BE WARNED - ALFA WARRENTY AND BUILD ISSUES
Discussion
Update for you all.
I have just come off the phone with HR Owen, the guy I talked to there was very helpful, our mutual customer is having his car fixed and the guy confirmed to me that in his opinion the ill fitting wing was definitely a manufacturing default and Alfa UK were not taking responsibility for it. HR Owen are doing the work at cost and have managed to get £300 out of Alfa UK so the customer does not have to spend any money and is currently using one of there courtesy cars. All this could very easily been avoided, if there is a manufacturing defect keep the customer happy and fix it.
The reason for my call to HR Owen was to offer to pay the bill for our customer.
HR Owen is a really good dealer with exceptional customer service a lot could be learnt by other UK Alfa dealers.
Ned
Edited because i can't spell.
I have just come off the phone with HR Owen, the guy I talked to there was very helpful, our mutual customer is having his car fixed and the guy confirmed to me that in his opinion the ill fitting wing was definitely a manufacturing default and Alfa UK were not taking responsibility for it. HR Owen are doing the work at cost and have managed to get £300 out of Alfa UK so the customer does not have to spend any money and is currently using one of there courtesy cars. All this could very easily been avoided, if there is a manufacturing defect keep the customer happy and fix it.
The reason for my call to HR Owen was to offer to pay the bill for our customer.
HR Owen is a really good dealer with exceptional customer service a lot could be learnt by other UK Alfa dealers.
Ned
Edited because i can't spell.
Edited by Big Ned on Monday 4th June 16:20
Big Ned said:
With the up most respect, if our customer wants the car “exactly the same” they get it “exactly the same”, if our customer wants “something a bit different” they can have what they want.
Your 147 Ti did not come with a winter pack or comfort pack, had you ordered you car from us it would have had these extras at a lower price and if you wanted to add Connect Nav + you could have done. This was not possible to do from a UK dealer, as I say more flexibility for our customers.
Ned, if I buy a 147 TI from an official Alfa UK dealer and one from yourselves and find that there are differences in spec, then I would argue that the cars are not 'exactly the same'.Your 147 Ti did not come with a winter pack or comfort pack, had you ordered you car from us it would have had these extras at a lower price and if you wanted to add Connect Nav + you could have done. This was not possible to do from a UK dealer, as I say more flexibility for our customers.
In itself it's perhaps a trivial point, but the 147 TI you are advertising on your website is not 'exactly the same' as an official UK 147 TI, so I personally don't think your claim that the cars you sell are 'exactly the same' as Alfa UK cars holds true. It either is exactly the same, or it isn't.
ARUK's attitude in these sorts of cases sucks. They should represent Alfa Romeo, the company, not UK Alfa dealers. Their suggestion that you deserve problems and that they won't honour the pan-european warranty if you buy a non-UK car, or buy from anyone but a dealer, is abhorrent and illegal.
I had dealings with ARUK "Customer Service" recently. I bought my car pre-registered (to ARUK themselves) but from Veloces, not an official dealer. As a UK car it had a "3 year warranty" which is actually a 2 year manufacturer's warranty then a third year commercial warranty - with loads of exclusions - that is taken out in the name of the first owner only, so unless you bought from a AR dealer that is still in business when the car is 2 years old and that remembers to transfer it, you have to pay to have it transferred into your name if you are a subsequent owner - even if you bought the car before the 3rd year warranty was taken out and filled in all the ARUK registration forms!
For me, this news came as a bad joke after 9 non-service trips to dealers and 900 miles of motoring at my expense to sort 3 small problems out with the car, seemingly beyond their largely useless dealer network. I asked ARUK customer services to pay for the warranty to be transferred into my name - especialy as the issue in question existed well before the 2 year manufacturer's warranty was up - in view of the hassles and expense I had occurred with warranty issues with the car, and they refused, plus made some sarky comments about not buying from a dealer.
So in my case they lost a probable 159 SW purchase (for my wife) for the case of £37.50 (I think the cost to them is nearer £20) that I wanted them to pay out of principle. They don't seem to see a litany of problems and dealer visits all requiring a day out of the office and many miles travelled at my expense, or the general rubbish attitude of their dealers, as a valid problem.
