1997 Toyota Camry Timing belt

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Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Be careful with car stealers they may advertise $225.00 but when they open it up and they tell you it needs one of these and 2 of those and..... your bill will go way up. most of them are not so honest as we all know.

Sure, telling customers what their car really needs is a dishonest practice?

The coupon clearly states to see the dealer for other important details; anyone who is remotely familiar with a timing belt system will know that a complete service will often require more than just the belt. And don't tell me that this is a bait and switch -- if you are not an educated consumer, that's your own darn fault.

You have a serious, unwarranted bias against dealerships. What makes independent shops so great anyway? They lack the continual factory training, availability of tech line for assistance and are unable to provide the service experience that most discerning clients expect. The dealership is almost always the most consistent, safest choice for a quality repair using the proper parts.


I think he owns his own engine shop or something, if I remember correctly. He may be trying to attract more customers. lol
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
A Toyota dealer in town has a service coupon for $229.99 to change it, what's the catch? Is it a good deal?
It seems very much in line with many ads I've seen locally over the past several years.

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
...and ride her for a while.
lol.gif


Originally Posted By: The_Eric
The continual lack of factory training to me really only comes in on the newest cars. Good indy shops undergo schooling or look for other ways to stay current on their knowledge. They also have tech resources available to them, including factory hotlines or factory trained hotlines in many cases. All they have to do is pay. The bottom line is, while a dealer can be a safe bet in many cases, good workmanship follows the mechanic, not the name on the building.
Well-stated.
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when doing seals on those engines the oil pump cover o ring should be changed as they leak alot on older engines. I don't see anybody being able to do a toyota 2.2 t belt job with drive belts water pump and three seals and oil pump cover and new coolant for five hundred dollars unless labor is free almost. We use Goodyear belts, Aisin water pumps, Beck Arnley toyota coolant and Fel Pro seals and oring We have done many of these over the years and the 225.00 is to take off old t belt replace with new T belt only and re use everything else which on a 185,000 mile car is not a real good idea.
 
The catch is that's only for the belt and if you want the water pump, or any idlers replaced, those are extra, and most likely a lot extra. Call them to find out what's included and post that back here.
 
Consider doing the job yourself. I changed the belt on our Acura MDX earlier this year and it was a very enjoyable job. A 4-cylinder Camry has got to be even easier. I saved well over $500, and was able to verify the quality of the parts going on it (I used OEM Honda parts).
 
I called and they said its $229 to replace the timing belt. If I want new tensioners or a drive belt it's just the cost of parts, no added labor. If I want a water pump I have to pay extra for labor and for the parts for it.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I called and they said its $229 to replace the timing belt. If I want new tensioners or a drive belt it's just the cost of parts, no added labor. If I want a water pump I have to pay extra for labor and for the parts for it.


Sounds pretty reasonable!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I called and they said its $229 to replace the timing belt. If I want new tensioners or a drive belt it's just the cost of parts, no added labor. If I want a water pump I have to pay extra for labor and for the parts for it.


Yes, but they didn't tell you that that they will be charging you around $??? for a timing belt tensioner that you can get off Rock Auto for $35 (used 2000 Camry and gates tensioner pricing). That's assuming that they actually replace it since they can always say that they did and charge you anyway.

What's a Reasonable Cost for Timing Belt Replacement?
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/155-2n...eplacement.html
 
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Just do it yourself, I did a timing belt job about a decade ago on a 1993 Camry and I don't remember it being very challenging.
 
The shop part of a car dealership is ultimately under the same management as the car sales and faces similar revenue and profitability targets. Has ANYONE ever found an honest car salesman??? I'm sure they exist, but the other kind are far more prevalent.

Two reasons to stay away from dealerships in my mind; first is the markup. OEM parts are a lot more expensive than aftermarket. Second is the pressure on the service writers and mechanics to drum up extra business. I don't know for sure but I sure suspect they will even go so far as break something to sell you a fix. Case in point, I took my Chrysler minivan to the dealer for a transmission service since it seemed like a reasonable price. they called me back saying someone had over tightened the pipe to the transmission cooler and a new one was $175 since the whole pipe needed to be replace. They showed me a drippy fitting into the radiator. Nope, it'll be fine I told them and besides, they were the only ones who had touched that pipe before during a prior tranny fluid change. I snugged the fitting down when I got home. No leak! I rest my case...
 
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