[A4] Changing Timing Belt / Brake pads at 80,000 miles

[Donohue, Andrew J (Andy), WCITS]

-----Original Message-----
From: "Venkat Venkataratnam" <venkat14 at hotmail.com>

>The dealer tells me that the timing belt needs to be changed ($1300) and so 
>do the brake pads ($500). Is it good practice to change these for my 98 A4 
>2.8 Quattro that has 80,000 miles on it.

I just had my timing belt, water pump, tensioner, serpentine belt and thermostat
changed at 75K. An independent shop did it for $800. General consensus is the
timing belt needs to be changed before Audi's recommended interval, but you can do
much better than $1300. 

Without knowing what the brake job includes, I can't comment. That's a fairly
easy job to DIY though.

Andy Donohue
98 2.8q