Motoring Discussion > Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt Miscellaneous
Thread Author: rtj70 Replies: 14
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 17:42 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - rtj70
I received an email from Audi earlier saying I could get free MOT's for life with a cam belt change. It goes on to say that the cam belt needs replacing every 5 years or earlier based on mileage.

So the car is less than 3.5 years old and went back at 3 years old with less than 25,000 miles so how does it need a cam belt? And if it was a free MOT for life, you'd not get many ;-)

When in Skoda dealers earlier and MOT poster on the wall said any diesel driver would be asked if they'd had the cam belt changed recently (and other questions) because if it had the emissions test could damage the engine!
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 19:15 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Robin O'Reliant
>>
>>
>> When in Skoda dealers earlier and MOT poster on the wall said any diesel driver
>> would be asked if they'd had the cam belt changed recently (and other questions) because
>> if it had the emissions test could damage the engine!
>>

The Peugeot dealer I was using 25 years ago had a similar poster on the wall of the reception.
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 20:18 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Bromptonaut
>> The Peugeot dealer I was using 25 years ago had a similar poster on the
>> wall of the reception.

Standard thing once diesel smoke was part of MoT. Think test has been modified since but originally it required engine to be revved to limiter speed off load. I'd guess the put much more strain on cambelt than on road acceleration to limiter, not that you'd do that anyway as torque on say a PSA XUD engine (non turbo) would drop like a stone after 3000 rpm.

Never caused me a problem on BX, 205 or Berlingo though.
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 20:40 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - rtj70
I only read whilst waiting ages for poor Skoda customer service from the parts department ;-) I was there ages and had called in advance.

Wipers were not clearing the screen and were not great from new. The Audi and Passat were similar so I can only guess it's something on the car from transport? Anyway needed new ones and thought with the weather coming now was the time.

I looked online and the right Bosh Aero's were say £22 for the two plus delivery. Or cheaper and free delivery from Amazon. I should have got them sooner so went to the dealer instead. £47.11!! It's an expense claim but still - £47 for two wiper assemblies with blades. They are Bosch Aero's but sold as OEM items.

With the poor service I should have gone to the nearer VW dealer but thought my manager might think - hang on he's got a Skoda. And when I tried that with the Audi (because VW would have been cheaper) they wouldn't sell the equivalent one to me.
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 22:17 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Bobby
How many miles have you done on your Skoda before you needed new wipers?
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 22:59 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - rtj70
Only about 3500 miles. The Audi was worse - I tried many times to clean whatever was on them off with screen cleaner, vinegar, etc. My time is worth more than the wipers and I claimed it on expenses anyway.

The Skoda arrived without being cleaned - I wonder if they washed it after it came off the ship at Grimsby (or wherever it arrived in the UK).
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 20:30 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Bill Payer
>> Wipers were not clearing the screen and were not great from new. The Audi and
>> Passat were similar so I can only guess it's something on the car from transport?

How odd - I've never had that happen, including on a couple of VWs.
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 21:15 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - PeterS
I’m guessing the marketing database does not track mileage, and the change interval is 60k. miles? So a targeted email based on average mileage perhaps, rather than your actual?
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 23:01 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - rtj70
The actual email (from the dealer that serviced it and not supplied it) said:

"Our records show it's time for the cam belt to be replaced on your Audi A3 A crucial part of your engine, we recommend the cam belt is renewed every five years or as per the mileage specified in your Audi service schedule, whichever comes first."

The later email then said my break fluid needed replacing because 3 years had passed. Actually I queried such a service on the Passat before it went back with the lease company - they said they didn't do brake fluid changes at 3 years! So whoever got these cars might think they had been done?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 26 Feb 18 at 23:02
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New Mon 26 Feb 18 23:13 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Ted
Our local Aldi had wiper blades in last week at £9.00 for the pair...all sizes. They had an application chart so I bought new ones for the RAV4. Seem to be good quality, easy to fit and certainly do the job well.

I can afford another pair in 3 years at that rate !
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 06:55 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Cliff Pope
Cam belts presumably get tired through a combination of wear from use, by running round gear teeth and stretched round pulleys, but also from being continuously under tension in one position when not actually running. Hence the time/mileage interval.
No where have I seen stated what the shelf life in the box is - if pure time alone can weaken a belt then surely they ought to be fresh stock with a sell-by date?


What does free MOT for life mean - free test fee, or free repairs to a 25 year old car to get it through the MOT? :)
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 20:33 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Bromptonaut
>> Our local Aldi had wiper blades in last week at £9.00 for the pair...all
>> sizes.

We had that offer too, Michelin branded blades. Applications per chart though seemed limited to older vehicles. While it included Citroen BX, Xantia and original Berlingo it had neither current Berlingo nor my Roomster.

Didn't check specific lengths for either though. The Roomie's are a pair but Berlingo's are asymetric; nearside much shorter than offside.
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 20:51 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Robin O'Reliant
>> Our local Aldi had wiper blades in last week at £9.00 for the pair...all
>> sizes. They had an application chart so I bought new ones for the RAV4. Seem
>> to be good quality, easy to fit and certainly do the job well.
>>
>> I can afford another pair in 3 years at that rate !
>>

I get mine in Wilkinsons for £2 each. They clear the screen well and they last as long as any I've used.
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 22:45 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Ted

I would buy Wilkos but the problem there is parking, it's in Sale town centre. I could get two trams there, free, but it's all about time really. Not worth it to save a fiver !
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New Tue 27 Feb 18 20:27 
 Free MOT for life with a replacement cam belt - Bill Payer
>> I received an email from Audi earlier saying I could get free MOT's for life
>> with a cam belt change. It goes on to say that the cam belt needs
>> replacing every 5 years or earlier based on mileage.
>>
>> So the car is less than 3.5 years old and went back at 3 years
>> old with less than 25,000 miles so how does it need a cam belt? And
>> if it was a free MOT for life, you'd not get many ;-)
>>

Most dealers discount MOTs anyway so the saving isn't huge. I think it's an Audi thing that they'll cover £750 of repairs if the car fails its next MOT. The Mercedes dealer I used to use did the same thing which of course meant the car sailed through every MOT.

One snag is that anything they pick up as an advisory, or at a normal service, has to be paid for, so it's important to get service and MOT at the same time and not stagger them.
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