Dear Andrew in AL,

Hope you're well. You need to find another mechanic. Your mechanic is seriously incompetent. He may have been a mechanic for 30 years. That matters not.

Changing a timing belt on a B230 engine does not require more than basic competence. Your mechanic has repeatedly failed to do this correctly. He wasted a lot of your time and imposed stress.

He is not to be trusted with the doing of any mission-critical work, i.e., where error creates danger to life and limb. Thus, he can be trusted to change an interior light bulb or to replace a piece of plastic interior trim. But I'd not let him go near tires, engine, etc.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook