Ballens garage checked my car including the cam belt and said it was fine. Two months later the fan belt snapped. Ballens said there was another problem and changed the cam belt and water pump. I took the changed parts to another garage and was told that they were good and did not need changing. I ended up with a
bill of around 570 euros .
Blimey!
james fox 2,
if you are going to criticize a company you should be sure of what name the company has. As far as I know there are no garage in La Marina with the name Ballen.
its a company in La Marina Village. From what I know it is a family business and they have a good reputation with many friends of mine having used them with no problem.
The name of the garage is Bailen and they are a family business I have used them for the last 10 years and not a problem good sevice and good prices.You dont name the second garage you went to and said everything was ok and should not have been changed I sense a bit of skullduggery here.
Yes we have used Bailen to and found them to be good. I had an oil leak fixed there and about 8 months later had the same problem, they repaired it free if charge as they said it was under warranty.
Bailens were very fair when we had a problem with the Saxo, we were towed there after a the gear shift linkage broke. We got a call the next morning and were changed the sum of 29 euro!! Yes 29.
In all fairness, unless you have a) a crystal ball or b) obvious visual signs that the cam belt is deteriorated, it would make good sense to change it if you're unsure of the history of the cars use and servicing.
And on a lot if cars you're looking at changing the cam belt, the tensioner and guide, and the water pump.
Often the 'fan belt' ( not actually a fan belt these days as fans are mostly electric) can snap due to defective alternator bearings or tensioner, so even if the belt looks good, the extra stress can cause it to snap.
I think you're being a bit harsh towards the first garage in my opinion. And for some reason in the motor trade, everyone wants to do the other guy down.
