Good and Bad

[diamond72]

OK, I love my QV, I still grin like a schoolboy peeking in the girls changing rooms when I have a play and was practically screaming with laughter when I passed Leigh Delamare services on the M4 at 4 this morning doing ( indicated by GPS) over twice the limit!

However, for £25k or whatever you paid for yours, I don't expect that in less than 4 months, I would have to put up with the following (nothing in this list was a result of my high speed parking in South Wales a couple of months ago)

1. After less than two weeks, the heater fans packed up, resulting in ten days without the car while the replacement was fitted, then having to wait another 5 days because the clip holding the loom onto the airbag sensor had snapped and the dealer was waiting for an ENTIRE new loom from Italy.

2. centre console kick panel coming away and jamming under the clutch pedal, which promptly ate its own aluminium cover.

3. A speaker in drivers door that despite being replaced once, crackles so much that I'm looking for the white dog and the gramaphone!

4. A windscreen that cracked because a grain of sand "looked at it a bit funny"

5. A second windscreen that cracked because the aforementioned grain of sand's little sister kicked blancmange in it's face. My other car ( one of the horrible diseasel things with a blue oval on the grille) shrugs off being attacked with asteroids, cruise missiles and suicidal pigeons.

6. A gearbox that has now decided that, if it's a bit cold, or a bit wet, it doesn't like going into first or third, giving the driver the unpleasant sensation of trying to stir a bucket of cold porridge with a stick of celery.

7. Today, a third windscreen that has a chip the size of Alaska smack bang in front of the driver's nose, at least this time, it was a stone.

The damn thing was only registered at the end of December, has covered 12,000 miles, depreciated like Cameron's credibility and the guys at the dealership now hide in the toilet when they see me pull up. I realise that all the above faults have been described in other threads but has anyone had the full house or am I the only lucky one? Let's be honest, a wife or husband this unreliable would be divorced, such is the charm of Alfa

Crazy thing is, I still look back over my shoulder when walking to the house, I should hate it, but I can'tHowever, my next Alfa will be a proper one, with a busso and two doors.

[Tirreni]

All in all that is a pretty depressing list. You may have been really really unlucky with your screens - the screen in my 145 spontaneously cracked across half its width when I went over a speed bump many years ago.

I hope that once everything is fixed and ticketyboo that will be that for you and you'll have ages if troubled free G motoring.

(Hope there's not too many odd spellings etc here - on a train with a bit too much alcohol in my system!! )

[Cartier23]

I also had many problems in first year of ownership. Car has been at dealer 8 times.

But now everything is sorted out and car works great.

[cue2]

You have had mainly issues with the windscreen which could have been on any car ? I am nog clear,

hhhmm reminds me of my last car the VW scirocco..had a windscreen that used to chip everytime i was on a motorway.... I had a rattle in b pillar which VW looked at 5 times and couldnt fix, and i had an oil leak, from a fuel sump rim that had worn/broken.. I went back a few times...

Also being from VW i was more infuriated, as the brands whole image is highly considered a reliable non rattling brand.. they did offer me a extra years warranty and theatre tickets for me and my missus.. They did look after me i must admit. I dont expect Alfa to make flawless cars i dont expect any marquee to make flawless cars, however when you take them in you expect to be looked after.

Apart from having a few things when i picked up the car.. wonky peeling QV badge, missing metal pedals, and a loose facia part. When i took in back in, with having the accident repair too, they did it all. Also changed my plates to the plain ones i original asked for (not GB) and replaced a snapped mat screw i was a little eager on..

In my head i took this as the original delivery i should of had. The smile i had last weekend was horrendous lol

i have i big window door at my work which i can see my car pull up in everytime for work. When i see that reflection every morning, i wonder why ive never moved to ALFA before, im glad they have made this car with the mito.

[ptcoll]

7 months, 10,000 miles - zero issues.

Pete

[Perreby]

16 months (37 500 miles).. Most of my issues was not the fault of my Alfa.

1. Three massive potholes lead to the replacement of 3 tyres, 3 buckled rims that had to be fixed and left front wheel bearing being replaced.

2. A stone kicked up by a truck smashing into my window (I was doing about 140kph).. Window had small crack in it.. But it was duely replaced. My window has taken a few shots and it was only due to massive stone and high speed that it cracked. So perhaps the windows they fitting to your car is inferior?

3. Rattling passenger wing mirror. That was replaced within 5 min and has been perfect since.

4. Lumbar support motor seized. Was replaced under warranty while they did my 60 000kms service

I have the factory bose so cant comment on your speaker since mine has been 100%

Gearbox seems a known issue.. But it is fixable it seems.

Other than that my car has been fantastic! No rattles, no gearbox issues..

