Alfa Romeo Forum banner

Cost of ownership

Tags
cost
1K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  lussoman 
#1 ·
Today is my Brera's third birthday. Well, under my ownership. And for its birthday, it received a bill for £818.40. New discs and pads all 'round, rebuilt rear calipers and fixing the O/S door check strap. Wow. Bad time of year for that kind of outlay.

But, it's worth it. I love this car. Except for a dead battery in the first week of ownership, and having to get a jump start after the car sat idle for six weeks last May, it has never let me down.

However, I have kept a record of all receipts for any money spent on the car: MOT, insurance, road tax, petrol, service, parts and supplies (cleaning, tools, etc.)

£248.24/month. Sort of took my breath away. One of the reasons I had to replace the brakes is because I don't use the car very much. Sometimes, it sits for two weeks, then just gets used for a shopping run. I only put on just over 3,000 miles last year. The brakes basically rusted up. The mechanic said, "Try to drive the car more often."

I guess this definitely classifies this car as a luxury item. As such, I wonder how much more it could be to own a new Giulia? £299/month and my car, according to Motor Village Croydon's website. (I know, I know... but I'm trying to sell myself the idea.)

Hmmmm...
 
See less See more
#2 ·
i keep all the receipts, i choose not to total them up though. this is my second alfa and i pay whatever it costs to keep it in good working order. it's the price you pay for not driving a knackered focus/astra.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Don't mean to sound rude, but I think they may have ripped you off.
I'll explain. I've just priced a set of Brembo brake discs from euro parts for my Brera Q4 - front and rear cost £145

Carparts4less want £50 for the Brembo pads front and rear for a Q4
Brake pin for front Brembo callipers £14.99
Total £209.99

Your door check £27 on eBay

A brand new rear calliper painted in red by TRW £120 from eBay.

What was the part charges and labour costs?
 
#4 ·
Yep, as clay says, you've been had freelunch.
I paid so little to have pads and discs done on my 2.2 it didn't really register. I also had a sticking caliper problem that got sorted at the same time.
Bought the parts myself from Euro and got my usual mechanic to fit. I think that's key to not paying silly money on a car that's no longer worth a great deal, at least not in monetary terms.
 
#5 ·
Yep, as clay says, you've been had.
I can't bring myself to think about it. I can't do this work myself and didn't have the time (or inclination, frankly) to get the parts myself. I haven't even seen the work in the daylight to see if there are new shiny bits on the car.

On the invoice, they didn't even break down the parts and labour, just saying "supply and fit".
Front discs and pads £265. Rear discs and pads £257.

Fortunately, I have credit cards...
 
#6 · (Edited)
For your information too, I also had a sticking rear calliper and I have owned my car four years in Feb. It also does little miles 59.5k in march last mot, now on 61.7k. Approx 12k since xmas 2012. I leave my hand break off with the car in gear whilst it's not in use for any long period of time.
You can just strip the rear calliper down remove the pads, etc - wire brush if needs must, clean with lub spray, add copper grease to pads and bolts then it shouldn't stick again.

I'd price all factory spec parts - I.e discs and pads all around. Then add a generous £150 for labour costs. That would be right £100 labour front and rear breaks then another £50 for the sticky calliper and door check repair.

I'd go back to be honest with you as it's all just do - it - yourself repair that an amateur can learn just off watching a YouTube clip.

Edit:- your price come up to £522 not £818.
£265+£257=£522, either way on my £209.99 parts which should cost more. With the £150 fitted that's £359.99
 
#8 ·
Edit:- your price come up to £522 not £818.
I left off repair rear calipers (£65) repairing the door check strap (£95) and VAT (£136.40)

I park on the street near my flat and don't really have anyplace to do repairs. I once tried to remove a wheel and couldn't even budge the wheel bolts. Also, ever since I've had two beans to rub together, I've left the mechanical work to someone who knows what they're doing!

I think Firela do a good job, I'm just paying London prices.

My skills end at washing, waxing and monitoring tyre pressures. Oh, I replaced the wiper blades the other day, but when it came to installing headlight bulbs, I let Firela do it.
 
#7 ·
Man maths would probably always point you towards a newish car (< 5yrs old) if you can't DIY. If you can then there's a huge shove towards an older car. I've treated the 2007 2.4 spider to new belts, water pump, glow plugs, EGR,DPF delete & remap, clutch, fluids, 4 new tyres, subframe and rear arm de-rust & paint, hood refresh, all AR badges, window switch, touch screen sat nav and some other bits 'n' bobs and I still have change from £600 DIYing.
 
#9 ·
It's possible to get to a stage where you've shelled out that much that you don't want to get rid for someone else to benefit.
For me it's been an expensive year, Suspension, Clutch DMF, Brakes, Steering Rack, probably close to £4k in total. I always use the Indie guys off here even if it means a bit of travelling, as I trust their knowledge and workmanship.
I'll do some of the smaller stuff myself, but am limited due to no longer having a garage at home (I have one at my rental house, but it's got my VW Camper in it).
My car will be 10yrs old in March, right now I plan to drive it for another 7yrs because i still love driving it ... I'm doing 15k+ annually, by then it'll be approaching 200k and i'll just take any subsequent cost on the chin.
Next jobs are
108k Service and Front brakes - Probably Alfaspares Haslingden
126k Service (Cambelt) New Inlet Manifold - Autolusso North

The key for me is to plan for the unexpected ... Overtime usually pays for it anyway :thumbu p:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top