Ask an expert

Good day,

I recently bought a VW Polo (2006) with very low mileage. It has still the first cam belt and I am wondering whether the cam belt can get brittle (and risky) after 7 years, even with low mileage? As far as I know the recommendation for cam belt replacement is around 100'000 km, but I am just concerned here with this older car -> possible cam belt problems / major engine damages.

Thank you for your advise / info.

Yes, cambelts can become brittle and perished with age and Volkswagen NZ recommend changing the belt after 5 years.
If the car is NZ new with a full service history (so you know the low mileage is genuine) it is probably not a high risk running it out to 7 or 8 years, but if you want to be on the very safe side, it would pay to replace it at some time in the relatively near future.

Hello, I'm buying a VW Cross Polo 2007 with 42,600km on the clock. The vehicle is a Japanese import. The dealer has no information on maintenance but it has a grade 4 auction record on departing Japan. Assuming it has a cam belt is there any way of knowing if it should be changed. If so what is the likely cost for this job?