I bought my 380 from a dealer on the gold coast, and I've had it now for about 3 months and just had it serviced. I had my mechanic check it over and he brought to my attention that the timing belt (alternator belt etc also worn out) has not been replaced and the car now has 131000kms on the clock. I thought when a dealer sells a car with full service history it means a FULL service history, not skipped on anything. Do you guys think they should fit the bill for this? I bought the car in good faith. what do yaz reckon?

I guess you have to call the dealer and ask them if they'd missed giving you the paperwork that indicated that the timing belt was replaced as scheduled?

they gave me the original service book etc stamped in most places but nothing indicating belts replacement. And a mitsubishi mechanic said to me that anyone can stamp a book, it doesnt mean everything has been done. Whats also interesting is that I printed the original add from carsales and it clearly says all their vehicles have a 97 point mechanical check.... a timing belt is a pretty important thing to miss....

I did have a word with them today and they're passing the buck, saying that they didnt own the vehicle at the point of the belts needing replacement so they arent responsible. I should name and shame em, so other potential buyers should beware when buying from them or even any dealer.

I bought my 380 from a dealer on the gold coast, and I've had it now for about 3 months and just had it serviced. I had my mechanic check it over and he brought to my attention that the timing belt (alternator belt etc also worn out) has not been replaced and the car now has 131000kms on the clock. I thought when a dealer sells a car with full service history it means a FULL service history, not skipped on anything. Do you guys think they should fit the bill for this? I bought the car in good faith. what do yaz reckon?

Full service history means there is a log of every service - it doesn't mean that everything that should have been done has been done. It would be different if you asked if the timing belt was changed and they said yes.

I understand what your saying rprodrive, I think it the whole thing is a little misleading in a way.. a grey area. I guess I look at it from my point of view if I were the seller, I make sure everything is up to date for the buyer, so he would not come back complaning, u know....

I understand what your saying rprodrive, I think it the whole thing is a little misleading in a way.. a grey area. I guess I look at it from my point of view if I were the seller, I make sure everything is up to date for the buyer, so he would not come back complaning, u know....

Personally I am not sure if the log book is the way to approach this problem - you were given the service history as was advertised.

The way I would approach this is to demand evidence of what is included in the 97 point mechanical check. You want to see documentation as to what is checked and the report for this vehicle.

Once you have the report - if you find something that relates to the timing belt that is incorrect / false / misleading then you have something to work with in terms of demanding that the dealer pay for the timing belt. In other words - you relied on the 97 point mechanical check representation when buying the car. The key is ensuring that that mechanical check includes something relating to the timing belt.

"Full service history" means diddly squat.
If you look at the details of the "97 point mechanical check" you will find most points are quick visual checks, like tyre tread depth, brake pad thickness, condition of the exhaust system, etc. It's a look and tick system basically.

Be honest - if you were thinking about trading in a car would you spend $1K on a belt change - just so the new buyer doesn't need to?

The absence of a dealer stamp showing the belt had been changed would be a clear alarm bell. If you weren't aware that it needed doing, your pre-purchase research was lacking. Lots of Mitsus get sold with slightly more than 100K or 200K on the clock because the owner wants to avoid that service hit. Buyer beware! As a purchaser you can use this need for a belt change as a haggling point - like offer $1K less.

Another trick is for a selling dealer to stamp the log book with a stamp of a non-existent workshop. By the time the belt lets go the dealer warranty has run out.

I don't see anything wrong naming this dealership... It'll ba a learning experience for other buyers. I think you've been misled in buying this car.

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"Full service history" means diddly squat.
If you look at the details of the "97 point mechanical check" you will find most points are quick visual checks, like tyre tread depth, brake pad thickness, condition of the exhaust system, etc. It's a look and tick system basically.

Be honest - if you were thinking about trading in a car would you spend $1K on a belt change - just so the new buyer doesn't need to?

The absence of a dealer stamp showing the belt had been changed would be a clear alarm bell. If you weren't aware that it needed doing, your pre-purchase research was lacking. Lots of Mitsus get sold with slightly more than 100K or 200K on the clock because the owner wants to avoid that service hit. Buyer beware! As a purchaser you can use this need for a belt change as a haggling point - like offer $1K less.

