Selespeed probs Friendship at stake

[burnunit]

Ive just bought a very nice 156 Veloce Selespeed from a mate at work for very good money.
Problem is ive drove it 3 times and there was a light flashing and beeping on dash(in rev counter) and now its stuck in neutral wont select any gears at all?

Ive checked the fluid which is ok i think

What are the likley faults and how much is it going to cost ?
I havn`t paid him for it yet and dont think i will either if its going to be a massive job
He has no idea about cars so is claiming i must have broke it somehow

any clues?

(and yes i know now the Sillyspeed is a bad option to have)

[touching cloth]

Whenever I have done deals with friends (and indeed legally anyway in private sales) it is strictly "sold as seen", I explain clearly that if I had a lemon I would not pass it onto them so if it happens to blow up tomorrow then genuinely coincidence and it is on their shoulders.. If the problem did not manifest itself when you test drove the car then it is in all likelihood just proper bad luck. You say yourself that he has "no idea about cars" so we can presumably rule out trying to get shot when he knew it had a problem and somehow bodging a temporary fix.

Of course the fact that money has yet to change hands does complicate matters but I would consider the sale as having been done the day you took delivery, assuming you have; you say you have driven it 3 times, was this under your care i.e. were you taking the car home and treating it as your own, or were these all test drives. Have the docs been set off?

[burnunit]

Thing is the first time i drove it the light came on and started bleeping and i asked him about it and he said it had come on a couple of times with him too but he said he thought it was to do with a warning light to do with the bonnet being open ( because thats what the light looks like ) But having found out the light is for the selespeed its clear the prombem was there before i bought it.

The log book hasn`t been sent off yet as it broke down the day after i bought it and he has the docs until i pay up at end of month

Now to me i should just say come get your car mate as it was already on its way out regardless of weather you knew what the prob was

[touching cloth]

Ah that does change things then, if the light was coming on during your first drive and he even admitted it had been coming on before then and he continued to use it, then I think you probably have good reason to say you are not interested in completing now that you know what it related to. We have a Selespeed but it has not given us any problems so can't advise on potential costs, my understanding however is that when they go it is usually fairly pricey. Just say to him that continued use after that warning light was showing, both originally by him and latterly by you, has probably been to blame and it was he himself who advised you that the light was nothing of concern. You have the upper hand in that he is going to have to pursue you for payment but it is going to be tricky if he genuinely thinks you are solely at fault.

[jonny manhattan]

the problem is the actuator for the gears.i'm not sure how much it would be to fix but i''m sure it was autocar that said about the selespeed "it's not a case of if the gears go as when they go".maybe your friend knew about this and tried to get rid,maybe not.if it was my car i would take it back and get it seen to then tell you about it,or if i were you i'd hand the keys back. so i suppose it depends on how close you two are.i've been lookin for a sportwagon for a while but since readin autocar have never looked at the selespeed.

[Wombat Rick]

The main thing with buying 156 saloons, is never buy one with a Toyota Supra bootlid bolted on. The previous owner is clearly blind and so will not be able to see any warning lights, service indicators or MIN markings on dipsticks....

[jonny manhattan]

[burnunit]

Just to update Had the AA out to the 156 they found a 30amp fuse had blown (the ones on top of the battery) so the box is back in working order although the light on the dash has lit up a couple of times so looks like there is something up somewhere, AA think could be a sensor prob ?

Of course its never easy because now its running rough with a missfire (wasn`t before) so hopefully its just cos its been stood for 2 weeks, So off to clear the cobwebs now..

If it dosent break it`ll be on ebay vsoon

Bit sad really as i always wanted an alfa but dont think it was meant to be

[sb-1]

Get a manual or a Q system