Pre-Purchase Inspection gone wrong!

[davel58]

Hey guys, I would like this information to be a warning for all those people who are planning to buy an Alfa without - or even with a pre-purchase vehicle inspection!

I bought a used 1999 156 Twin Spark Manual 2 weeks ago.  the Car is in absolutely immaculate condition and has done less than 30,000kms!

before i bought the car it went through a "comprehensive vehicle inspection" by RACV.  Comprehensive is in inverted commas for a reason as you will read below.  This costs $292 for RACV members.  The inspection came up brilliantly - no problems at all and the bloke made the point to say it is really in good knick for a 1999 car.  I bought the car, picked it up on a friday (the day after the inspection).

Sunday rolled around - car was driving really well.  I had probably only driven it 100kms by then.  just a bit of a lazy cruise.  All of a sudden the front door button just stopped working.  Obviously this is just bad luck.  And Lance dixon fixed it for 81$ all good - not unhappy with that as there is nothing that could have been done... just one of those things.

However - Tuesday rolls around.  And i start to get some crazily erratic idle speed spiking at 1500rpm and plunging to 500.  jumping between the 2 values and stalling twice in the process.  After a while it settles down.  and this situation plays it self out each time i start the car for the next few days... I took the car into Lance Dixon Doncaster and they diagnosed that the throttle housing and idle motor need replacing asap...... Nothing of this sorts picked up by Mr RACV man - very disapointed.

Lukily (if you call it lucky) i can claim up to $500 worth of 'mechanical failure' 30 days after the inspection due to being a member and having the mechanical guarentee.  The problem is costing $950 though.  So I loose $450 basically on the back of someone not doing a proper job / or perhaps just not knowing the nuances of Alfa's etc... Of course they need you to get the problem both diagnosed and fixed at their own service centre before they give you the money back up to 500 bucks...

I was not happy after talking to their recommended service centre regarding their experience with Afla's "ive done a couple of Afla's before didn't exactly fill me with confidence!! So after some arguing and haggling on the phone and waiting on hold with racv they have agreed that Lance Dixon should do the work and they will honour the $500 payment.  So in terms of their understanding that i was not willing to get the work done by some guy who fixes Hyundai's for a living they have allowed me to have my way... the guy on the phone was indeed quite understanding which was good.

Sorry for the vent everyone! I love my new car - its a joy to drive! and now it will be even better!

However, let my out of pocket expenses be a lesson for all prospective buyers to GET A PRE INSPECTION DONE BY AN ALFA SPECIALIST LIKE LANCE DIXON!!!  seriously - they might charge a little extra, but you can be certain of their work and certain you wont suffer the problems i have over the last week!  And you will be able to use the advice to get the price of your prospective vehicle down as well - also a mechanism i was not afforded by having inferior work done. 

[Fast Eddie]

excellent lesson

[John Hanslow]

Yep, well said.

many users of this forum and indeed club members do have pre purchase inspections and the Club always recommends that an Alfa Specialist (Dealer on non dealer) attends to this as they know what to look for.  Reger to our club sponsors.

Perhaps this could have ben diagnosed on the Alfa Analyser, perhaps not, but you know you would have been given the correct info at a substancially cheaper price.

Good luck, and hope to see you around.