Garages and Distribution chains

[Ivan]

Well that cost me 1300 euros...

Is it such a special skill, or just lazyness that the average garage cant handle these

(FYI: most cars in holland have rubber belts for the camshafts)

[Sir_Crashalot]

I can change that rubber belt running outside of my Mercedes Benz engine in under an hour. And I'm not a car

[Steve M]

Changing the serpentine belt on my girl friends Toyota involved removing at least 12 parts and took me 4 hours. They set your ignition timing and run all the other bits you need. If you get it wrong, you'll be doing it twice!   

[Ivan]

Accessory belt is a simple one, remove wheel, open access hatch, get the thing off and replace any rollers if necessary

For the camshaft drive... you have to take the front of the engine apart

[Steve M]

I hear you there.. It depends on what type of car we are talking about.   ;)

[expat]

In Germany you can take you brand new car to an independent garage for a service. Some years back a chap bought a Skoda and had it serviced at an independent as Skoda are part of VW and as such had to be serviced at his local VW dealership at VW prices. He then had a warranty claim and it was refused. He sued saying it was of no consequence who checked the brake linings changed the oil and oil filter as long as it was done correctly. He won!!! It has been decided here that if your car has been serviced by an independent garage it has no effect on the warranty of the selling garage. Makes servicing a whole lot cheaper. The EU has picked up on this and if all goes well it should be a EU wide directive some time next year.

Matt

[Hagar]

The EU has picked up on this and if all goes well it should be a EU wide directive some time next year.

Matt

I thought it already was. It might depend on the car manufacturer but I'm told the warranty is valid providing an independent garage uses genuine replacement parts. My son-in-law has just done this