I was just trying to get some perspective on phone call I made to my local Cadillac dealer.
I asked the service department how much it was to do the 100,000 mile timing belt service on an '03 CTS. I was a little shocked at few things.
- the guy on the phone didn't know what was involved or what was normally replaced when doing this procedure
- to his credit he went and asked a technician but I was surprised that the technician takes a "we'll have to take it apart and see" approach to things like the tensioner, the pulleys and the waterpump.
- He said if I wanted it all changed, then it was $972 + four hours labor. I don't mind the four hours labor but I don't think that I should pay a 100% mark-up on the parts. All parts (tensioner/upper pulley assembly, lower pulley, belt and waterpump) delivered with S&H from GM Partdirect is only $425.
- The thing that really puzzeled me was the tech said he hadn't done one of those jobs in a long time. Aren't all the '03's and '04's hitting 100,000 miles right about now? There are hundreds of thousands of them on the road, no? Do people just not have this service done or do they just not take their cars to the dealers for service?
I just thought it would be interesting to hear a dealer's perspective on it as you always hear the horor stories but never the other side of the story. I would have been more than happy to pay them $800-$1000 for the job but if I can save myself a $1000 to do it myself (yes, I know what I'm doing) then I will.
Any insight appreciated!
