Visual

not sure.. but I think with the car lifted.. you can see the belts partially behind the covers as there are gaps..

 

i don't think you'll be able to see and/or get much info from a visual...

get the number to the shop where the work was said to be completed and give them a call. They'll have record of it if it actually happened.

 

No paper trail = it's not been done.

What I mean is, it may have been done but without the back up you must assume it's not been. No receipts of the purchase of parts at least? Seems fishy

 

When I performed my engine out I documented the process with photos (including a newspaper next to my newly installed belts) of all the parts coming off and going on. Also a shot of the VIN next to that newspaper.

And Daniel and I both have a record of the service kit I purchased from him.

Even if he bought the service kit on eBay and did the work himself he should be able to show you something.

 

Have you called the shop that did the work? No shop, no receipts->PASS. My client sell their cars and the paperwork gets misplaced. We keep everything electronically for these kind of calls. You should expect the same.

 

This brings up a good point about records retention.

I always refuse to release any customer purchase history to the "would-be" buyer. If the original buyer calls and asks for an invoice copy (or several), that's fine and I'm happy to accommodate. But when a buyer calls and says, "hey, I'm about to buy so-and-so's car.... you know, the Fchatter!... can you send me the list of stuff he bought from you?" I pretty much flat out refuse. It probably doesn't win me many friends, but it hopefully honors the privacy between me and the customer.

How often does this scenario play itself out? Probably several times a month.

 

I fully agree because your contract is with the purchaser of the parts. Many dealers will no longer provide records. Some do and when they do so, they block the names (address and details) of the ones that had the work done.

This is the respectful (and perhaps) legal way to do it. We track our refinishing by VIN for warranty purposes. If I get a call inquiring, I will tell the prospect what parts we did but I won't tell them who the purchaser was and the amount charged.

And, in your situation, how would anyone know the parts went on that particular car?

 

you won my friendship. Privacy is a right often compromised by many people including our government.

 

To the OP, you either do the service, or don't do the service, but there is no visual.

 

We're in complete agreement here. I just didn't articulate our policy as well as you did yours. Thank you. Expanding further, as these cars (potentially) become more valuable, the importance of records/recordkeeping increases.

 

You did not indicate which model but on a 348 it is possible to remove one or both of the upper timing belt covers so that you can get a good view of the belt. From the other responses it sounds as though that might not be possible on a 355 though?

I've seen photos of belts that otherwise look good but have teeth stripped off of them, so in most cases a visual inspection only tells you if the belt(s) is/are dry and tight. But you should be able to a good sense of whether the belt(s) was/were done within six months since everything should still look new and clean. If the belt(s) look worn and dirty at least you'd know for certain that the "within six months" claim was not true.

 

Inspecting the belt doesn't tell the whole story except that maybe the belt isn't wearing. They stretch more than wear so how can you see that? Also, you have tensioners and a water pump that is part of the major, so belt inspection is going to miss that. Lastly, the alternator bearing can be inspected independently, but it's just better to do the whole job in an engine out.

 

Having measured some well warn belts I'm going to have to disagree with the idea that there is any significant belt stretch. I found that after 27k miles and way more years on a set of belts than anyone would recommend, the length of an old belts was within the length of a new belt to within less than the manufactures tolerance for belt length.

 

There are date codes on the timing belts that tell you when they were manufactured.
Courtesy of Aldous Voice