I seem to have found a better dealer now, at the 4th attempt, and would buy their cars again - at the right price - for me as I love them, but the company itself and the dealers leave a lot to be desired.
I had dealings with ARUK "Customer Service" recently. I bought my car pre-registered (to ARUK themselves) but from Veloces, not an official dealer. As a UK car it had a "3 year warranty" which is actually a 2 year manufacturer's warranty then a third year commercial warranty - with loads of exclusions - that is taken out in the name of the first owner only, so unless you bought from a AR dealer that is still in business when the car is 2 years old and that remembers to transfer it, you have to pay to have it transferred into your name if you are a subsequent owner - even if you bought the car before the 3rd year warranty was taken out and filled in all the ARUK registration forms!
For me, this news came as a bad joke after 9 non-service trips to dealers and 900 miles of motoring at my expense to sort 3 small problems out with the car, seemingly beyond their largely useless dealer network. I asked ARUK customer services to pay for the warranty to be transferred into my name - especialy as the issue in question existed well before the 2 year manufacturer's warranty was up - in view of the hassles and expense I had occurred with warranty issues with the car, and they refused, plus made some sarky comments about not buying from a dealer.
So in my case they lost a probable 159 SW purchase (for my wife) for the case of £37.50 (I think the cost to them is nearer £20) that I wanted them to pay out of principle. They don't seem to see a litany of problems and dealer visits all requiring a day out of the office and many miles travelled at my expense, or the general rubbish attitude of their dealers, as a valid problem.
I seem to have found a better dealer now, at the 4th attempt, and would buy their cars again - at the right price - for me as I love them, but the company itself and the dealers leave a lot to be desired.
Edited by jwyatt on Tuesday 5th June 12:29
Wow
I thought mine was a stupidly small amount on a new car, but less than £40 is a tank of fuel (less than that!)
I admire you for sticking to your guns and seeing it through, clearly AR UK dont appreciate the wider impact a few hundred pounds will have.
Although I love the brand, I suspect this will be my last, unless anyone knows a compan car scheme that allows alfas!! Some companies would pay thousands for the information contained in the threads on this website!!! Please tell me AR UK will read this and take some of it on board!!!
I thought mine was a stupidly small amount on a new car, but less than £40 is a tank of fuel (less than that!)
I admire you for sticking to your guns and seeing it through, clearly AR UK dont appreciate the wider impact a few hundred pounds will have.
Although I love the brand, I suspect this will be my last, unless anyone knows a compan car scheme that allows alfas!! Some companies would pay thousands for the information contained in the threads on this website!!! Please tell me AR UK will read this and take some of it on board!!!
Hi Richard
I hope you have your car back and every thing is OK with it.
Pwig, you have gone very quiet on this subject. Might I also point out that the dealer you work for used to sell imported cars and pass them off as UK cars.
Pwig, I have also printed of this thread and I am debating on whether to send it in to Alfa UK.
Ned
Please note I changed my user name from Big Ned to AutoLusso as the things I am saying on here are about my company and I don't want any one to think I am hiding behind a user name.
I hope you have your car back and every thing is OK with it.
Pwig, you have gone very quiet on this subject. Might I also point out that the dealer you work for used to sell imported cars and pass them off as UK cars.
Pwig, I have also printed of this thread and I am debating on whether to send it in to Alfa UK.
Ned
Please note I changed my user name from Big Ned to AutoLusso as the things I am saying on here are about my company and I don't want any one to think I am hiding behind a user name.
