While at the dealership today, I went through my car's service history and was amazed and pleased. Very well looked after but a few problems.

Too long to post here but everyone here curious about what might be the average amount of dealer maintenance on an 850t has been, go to:

http://www.geocities.com/hwy51_guzzi/carhistory.htm

Really surprised me to see the tranny had been replaced. I'm happy with it though and look at it this way, my 7-year-old car only has 27k on the tranny and rear seal! AWRIGHT!! And NO A/C issues!!

Hope it's informative. I'll try to get around to updating when time permits.

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Erwin in Memphis, '95 855t

Hope this turns out well for you.

I would be concerned that the car overheated within 5,000 miles of you purchasing it. Did the previous owner have an indication that it was time to dump this car?

Did you buy this car from the original owner? Did the person you bought the car from have it for the last 30,000 miles? If so, why didn't they tell you about the transmission replacement?

Sometimes these big ticket repairs are not all they are cracked up to be.

The fact is that taking out a transmission requires the removal of hundreds of nuts, bolts, connectors, etc. If you're a mechanic at a shop working on a flat rate (meaning, you are only going to be paid for 10.6 hours of work regardless of how much time you spend on the repair) and you drop a lockwasher, are you going to bother to pick it up and put it back in place. I don't think so. If the mechanic cross-threads one of the bolts mating the engine and transmission--you think anyone is going to know? Not likely. Besides, the logic goes, there are nine more bolts holding the engine and transmission together--what's the loss of one? Did he route that heater cable over that fitting, rather than under that fitting, as originally configured? Did the factory route that cable under that fitting because, testing showed, that it would last five times longer than if it was routed over the fitting?

The point is that when you do a major repair like this, three, or four, things never get put back in place, are damaged, or are just plain screwed up. It's just a fact of life.

Does it mean that your car is going to fall apart next week? No. But, whenever I buy a car and the seller proudly exclaims that it has a "new" engine, a red flag goes up. A "new" anything is great. But you may end up paying the nickel and dime costs for that "new" engine for many years to come.

Don't just assume new is better.

For the most part I agree with you. I'm not concerned about the overheating. I have had no indication at all that there are any lingering problems as a result.

You are right on the money about the tranny replacement. Since purchasing I've been under the hood and car for minor stuff and just to check things out more thouroghly. I've found many small details that weren't tended to when everything was buttoned back up. Two that stand out are the wiring for the O2 sensors wasn't routed correctly and the turbo control valve that should be mounted on the side of the airbox wasn't. It was just hanging by it's hoses.

I'm 7 months into the car and have had no problems other than the noisy lifter I've silenced with a flush and proper weight oil.

Wish me well. At the one year mark, which will probably bring me to 90k, I'll have a better feeling for what I'd be in for long term. I'm encouraged (whistling in the dark?) that a couple of major service items have been dealt with and hopefull that I won't be looking at a rear seal replacement or the like for several years.
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Erwin in Memphis, '95 855t

Thank for sharing great information.... new transmission and rearmain seal....

now it will last for long time....