Is my car mechanic ripping me off?

Question

I took my 9 year old in to change the alternator because the bearings had gone. He just phoned me up sounding grave saying that the tension belt(?!?) had gone and had to be chiselled out of the engine block and replaced at a cost of GBP125. He said it snapped as it had corroded but it was fine before.

Have they screwed up and are attempting to get my to pay for it or is he genuine?

Answer 1

first lets blame the rite person its not the fault of the one that was trying to remove it its the one that installed it

an example is i baught a rebuilt brake caliper went to install it the idiot that installed the bleeder screw put it in so tight i broke it trying to loosten it i never was able to remove it i had to go back to the store and replace it now whose fault was it not mine whos fault was it for your bolt not his who gets stuck usually the mechanic as we gave you a bid but if its going to take me an hour to fix someone elses problem i got to charge someone it may even be a designed wrong problem from the dealer

Answer 2

I do not know the specifics of your particular vehicle but what it sounds like to me is that the belt "tensioner" has gone bad. On a 9 year old car this could be expected. The tensioner is a spring loaded pulley that keeps your fan belt tight. Years of being under a load causes the bearings to start to wear. As they wear they generate heat and the heat is what kills the tensioner ans the hardware that attaches the tensioner to the engine. There is always the possibility of being ripped off and that is why establishing a good relationship with a service tech/mechanic is a good thing. Spending a little money here and there on minor things could save you a ton when/if something major goes wrong.

Answer 3

Hi



I don't think he was on about the belt, from the sounds of it he was on about the belt tensioner, and yes they do often need replacing. It had probably corroded onto the block and needed to be chiselled free. I have only ever had to replace a couple of these myself, but as I say it does happen every now and again.



However, I do hope that the price of £125 was all inclusive of the tensioner, a new belt, and the fitting?



Very best regards



Geordie

Answer 4

Hmm ok, couple things, someone said that a fan belt drives the alternator. It doesn't, it's drives a (yep, you guessed it) fan, and hasn't been on production cars for ears.



The belt he's talking about is the alternator (or auxiliary) drive belt, now as we don't know what your car is it's impossible to say if he's ripping you off.



Generally speaking, on most cars the alternator belt is a small V shaped belt about a foot long, and runs from the crank to the alternator. It's normally a 15 minute job to pop the hood, slacken the belt, remove it and pop a new one on, and a belts about £20.



However, I've also seen a number of cars where the belts sit behind a plethora of covers, or where it's been included on a serpentine belt.



If he's charging you 125 quid JUST for the belt replacement I think you're being done, unless you have a car where it's obviously very awkward and needs parts removing.



Take a look at this imprezza, this is not a 15 minute job to replace the belt, i might swallow £125 for this but not for most cars.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/mapper-montag/398829125/

Answer 5

chisel out a belt from the engine block it makes me laugh no belt can get into the engine block before it could become embedded in the block it would take the least line of resistance and break.

I would go to your local trading standards and ask them to look into the matter they may have past history that you are unaware of.

whatever happens you are being ripped off good and proper a new belt should cost no more than a fiver or even a tenner and there is no labour because he would have to remove the belt in the first place to change the faulty alternator.



you could report the mechanic to the police for deception a crime is being committed or at the very least attempted. the mechanic would have to prove to the police what he has said is in fact correct, if he cannot he is guilty of an offence

Answer 6

You know, when you say "I took my 9 year old in"... I sort of thought this was a question for the various Kids and Parenting type sections.



Anyway... well, I hate to say but yes, after nine years if you have a belt-driven car, the thing can become quite corroded and need replacement. When you are replacing the alternator is a fine time to replace that belt as it was going to need to be re-threaded anyway. I realize that 125 pounds ain't cheap, but it's also not like a transmission replacement or something. If you can pay it, replacing the belt is not such a bad idea, especially after 9 nears. Most manufacturers recommend replacing that belt at 5 years or 60,000 miles (around 96000 Kilometers, if that's what you use.)

Answer 7

I recently changed the alternator on my MKIV Golf V6 (nightmare job!) and changed the auxillary drive belt at the same time



My car is 7 years old and the belt was badly cracked and clearly in need of changing.



However, the belt is easy to remove - literally a 1 minute job, as it is slack when removing alternator and tension pulley.



Mine cost £30 to replace (from a main dealer) - so where he is getting £125 for what is a 1 minute job I do not know.



So, in summary: replacing the belt is genuine, charging you that much is not.

Answer 8

Do you have whats called a polyvee belt drive on the alternator? it looks like a flat belt about 20 mm wide with ridges on. one side.



If so this type of belt is kept tight by a spring loaded belt tensioner, they do seize up when they fail and you only find out when the drive belt either comes off the pulleys or you are changing the belt.



Allowing for the price of a new tensioner plus the time to change it and the dreaded VAT £125 is about right.

Answer 9

what a load of crap i used to be a mechanic and you don't chisel anything from the engine block for starters the alternator is on a bracket on all cars and you if the belt snapped then its no big deal. my advice is to find out the cost of parts fut for this you will need make, model, reg for the year mainly phone up a parts supplier in the yellow pages.

and for something like that your looking at no more than two hours max. but you might be able to find out whats known as book time from either a Haynes manual or a book called auto-data but you might get the details from them on-line to!

in my opinion for some thing like a fiesta 1.1 popular around £100 GBP.This price is for replacing the alternator and the belt like someone else has put the belts are no more than £30.

Answer 10

There's no such thing as a tension belt but there IS a belt tensioner and they can seize up and be difficult to remove, it would also need replacing.

Check what the mechanic said without mentioning the item (ie. What needed replacing?) and if he says belt tensioner ask to see the delivery note for it as a means of proving the new part was necessary and don't be put off because they will have to keep it for the business accounts.

If they say tension belt also ask to see the delivery note because it shouldn't exist and they are ripping you off.

Answer 11

The mechanic has to manually move the tensioner to introduce some slack in the belt so it can be removed to allow alternator removal. If the tensioner was already bad, it may not have stood up to this necessary procedure. Not exactly uncommon and probably why your alternator fried in the first place.



Just pay the man and get it fixed right.

Answer 12

Here's my bet, if we're starting a pool or anything. I am betting the mechanic said "Belt Tensioner" and the O.P. says "Tension Belt" instead.



If the belt tensioner was stuck, the mechanic really had no choice but to knock it loose from the engine. A 9 year old would probably not be strong enough to do that (sorry, can't help myself).

Answer 13

I can see that happening as the serpentine belt has to come off to replace the alternator and the tensioner being that old can brake at anytime when your trying to put the belt back on as it has a large spring in it and can snap, I have had it happen to me before and had to replace one this week on my 02 monte carlo, the part was $58.

Answer 14

Of course he could be using his knowledge as removing the belts to replace the alternator he could have noticed the tensioner was broken, this stops your cambelt fro jumping and mashing up your engine then you would have a huge bill.



Personally I'd stick with the mechanics diagnosis it is quiet believable and will save you money in the long run. Ask him to replace the cam belt too while he's got it in pieces especially if its done over 60,000miles or multiples of the same.

Answer 15

Tension belts do wear and crack up after a few years, but what does he mean by chisel it out? i would use a spanner to slacken it of and replace it, they only cost about £8. depending on make of car some are easy to fit some are awkward. i would ask to see the old belt so you can confirm the ware before you commit to paying any bill,

good luck

Answer 16

yeah, hes ripping you, a FAN belt, (which drives the alternator costs around 5 quid)



unless... you have a vauxhall astra, and its the water pump which has gone, (they run on a common belt) they are a bit hard to get out as the really do corrode... poxy design, and a recessed pump...not good.



before making spurious allegations, i suggest you ask him to show you what hes done.

Answer 17

The tentioner should be removable without any major problems, however if the bolt holding tentioner is rusted its possible that the bolt can shear off. I would only pay for the cost of the tentioner and the replacement of the belt.

Ja.

Answer 18

Was he talking about the ground (low-tension) strap. Where it bolts to the block could be all rusted and require some chiseling/drilling etc.

Answer 19

Just go down to the garage and ask him to show you and explain what the problem is.Any decent mechanic wouldn't have a problem in doing this.Whenever you have parts on a car replaced you should always ask for the old bits back too.

Answer 20

If he knew the proper name for the part....he might of been genuine! but a tension belt?? hes fond of the beer this fella i'd say is he????

Answer 21

Of course he's riping you off, You know nothing about cars.



Get a 2nd opinion from a recommended mechanic

Answer 22

I wouldnt believe a 9 year old mechanic either

Answer 23

Most likely. I was shocked to learn that my nephew says they teach them how to "screw" the customers in these mechanics trade schools. He went and is now a very successful mechanic himself $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Answer 24

No, it sounds fine,

Always remember that labour will be included in the final price.

Answer 25

hes a bad man

Answer 26

where are you ,my husbands a mechanic,,he would do this job for you much cheaper .and hes probly much better than you have doing it ,and my hubby is honest. xxx

Answer 27

its like car insurance - shop around !!!







get at LEAST 3-5 quotes -

Answer 28

they are all the same, yes they did to me too.

Answer 29

he ripping you