Another trick is for a selling dealer to stamp the log book with a stamp of a non-existent workshop. By the time the belt lets go the dealer warranty has run out.

well max, I dont live on the coast I live a couple of hours away and a pre purchase inspection is something I was unable to do due to work/time restraints at that time. Ive bought cars from dealers a number of times before and without seeing the car and never had a problem, all with stamped books and cars in very good condition, like the one I bought. I also think that someone who pays $1k for a timing belt change lacks research too..... I had time just before taking the vehicle on a sat morning to browse over the books etc
another thing is that I change the timing belt when needed, not right before selling a car, if I change the belt I'll be driving it for a while yet not just to sell the car.

the dealership is holden franchised in Robina... not too specifically name the dealer.

Perhaps contact the dealer and tell them you were led to believe the servicing of the car was up to date, at the very least they are guilty of deception by omission.
Perhaps they will give you a discount on the job, or if you do the belt change yourself, a discount on the price of a new belt?
Just a thought.

So, lets look at this with actual facts

You purchased the car I assume with some sort of warranty against faulty items etc etc. You dont get covered for items in a service book that are not done.

No safety check can determine if a belt has or has not been done, especially with a timing belt where a 30k old timing belt will look no different to a 100k old timing belt.

Simply put, the dealer has done nothing wrong, they have told you that the vehicle has a service history, you have taken that word by looking at the same book when you picked up the car as the dealer did. You shoudl have just as much as the dealer should have seen that the timing belt stamp was not done. Also, how does your mechanic know that it was not done, once a belt has done 30k it is impossible to tell if it was changed or not.

Now, asking the dealer to now change the belt is simply not going to happen, they have sold you the car based on information they have. I would be surprised if the belt was not done if was dealer serviced, have you called the actual dealer and asked them (while explaining that oyu understand they can not give personal information about the previous owner) if they can check the records for this car and at least advise you if the timing belt was done as far as their records show. I have had a few customers with cars of this age where there was doubt due to books not being stamped etc and i have called the dealer who then advised that the belt had been done. Is not unusual for the book not to be stamped as often the book may not even be in the car

Generally when I buy a car, I ignore the service history as often it is not complete or has been botched up to make it look good

Finally, you got the car from a Holden Dealer, this will lead them to look at the book and as they are not Mitsubishi Dealers they would have only looked at the main services being done and not realised that there may have been suplimental services that were not optional but required such as timing belts

I agree with the above.

Most belt kits come with stickers to record when the belt has been done, not much effort to fill one in and slap it on the belt cover. I wish people would actually use them! Save a lot of guesswork later.

yes the car was dealer serviced, my mechanic has checked it and i think he said that the tensioner or belt was not looking too good, tension lost .... something along those lines, now I ve used him for years and he has never led me astray, and he and other mechanics have said to me that there is a couple of signs that may indicate the belt has not been changed. who wants to chance it? normally like max said there is a sticker to indicate the work. they did say they could give a discount on the work, dont know if it would be worth it, still have to travel a couple hours.

ALL of these motors will lose tension on the belt when the motor is off, it is because the cam shaft will pull against the belt and then make it slack, has nothing to do with age or the tensioner. It is impossible to tell the condition of a timing belt purely by "looking" at it unless there are obvious signs of wear. IF this is the case on a car with only 130k on it then I would be very worried about the car itself and how it has been treated over the years.

As for stickers, if it was fitted by someone AND the sticker has stayed on when the delership washed down the engine then fair enough, I personally dont bother with the stickers as they are ugly and by the time that the next belt is due the sticker, made usually of paper, will not be readable anymore anyway. I tell my customers to keep the invoice somewhere safe with the books if they have them. Dealerships dont put on stickers full stop

If unsure, get the belt done by all means, it is not all that expensive compared to the cost of a motor but why not try ringing the dealer who stamped the book to make sure

If unsure, get the belt done by all means, it is not all that expensive compared to the cost of a motor but why not try ringing the dealer who stamped the book to make sure

yep step ahead of you there, hope they can tell me something...will find out shortly...

nah, previous dealer said that belt wasnt done. well I guess im on the hunt for a timing belt kit....

Well at lest you know 100% for sure now, no guessing

Belt kit is listed in my fleabay store, the seals and pulleys are both same brand as Mits, belt itself is Sun which is Japanese made

Further to this thread.

Full service history: full record of what's been done to car
Service history: partial record of what's been done
Logbook serviced: serviced as per logbook instructions, at logbook intervals

Well at lest you know 100% for sure now, no guessing

Belt kit is listed in my fleabay store, the seals and pulleys are both same brand as Mits, belt itself is Sun which is Japanese made

time for action, got my kit from magmagna and hope to get it on, as soon as it comes in the mail.