How To Tell If Timing Belt Has Been Replaced Recently?

Merry Prankster

Hey everyone,

I've been helping a friend to find a car recently and we've just found one that he likes. The seller of the car claims that the timing belt and water pump have both been replaced recently, but has no receipts because his friend did the work. Is there any way for someone with little knowledge of cars to tell if this work has actually been done?

Cheers.

IK09

in most cases it has been written in tippex on the cover, along ith the miles it was done at e.g 78k t/b

JustAddWater

It could have been written by anyone though!

IK09

IK09 wrote: »

in most cases it has been written in tippex on the cover, along ith the miles it was done at e.g 78k t/b

A method open to abuse to pull the wool.

IK09

JustAddWater wrote: »

It could have been written by anyone though!

ya true. if you look at the belt itself you should be able to tell if it has been changed recently, it will still be somewhat clean if it has

racso1975

Yeah I came across that recently was looking at a car and had tipex on engine cover( brand new cover with fresh tipex) with belt replaced at 89k and 92k on clock. However seller had forgot to remove service interval reminder sticker from inside of door that said next service due at 176k :eek:

Only way to tell for certain is if the receipts are included and you can ring the garage to verify it

Where To

I always think it's safer to err on the side of caution to be honest, if you're not sure get it done yourself.

Merry Prankster

racso1975 wrote: »

Only way to tell for certain is if the receipts are included and you can ring the garage to verify it

Seller states that he has no receipts and that the replacements were done by a friend. It's certainly plausible, but as I've never met the guy I don't want to rely on his word alone.

Avns1s

Merry Prankster wrote: »

Seller states that he has no receipts and that the replacements were done by a friend. It's certainly plausible, but as I've never met the guy I don't want to rely on his word alone.

No receipt for even the purchase of the belt and perhaps tensioner + water pump in a motor factors for a relatively critical bit of work ??? Hmmmmmmmmm!! :rolleyes:

OP Factor in that you have to do the timing belt and pump on this car. If it's still attractive, buy it. If not, move to the next one.

nct tester

Merry Prankster wrote: »

Seller states that he has no receipts and that the replacements were done by a friend. It's certainly plausible, but as I've never met the guy I don't want to rely on his word alone.

car?? make?? model?? year??

nct tester

racso1975 wrote: »

Yeah I came across that recently was looking at a car and had tipex on engine cover( brand new cover with fresh tipex) with belt replaced at 89k and 92k on clock. However seller had forgot to remove service interval reminder sticker from inside of door that said next service due at 176k :eek:

Only way to tell for certain is if the receipts are included and you can ring the garage to verify it

belt may have been done but the car was clocked.

keithclancy

Merry Prankster wrote: »

Seller states that he has no receipts and that the replacements were done by a friend. It's certainly plausible, but as I've never met the guy I don't want to rely on his word alone.

Fock that ..

Merry Prankster

Avns1s wrote: »

No receipt for even the purchase of the belt and perhaps tensioner + water pump in a motor factors for a relatively critical bit of work ??? Hmmmmmmmmm!! :rolleyes:

OP Factor in that you have to do the timing belt and pump on this car. If it's still attractive, buy it. If not, move to the next one.

nct tester wrote: »

car?? make?? model?? year??

Personally, I'd be inclined to keep receipts for that kind of stuff myself, but I realise that not everyone would be as fastidious.

I don't know much about cars so I'll let you guys decide if it's a good deal. It's a 1999 1.0 VW Lupo, 117k, looks in pretty good nick.

nct tester

should be easy enough to pop the cover off it and have a look, presuming you are bringing a qualified mechanic with you to check it out. The differnce between a recently changed one and one that needs doing will be in the region of 250 to 300 euro of a saving.

racso1975

nct tester wrote: »

belt may have been done but the car was clocked.

Maybe.....given the car had one owner I was not inclined to believe a word out of his mouth!!!!

Merry Prankster

nct tester wrote: »

should be easy enough to pop the cover off it and have a look, presuming you are bringing a qualified mechanic with you to check it out. The differnce between a recently changed one and one that needs doing will be in the region of 250 to 300 euro of a saving.

