Arseholes of the year award goes too Alfa Romeo

[Morgan84]

I am giving Alfa Romeo the highly prestigious 'Arseholes of the year award ' For being a total bunch of deceptive unhelpfull useless bufoons who I doubt are capable of running a bathtub,let alone a car company.How nice they let my car run out of its warranty,and then say " Well,as it's now over 3 years old we can't do anything "

 

Well you good for nothing bunch of bastards,you've had over 18 months to do something,and just ignored and whitewashed over the problem,and now turned your backs on the issue.

 

I foolishly bought a new Mito Veloce which has been a real lemon of a car,and was even told by the Norwich main dealership ( who came second place in my award ) by the former service manager " I've been told not to tell you this,but I'm going too as you're no fools that there is something radically wrong with that car,and we can't find what it is "

[flat4alfa]

You mean Alfa Romeo GB

 

 

After 8 months (no, weeks), I would be onto the line with Watchdog, etc. What did they have to say?

[Des]

Forget the warranty, that's just a piece of paper, if a car can't last 3 years then it was hardly fit for purpose or of durable quality, go all Trading Standards on their ass.

[Split_Pin]

Is it on finance?

 

If so, could you not just hand it back to them? Even if you are not 1/2 way through it, if its as much a POS as you say, then surely you'd have a case. As said, not fit for purpose et al.

 

My mrs had a car on finance many moons ago. She bumped it and when the insurance assessor came out to evaluate what repairs were needed, turns out it had been a write off and should have never have been re-sold by the main dealer she got it from. Explained its appetite for front tyres.

 

Car was handed back and the whole lot swept under the carpet by said dealer. Not a further bean was paid to the finance and not a sausage was heard the dealer again!

[Morgan84]

I paid for it in full when I bought it new,and its done 7800 miles. The problems have been unpredictable poor performance,higher than expected fuel consumption ( no one can get over 41.5 mpg out of it ) . The issue could well be DPF,but its had EGR valve swapped,Boost pressure sensor,Brake light switch,DNA switch,several DPF forced regens,leak on the aircon, dodgy battery. One minute the car goes really well,then without any warning ( no dash lights on either ) it will become dull and unresponsive,and I've been going along at 70 one minute,and been suddenly reduced to a 30mph crawl;I have a 23 month old son in that car with me and my wife and its just not good enough.

 

Alfa Romeo say ' No faults found ' but they won't say that car is without fault,and even two service managers from different dealerships have said on the side - that cars not right,but we are puzzled as to whats wrong with it.The Alfa customer care ( laughs ) team in Milan don't do much,and the actual aftercare from Alfa UK is dire. Thats a £17000 lemon which they just don't seem interested in.

 

Strategy is to reject the car to the selling dealer,who we have pleaded with to help us ( about 120 miles from us ), but they seem to have turned their back on the car,and we have asked over 20 times,and written to the company owner,who actually sold me the car to talk on the phone to us,and he's not bothered.Not only is that frustrating,but its damned rude to ignore someone who has always been patient and polite. When I was buying the car,he was really keen to speak,but he's had my money and it feels doesn't give a sod.

 

I do have the support of the former Norwich service manager who is going to write a letter to send to Alfa Romeo to support our case that this cars not up to standard,and has something wrong with it,be it mechanical or electrical.

 

My private plate is off this pile of fertilizer now,and I have got the Volvo V70 D5 AWD which my dad bought new,but never 'bonded with' as a replacement,and thats tiptronic,4X4 and a 2.4 and is more economical,and a much better drive.I would never have guessed when ordering the car new for him it would end up coming in my direction ! The other great thing about having a white V70 is people tend to keep their distance

[TimothyClaypole]

17K?

 

 

Alfa's UK HQ would be having a mystery blaze Christmas tbh...

[Des]

By Christ you've been more than patient, funny you mention lemon, as there is some legislation called lemon law which should make things easy, dump it back at the buggers and work out your costs while you're at it.

