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aux belt snapped today!

4K views 63 replies 15 participants last post by  sudsonic 
#1 ·
:cry:

Driving home today and i heard a rattly sound from the drivers side and my steering went heavey and my bulb warning light came on. I looked under the wheel arch and there was a hole from where the belt had went pop.

I got the car home and am now wondering how much this is going to cost me :cry:

This will teach me not to put things on the long finger ever again.

Please tell me i don't need a whole cambelt job for this.
 
#32 ·
Alright lads. unfortunately it is not good news. The engine is fine. The whiney sound is a power steering leak and it appears to have a oil leak. The thing that is not good news is that the sils underneath the car are in tatters with rust and will not get through a VRT inspection. It is not really financially viable for me to fix them up as the cash it would cost to have them done professionally would outweigh the price of the car. :(

So i am going to throw it out here before i put it on donedeal / gumtree. I will be taking the wheels and the zender kit off the car. It would be a good project for someone to take on if they had the know how. It's a beautifull looking car but unfortunately it is not a viable runner for me to fix.

The car has has a new clutch recently and new plugs. It has a good bit of service history and is just about to turn 79000 on the clock. I am absolutely gutted about this as i don't know when i will be abe to get another 156 v6 (but i will get one). I got shafted big time and i don't know how the tool that looked at the car for me missed the rust on the sills.

I would take 500 euro for it. :cry::mad:

I will leave it on here for a week before advertising it as i would love someone to try fix her up. I just want to be straight up about the condition though so ask me any questions or come and have a look underneath for yourself.





again :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
 
#38 ·
****in hell Barry so sorry to hear that. The worst thing is that such a new car actually rusted at the sills I don't believe it is a common trait in the 156 or any modern Alfa.

You should name and shame that mechanic that looked at it and I'd complain about him, maybe even the small claims court?
 
#39 ·
The mechanic that looked at the car was in manchester and came recommended on here. I am going to think long and hard before i go naming people on this forum as it can very badly affect business and i am still VERY VERY pissed off. I need a few days to cool off and think about what my next move will be but i don't really have a leg to stand on



Can't even find the words to express this. But if you have even a slight possibility try and keep it for future restoration, if you think it's worth it.

I what conditions has the car been kept if it has 79k miles and rust ?


Again, gutted for you mate :(
Rob. There really is no point in me keeping the car for future restoration as i do not have the skill / knowledge to do it and it would sit there for all eternity. Rusting away.

The car from the outside looks like one of the cleanest 156s i have ever seen and drives very well tbh (sure you know how long i looked for one). I have a feeling it was a case of it being a monday morning car in the alfa factory. I have read stories of 156s not having proper cover of underseal when coming out of the factory.
 
#44 ·
Ya Barry it can be a mine field buying cars in the UK , rust is the big problem on older cars , have a bit on the V6 but was aware that it was and still is not "life" threathning ! Shame as we all looked at the pics of the car prior to your purchase and it looked fine .. It is a problem buying from the UK and not all but alot of the older Alfa's (146,166,155's) will be rotten from the salt over in the UK . I can tell you that in a few years time there will be quite a lot of irish cars rusted to bits as the folks here will not remove the salt and other **** that was dumped on our roads in the last while ... its a real shame as the V6 is one of the best sounding engines and if looked after properly rarely break .
 
#45 ·
I just don;t understand how the **** he could have missed this. It would have been one of the first things to check. Especially in the uk! It was the first question i asked the seller. I would expect a mechanic to inspect that. It was a mobile mechanic but ffs bring a jack!!!

He said he inspected the car for an hour. I wonder.....
 
G
#48 ·
Jesus man, next time your going over to get a car I'll with ya I rip apart a car when I am going to buy it. Why not reshell a non V6 alfa man as the engine is ok etc. How bad are the sills they completely rotten you never know there mint be someone out there to help you.
 
#46 ·
Ah FFS! Barry sorry to read this post man. Bo))ox is the word for it. That's some pill to swallow especially if a 'recommend' mech checked her out. Ive seen the thread on the hunt and purchase. **** I swear if I had the £$€ I'd sort it for ya bud. S**t that's a bad outcome.

Was there a HPI check on her?

PM.


Cathal
 
#49 ·
you bought this car from a garage if i remember correctly, you have 6 months to return the car and in your case you have a pretty good ****ing reason! the sale of goods act if im right. they must either fix the car or refund you your money. doesnt matter that the car is in Ireland, the law is the law. and if they ignore you then i will gladly drive you over and sort the bastards out or we can torch their garage! i seriously have a problem with fire :lol:
about the vrt, why does it have to be inspected? when i brought mine over there was no inspection, i thought it was just for japanese imports???
 
#50 ·
I bought the car privately. the garage sent a mechanic out to check it for me at the handsom sum of 100 pounds sterling.

If i had of known Joe Bollard was doing house calls for them i would have taken my business else where. I will call them on monday but i am sure i won't have a leg to stand on.
 
#51 ·
i feel gutted for you, back to the old focus ehhh?

so whos this Joe Bollard? is he on here? do you still have his number?? call the little shite and tell him to at least refund you the 100 quid. wouldnt surprise me if he didnt even go to look at it.
do you have a picture of the rust?

EDIT: im guessing everything else is perfect in the car? what you could do is get the shell of another 156 and swap everything over. actually come to think of it, that would cost a bomb. sorry
 
#52 ·
Joe bollard has an account on here. I will call him on monday to see what he has to say. He definitely viewed the car but from what i've seen he just brought it for a spin and that was it. The gee bag i bought the car from said he had it for an hour as did Joe himself.
 
#55 ·
IDK if the Garage would have anything to gain from this. Think about it. I told them that i had heard of them on here and if that type of thing was going on it wouldn't look good for business to say the least. The car wasn't put on a ramp as your man wouldn't drive it with the MOT being just out so i got a house call. I appreciate the guy didn't have a ramp but ffs he had to have had a jack of some description. If he did he would have seen this,



I hope you can get it sorted, and get your money back...

and when you do, have a look at this:
Alfa Romeo : Alfa 166 2.5 V6, Zender
I even checked the vrt for you, 720 euros
I'm not into 166s but i have to say that is beautiful. I somehow doubt i will be coming out of this smelling of roses. I will make the calls tomorrow and be told tough **** and the car will go on donedeal for a ridiculously low price for someone to repair.

i am going to send Cherb some pics of the sills tomorrow. He says he might know a guy that can repair them but i have been doing my sums and i think it might make more sense to sell her for spares / repair.
 
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