car repair

[srocque]

Hi my husband's disel renault laguna stopped suddenly. Its just over 60,000 in mileage. The local garage is charging him around �2600.00 for the repairs. According to them the cambelt is slack, the turbo has stopped function and there is oil in the inter cooler. Does the above justify the repairs or should we get a new car. Hubbie and me have no clue about car repairs etc.

[Kos]

First thing to do is get another quote.
Cam belt replacement is expensive as it's normally an 'engine-out' job, but �2600 does seem an awful lot and depending on the age of your car would probably justify looking for another car, which, for that sort of money you should get a decent one.

[VHG]

I have a diesel laguna and it is a good idea to get the cam belt changed after so many miles (the book that came with the car will tell you).

However I would certainly get another quote as �2,600 does seem a lot for any repairs.

DONT tell them you know nothing about cars or it doubles the price. Maybe take along a friend who knows about cars.

[rov1200]

It sounds that because you cam belt was slack your engine timing came adrift and this has damaged your engine. The pistons, cyclinder head and crankshaft are probably kaput. Use the government scrappage scheme to get �2000 to scrap it and put it towards a new car. This scheme is being announced shortly although dealers know all about it.