Spider Leaks, Issues & Corrosion

Hi Guys,

I'm now getting very annoyed with ARUK and Dealer. After over 14 months I still cant get resolution. ARUK keep responding to say someone will respond ! No-one ever does...

Issues:
Arm Rest: No airflow, thumb wheel useless, the 'temperatue control' simply doesnt work.

Windows: Dont go up when lock button is held down.

Engine Hesitation: 2.2 JTS Well documented.

Door Seal Leak: Whenever it stands outside in the rain, water pours into the car from the lower rear seal on the Passenger door.

Battery Corrosion: Noticed that there appears to be an acid leak from the top of the battery that has now corroded the paint on the inside of the engine bay, causing it to flake off.

Consumption: Was running at ave. of only 24MPG, but since service and with A/C and ASP off, it now gives up tp 35MPG (how much power does A/C and toys drain??)

ARUK keep telling me someone will call. Never do.
My Insurance Company's Solicitors are in correspondence with Benfield Motors, Newcastle who claim nothings wrong with the car?
Independant report from specialist Technicians shows they believe there are problems.

Does anyone else have any of these issues?
Can anyone recommend a dealer who actually cares? (North East)

After 14months, 21,000 miles I'm fed up. I've posted on Cloverleaf website as well, got two calls from ARUK telling me someone would call, no-one has !!

HELP !

You need to take it to another dealer and ARUK need to oversee it. Your contacts within ARUK should be Sam Brandon or Arron Mundel. I've dealt wuth the latter and he is very effective

From what I understand, ARUK Customer Services are getting plagued with calls regarding non-deliver due to the bottle neck at Portbury. All resources were directed to getting the Spider LE's out but this has now been switched to the Brera S.

Persevere. Stay calm and focused. The isses are easlily resolvable, given a half decent dealer and a little bit of time

Wish I could agree with your 'easily resolvable' statement. To date they have had the car for 5 weeks, and resolved nothing, this included a visit from an Alfa Technician who conclude ' Yes, they are all like that..' as an answer to the 'Temp Controlled' Arm Rest not working. .... Wrong Answer Alfa !

Can you recommend a good dealer within 100miles of Newcastle?

My Geog isn't that great (I'm Welsh).

Piccadilly of Harrogate (Down the M1).

Chris Variava of Nottingham (Down the M1).

Platt's of Stoke (down the M6).

I did add the proviso of given a good dealer

Good luck.

I had occassion to take one apart for a major ICE install (got volunteered because I have teh workshop manual)

The 'icebox' is a small plastic duct ipstand with the thumbwheel valve at the top. Plainly seen when you remove the plastic outer housing of the tunnel assembly (To reveal a big cast alloy structure) Its behind this, so you cant easily get to it.

It is gasketed and pushed into a flat horizontal duct that then makes its way to to the heater box and is connected to the part that suppies the face level vents.

There can only be so much wrong with this, its either blocked, or not connected somewhere, but its hours of work to get to. Perhaps its outlet is not aligned with the holes in teh coolbox, but then it pretty much free-floats retained mainly by the tumb wheel sitting in the slot.

You should feel cool air at the dust and the box becomes noticably cool on a warm day.

It might be worth you calling Alexanders - new AR dealer in Stockton.

Alexanders in Thornaby on Tees, Teesside. Authorised Alfa Romeo dealership

01642 679782

Thanks for that. NO air at all can be felt. At one point Benfield had it, they closed all the internal vents, set the a/c to LO, and left the engine running. They claimed that it worked.... even though they agreed they still couldnt feel any airflow !

It is a major dismantle job to get to it, and I believe this is why they just wont fix it.

Thanks for letting me know that yours works. At least I can now rebuke their 'They are all like that' statement.

They are not all like that, I can assure you.

There is a very low, but perceptable airflow on the 159 and the Brera

Originally Posted by TeesSpider

It might be worth you calling Alexanders - new AR dealer in Stockton.

Alexanders in Thornaby on Tees, Teesside. Authorised Alfa Romeo dealership

01642 679782

Thanks, I saw there was a new dealer in Stockton. Might just give them a call.

Originally Posted by cj romeo

They are not all like that, I can assure you.

