UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

My 1.9 tdi 02 plate is coming up 4 years old and 33,000 miles so I wasn't expecting a letter from my VW dealer saying it is due a cambelt change at this age and mileage. Well that is what I have got but I am not convinced. I have checked the service schedule and the 4 year service is a big job I think but unless I'm missing something, I'm sure this isn't due yet. Any advice from experience or greater knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks. Darkman.

Hi there, hope I might shed light on this.

The most important thing I can say is this. DON"T get hoodwinked by your local VW garage...my car has just been for its 50k service and I was told (as a polite aside) that Volkswagen now recommend that the timing belts are changed when the car is 5 years old. I'm not sure if its the same for diesel engines - what I AM sure of is that £330 was a LOT of money for them to do it. Especially as if you're OK with the Haynes manual and have a mechanic mate - and that must be a lot of us - the job isn't actually that tricky. It just needs a reasonable amount of time.
You're right in saying the 40k service is a biggie. My local VW dealership hit me for 500 quid for mine...I was seething. Especially when all it needed were two new front brake discs!

My cambelt quote was £405 incl parts, labour and I'm pretty sure VAT.

Got the whole timing belt kit (2belts, 2tensioners and a relay roller) for £130 i think and got it all fitted for £70