Very Angry right now.
Discussion
Right,
at this moment in time i am very very angry.
I've just paid for a 48k service (part of that was a cam belt check) at a reputable alfa specialist near Staines where i work.
Just before dropping the car off for a service the ECU light came on when the car was cold, the car was run through examiner and it cleared the fault.
within a mile of picking it up the ECU light was on again and duly taken back the next day. He wanted the car in for a day so i dropped it off this morning.
I have just rang for an update and they have changed the Cam belt without letting me know and are roadtesting it as we speak. (apparently jumped a tooth ??) and it saves me doing it later (arrogant fluckers
Now, i'm pissed off because they knew i had a warranty and if they've changed it without letting them know , i guess it now invalidates the warranty.
Thoughts please anyone ??
at this moment in time i am very very angry.
I've just paid for a 48k service (part of that was a cam belt check) at a reputable alfa specialist near Staines where i work.
Just before dropping the car off for a service the ECU light came on when the car was cold, the car was run through examiner and it cleared the fault.
within a mile of picking it up the ECU light was on again and duly taken back the next day. He wanted the car in for a day so i dropped it off this morning.
I have just rang for an update and they have changed the Cam belt without letting me know and are roadtesting it as we speak. (apparently jumped a tooth ??) and it saves me doing it later (arrogant fluckers
Now, i'm pissed off because they knew i had a warranty and if they've changed it without letting them know , i guess it now invalidates the warranty.
Thoughts please anyone ??
Wombat Rick said:
At least it hasn't lunched the engine! 
True
Wombat Rick said:
Have they changed the tensioners and balancer shaft at the same time?
Did it have a belt change at 3 years/36,000 miles?
Alfa recommend the change at 72000, but most dealers recommend them being changed at in between the 48 and 72 service, which was my plan, dunno about the tensioners and shafts, £600.00 bill though.
pdV6 said:
Is it even covered by your warranty?
Why would changing it invalidate your warranty?
I appreciate that most warranties require you to obtain prior agreement before authorising work that they'll be paying for, but couldn't the garage in question ask now and "do the work later"?
thats what they are doing now. Cam belts covered as long as i follow the service schedule (every 6000 mile) which i have done, 3 services in 12k of mileage in 8 months 
Question is Should they have not picked this up on the 48k service that they did the day before
Wombat Rick said:
All sounds a bit fuuny, but at least you are getting somewhere!
Normal Twin Spark servicing is every 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. The 6,000 mile interval is for people who drive through deserts.
or those with RAC warrantys.
Who to be honest have been pretty good so far, new gearbox, new clutch, new heat exchanger
pdV6 said:
Question is Should they have not picked this up on the 48k service that they did the day before
Presumably they just plugged it in to the diagnostic computer, cleared the fault code and checked that it ran, rather than actually investigating the cause of the fault!
But during the service part of it is to check the Cambelt, actually inspect the belt and gubbins etc, part of their service schedule and Alfa's ??
hughesie2 said:
But during the service part of it is to check the Cambelt, actually inspect the belt and gubbins etc, part of their service schedule and Alfa's ??
A visual check wouldn't show it up.
It's a bit of a nonesense all this checking of cambelts anyway. You can't check one unless you take it off and examine it tooth by tooth! It's only £25 for a new one, so it's a joke! All that happens is that they peer in at it, and it it looks intact and not shredding, they stick the cover back on and fingers crossed. That's why the "advisory" schedule is to change every 3years/36,000 miles. Most people get the tensioners done at the same time as they fail more regularly than the belt, plus the 2.0 also has a balancer shaft belt too. The variator tends to get done at the same time as well just in case.
Wombat Rick said:
A visual check wouldn't show it up.
It's a bit of a nonesense all this checking of cambelts anyway. You can't check one unless you take it off and examine it tooth by tooth! It's only £25 for a new one, so it's a joke! All that happens is that they peer in at it, and it it looks intact and not shredding, they stick the cover back on and fingers crossed. That's why the "advisory" schedule is to change every 3years/36,000 miles. Most people get the tensioners done at the same time as they fail more regularly than the belt, plus the 2.0 also has a balancer shaft belt too. The variator tends to get done at the same time as well just in case.
I've said this to Perrys in the past and they do take the belt off etc, but would not change it at the 36 service
when i said they could, Wife's 1.8 TS stripped the teeth of its timing belt at 57,000. Stated change interval was 72,000. When I took it up with Alfa GB I got a large 2 fingers and some utter bullshit about how 72,000 is only a MAXIMUM recommended interval. Apparently, if it needs doing sooner than that then you should get it done. They have now told dealers to "check and replace if necessary" at 36,000.
I haven't the time or inclination for a legal battle with them but obviously, they'll be getting a large 2 fingers from us next time we're looking for a car! Pity, my 1990 164 has 215,000 on it and I love it to bits and it just won't die! Oh well, I guess they don't make them like they used to!
I haven't the time or inclination for a legal battle with them but obviously, they'll be getting a large 2 fingers from us next time we're looking for a car! Pity, my 1990 164 has 215,000 on it and I love it to bits and it just won't die! Oh well, I guess they don't make them like they used to!
pwig said:
Well, the point of the 36k Cambelt check, is to advise if it will last to 72k.
If you get it done as part of the service it is cheaper by about £90 or so. As 1 hours labour is set aside for checking it.
Most people will leave it to the 48k service and get it done then.
Which is what i did, then a 1000 miles later the bottom end feel out popped a few conrods on the A3 on monday !!
It's a 1999 "T" reg. (doesn't get a great deal of use)
As far as the servicing goes, yes, that's great if you get it serviced by a dealer. For most of the people most of the time, I'm sure that's a satisfactory compromise - and certainly a great incentive to go to an Alfa dealer. Unfortunately, I'm an enthusiast (or at least, I WAS an enthusiast!) and do all my own servicing. I was foolish enough to believe what it said in the literature provided by Alfa with the car. Even then, I couldn't believe any cam belt would last until 72,000 and ironically was going to change it as a matter of course when I did the big 60,000 mile service anyway! I'm afraid it's a pretty poor show if the dealer can't advise owners of this potentially catastophic failure. An "insider" told me they stated 72,000 to try and get fleet sales up. Well, call me cynical but I think I'll be shopping elsewhere in future. All the other cars we've had have been serviced (by me) according to the information in the handbook and have performed as expected. I wonder how they'll fare when the new rules allowing greater competition start to bite?
As far as the servicing goes, yes, that's great if you get it serviced by a dealer. For most of the people most of the time, I'm sure that's a satisfactory compromise - and certainly a great incentive to go to an Alfa dealer. Unfortunately, I'm an enthusiast (or at least, I WAS an enthusiast!) and do all my own servicing. I was foolish enough to believe what it said in the literature provided by Alfa with the car. Even then, I couldn't believe any cam belt would last until 72,000 and ironically was going to change it as a matter of course when I did the big 60,000 mile service anyway! I'm afraid it's a pretty poor show if the dealer can't advise owners of this potentially catastophic failure. An "insider" told me they stated 72,000 to try and get fleet sales up. Well, call me cynical but I think I'll be shopping elsewhere in future. All the other cars we've had have been serviced (by me) according to the information in the handbook and have performed as expected. I wonder how they'll fare when the new rules allowing greater competition start to bite?
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