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I have a 2007 Peugeot 307 2.0 Diesel which I've owned from new. Its done 33,000km. The service agent is telling me I need to replace the cambelt at an estimated cost of $1,400. I thought the rule of thumb for cambelts was 100,000km or 10 years?

I understand how you feel however, it’s a big call using a general rule-of-thumb theory when it comes to cambelt replacement.

If you choose to ignore the belt replacement based on the cars low mileage, then the big unknown question is; just when should it be replaced?

No franchise Dealer or independent repairer is ever going to guarantee a cambelt will not fail if you extend the recommended time and mileage period.

There is a very good chance the cambelt life can be extended but it is generally left to an owner to make that call.

I suspect the reason for the high cost is because they are recommending the water pump be replaced as part of the job. While it does increase the total repair cost, it is a recommendation we do support.

The trend in the industry is to reduce maintenance costs and many manufactures are redesigning their engines to run timing chains which have no recommended replacement period.

That’s not to say a chain replacement is cheap, but if they do develop a problem it is normally due to high mileage and/or a poor service history.