What happened to my car?? - I need help!!!

My wife is driving our '02 Golf with steel skid plate and hears weird engine noises. 1/4 mile later the car stalls and she pulls over. I look under the hood and see (it was dark) with my flashlight a shredded serpentine belt. (That was the noise she heard). It gets towed to dealer. Dealer now tells us that we must have run over something that shot up into the engine compartment as they can see lots of dings and chips in there. Oh and you'll need a new serpentine belt, timing belt, alternator, etc. (about 12 new items total) that will cost $2700!!! They also claim that the skid plate leaves part of the engine vulnerable out by the wheels. Is this true???
Do we drive on dirt roads, you might ask. Oh, about 1 mile in 700 maybe. And no, we haven't run into or over anything significant either.
Questions:
1. What the F*** happened!!???
2. If the dealer's account is correct, then the skid plate is useless, right?
3. Has this kind of thing happened to anyone else??
4. If so, what was the ultimate diagnosis?

My biggest concern is that the dealer actually is right and that I have a WAY too fragile car. Tell me this isn't so. I don't want to part with my beloved TDI.

Thanks so much, people.
-Russell

How many miles on the Golf? manual or Auto?

The timing belt is protected. Should be fine.

The steel plate covers the bottom, but the side has skirts of plastic. Unless you did not put them back when you put the skidplate on.

I'll look tomorrow.

Sorry about the missing info. The car has 19300 miles on it and it is a manual transmission. The dealer installed the skid plate so I don't know if they put the side panels back on - it was the first one they'd ever done. Hmmm...now I beginning to wonder...

-Russell

The original side skirts won't fit without being cut out around the mounting brackets. VW makes skirts with the holes already cut out, but most people just take out a knife and do it themselves. If the installer didn't put them back on, then any kind of crap could have come into the engine from the sides. A stick or rock could have taken out the belt and God knows what else.

If the plastic side pieces are not in place, and the dealer did the skid plate install, then I would hold them accountable for not doing the job properly. See the Articles link above to the install directions.

I too can't see how a timing belt would be needed. You'd have had to get a boulder in there to do the kind of damage described. Frankly, a boulder won't fit. You possibly need just the serpentine belt.

Any possiblity of posting pictures of the claimed damage?

Our car was the first skid plate install the dealer had ever done. I printed out directions for the installation here and gave it to them.
I doubt I'll be able to get pictures of the damage (I haven't seen most of it myself) but I can tell you that the serpentine belt looked like it had gone through a paper shredder. I'm still wondering how it is that I need SO many things replaced (a new alternator for instance???).
I think the theory that they incorrectly installed our skid plate is sound. I will pursue that route with our insurance adjuster...
Thanks for the responses.
-Russell

I would take a close look around the engine compartment. Perhaps you threw a rock in it. Or a piece of metal.

And I'd also keep a close look at that dealer. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Yeah, if the dealership installed the skidplate without the side panels, then they made a little boo-boo. And you'll probably want to consider asking them the questions you asked here: 'Why a new timing belt?' and 'Why a new alternator?' for example.

I can visualize the possibility of the damper/pulley (for the serpentine belt at the crank) may have been damaged (by something that started all this?). Replacement of that might be needed too.

If that were the extensively damaged, and it is a pretty sturdy piece, maybe just maybe, it damaged the lower timing belt cover which in turn, maybe just maybe, damaged the timing belt. But I think that's reaching for an explanation without being able to see any of it.

I still can't speculate the alternator part. It would be a reach to think the pulley on the alternator is damaged, but it can be replaced separately. Did they mention power steering pump too? AC compressor? Then they would have been replacing everything the serpentine belt goes around.