Grandson is looking at a car with 156000 ks.Cant find any record of cambelt having been renewed.Seller(Dealer) says" At that mileage must have been done".I would prefer something in writing like a guarantee.Is that unreasonable or is it "Walk away Ren'e " time. +Would the CGA cover if cambelt broke in a short time./Cheers
intrade,
Sep 19, 12:01pm
well have the dealer sign that he confirms cambelt was done otherwise you knock off the price for doing it and get it done. out of all cars i got all had the cambelt done and only 1 of em was done for real.
msigg,
Sep 19, 12:09pm
Well as above, get a discount on the price and get it done yourself. There are no guarantees in life.
tony9,
Sep 19, 12:13pm
As above, but even if the cambelt was replaced, was the water pump and tensioner replaced?
Get it done properly and then you know, that is if it does have a cambelt.
ash4561,
Sep 19, 12:23pm
At that k's and no record I don't think its been done as its in the last 50,000 km that it would of been done. I have only known them to break at over 200,000 km so unlikely it would break soon like the next year. How many people have had one break considering how many ask compared to when was the radiator replaced or clutch.
tamarillo,
Sep 19, 12:28pm
Doubt you’d get it in writing, seller would be mad to record somethING they don’t know. Better IMO get them to go half in cost to do it right now.
tgray,
Sep 19, 1:13pm
What make and model and year is it? Depending on car, at those K's it could definitely still be on the original belt. In my opinion, the CGA would only apply if the dealer said it had been done and it hadn't.
marte,
Sep 19, 1:30pm
Have a look at it. If there's cracks it needs done very soon. If you can still see the ink label print, it's still got some time on it.
curlcrown,
Sep 19, 1:55pm
Not enough information to answer the question. What sort of car and what price? It might still be worth buying.
franc123,
Sep 19, 2:39pm
If its feasible to get the belt physically examined in place by someone who is a good judge of such things it would be worth doing. Otherwise I would factor in the cost of a full replacement
kazbanz,
Sep 19, 3:14pm
In my view its cut and dried,. 1) it HAS been done and they are able to provide proof -(receipt for work done) alternatively they offer on the VOSA that it was replaced at 100k OR 2) it definitely hasn't and you are buying on that understanding It really is that simple. Some vague "ohh it must have been" doth butter no parsnips. More importantly you would be pretty well screwed if it broke and you went to MVDT over some vague comment. sure hey if you have a decent mechanic who rips cover off and says-hey this is a fairly new belt--your win. Without documented proof or documenrd assurance its a NO it hasn't
s_nz,
Sep 19, 5:23pm
Normally the mechanics put a sticker on the cam belt cover, or underside of bonnet describing when and what mileage it was changed.
I have been burnt by this before.
My car has a cambelt due every 150,000km. Brought the car at around 170,000 with every scheduled service stamped in the book by the (premium brand) dealership. Turns out the dealership has stamped off the 150,000km service, despite the service only being partially done. Kept going to the same dealership as the prior owner for service, but it wasn't flagged untill I asked them to check the cars records and confirm it had had all the required high mileage service done. That was 2 years later and the car was at 185,000km, with an interference engine.
But yeah, don't assume that a car at 156,000km has had it done. If it is a car with 150,000km cam-belt changes, it is quite possible that the owner decided to replace the car rather than pony up the money for a cambelt change.
marte,
Sep 19, 7:00pm
The OP has not been back & hasn't supplied a single car detail except the kms the cars done.
In my case, cambelts done @ 70,000 kms. So it should be on its 3rd cambelt by now & it's only done 16,000 kms on it.
So the OP's cars good for another 54,000 kms.
tgray,
Sep 20, 1:24am
You watch, it may end up being a Sylphy or a Tiida.
hillmont,
Sep 20, 1:39am
marte wrote: The OP has not been back & hasn't supplied a single car detail except the kms the cars done.
Possibly the OP is stuck on the side of the road with a broken cam-belt.
franc123,
Sep 20, 2:40am
This can certainly happen humans being the imperfect creatures we are. Car gets booked in for service without quoting covered kms, car arrives and on receipt service book gets absent mindedly filled and stamped by service receptionist, car gets serviced but tech points out it's due for a timing belt, shop scheduling for that day doesnt allow for the belt change and/or theres no or incomplete availability of the parts to do the job, customer gets told this along with a quote for the job and rebooks, customer is never seen again and car is spotted for sale at a dealer down the road.
gazzat22,
Sep 20, 5:36am
2007 Lancer 2.4 just over 150ks.$3500.
curlcrown,
Sep 20, 5:43am
Not an expensive job to do a cam belt on one of those. Have you asked if the dealer would be willing to do it if you buy the car?
gazzat22,
Sep 20, 5:46am
The car is booked in for an AA PPI early next week.I,ve stated my case and now its over to them as to what they do.Personally I feel "If its not in writing it didnt happen as one of my lecturers used to say "its hearsay and gossip" Cheers all.
gazzat22,
Sep 20, 10:06am
Actually It was a query as to the advisability of accepting the sellers statement and make.model .year was irrelevant.It was whether the sellers explanation was ok or not.!
curlcrown,
Sep 20, 10:46am
It would make a difference, some cam belts are very difficult and expensive to replace and on some cars it could cost less than a set of tyres, if the price was right it could still have been a good deal. But based on what the seller said you can't be assured it is done, however it might be reasonable to think it has been done at some stage based on its age and mileage. At least the seller is being honest, they simply don't know if it has been done or not.
kazbanz,
Sep 20, 11:02am
Actually mate it really does matter.--In one case its a $400 fix and if it breaks its only a walk home and a new belt next day. in another case its a $1500 job and if it breaks its new motor. But I stick with my statement--proof /written assurance or it didn't happen
s_nz,
Sep 20, 11:27am
If my quick google search is to be believed, for this model: "Engine timing belt(s) must be replaced every 100,000 km/60 months."
60months = 5 years.
On mileage, this car should have had one belt change (and have 50,000km to run on the current one). On age, the car should have had two changes, and have the third due in 2022.
Note that a lot of people ignore the aged based requirement. (and 5 years is oddly short, my car is 150,000km / 10 years).
Either way if it has never been changed, it is well overdue. And it is an interference engine.
rbd,
Sep 20, 12:44pm
At that age and mileage I'd be doing the cambelt, waterpump, tensioners and all seals on the front/top of the engine. Otherwise you may well be fixing an oil or water leak in 10,000 kms.
electromic,
Sep 20, 3:21pm
I have a rule that if there is no documentation then it wasn't done. I would not take "at that mileage must have been done" as being done. I would want the job done properly with written documentation not just a sticker on the cam cover.
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