There is a very low, but perceptable airflow on the 159 and the Brera

It's very effective on mine. Really does a good job of freezing my garmin when it's not in use

I also dont have any airflow in to the centre rest on my Spider, but its such a minor issue compared to all the others that I havent even bothered raising it

If you want to reject the car then think long and hard about it - have a search for the thread where I document all the problems I have been having with mine - its a similar age and mileage to yours. I have had to work very hard to get the (promised) resolution ARUK have offered me (I wont post what it is until I have it in writing) but suffice to say that my car has had a lot more go wrong with it than yours and it was touch and go as to what they would do with mine.

Unfortunately I have to say that I think getting a replacement in your case isnt likely to happen, unless more goes wrong - but if you want to give it a shot then go for it.

Its just a real shame that these things are happening in the first place

Thanks for that. I'm not looking for a replacement, I love the car, great fun, rare, and actually a good drive. When I recently did a 4,000 mile journey across Europe I was delighted with its overall performance and comfort.

I just want the faults fixed. Yes the arm rest is minor, but if it doesnt work and cant be temp controlled, then remove it as a feature, dont put a glossy picture of it in the brochure, then say '..they are all like that' in response to complaints they dont work !

I want ARUK to respond and fix the problems. It is unacceptable in this day and age that they can get away with paying lip service to customers whilst quoting improvements in Customer Satisfaction and growing sales.

For years Alfa has been bouyed by its loyal band of 'Alfista', its curent growing sales are a function of the stunning style of the current range, but that wont grow repeat sales and build new loyalties if new Customers regret their purchases; it will simply lead to a bubble.

It is very telling that only 12 months into the launch of the Spider, they are having to sell an LE model at a low price to boost sales, this car should be flying out of the showrooms, with no discounts and no gimmicky LE additions.

It is the dealer network, the Customer services, and the rediculous PDI process that lets them down.

If you are listening ALFA, continue to fix this, service your existing customers so they come back and keep buying from you. Fix their issues so they recommend you, instead of criticising you, and take pride in your cars, they are world class design. Finally get your Dealers to PDI the vehicles, giving them ownership of the cars they hand over, instead of allowing them to blame the current PDI process and the quality of the cars when they are delivered late.

When I got my Spider, the dealer would not deliver the car to me on a Sunday......."because the Service department was not open incase of problems". !! What sort of message is that to give to your customers, if you cannot even be confident of handing over a working car on day 1 !!

The Alfa model range is refreshingly stylish, has a stunning 'face and grill', and is one in the eye for the traditional 'Eurobox', the cars are great fun to drive, and have a loyal band of followers, and the brand is unique, and associated with sport and style. It is a total winning combination, let down only by a handful of people who cannot dispense the levels of service that todays drivers need, by ignoring their plea's for resolution.

Lecture over - sorry, its Friday, I earn a living as a Management Consultant, hope it doesnt show !!

Originally Posted by Northern Spider

Hi Guys,

I'm now getting very annoyed with ARUK and Dealer. After over 14 months I still cant get resolution. ARUK keep responding to say someone will respond ! No-one ever does...

Issues:
Arm Rest: No airflow, thumb wheel useless, the 'temperatue control' simply doesnt work.

Windows: Dont go up when lock button is held down.

Engine Hesitation: 2.2 JTS Well documented.

Door Seal Leak: Whenever it stands outside in the rain, water pours into the car from the lower rear seal on the Passenger door.

Battery Corrosion: Noticed that there appears to be an acid leak from the top of the battery that has now corroded the paint on the inside of the engine bay, causing it to flake off.

Consumption: Was running at ave. of only 24MPG, but since service and with A/C and ASP off, it now gives up tp 35MPG (how much power does A/C and toys drain??)

ARUK keep telling me someone will call. Never do.
My Insurance Company's Solicitors are in correspondence with Benfield Motors, Newcastle who claim nothings wrong with the car?
Independant report from specialist Technicians shows they believe there are problems.

Does anyone else have any of these issues?
Can anyone recommend a dealer who actually cares? (North East)

After 14months, 21,000 miles I'm fed up. I've posted on Cloverleaf website as well, got two calls from ARUK telling me someone would call, no-one has !!

HELP !

Hi,

I agree that the 'coolbox' should get some airflow and that the battery needs sorting which should be straight forward but may be time consuming as mentioned above.

