Thursday 29th September my husband left work early to go out to meet the Lube Mobile mechanic at our car. He put in the new alternator belt and we thought everything was dandy and he drove home. Friday he drove down to Sydney from the Central Coast(76km) to pick me up from work, we drove home and then drove up to Bonnells Bay(52km) later that night and back on Saturday after a wedding. So over 250km in a few days plus little trips over the week.
Saturday 1st October and our car won't start and we're now running late for a different wedding. Can't get it to jump start, give up and borrow housemates car(which ends up being a huge hassle in itself).
Tuesday 4th October, call NRMA again and they send someone out. Husband man tells him about getting the alternator belt put in. NRMA sticks his hand in, tells the husband man to do so, oh looky there. The alternator belt is so loose it's flapping around. No wonder we can't get a charge on the battery. NRMA guy asks who refit it, was told, asked how much they charged($135) told us we got ripped off and needed to write a complaint. Less than 20mins and our car was running again.
The husband man is in the process of writing a polite and cranky letter to Lube Mobile about what happened, including the invoices from their mechanic and NRMA to prove that their guy stuffed up.
Most of our friends have expressed horror at the thought of our car possibly breaking down on the F3 whilst we were driving, and I guess we can just be happy that it didn't end up with us getting in an accident.