Newbie V8 Owner in the UK

["David M. Lancaster" <davel@ftp.com>]

Having recently bought a 1991 V8Q to replace my wife's totally unreliable Range Rover, I need to seek the opinions of experts - and my research tells me that this list is where they are!

The car has 122K on the clock and no record that the cam belt has ever been changed. I have just had a full service done by B.R. Motorsport and I asked them to check and replace the cam belt. They made inquiries with VAG in Milton Keynes and were told that there had never been such a belt in the UK (but they did quote an Audi figure of 14 hours labor to replace one!).

My question is: Do they really last for ever?

Despite the mileage the car is in tip-top condition however, when pulling fairly hard, the auto transmission seems to pause when changing gear (up and down) which causes the revs to rise between gears so that the next gear comes in with a bit of a thump. Is this a common complaint?

Thanks for advice received..

Dave Lancaster
20v coupe quattro
V8 quattro
Range Rover (which has never been so reliable now it is not needed!)