Taking an educated guess at the leak I would think that it is down to the membrane on the inside of the door card that is not in place allowing the water to run down and inside the car. Not a big job. I take it that you get a puddle on the rubber sill trim?
I might be wrong but I have seen this on a few different models.

The windows will not go up when you hold the button down. They don't do that, only down.

If you want any help, please let me know

David

Thanks David, its very kind of you to offer. My gripe remains the level of service from ARUK, and being lied to about the issues.

The windows have been an issue, mainly because Benfield did not know what they were doing. I believe there are two different states to programme the windows. Currently I am progammed with the anti-pinch OFF. Which I believe means the windows do NOT go up when the lock button is held down.

With anti-pinch ON, the drivers window drops when the car is unlocked, but this allows water to pour in when its raining. However with anti-pinch ON, the windows DO go up when you hold down the lock button.

The manual states that the windows should go up when anti pinch is OFF, thats what I want. It is mad that only the drivers window drops, and with the spider it is annoying that if you unlock the car as you approach it in the rain, water pours in and soaks the drivers seat. (Whats the purpose of it anyway when its only on the drivers door?)

Arm rest is just annoying, it should work, Benfield have so far told me I needed a spare part, then claimed it was fixed, then said I wasnt driving fast enough for air to flow into it (how mad is that?), and finally said its as good as it gets, and non of them work!

The leak looks as if it is exactly what you say.

I've given up on ALFA calling me, given up on Benfield, and have now booked it into Alexanders for a couple of days. They were extremely helpful and I'm confident they will sort it out for me. (I hope).

My comments on PDI were that I waited 3 months for my car, when it arrived it was wrong spec, no BOSE, but Benfield found me an identical one with BOSE within 24hrs !! So why did I wait 3 months, or did some poor soul wait another 3 months for his?

Just reading the strings on LE deliveries, some guys are still waiting for months while others order and get them in days. If you phone around and search the internet you find loads of Spiders ready for delivery, so why are dealers not researching the dealer network. Meridien in Portsmouth always seems to have a few at very good discounts!

Anyway, thanks David, I love my Spider which is saying a lot bearing in mind my previous cars were a Gallardo, a 360 Spider, 360, F355F1 and XKR. The cars is a perfect balance of style and in the real world is just fine on performance, but Alfa seem to be turning me into Victor Meldrew. !

Thanks again.

Alfa have had that effect on loads of us NS It just shouldn't be when you spend that amount of your hard earned

As I said in my 1st post, given a decent garage & a little time, yours will be in fine fettle. I'd still go for the jugular with ARUK. c£250 worth of dealer vouchers should be acceptable

I'm looking forward to saying " I can't believe it !" When its all fixed and working...... dream on..

Sad thing is the actual car, is very very good !!!!!

Oh No, it rained last night. Take a look at the pic showing the water behind the passenger seat.. It's so annoying.

I've also attached a pic showing the corrosion under and around the battery, you can see the red paint is flaking and now rust has formed.

I had another email from Alfa today, telling me someone would call. I've put it with the collection of them going back to Nov 07 !! I wont hold my breathe.

The corrosion looks really bad & once rust is there........

Also, I thought they were galvanised now

If the leek has been there for a while, I'd be worried about that too. Needs new carpets and sound deadening material at least

Quick Update:

ARUK have been promising to call me for days, (well months actually) but no calls received. Apparently I've now been assigned to Aaron Mundle, but he hasnt called, despite promises.

Car now with Alexanders in Stockton, and WOW, they are very good. Service Dept are extremely polite and very helpful. Only disappointment was I asked for a loan car, and instead of the expected Ford Ka/Nissan Micra I got a 2008 159 2.4JTDm with free insurance.!! Superb.

Popped into the showroom to look at the Brera S and MY08 Spider. Spider was out, but the Brera S looked good, the painted trim looked fine to me. The salesman was again superb, very attentive and informative.

First impressions count for a lot, and Alexanders score 10/10. Brilliant.

Left my Spider with them for 2 days to look at the issues, fingers crossed !...... watch this space....

Good news there NS

See, I told you good dealers exist (even if they are few & far between)

Hope it gets resolved to your full satisfaction. You have a lush car there

PS. As stated on another thread. Arun mundle was the only fella to come good for my issues but this was only after a pretty big push