 

What would be the odds of selling a 20 year old car with those issues, carefully explained, from a pub carpark, at below scrap value, with 'SOLD AS SEEN FUCKO!!!' written across the Bonnet in Nitromors and flushing your simcard without getting a load of comeback?

[gtd2000]

Honest John, Watchdog etc should be contacted. Do Alfa Romeo UK have a Facebook page?

 

A trip to your local Citizens advice may help too.

 

Factory warranty is something that many folks consider is the end of the line with regards to the repairs being undertaking at no cost to yourself. That's not entirely true but you will be fobbed off with that answer until you are blue in the face.

 

Hang on in there and get writing to all an sundry and shout about your problem until they take care of it.

 

Such a pretty little car the Mito as well - I'd be unlikely to look for a car company West of Korea if it was my money though.

[RichardMoss]

Send a letter to Watchdog and a copy of that to Alfa GB. Companies are shit-scared of that programe and it was what finally got TalkTalk to pla ball when they screwed me about.

[garethj]

Forget the warranty, that's just a piece of paper, if a car can't last 3 years then it was hardly fit for purpose or of durable quality, go all Trading Standards on their ass.

 

This.

 

A mate had a Vauxhall Astra where the gearbox failed just after its 3 year warranty. He spoke to trading standards and got a replacement for free, no problem. They'll take it up with the dealer (as should you) who need to refund or replace the car, then the dealer can take it up with Alfa GB in their own time. The manager saying he'd support you writing to Alfa GB is a red herring, he's just trying to place them as the bad guys.

 

I reckon your biggest problem will be getting Trading Standards to write a letter about so obvious a problem without being too sarcastic. It's like shooting fish in a barrel for them.

[Skizzer]

^ Aye. If it's a problem you've been having since the car was 18 months old and they've simply failed to fix it, they can't then just run and hide because it's taken them so long the warranty's run out. New problems they might wriggle out of; old problems no. Talk to Trading Standards.

[bristol405]

Hello mate my missus works at trading standards at county hall martineau lane (the defra bit )(norwich) the number you should ring is 08456040506 this is the first port of call its the citizens advice line they will then refer you to the correct trading standards officer.hope this helps.

[Lacquer Peel]

3 years old...its done 7800 miles...The issue could well be DPF

 

Aye.

[brickwall]

Aye, if you made them aware of the problem before the warranty ran out, then you have plenty of ammo. And, as others have said, if the vehicle was not fit for purpose anyway you can still go places with this.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just launch it through their showroom window, the feckless shits.

[Morgan84]

I would love to burn the sodding thing on their forcourt !

 

We are in the process of writing a letter to officially reject the vehicle on the grounds it was not fit for purpose,as well as being mis-sold,and ask to have the vehicle bought back at a fair reasonable rate.We shall have some fun exchanging a few letters I'm sure.I shall do the utmost possible to make other people aware that Alfa Romeo treat their customers like crap,and do not honour their paper thin warranty.

[mrcitroen]

Go through Alfa Care. The number should be in your warranty booklet. They will give you a case reference no etc. Far better than dealing with a hapless receptionist.

 

Alfacare sorted out a brake disc issue for me that the dealer did not want to know about. However, your case is way more complex than mine was & involves the whole car, not some poxy brake discs.

 

TBH I have found my dealer (Western Edinburgh) to be OK (ish) and the car to be an absolute Gem. I bought it pre registered in '09 and have had no issues except the one mentioned above.

 

Good luck. Don't let them grind you down

[Morgan84]

This lemon has had about 4 case numbers ,so its quite well known to them. They now say as its out of its 3 year warranty,they can do no more,but as the previously reported faults were never resolved,as I see it they are still responsible,although they advised us to reject the vehicle to the selling dealership. I did say to them if the cars so bloody marvelous,then they will gladly buy it back,and re sell it,and give it a years warranty;for some reason they didn't seem interested

 

Thanks for all the advise and support though

[Pillock]

Trading Standards first, and make sure everything is CC'ed to ARUK head office.

