Gold 'N' Brown
Monday 10th June 2013, 01:43
What's the general feel for quality on the cambelt kits offered by the usual aftermarket brands when it comes to Volvos?
I've been wanting to stick to OE Volvo stuff as much as possible for the Stage O servicing on my early Ph2 V70 T5, but there comes up a point where the budget dictates that something's got to give. It's nice in an ideal world, but equally I have to accept that spending the extra won't necessarily make it worth any more come resale in a few years time. So now the decision comes down to whether there's any perceived risk due to inferior quality if I don't use Volvo parts (which I think is unlikely, but no harm in getting a consensus).
So, genuine Volvo kit is £120ish from PFV. I'll be calling Rufe for a quote though.
On eBay, a Gates Powergrip kit will be about £100 (gotta be good, it's got "Power" in the name LOL. Besides, the current belt is a Powergrip item). But coming in from left field, we have a continental Contitech kit for £50! That's value that can't be sniffed at, but is paying half the price doubling the risk?
By the way, I'm leaning towards going the eBay route purely as I have a bit of cash in my Paypal account.
I've been wanting to stick to OE Volvo stuff as much as possible for the Stage O servicing on my early Ph2 V70 T5, but there comes up a point where the budget dictates that something's got to give. It's nice in an ideal world, but equally I have to accept that spending the extra won't necessarily make it worth any more come resale in a few years time. So now the decision comes down to whether there's any perceived risk due to inferior quality if I don't use Volvo parts (which I think is unlikely, but no harm in getting a consensus).
So, genuine Volvo kit is £120ish from PFV. I'll be calling Rufe for a quote though.
On eBay, a Gates Powergrip kit will be about £100 (gotta be good, it's got "Power" in the name LOL. Besides, the current belt is a Powergrip item). But coming in from left field, we have a continental Contitech kit for £50! That's value that can't be sniffed at, but is paying half the price doubling the risk?
By the way, I'm leaning towards going the eBay route purely as I have a bit of cash in my Paypal account.