That's the thing, I won't be bringing a mechanic. Would a layman like myself be able to verify the claim or would it be foolhardy to try? I'd like to believe that everything is above board but the lack of receipts gets me twitching a little.

skeg16

Side note guys...how much would it cost to change timing belt on a 06 vw passat...estimate??

nct tester

safer to get a mechanic if you are not sure what you're doing. he could save you from buying a dud.

nct tester

skeg16 wrote: »

Side note guys...how much would it cost to change timing belt on a 06 vw passat...estimate??

350

firefly08

IK09 wrote: »

ya true. if you look at the belt itself you should be able to tell if it has been changed recently, it will still be somewhat clean if it has

nct tester wrote: »

should be easy enough to pop the cover off it and have a look, presuming you are bringing a qualified mechanic with you to check it out. The differnce between a recently changed one and one that needs doing will be in the region of 250 to 300 euro of a saving.

I'm not a pro and haven't changed that many timing belts, but I have done a few, and I have never seen one that didn't look new!. I really don't think you can rely on a visual check. Sure, if the belt looks bad, it's bad - but if it looks ok, that doesn't mean it's really ok. It could be about to strip some teeth - you can't really inspect the teeth without taking the belt off. Not to mention, the water pump could seize or the plastic pulley(s) could break. I don't see how you're going to know just by looking. That's why most people regard documentation as being so important for this stuff.

OP I would say if you doubt the guy's word, and he doesn't have receipts, walk away, or negotiate a price that allows you to have the belt & pump done as a precaution. There are plenty of cars for sale out there!

Rhys Essien

skeg16 wrote: »

Side note guys...how much would it cost to change timing belt on a 06 vw passat...estimate??

300/350.

Visual check of timing belt condition is next to useless.

nct tester

firefly08 wrote: »

I'm not a pro and haven't changed that many timing belts, but I have done a few, and I have never seen one that didn't look new!. I really don't think you can rely on a visual check. Sure, if the belt looks bad, it's bad - but if it looks ok, that doesn't mean it's really ok. It could be about to strip some teeth - you can't really inspect the teeth without taking the belt off. Not to mention, the water pump could seize or the plastic pulley(s) could break. I don't see how you're going to know just by looking. That's why most people regard documentation as being so important for this stuff.

OP I would say if you doubt the guy's word, and he doesn't have receipts, walk away, or negotiate a price that allows you to have the belt & pump done as a precaution. There are plenty of cars for sale out there!

so in that case you should strip the timing belt cover off completely and do a thorough check on the belt and its components before you take his word for it or just a visual check??

Merry Prankster

firefly08 wrote: »

I'm not a pro and haven't changed that many timing belts, but I have done a few, and I have never seen one that didn't look new! I really don't think you can rely on a visual check.

OP I would say if you doubt the guy's word, and he doesn't have receipts, walk away, or negotiate a price that allows you to have the belt & pump done as a precaution. There are plenty of cars for sale out there!

So even if I can get a mechanic to come along, there's still no way to confidently establish that the work has been done? It's not that I doubt his word, just that I don't know him and he doesn't have receipts so there's an obvious risk that has to be considered. How much would it cost to get the work done myself?

Merry Prankster

RoverJames wrote: »

Visual check of timing belt condition is next to useless.

Would you consider the lack of receipts to be a dealbreaker? Would you personally buy the car?!

bazz26

€900 for a 14 year old Lupo! :eek: My sister sold her 2000 reg Lupo for that 2 years ago.

Best to replace the t/b yourself for piece of mind, depending on the car it isn't a total disaster if the the t/b fails. I know some of the older toyota engines are non-interference engines means that the pistons won't bend the valves in the case of timing belt failure. I also wouldn't let the lack of receipts put me off buying a car.

skeg16

nct tester wrote: »

350

thats a fair bit....how much would you be talking if the timing belt went of the car and you had to get a new 1???

shawnee

RoverJames wrote: »

Visual check of timing belt condition is next to useless.

Correct ! almost impossible to tell from looking at the belt, unless it was changed that day and even then it would be difficult. Receipts.:cool:

skeg16

skeg16 wrote: »

thats a fair bit....how much would you be talking if the timing belt went of the car and you had to get a new 1???

Depends if the pistons bend the valves, you could end up having to replace the head.

megafan

tolow wrote: »

Depends if the pistons bend the valves, you could end up having to replace the head.

Or worse not worth the risk leaving it!!