Social Media is a powerful tool too - Alfa Romeo UK is on there. Mention the problem, include them in it, and let them get in touch with you - it's much harder for them to ignore if they start a conversation with you on it, and equally they don't normally like claims being made about them without having any input. I've used this approach on a few companies, although never for anything as major as a car.

 

The law is definitely on your side though, even if the fault developed 3 years and a week after purchase you'd have a claim against them under SOGA, expected lifespan and all that. The fact you have documented issues prior to 3 years, that's just cementing the facts.

 

If Social Media andd Trading Standards can't sort it, then Watchdog their asses.

[Guest]

Without wishing to whip another shit storm about the Sale Of Goods Act, you have fair grounds to reject the car as unfit for purpose if the dealer has had three attempts to satisfactorily repair the faults you mentioned and failed to do so. The same fault needs to have occurred at least 3 times and you must provide documentary evidence of this. It sounds like your paperwork will be more than adequate in this case.

 

I used to work at a well known hi-fi retailer and we had to abide by this a lot. Although in 99.9% of cases it was a last resort because we tried very hard to get things sorted. The other .1% when we weren't arsed was either because the customer was being a cumfart or if we were dealing with a famous Philips sub-brand who had a notoriously reticent service department.

 

Social Media is a powerful tool too - Alfa Romeo UK is on there. .

 

Very good point. We complained and complained via the traditional channels about the quality of our course at University - and got nowhere. Then one of my mates Tweeted about how disappointed he was and included the official University feed in his hashtag. Result? The press office \ PR team shat themselves and got in touch the next day.

 

Perhaps a Facebook group (along the lines of 'The Unhappy Alfa Owners Group') would help, adding Alfa Romeo UK as a friend? That would have their insight \ PR folk bricking it fairly certain. FB and Twitter feeds are closely monitored these days. I used to do it for a famous purveyor of underpants.

[Pillock]

Indeed... my employer has a team of people monitoring social media for people saying horrible things about us, and if there's anything that can be done (sensibly - we are one of the retailers people love to hate) it tends to get done.

 

If you can write directly to the MD, that sometimes works well too. I used to get letters passed to me from top-level management where people had complained directly, and these were ALWAYS "drop everything and don't go home till this is sorted" jobs.

[flat4alfa]

^ this

 

That company I work for sweeps Wiki, etc and clears whatever it can up before we realised.

[R9UKE]

First of all - I take my hat off to you. Buying an Alfa Romeo new takes a special kind of person. My mum is dead set on a Giulietta, I'll be sure to send this thread her way!

 

It is ridiculous what you've had to put up with, it sounds like the kind of after care you'd get with some dodgy independent working out of a portacabin in an abandoned car park off of some roundabout. However, I'm not surprised at all - was watching an old Top Gear clip the other day, Jeremey was road testing a brand new 164 V6 in which the drivers electric window switch operated the climate control instead. Obviously things haven't moved on much.

 

Still, could be worse. It may be shite, but at least it oozes cool. You could have bought a CityRover new.

[dollywobbler]

Don't believe something just because Clarkson said so! The electrics on my 164 V6 were absolutely first rate. Oh, no. Hold on. I had to replace a fuse. OMG ALFAS R SHIT!

[ProgRocker]

 

I foolishly bought a new Mito Veloce which has been a real lemon of a car,and was even told by the Norwich main dealership ( who came second place in my award )

 

Oh yes, un-Desira-ble.

 

Bad luck with the MiTo.

