My son was traveling last night and timing belt broke. Had car towed in to Pensacola and trying to get estimates on repair. Called two places - Firestone auto quoted 1400 and Mazda dealership quoted 800. Has anyone had this work done and what did you pay?

 

what engine? also, there are a couple of things here. if you call the dealer, and ask what it costs for a timing belt, they quote you exactly that. however, and i DONT KNOW if firestone did this, an independent would quote everything that would normally be done for this job. if i were doing this job, i change the timing belt, the serpentine belts, the water pump, the tensioner, the pulleys, and i also quote the cam and crank seals. they may or may not need to be done, but something made the belt break.

i guarantee you the dealer is gonna find a lot more stuff once they are in there, and you will have no choice, since the car is there and apart. then the real doodoo hits the fan.

a while ago, my mitsubishi galant had a recall for a timing belt. i took it in, and also asked what it would cost for the balance belt to be changed also, since it is the same labor, and no one in his right mind would change just one belt. those suckers quoted me everything, labor, parts, etc, even tho it could be done while they were in there. like passing the cost of the entire warranty on to me. i told them to gimme the timing belt, and i would change it myself. "cant do that, this is a recall" ok, so i took them the car, they did the timing belt, and when i got it back, i redid it, and also changed the tensioner, pulleys, water pump, etc. so i knew the job had been done RIGHT. beware that the cheap can come out the most expensive

 

I'm going to get it and bring it to my mechanic. He told me between 7 & 800. I know they can find other problems when they go in, but it's hard to give the ok when you have never dealt with the shop.

 

the dealership i always your best bet.