[twauster]

I wonder how "stone hit the windscreen" and "oil is thick in cold weather" came to be the equivalent of "unreliable". The mind boggles.

I've done 33,000 kms / 20,500 miles in 13 months and have been assaulted by a motorcycle and a Ford Explorer, leading to some body repairs and replacing a wheel. I was stationary both times. The windscreen cracked during the winter, and the door pockets keep filling up with parking stubs.

This is not "unreliable". It's "owning a car".

[davidjwbailey]

if it helps, I have a friend with a Ferrari. It has never gone more than 1,000 miles without needing a dealer. He has never complained on a forum. He also owns thoroughbred race horses. They break even more often. He doesn't complain about them either ;-)

[bellissimo]

The gear lever issue seems quite common. I've certainly got the issue on mine. I've started to make sure I really plant my foot down on the clutch pedal before changing gears and this seems to help but the gearstick never feels smooth to the touch when changing gears.

[Bert1]

Stones hit the screen hard at 140mph!!!!

[diarx]

8500k's, only problems have been the squeaky drivers seat and rarely but occasionally the brake check light coming on.. not sure why but it goes away after a little while/restarting the car.

So far its fairing much better than my previous two cars, knock on wood.

hmm spoke to soon on this thread.....

note to self: dont post how reliable your Alfa has been so far....

juist picked up a nasty vibration under throttle, booked it in... Not affected power or lights on dash.

Just a little annoying also doesnt do it all the time.

[diamond72]

Originally Posted by twauster

I wonder how "stone hit the windscreen" and "oil is thick in cold weather" came to be the equivalent of "unreliable". The mind boggles.

I've done 33,000 kms / 20,500 miles in 13 months and have been assaulted by a motorcycle and a Ford Explorer, leading to some body repairs and replacing a wheel. I was stationary both times. The windscreen cracked during the winter, and the door pockets keep filling up with parking stubs.

This is not "unreliable". It's "owning a car".

12,000 miles, now the fourth windscreen? and the "stone hitting the windscreen" that cracked it half way across was a mere tiddler compared to the boulders that my other car ( focus) has shrugged off many many times. Even the Autoglass guy has said that these screens are crap.

"Oil thick in cold weather" REALLY??, after a round trip of 300 miles in an ambient temperature around 9 degrees Celsius? Just how cold would you expect the oil to be? my guess would be that it was pretty warm, the stiffness seems to be related to damp, rather than cold.

It's not "owning a car". Given that my Sud, 156, various fords, volvos, nissans, even 2 1990s Rovers etc have all been far more robust but then again, I suppose electrical issues requiring an entire dismantling of the dash after two weeks is "owning a car"

[diamond72]

Originally Posted by davidjwbailey

if it helps, I have a friend with a Ferrari. It has never gone more than 1,000 miles without needing a dealer. He has never complained on a forum. He also owns thoroughbred race horses. They break even more often. He doesn't complain about them either ;-)

Sorry, thought the point of this forum was to discuss our cars, good or bad.

I wouldn't expect to drive a Ferrari or ride a racehorse every day, I do expect to be able to drive a relatively modest hatchback daily. Perhaps I was wrong.

just out of interest Dia, would you buy another alfa?

ive never picked up a car, to have a part of the car as standard missing, (like my metal qv pedals) really would you get this in say a audi or bmw..or even ford?

you do really have to have a infallible love for alfa, to push away some of the quality issues they do have. I love my car i really do, but its not bmw or audi, sometimes for that im thankful.

theres just no better looking hatches out there, thank god

[diamond72]

Originally Posted by danQV

just ut of interest Dia, would you buy another alfa?

Wouldn't buy another G, once it's paid off, I'm selling it and getting something with two doors and a Busso, spending the balance on a diesel ford for every day use, I've just got rid of my old one, an ex police car with 160,000 on the clock that I haven't even changed the oil on in the past 40,000 miles. It did over a thousand a week in the past sixteen months, was abused, thrashed and never, ever missed a beat. It's only gone as the price of a new clutch is more than the car is worth.

[RomeoRaiderZ]

I do have some sympathy over what you're experiencing, . It's not good to have problems with a new car but things like these are not confined just to Alfas, they can and do occur with any make and model - it's just that we seem to take it more 'personally' because it is an Alfa.

If I may, I'd like to make a couple of replies from a 'professional' perspective.

Originally Posted by diamond72

..... and the "stone hitting the windscreen" that cracked it half way across was a mere tiddler compared to the boulders that my other car ( focus) has shrugged off many many times.

