I went to have a look at a car and there was a "sqeaky whiry" sound coming from belt drive area of the charger. Is this normal for this kind of charger or does it sound like a bearing is on the way out? If so, is this a major problem?

it can sound a little like a noisy bearing at times - but from all the googling and youtubing i did before mine went on its how they all sound.

This is what mine sounds like for reference. (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v146/doddski_03/AMC%20pics/?action=view&current=25082009010.flv)

For more videos - jump on Youtube and search for Sprintex Magna / Verada - theres a few videos on there.

Wow that's mega noisy compared to the 380 setup, you can't really hear the charger on mine until you get some load on it.

If it sounds like doddski's vid then it's normal. In the case of the car you saw it could also be the belt on it's way out if it's near or over 50,000km. Also no need to make 3 threads about the same car you're looking at buying.

if it's a bearing going, it'll likely be the intermediate shaft bearings. not a big deal, but a bit fiddly to replace. I have replaced mine, and the hardest bit was pressing the new bearing onto the shaft.

if it's just belt whine, that's normal.

mine's fairly quiet puttering along, but when you drop the welly in it's quite noticeable.

cheers,
.wook