PaulW

Doing the timing belt on a 40 valve motor is easier than a 32 valve motor I believe. Like Ross says, if you find a independent to do it, shouldn't be much more than $1200.

You might also need a new control arm set soon, they wear out....but the good part is that they are easily renewed.

And your car feels new again after replacement.

ZRock

On the subject of current pricing, for those who keep track of such things:

I bought my 98 Quattro, with cold and electronics packages, 111k miles for $10k at the end of January.

Tony Z

Phil3315

Thanks, I already decided to do that. I'm on a layover in DC right now on my way to Boston. The dealer in Winston Salem quoted me $2043 for the timing belt, rollers, tensioners, drive belt, water pump, and camshaft seals. That is a little bit better than Clair in Boston, plus, I'll be able to take it back to Flow and deal with them face to face if something happens. I'm not going with an independant, I'm still trying to get one to fix my Passat 30V V6 after a timing belt disaster. I want a place with a corporate headquarters that I can call, email, etc. This is the first time in my life that I've actually felt that going to the dealership is the right thing to do. We'll see. Thanks for the comments, I can't wait to get the car in the morning, that is unless Boston is snowed in...

Phil3315

Cool, I'll post if my heated steering wheel works tomorrow. From the weather, I'll definitely need it when I get there. I can't wait to see this car in person. I'll post a picture when I get there, if I can find some WiFi somewhere.
I'm currently in a 4 month long battle with the local independant German shop over a catastrophic timing belt failure on my Passat 30V V6, so I'm not wild about independants, as this makes the second car that an independant has screwed me on. I've got a request in to the local TV station to help me with it, if they're not interested, it's going to an attorney. I'm driving the car back this weekend, and getting the dealer at home to do the timing belt, they said $2043, and that includes camshaft seals, and all of the other stuff.

JayMcS

I drove this car last weekend. Before I could make up my mind. You did. Congrats. I'm northwest of Boston. IF you get in a jam up here. I can help.

Instead of closing on the A8 , I bought my wife her 3rd suburban , traded the 98 1500 LT on a 02 2500 LT autoride with the 8.1 black with a dark grey gut. When I do buy soon, she won't even see it in the driveway behind that beast ? .

Stomping on the throttle leave 2 long black marks and lots of smoke . Like the 8s , you have to know where you are going because you are going to get there fast. Now I KNOW that I need to attend a driving school.

JayMcS

I misplaced a capital letter in my post. I meant to write If not IF. That means if you need any help at all, directions , good places to eat, or help in any way during your visit to Boston ring my cell at 617-784-1539 .

Regards

Jay

JayMcS

This car also has a "sport mode" on the shifter ( not the tiptronic gate) and has the steering wheel shift buttons like the S8. Is it possible that placing the shift lever in the sport position changes the tranny coding without using the VAG tool ?

PaulW

That is correct, leave it in S!