I run a vehicle refurbishment company, with windscreen repair and replacement amongst the several services we provide to a number of large fleet operators including the 'Big 4' car rental companies. It's not the size of the stone that matters so much as the severity of the impact. A large 'boulder' as you describe it might have hit at a shallow angle and so spread the impact across more of the glass surface when compared with a 'tiddler', perhaps with a sharp point to it, striking at a steeper angle and so concentrating the impact forces through a smaller contact point resulting in much more damage. What causes more damage to your face? Somebody's fist encased in a boxing glove or that same fist, bare and sporting a knuckle-duster? Unless each and every occasion of a stone striking the glass was exactly identical, there's really no way of comparing them.

Originally Posted by diamond72

Even the Autoglass guy has said that these screens are crap.

I might say that about some of the replacement screens out there, and some of the OE ones fitted by other marques, but not the screens that Alfa fit. A lot of the aftermarket ones (and I suspect some of the OE ones) seem to be being sourced in China at the moment and must be made from recycled fortune cookies - they really are that bad! . So much so that I will not use them unless the client insists on the cheapest one available, and even then only if they confirm in writing that they know what they're getting.

My customers have a very varied fleet mix, encompassing most makes and models. I've just had a look back through our worksheets since the start of the year and out of the 100+ screen replacements and 950+ repairs that we've carried out, a total of precisely ZERO have involved an Alfa. Much as I love to see, as an Alfista, loads of bellas on these fleets (and there are, ), as a businessman I have to say that I don't want them to get any more otherwise my windscreen guys will be on the dole, . Even taking into account that there are a few more of them in percentage terms on these fleets, by far and away the worst offenders when it comes to damage to OE screens are VW (yes, danQV, ) and Peugeot, followed fairly closely by Ford - the heating elements in their screens amplify any stresses in the glass from an impact.

In my own Alfa-owning history, having covered the best part of 500k miles in a variety of models, I've experienced several cringe-inducing (WTF?) moments when a flying object has made contact with the screen but I've never had a chip that required repairing. For sure, a couple of times I've decided to have the resulting tiny pit in the glass surface filled and polished but that was purely down to my OCD when it comes to the appearance of my cars. Only once, with the 156, did I have a crack that necessitated the screen being replaced but that was after it was hit by a Friday-night ICBM a.k.a. a beer bottle - I suppose I should have known better than to drive past an East End of Glasgow pub at chucking-out time, .

[TrevB]

"Even the Autoglass guy has said that these screens are crap."

Wasn't there a thread about how difficult it was to break into a G - about even hitting a window with a hammer didn't break it?

Sounds like Autoglass were talking about their own products.

[Alfred TI]

Originally Posted by TrevB

"Even the Autoglass guy has said that these screens are crap."

Wasn't there a thread about how difficult it was to break into a G - about even hitting a window with a hammer didn't break it?

Sounds like Autoglass were talking about their own products.

The other thread was to do with the side windows which are smaller and thicker than the front screen.
You will also find that the side glass is toughened (breaks into a million little squares) and the front is laminated - two thin layers of glass with a plastic film in the middle (cracks but mostly stays in one piece)
2 completely different pieces of glass and 2 totally different strengths

[diamond72]

Thanks for the considered responses guys. back on the subject of screens, we've all been there when we hear the impact and cringe. The first three sounded like someone had dropped a ball bearing from a matter of inches, the last one ( which only starred about 2cm across) was more like Thor dropping his hammer into a steel drum. Like you say, it depends on angle of impact, shape of stone etc.

Just frustrated, it's only 4 months old and more has gone wrong/needed repairing in that time than in the four years I had my 156, which was 5 years old when I bought it!

Had a complete hooligan drive through the back roads yesterday lunchtime and suddenly remembered why I bought her in the first place! You know it's fun when you go through quarter of a tank in less than 40 miles!

[Maningrey]

Originally Posted by diamond72

Had a complete hooligan drive through the back roads yesterday lunchtime and suddenly remembered why I bought her in the first place! You know it's fun when you go through quarter of a tank in less than 40 miles!

Now that is impressive mpg! I shall be aiming for that as well. I too enjoyed the sunshine yesterday with a, let's say, spirited drive on the back roads! It makes going to meetings so much more fun!

[Big Jon]

Originally Posted by diamond72

12,000 miles, now the fourth windscreen? and the "stone hitting the windscreen" that cracked it half way across was a mere tiddler compared to the boulders that my other car ( focus) has shrugged off many many times. Even the Autoglass guy has said that these screens are crap.

I've had a couple of stones smack the windscreen, one of which I really thought was going to crack the screen but other than a couple of tiny marks it has held up well.

I've only ever had to replace one windscreen in an Alfa and that was on the GTA. I was really unlucky as the stone had hit the edge of the screen and a crack developed from there.

As for your gearbox, is it noisy? Mine needed a couple of bearings replaced and since then it has been fine. I find the 'box very positive and much better than the soggy mess in any of the MiTos I've driven.