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At what point does it start to become unacceptable?

14K views 162 replies 35 participants last post by  Hunter 
#1 ·
Just canvassing for general opinion - I still love my car and dont want to take it back or anything like that, but on a 33,000 pound car when do you think enough is enough?

List of problems so far.

Glow plug failure - replaced at dealer (needed two visits)

Hood problem (wouldnt latch at the back) - needed 3 visits to fix.

Alarm problems - new door sensors needed.

Rumbling power steering - needed 2 visits so far, booked in for 3rd time to get steering pump replaced.

2nd Hood problem - frame twisted and wouldnt seal properly on the windows - canvas had to come off to fix.

Clutch pedal went to the floor after standing for 4 days - now doesnt return to normal position on approx 50% of gear changes - needs to be booked in, I suspect slave cylinder.

Eats tires - im about to put 3rd (yes 3rd!) set of fronts on and I have only dont 13k miles

Fuel consumption - DPF seems to regenerate very frequently despite the car doing a lot of Mway miles. Av. consumption over last 1500miles @ 24mpg.

Started car this morning to be greeted with plug failure message again. Joy of joys.

Car is 9 months old withh 13k on the clock - on average I guesstimate it has been to be dealers once every 3 weeks for work. Getting to be a pain in the bottom.

Whats your opinion on this.

Car is leased btw with Fiat Finance.
 
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#32 ·
Got some very good news today :)

Sam called me this afternoon, apologised for having been radio silent and then proceeded to tell me that it has been agreed I can have a brand new factory order 2008 3.2 Q4 brera at no cost to myself. :thumbs:

What's more he also confirmed that all payments made to date will be taken into account and that I do not need to restart the clock as far as a new contract agreement is concerned.

ARUK will also be providing an interim vehicle for me whilst I wait for my replacement and my forlorn Brera will be taken away as soon as one becomes available.

All sounds very good indeed (stop whispering too good to be true at the back !) and I've asked for it all to be confirmed in writing which he said he would do. Once I get that I'll be really, really happy !

I spoke at length to a dealer this PM (Benfield Newcastle) who was extremely helpful in terms of talking me through the 2008MY changes, colours etc etc and who also told me that in his experience once ARUK confirm these kinds of things verbally they always go through with them so fingers crossed.

All in all very pleased and glad I've persevered. Unlike some of the naysayers on here I've always been a fan of the Brera and desperately wanted to fall in love with mine. Sadly I think I ended up with a lemon but hopefully the new one will be all I hoped for from my first Alfa.

RSK
Wow!:cool::thumbs:

Very interesting and a sure bargaining chip for me.

Congrats!
 
#33 ·
People - just be well aware - as I wasn't at the time :mad: :rolleyes: :( that it's not just Alfa Owners reading this site - it's ARUK, their dealers and solicitors.
Certain people trolled through my entire online history (here and other sites) to try to rubbish my rejection of the 159 as not fit for purpose and un-repairable.:tut:
All the best Euroboy and RSK :thumbs:
 
#34 ·
I dont doubt it mate - so hello to all the ARUK people out there:D

Ive not said anything on here that I havent written in my email to Chris Nicholl and vice versa.

As already mentioned - im fairly certain my car will come back from HRO with everything fixed, but im also fairly certain a couple of weeks later it will all be broken again - such is the nature of my car it seems.

Night all!:)
 
#35 ·
EB

Just seen this having been away for a few days - just to give you some reassurance based on my car being a few days older than yours and with similar mileage.

The only issues I had have been :-

tyres (new fronts at 9.5k with inner edges bald - told it's a known issue and if/when I get to a dealer then AR will probably make a contribution)

Steering lock fault - sorted within a couple of days

Loose gear lever - as above

Rocking drivers seat - alledgedly sorted once but needs re-examining

Grand total of two visits to dealer - one for diagnosis and one for fitting.


On this basis looks like you've got yourself a lemon so good luck but don't get downheartened that they're all like that.

Final note is that whilst FAC/ARUK may be seperate legal entities they do share the same address/office/receptionist !
 
#37 ·
Hi K3, good to hear that yours is still going well..... still remember how jealous I was when you got yours and I had to wait another 2 months for mine!! Seems like you got an all round better deal :D

RSK make sure you order your new one in white!
 
#38 ·
Just got the car back from having the PAS pump replaced - it certainly feels different! Steering much heavier, but still seems to whine a lot on full lock. Tonight should be cold so will see if it grates on startup tomorrow.

Also, the cheeky buggers charged me 25eur for the privelege of using a Fiat Idea for the day (nasty nasty car by the way), ive got used to free courtesy cars!
 
#40 · (Edited)
159 jtdm - particulate filter - 2800 miles - 5TH TIME 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT ON - vehicle on lease. Been back to Guest Solihull 4 times to 'get remedied'...... same problem again - should I reject the vehicle ? advice please !

PS - getting annoyed with Avis loan car system - stitch me up every time for top up fuel charge at £1.65 a litre - even when same fuel level as when vehicle received is in the tank when loan vehicle left at Guest.
Should I - can I - claim a loan vehicle from Guest instead ?
Shouldn't Guest collect the faulty vehicle and leave me with a lone car (they keep saying they have no lone cars !! )
Can I claim 'not fit for purpose' and demand a replacement vehicle ?
If so - how ?
 
#41 ·
I pity you having to use Guests in Solihull. David & Stuart are nice but as a dealership they suck:mad: They are incapable of getting it right at all, let alone 1st time. Push for a rejection via supplying dealer & ARUK.
 
