how long should a cam belt last????

A question about : how long should a cam belt last????

i have just had my car serviced and have been advised i shouledhave a new cam belt.
my last one was fitted aug 02. i only do about 5-6 thousand miles a year.
they have quoted me about Ј275 inclusive.

what sort of milage can i do on a cam belt??
sorry i am not mechanically minded
thanks
molly
xx

Best answers:

• Be careful - it can depend on the make of car and there are other factors to take into consideration such as heat, cold, rain, chemical, salt, etc all of which can affect the lifespan of any belt.
  I believe there is a difference between petrol and diesel as well.
• Every car is different, Vauxhalls reduced the time between belt changes because they had so many failures on the other hand Ford Zetec engines seem to last well. Even if you dont do many miles, you have to take the time between changes into consideration, lots of stop start type driving puts more strain on the belt than driving up and down motorways.
  What car have you got? The garage are probably quoting for the belt, new pulleys/tensioners and maybe a new waterpump too and thats why its so pricey but you would be advised to have those done depending on make/model of car.
• "if it aint broke then dont fix it"
• How about a Hyundai Accent with 87000 miles?
  DD1 has just put a deposit down on one but was warned that this might be needed.
• The reason Vauxhall changed their schedule was down to the runners disintergrating, not the belts IIRC.....
  'If it ain't broke......' if you don't change it, then something even more expensive will break...
• my dad reckons 50k+
• Thank you Wig, that is really helpful information. We weren't told it needed changing imminently. The car is due for MOT in a couple of weeks which will be done at a different garage so we will speak to the guy there who we trust (although we trusted the dealer too so we will be having words with the owner of the dealership tomorrow) to check it again and if necessary give a quote.
  If he says it is okay then we can do as suggested and keep a regular eye on it.
• My wife's 1997 Hyundai Accent was every 36k.
  I had a Peugeot 406 belt snap at 28k. The engine was wrecked and the Peugeot dealer reckoned it would have cost nearly 3 grand to repair (at their prices admittedly) if Peugeot hadn't agreed to pay for it.
  Since then, I've become somewhat paranoid about changing belts on time.
• I'd reccomend a change every 50-60k as an average for most cars, but it's best to refer to the manufacturers guidance on this, even though they will build in a safety net, so as not to get inundated with claims for wrongful advice.
  It could cost you anything between £140-300, to get it replaced, but a new set of pistons will set you back up to five times that if the belt fails when you're travelling at speed.
  Always best to err on the side of caution me thinks ! (unless of course you have an old banger - sometimes it cheaper to throw them away and get another one rather than pay hefty maintenance bills)
• So far i have broken the timing belt on a diesel fiesta - Snapped a valve into 3 bits & lifted a chunk out of a piston which cost Ј120 to fix in parts alone labour courtesy of me and my dad, broke the timing belt on a diesel toledo, Ј120 to fix because the dealer only charged me the cost of replacing the belt and not all the other bits that broke and broke the timing belt on a Celica (a week before it was booked in to be changed). The celica cost me Ј400 quid as it bent 2 valves even though it it a non-interference engine. Financially you're better off getting it replaced before it breaks and if it does break you can guarantee it'll be when you really need to get somewhere and it's raining or snowing and pitch black outside.
• Bottom line - don't mess about with cambelts. If the manufacturer makes a recommendation stick to it. The consequences can be very expensive.
  In the mid 90's I owned a new 405 1.9 turbo diesel. Its cambelt broke just 1000 miles before it was due for replacement and made a big big mess. The warranty bill was more than Ј2000. When I took the car in for its service a month later the spotty kid behind the desk told me that the cambelt would need replacing at this service. My reply is not printable here...
  I also had a cambelt go on a fairly new Cavalier in the late 80's. Again it was an expensive warranty repair.
  Mike