Advice for Timing Belt service, Philly Suburbs

I have an '05 LGT with 104k miles, so I'm getting ready to do the timing belt service and looking for advice.

1. I live near Exton/West Chester, do you have any recommendations for a reliable service shop to get the work done? When I lived in MD, I used to take my subie to a guy who was a trained subaru tech and did excellent work at a 30% discount from what the dealer charged. Unfortunately, I dont know anyone in the area like that (yet). Robert's Subaru is close by, but the few times I've taken my Subaru there, I dont get the warm fuzzy about them. Anyone with a recommendation in Chester/Montgomery/Delaware county would be great.

2. How much should this service cost. On my older cars, I've typically had them replace the water pump, I've now read that it's a good time to do the oil pump too. Anything else I should do on this service?

3. I probably need the plugs replaced, if I provide the parts, what should I expect to pay for the service?

Thanks

SB

Fred Beans in Doylestown is maybe a little over an hour from Exton if you want to drive that far. I have nothing but praise for their work and parts.

I'm also in West Chester, north of town next to Exton. I don't know of any shops the specialize in Subies - if you find one let me know!

I usually take my cars to Concordville as their Sat hours are more convenient for me. But they do tend to be more expensive than Roberts.

 

2. Had a new water pump and timing belts done at Concordville, it wasn't cheap

3. If you bring the plugs they charge ~2.5 hours of labor, IIRC mine was $225.

Rafferty Subaru in Newtown Square

4700 West Chester Pike,Newtown Square,PA19073

 

I bought my car there...nice guys...I'd go back but it's about 45 mins from me, much closer to you though.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far...

I called around today, and it looks like $400-$440 is the going rate for the timing belt. All the dealers I spoke to said that the water pump is usually not a problem at this point, so they just inspect it, although it would add about $200 if I wanted that replaced. I might just break down and do it at the dealer, I was just hoping to find a local mechanic I could use instead.

On a separate note, I think it would make an excellent "sticky" topic for this kind of topic: both good/bad service locations for the Philly area, and what people pay for various services.

FredBeans did my timing belt and they did a good job. The cost was more than 400 bucks, but I had them replace everything that touches the timing belt. This may be overkill, but I plan on keeping the car for a long time. You can also pick up your aftermarket parts there too and save on the shipping.

area1320 is about an hour or IAG performance. Ive worked with 1320 and they do great work. Think they charge $350 for the timming belt

i work at concordville subaru haha...i like to think i do ok work but, if u provide parts ill be more than happy to do it. Like stanjk said we are a bit expensive on the parts side of things but i feel the service side is reasonable. Our writers are pretty generous at the technicians expense more often than not.