#45 ·
ARUK Customer Services:-
00800 25320000

Direct Lines:-
01753 511431

01753 511504

Good luck - get everything in writing and note who you're speaking to.
Ask for email addresses and a case number to refer to.

Hope that helps :)
 
#47 ·
Thanks Hunter and David.
The time before last it went to Guest I was told that they had the new software - so I guess they used it then.
Phoned Lombard Finance twice today - was promised a call back - it didn't happen.
2nd time was put on hold for over 14 minutes.
Phoning Lombard seems like platting fog.
I'll ring ARUK tomorrow.
Update: drove 30 miles on mixed roads including motorway. On the way out I had as much power as a Citroen 2CV.
Got it to clear on the way back and gave her a sound thrashing.
Let's see what tomorrow brings !

Z.
 
#48 ·
Well the car is with HRO at the moment, I have been driving around in a rather lovely 159 2.4 Ti since Friday (lovely car).

Pick the Spider up again tomorrow, so I will report back then.......

EB
 
#49 ·
Update.......

Im not going to post what im going to write to ARUK (as they read the site, but you can guess what I might say when you read the following:wow:)

This is what has been identified as wrong with the car:

1) Glow plug problem - 1 plug failed and needs replacing.

2) Poor economy and DPF regenerating. Nothing found to be wrong with DPF (infact it holds almost perfect temp and pressure). However it was discovered that the car left the factory with the wrong ECU map, wrong injectors and also some other wrong parts (to do with the inlet side of things, infact I think HRO said the inlet manifold was the wrong one). They are all off the earlier generation engine and do not match my chassis number. All these parts need to replaced and to do so requires dropping the sub-frame etc.

3) Clutch - One of the plates is rubbing/catching on one of the gear shafts (sorry it doesnt get more technical than that!). AFAIK the whole of the clutch needs to be replaced as well as the master and slave cylinders.

4) Tracking/geometry - Not checked as there would be no point with the subframe etc having to be dropped when the other work is done, although it was agreed that the fronts are wearing too quickly......

..... and thats it. Im not a particularly happy chappy, but its worth mentioning that HRO did a great job as usual and the Ti I had as a loaner was fantastic!
 
#50 ·
HRO seem the business:thumbs: I'm hoping Chris Variava come up trumps on my Ti snagging list although by the sounds of it their hitting the usual ARUK technical brick wall.

Glad it looks as if they can & will sort your Spider out eurobou:cool: Now for the compensation to cover the tyres, additional fuel costs, hassle etc etc;)

Go get 'em....
 
#51 ·
Forgot to mention that the EGR valve was also diagnosed as faulty. Its stuck open on idle.

PAS pump was replaced and seems to have solved rumbling problem.

Sent email to ARUK on Monday....... no reply yet.
 
#53 ·
:( I bit the bullet and ordered new fronts for mine yesterday as they were down to the wear markers.

Interestingly this last set have worn 'more' evenly than the 1st set - but still far from perfect.

I have ordered some Vredestein Ultracs, having been pretty underwhelmed by the bridgestone and continentals I have tried already.

So for me its the 3rd set of fronts at @13k miles. Another 300quid spent!

Incidentally the rears still look OK.
 
#54 ·
Update:

Car booked in at HRO end of this month.

Since last visit has developed a loud squeak at the rear end, very noticeable at low speeds, doesnt seem to be realted to the brakes as it does it all the time, maybe something rubbing on something else!

Also got a horrible low speed jutter, manifests itself when moving slowly in traffic and you are pulling yourself forward at about 11-1200 rpm. Im guessing its related to the already diagnosed clutch problems :(

Also going to get HRO to look at the boot, as theres some plastic pipework that keeps getting caught in it.

I can only give it to HRO for 4 days, would have liked for it to go for longer, but such is my work schedule thats the best I can do. Car is really bugging me at the moment:cry:
 
#55 ·
Also going to get HRO to look at the boot, as theres some plastic pipework that keeps getting caught in it.
Had the same problem in mine - the courtesy Spider got the same issue. Looked at a demo Spider who had the same problem.

This is a design fault. The plastic pipe holding the electrics is squeezed when you close the boot. Over time the plastic pipe will give in - as a result you will quickly have electrical faults.
 
#60 ·
Which problem mate, ive got so many im not sure which one you are referring to?:eek:
 
#62 ·
Thought I would post an update to this, as it has been a while.....

The loud squeak was diagnosed as a sticking rear brake, they said they fixed it but the squeak is still there, as loud as ever:(

Injectors etc successfully replaced along with the clutch assembly and flywheel (which was badly damaged apparently).

Sad to report that the clutch problem remains though - pedal sticks half way down on about 1/2 the changes and I presume this is what is causing damage to the clutch/flywheel. So the damage has been replaced but the root cause not diagnosed - I therefore assume the problem will repeat itself.

I also now have a Change Engine Oil warning :( and the parking sensors keep going on the blink.

I have formally requested a replacement car from ARUK, its in their hands to see what they can do.

I wont post my personal feelings on the matter as im sure this gets read at ARUK, but you can imagine what they might be!

cheers all.
 
#63 ·
Euroboy. I sincerely hope ARUK come good. You are loyal to the brand and deserve better and in double quick time too!

ARUK if you do read this, what about the tyre wear issue and the 2.2 JTS hesitation that afflicts the Brera, Spider & 159? Your dealers know about it but are powerless to act:mad:

Perhaps it's time for another letter and appearance (for the third time) in Autoexpress.

We love the cars so please do not treat us with such contempt:cry:
 
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