely wouldn't be getting it done.

I just don't want to get "stung" when comes to handing it back.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 13:19
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - daveyjp

As the vehicle is on a PCP it isn't yours so you are bound by the agreement, They usually state the car must be serviced in line with the recommendations and it must be done at a main dealer. Break the terms and they will have remedies.

If you aren't keeping it get a quote from one of the many car buying sites and see if it is worth selling it to them.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 13:49
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - catsdad

It’s a well known gripe among Golf owners that the recommended change for U.K. is more frequent than the identical engines in other markets. That aside the OP needs to check why they say the water pump needs changing. This is the case for many engines but on the VAG 1.4 the pump is not driven with the cambelt but other engine sizes may be different.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 15:45
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Bethiboo22

As the vehicle is on a PCP it isn't yours so you are bound by the agreement, They usually state the car must be serviced in line with the recommendations and it must be done at a main dealer. Break the terms and they will have remedies.

If you aren't keeping it get a quote from one of the many car buying sites and see if it is worth selling it to them.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on them at the moment, I'm half way through end of October prices are coming back at around £13.5k so could make a little profit on it ??‍??

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 15:06
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Adampr

Ignore my previous comment. I was thinking of the warranty. As a VW, and VW being how they are, I would be pretty sure they demand you get it done through the main dealer, but you could always ask VWFS.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Sep 2022 14:36
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - Andrew-T

Looks like you have to read the PCP small print carefully and decide whether work done at a VAG specialist indie meets the terms.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 8 Sep 2022 00:54
VW GOLF - Car on PCP, cambelt due - Advice please. - SLO76
The only condition on a PCP should be that a Vat registered garage services the car. There won’t be any stipulation regarding the timing belt, but if you intend on keeping the car longterm it may be wise to have it done. If not, then I’d leave it alone unless it’s done a big mileage. It’s not a common failure on these and VW UK are profiteering by quoting a 5yr interval and also a ludicrously inflated price. The specialist is the one to go with if you want the job done. I’d also advise against taking a PCP on any future used car purchase as they are poor value in 99.9% of cases.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link