Edited by AutoLusso on Friday 8th June 18:56
jamieboy said:
POORCARDEALER said:
When you buy an Alfa or a Fiat you know you are getting the worst quality customer service in the UK, read the surveys
And that's exactly the perception that Alfa seem determined to turn around - at least as far as the official dealer network is concerned.POORCARDEALER said:
jamieboy said:
POORCARDEALER said:
When you buy an Alfa or a Fiat you know you are getting the worst quality customer service in the UK, read the surveys
And that's exactly the perception that Alfa seem determined to turn around - at least as far as the official dealer network is concerned.jwyatt said:
ARUK's attitude in these sorts of cases sucks. They should represent Alfa Romeo, the company, not UK Alfa dealers. Their suggestion that you deserve problems and that they won't honour the pan-european warranty if you buy a non-UK car, or buy from anyone but a dealer, is abhorrent and illegal.
I had dealings with ARUK "Customer Service" recently. I bought my car pre-registered (to ARUK themselves) but from Veloces, not an official dealer. As a UK car it had a "3 year warranty" which is actually a 2 year manufacturer's warranty then a third year commercial warranty - with loads of exclusions - that is taken out in the name of the first owner only, so unless you bought from a AR dealer that is still in business when the car is 2 years old and that remembers to transfer it, you have to pay to have it transferred into your name if you are a subsequent owner - even if you bought the car before the 3rd year warranty was taken out and filled in all the ARUK registration forms!
For me, this news came as a bad joke after 9 non-service trips to dealers and 900 miles of motoring at my expense to sort 3 small problems out with the car, seemingly beyond their largely useless dealer network. I asked ARUK customer services to pay for the warranty to be transferred into my name - especialy as the issue in question existed well before the 2 year manufacturer's warranty was up - in view of the hassles and expense I had occurred with warranty issues with the car, and they refused, plus made some sarky comments about not buying from a dealer.
So in my case they lost a probable 159 SW purchase (for my wife) for the case of £37.50 (I think the cost to them is nearer £20) that I wanted them to pay out of principle. They don't seem to see a litany of problems and dealer visits all requiring a day out of the office and many miles travelled at my expense, or the general rubbish attitude of their dealers, as a valid problem.
I seem to have found a better dealer now, at the 4th attempt, and would buy their cars again - at the right price - for me as I love them, but the company itself and the dealers leave a lot to be desired.
Called my local dealer to book a service for my 156, the chap on the phone asked if I had any problems with the car, I mentioned the sooty exhaust. First thing he asked was if it was an import as even though it was an 05 car, they wouldn't do any work under warranty. I had dealings with ARUK "Customer Service" recently. I bought my car pre-registered (to ARUK themselves) but from Veloces, not an official dealer. As a UK car it had a "3 year warranty" which is actually a 2 year manufacturer's warranty then a third year commercial warranty - with loads of exclusions - that is taken out in the name of the first owner only, so unless you bought from a AR dealer that is still in business when the car is 2 years old and that remembers to transfer it, you have to pay to have it transferred into your name if you are a subsequent owner - even if you bought the car before the 3rd year warranty was taken out and filled in all the ARUK registration forms!
For me, this news came as a bad joke after 9 non-service trips to dealers and 900 miles of motoring at my expense to sort 3 small problems out with the car, seemingly beyond their largely useless dealer network. I asked ARUK customer services to pay for the warranty to be transferred into my name - especialy as the issue in question existed well before the 2 year manufacturer's warranty was up - in view of the hassles and expense I had occurred with warranty issues with the car, and they refused, plus made some sarky comments about not buying from a dealer.
So in my case they lost a probable 159 SW purchase (for my wife) for the case of £37.50 (I think the cost to them is nearer £20) that I wanted them to pay out of principle. They don't seem to see a litany of problems and dealer visits all requiring a day out of the office and many miles travelled at my expense, or the general rubbish attitude of their dealers, as a valid problem.
I seem to have found a better dealer now, at the 4th attempt, and would buy their cars again - at the right price - for me as I love them, but the company itself and the dealers leave a lot to be desired.
Edited by jwyatt on Tuesday 5th June 12:29
sjn2004 said:
POORCARDEALER said:
jamieboy said:
POORCARDEALER said:
When you buy an Alfa or a Fiat you know you are getting the worst quality customer service in the UK, read the surveys
And that's exactly the perception that Alfa seem determined to turn around - at least as far as the official dealer network is concerned.Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff