[Golfmk56]

I have a two month old SEAT Ateca 1.4 SE.

I could not find anything in the handbook or service book regarding cam belts. Around two weeks ago I visited my SEAT dealer to query. I was shocked to be told by the Service Manager the cam belt replacement was an eight hour job costing £1,150.00!! I then telephoned SEAT Customer Care (Laura) in Leeds to query. After around 10 days they came back to me and their technical team have stated the cam belt is a two to three hour job costing the regular amount.

I then spoke to the Service Manager again and was shown the SEAT schedule for the job on the PC showing the £1,150.00. The dealer then emailed SEAT (Customer Care) asking for clarification. As they did not come back to him he assumed SEAT had accepted his schedule as being the correct scenario.

I telephoned SEAT Customer Care again this week to complain to Laura that the information she gave me was a load of old tosh. Unbelievably, she stated their information about the three hour job still stood and she was unaware of any emails received from the Service Manager. She has now raised a case for me with one of their Case Managers who would be in touch. Meantime, the Service Manager has copied the email sent to Laura (without the SEAT schedule attachment).

Does anyone out there know the truth here? - I didn't even remember asking if a new the water pump was included in the quote. In my opinion this cost is unbelievable and unacceptable. The only lucky thing is that the cam belt should not require replacement for a number of years.

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That's some time for SEAT to contact you - 10 days I simply emailed them and they came back with an answer in 48hr.

As said, there's another thread on this matter BUT if your service manager quoted an 8hr job for changing the cambelt, I'd be very very worried about returning to that dealership to have work done on my car. He should have known there was something suspect about it.

 

[Golfmk56]

According to Golf MK7 Forum, VW has a maintenance schedule for 1.4 TSI, where the belt is checked first time on 150k miles (and no time interval whatsoever).

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I have a confirmation email from SEAT UK to say it's 5 years on the 1.4tsi

 

[Golfmk56]

The cambelt is no different from any other part - it will have a specific life. If you are driving under normal conditions, the car is well maintained and serviced as per manufacturer specifications then according to the manufacturer, that belt should last 5 years. If it snaps before then it's reasonable to suggest the belt was faulty from manufacture and the cost of damage would fall on the supplier.