timing belt change prices

[franks1]

i don't have a record of when my timing belts were changed last, so i called a few places for prices and i was amazed. one shop wanted 600.00, a porsche dealer wanted 1700.00 (said there was a updated kit i might need for the to prevent the belts from rubbing), anyone ever heard of this? anyway i got a number for a shop through our snap on rep and he said he could do the belts and rollers for under 350.00, so the moral is if you look hard enough you won't get screwed! anyone in the central Illinois area that might want a good, reasonable mechanic let me know, all he works on is porsches.

[divezic]

You get what you pay for. The bottom line belts and roller kit from Zims (I think) is around $130. Throw on a new water pump with the update kit for about $200 or so. You are already into it for $330 on parts alone. At $50/hour labor, doing it under $350 is so optomistic that I would worry about what you are actually getting. Perhaps $350 without the updated water pump is reasonable.

Check with the local Better Business Bureau and the local PCA chapter. Local PCA guys will know the good independent shops and the clowns to stay away from.

[SoCal Driver]

Sometimes you get more than you paid for. A good independent shop/mechanic does not necessarily have to be expensive.

Ask the shop for more references.

[mambodave]

I was just qouted $1465 for a t-belt, waterpump

Dave

[vital-transform]

the job is approx 8 hours ( as the labor book calculates)
parts are under 200 and then add the water pump of your choice(new or rebuilt 300 vs 100)
my mechanic did mine as a side job with the water pump in under 5 hours but he is very fast and knows the job (944 timing belt WP replacement) as he is a former factory tech
charged me 300 including the 1500 mile adjustment,
I supplied all the parts and you need to shop those around as well
I went with a rebuilt updated pump and got out at around $625. total!
but this guy is my buddy...
around here the Porsche dealer gets $119. per hour and the porsche specalist shop gets $86. per hour

[franks1]

the guy who owns the shop only works on porsches, he quoted me 140.00 for parts and said it would take maybe six hours. there are alot of import type shops here. i took my avenger to a shop here to get my brakes worked on(i couldn't figure it out), he changed a caliper, brake line(it collapsed on the inside causing the problem) and flushed the system for 128.00. i haven't had a problem with it since. i couldn't do it cheaper myself. it seems to be the norm around here in springfield, you just have to find the right shop. i will however ask for some references though just for peace of mind. thanks for the input, you can never have enough advice.

[924Sman]

Call George at Eurosport in Western Chicago.