[Morgan84]

I am feeling very happy with the Mito today;I've sold the damned thing

 

A mixture of happy and sad really. I'm sad as I waited a long time to get the car,and it seemed like a uphill struggle;it didn't come from the woefull Norwich dealership,but one just over 120 miles away,who we thought were a great company,until problems occured,and they just plain ignored our phone calls.They were all too eager to sell the car,but when problems occured,and we phoned and asked over 20 times to speak to the company owner who actually sold us the car,we were ignored.We were left dealing with the Norwich dealership,who took on a sulk as they didn't sell the car,and got worse than shabby service from them.That car has been into 3 dealerships,and each time,its come back just as bad,if not worse than when it went in,and on several occasions sent out filthy.My expensive red floor mats on 3 occasions came back with black boot marks all over them,and took ages to clean - ever heard of paper floor protectors ?

 

Alfa Romeo UK kept insisting we take the car to the nearest dealership where they would have there own technical team examine the car;when we challenged them,it turns out they never saw the car in Norwich,where the dealer said it HAD been inspected by Alfa's technical team.We threw a wobbly,and demanded action,and the car was collected by the Bury branch,who I must admit are a much better dealership all together,and were polite,and as helpfull as they could be,but had their hands tied by Alfa,and did not do anything,other than a DPF regen,and use half a tank of my diesel in the process.They returned the car,and the guy did admit he wasn't going to promise the car wouldn't play tricks again. Well,15 miles later it went into some sort of limp home crawl,and left me in a uncomfortable situation.

 

The car was booked into a very helpfull Peterborough dealership,but due to the cars tempremental and uncertain performance,it was recovered by the AA to the dealership,where they performed another regen,and took it on long fast runs,and said no fault codes were stored,but did admit for them it was behaving. Father goes to collect the car,and has a plesant drive back apparently,but this for me was the end,and I said the car had to go;he drives it a few times,and it them starts to have its unpredictable performance with him,so it was then agreed this car was never going to be any damned good to us for our own usage,and was better off being outed.

 

Alfa Romeo UK then were kind enough to wash their hands of the car they had failed to sort out ( people don't make up faults,and not use a expensive car for 18 months for the fun of it ),and said we had to reject it to the selling dealership,who had refused to collect the vehicle for us,or even meet us half way ( even they had said let Norwich sort it out ). Well,we spoke to them again today,and once again the owner didn't have the guts to speak to us,and a salesman spoke to us,and we stated we would like them to buy it back,as we were sick of the damned thing.They offered £1000 below book value for a car of that age with higher miles and less spec.This was seen as a final insult,and after speaking to a car dealer,who was very keen to buy the car,which is in unmarked as new condition,he came and took it away;we told him of the issues of not being happy with its performance,but he was eager as hell to take the car,so the deal was done,and its gone.

 

Why did I take the easy option,and not go after the selling dealers ? Well,they have left us in no doubt that they do not have any care or concern for customers,and once the deals done,they ignore problems.You can phone and you can write to them,all they do is ignore you,and fob you off.I could engage in a long expensive legal battle with them,but in the mean time,they could also go bust,and that leaves me with no hope;also,as time goes by,I'm left with a car which is depreciating.I got above trade in for it,so although I'm far from happy,at least the nightmares over.I know had I gone down the heavy route with the dealers,they would have dragged their heels,and gone to Alfa UK for support,who naturally don't want to buy back,or admit they built a lemon car.

 

When things first went wrong,I should have dumped the damned thing back on them 18 months ago,and made a real song and dance,but I like to be easy going,and not make life difficult;treat others as you like to be treated.Alfa UK are a waste of time and space,and the dealer network is crap.I would never reccomend anyone buy a Fiat or Alfa Romeo.

 

Had this car lived up to expectations,I would have still been driving it,done double the milage in it,and perhaps have had my name down for the new 5 door which is being launched;instead Alfa have lost my custom,and have gained another unhappy customer.

 

So,sad my beautifull Mito turned out to dissapoint me so badly,and get treated like dirt by Alfa and the dealer network,but happy its now gone.

[gtd2000]

Unfortunately, you are probably not alone with your Dealer and Importer experience.

 

When I went through the KIA Picanto crankshaft pulley bolt failure fiasco with KIA UK and the local dealer - it was quite apparent that the consumers knew more about the problem than the official representatives of KIA.

