I bought an '04 Hyundai Sonata the other day with about 59,000 miles on it. It's the first car I've ever owned, and so far everything has been going well, but due to my inexperience, I was cheated out of a bit of cash. I asked the salesman about what kind of maintenance I would have to shell out for at the 60k mark. I was particularly concerned about the timing belt, which I hear can be pretty pricey to fix. He assured me that on a car like this, a V6, I wouldn't have to worry about the timing belt for a long time (until a 100,000 miles, he claimed).

Of course, after I bought the car and did some research, I've discovered that he was full of it. From what I've read in the manual and online, the timing belt is supposed to be replaced at 60k, and one ignores this at his peril. This probably comes up a lot, but can anyone tell me what a fair price would be to replace the timing belt? How much more to do all of the suggested maintenance? I'm certainly not planning on doing this at a dealer. Obviously, I'll call around and try to find a competent shop and a good price, but is this the kind of work that most good mechanics will be able to do?

Thanks,
J.

 

Quick answer, yes. I've had several belts replaced on other brands of cars by independent mechanics. I never had trouble with any of them. I always insisted on using the best quality belt. Some were Gates brand, and in some cases, the mechanic purchased an OEM belt from the local dealership. Cost estimate? A new belt from NAPA online is presently $85. In my area, labor is running ~$60/hours so for 3 to 4 hours labor the job would run $265 to $325 plus incidentals (gaskets, seals, etc). The last belt I replaced (on a 3.0 liter Nissan V6) was right at $300 a couple of years ago. Be aware that there is a tension pulley and idler pulley involved, both with bearings, that may have to be replaced at $40 to 60 each. Other threads on the forum have mentioned dealership costs from $450 and up for this procedure.