10:55 pm, February 23, 2012
A NEW website to help car dealers and owners find out when a car’s timing belt is due for replacement has gone live.
The website, www.mytimingbelt.com, was created by James Kent and Sean Arnold and was set up to give free advice on when a car’s timing belt should be changed.
The website aims to prevent dealers and owners having to lose hundreds of pounds should their timing belt snap by relying upon owners’ manuals or unreliable recommendations.
‘In my experience through selling cars, customers place a huge emphasis on whether or not their potential new car has had a cambelt/timing belt change or not,’ said Kent. ‘This is mainly due to the huge cost of a timing belt change (usually around £250-400) and the damage a snapped timing belt can do to an engine if it is left and not changed.
‘Also, customers use it as a bargaining point against the dealer to buy the car at a discounted rate if the recommended mileage interval is near. In most cases, dealers that have numerous manufacturers in stock are unsure of timing belt intervals as they vary so much.
‘This leads to conflict when a potential customer plays on this fact and this is where we come in. When valuing a part exchange, our website can shed light on whether the potential piece of new stock is due a timing belt change or not.’
By simply logging onto the website, dealers and owners can quickly and simply find out when their car’s cambelt needs to be changed. Mytimingbelt.com can help dealers establish any costs that they may incur in the future by selling the part exchange, and helps them avoid a snapped belt which can cost thousands to replace.
Kent and Arnold are also intending to add new features to the website. ‘We are planning to implement a feature on our website that will enable users to identify local garages in their area who can carry out a timing belt change and book in the service,’ said Kent.
‘Lead generating for smaller independent garages who have a good reputation to carry out mechanical work is also an option in the short term.’