 

Luckily, our problem was fully resolved in the end.

[Station]

I'll never understand why people buy new cars - no offence or anything, but this just reinforces it. In two months I've done 3,000 miles in my 114k mile, 120 quid car with a ratty old 1.2 engine without any trouble and I'd make a profit if it ever terminally broke down (which it won't). Or maybe I've just been perpetually lucky with shit, old cars.

[Split_Pin]

^^ I certainly think you've just been lucky.

 

M84 you write a good post, I really sense your sadness and disappointment with what was clearly something you had dreamed of. You should send it to What Car or Which? magazine, well written stuff that is also factual has a good chance.

 

We bought a brand new car in Sept as the one we had is now well over 13 years old, was becoming unreliable and as we have a baby on the way, pissing about fixing 2 cars was just a step too far. I'm also saving money in repairs and monthly expenditure on cars has been regularised. I really hope I don't have to return to the dealer though, fingers crossed.

 

I hope your next purchase brings you better luck.

[Pete-M]

It's a bloody shame that Alfa dealers are so inept. I've had a few Alfas, mainly 164s, and I do like them. However, their after sales is diabolical.

 

When the 145/6 twin cam was released I worked for a large hire firm who'd taken on a pretty big fleet of the things. They blew up left, right and centre. Engine failures within a few thousand miles were common. This was mainly down to new Alfas having a habit of drinking oil when they're new. A habit most new cars have long since given up. We'd check the oil on 'em, send 'em out and they'd be driven by reps for a few weeks until they blew up. To give Alfa some credit, they must have replaced at least 20 engines for us in under a year. The dealership that dealt with 'em soon gave up the franchise as replacing engines and rebuilding Sillyspeed gearboxes under warranty must have become a bit tiresome. As usual this left us with the choice of schlepping 40 miles to Mangoletsi - about the only decent Alfa main agent I know of, or trying our luck with whoever had the franchise that week. There's nothing more disconcerting than taking a car with a major fault - like a dead engine - to a main agent and hearing the head mechanic say "Oh, I've never seen one of these before"..

 

Getting parts is another thing. There used to be a long time Fiat dealer near me (now a shoe shop) that had a brilliant parts man. He could reel off Alfa / Lancia or Fiat part numbers from memory and he knew which bits 'just come in expensive boxes'. He's the chap who informed me that Integrale brake pads are identical to Tipo 16v ones, but the Integrale ones were £90 and Tipo ones £25. Some Alfa bits were cheaper than the equivalent Ford ones from him, which was excellent. Unfortunately Ian Skelly's evil empire took over the Fiat / Alfa franchise for Liverpool and the garage he worked for closed down after 30+ years being a Fiat dealer. Skelly's gave up the franchise after about two years. There's another one in Liverpool now, and they don't seem entirely dismal - but I've not handed them £17k.

 

Funnily enough, all the Alfas I've owned have been tip top. One of my 164s had stepper motor syndrome which meant the heater was always on full heat, but as the heater is, I believe, a (BOSCH) Saab 9000 part and the steppers are from a Peugeot 405 I can't blame 'em for that. I can blame 'em for making it a two day job to change the bloody things though.

 

Another thing that irritated me was Alfa's mental servicing costs. I had a 155 which needed belts, tensioner and variator replacing. Alfa wanted a fortune saying it was an eight hour job to do them, and the parts alone were going to come to nigh on £350!! My friend, who happened to be the head mechanic at the same dealership got me the parts for £160 and fitted them in under an hour and a half, on his driveway on a Saturday afternoon. He charged me around £50 to do the job.

 

Alfa are going to go the same way as Lancia in the UK if they don't get their shit together. Alfas are nice cars (when they're running as they should) and to watch their dealerships destroy their chances of surviving here just through greed and bloody-minded fuckwittery is criminal. I'd love a Giulietta, they're lovely looking things, but would I buy one? In the UK? Not a chance.

 

Sort your shit out Alfa Romeo UK.