"How much to put a belt on my car?" asks the caller, innocently enough.
All the burden now is on me. I have to find out how to best take care of this caller's problem and I'll need a lot more information. I need to know what kind of "car", year, make, model, engine, accessories, systems, etc. So to get started,
"What kind of car is this?" ask I.
I have to tell you, a LOT of people get stuck right there. They may be somewhere in the neighborhood on the year and make, less sure on the model and rarely know the trim package. Engine size is usually not exact but most know 4, 6 or 8. It can be complicated though even if you know it is 5.3. There are more than one version of 5.3 and there is Flex or Gas, etc. Sometimes we are left with the caller digging around for the title to get the 8th digit of the vin, or the full vin. Which brings me to the point of this post.
A license plate is often the easiest way to get the needed car information. Texas tag LRD2276 comes back as vin 2T1BURHEXGC489086. The vin is for a 2016 Toyota Corolla L, 4cyl 1.8 U MFI DOHC. One of the snags searching this car with no vin is that there are two 1.8 vin U engine versions, 2ZR-FAE and 2ZR-FE. The vin method and we find this is the 2ZR-FE 1.8 engine. There is more. 6sp manual trans. Vehicle produced in Ontario Canada. 13.2 gal fuel tank. 106.3 in wheelbase. 3820 GVWR. A/C, Power Brakes, All Wheel ABS, 4dr Sedan, etc.
With a vin we can even check for recalls at nhtsa.gov. Indeed there actually is one unrepaired recall on this car.
We can also now pull up repair and estimate information that applies specifically to the car in question with no guesswork about whether it is relevant or not.
Now I can get back to the original question and address it more knowledgeably. There is no timing belt as it uses a timing chain. There is only one drive belt. Now I don't have to ask which belt. I do have to ask if there is a problem related to the belt or if the belt is being replaced as regular maintenance. If the belt snapped or fell off there are likely to be other problems that need inspected. There are two available belts, one for Japan built and one for built elsewhere. We know this was built in Canada.
Now we have an accurate estimate. Or, at least as accurate as possible prior to inspecting the car myself.
Thanks for reading!
Kenny@ggauto.repair
