In article <dI-dnV2sket57BvfRVn-sQ@speakeasy.net>,
jim beam <nospam@example.net> wrote:

> belts are good. people whine about cost of preventive maintenance, but
> that's a function of dealer gouging, not design principle.

You can't deny that there's a bunch of labor involved in getting to the
timing belt. That some dealers gouge is not in question, but even the
best dealers have to charge quite a bit for that bit of preventive
maintenance.

> it doesn't
> take 4 hours to change a belt on a civic, regardless of what it says on
> the invoice.

It doesn't take you, but I've seen techs for whom it takes quite a bit
longer.