Alfa GTs - Where are they?

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Discussion

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2004
quotequote all
pwig, does that mean that the 3rd year of warranty is provided by Alfa UK rather than Alfa It/Fiat Auto?

I've just seen this statement on the Alfaromeo.co.uk site : "Your Alfa Romeo has the backing of a 3 Year Dealer Warranty"

So, who provides the 3 year warranty on cars bought from franchsied dealers???? I getting confused now

DC

pdV6

16,442 posts

267 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
It used to be 1 year from Alfa and the 2nd from the supplying dealership. I guess its something similar these days too.

Saying that, if SA advertise that they're selling you a car with a 3 year warranty, I'd try to get it in writing from them that any AR dealership can do the work, so you have something to hit them with if you have a problem in the future.

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
If SA looks like the best source then I'll ask them those questions. There are a couple of dealer demo cars that have grabbed my attention at the moment, as well as a handful of 1 year old 147 GTAs at dealers for the same money.

Hmmm, a stunning, cheap-to-run GT JTD or a ballistic £££s sapping 147 GTA?

ettore

4,300 posts

258 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
I would recommend Melbury as worth talking to as well. I`ve bought three cars from there and have found them very straightforward to deal with. He used to be a Fiat main dealer and has a decent reputation locally (I`m originally from that part of the world).

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
The prices on the Melbury site do look too good to be true. I'll have to give them a call this afternoon because prices like that simply cannot be ignored.

Do you know if they offer part exchanges?

ettore

4,300 posts

258 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
Yes they do p/ex. Melbury Motors is a traditional country garage that happens to specialise in Fiats and Alfas so has a normal sales operation.

I traded in my previous 147 earlier this year and received a very fair price. Chris is the name of the owner and he`s always been very fair in my experience (g/f`s family have also bought and serviced cars with him).

When I was there he seemed very happy with the way GT`s were selling!

cirvy

2,329 posts

269 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
Funnily enough, i was with my local Alfa dealer at the weekend & he said business is totally dead, apart from quite a bit of interest in GT's, which are actually selling quite well!

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
Not surprising really.

147 facelift is due easter 2005 (already revealed), 157 is coming pretty soon (spy shots are all over the place), GTV is aincient and about to be killed off and the 166 has the worst residuals of any car ever made (allegedly )

The lack of GTs on the road is confusing me though. I can't see any reason not to buy one if you're in the market for a nice coupe. 350Zs are that little bit more expensive, RX8s will be out of fashion very soon, SLKs are far more expensive and the 3-series will be replaced next year.

Hmmmmm......

pdV6

16,442 posts

267 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
I'm seeing more and more (or perhaps the same few over & over!) on the road now. Still quite a rare sight, though.

I agree about the Mazda and the Nissan / Merc will count themselves out for a lot of folk due to no back seats. The BMW? Well, I'm not going to start BM-bashing, but its hardly in the same league lookswise, more of a saloon with the rear doors welded up.

So, no, I don't see any reason why we're not drowning in GTs - other than this strange reluctance on the part of the public to accept that ARs don't fall to bits in 5 minutes flat!

pdV6

16,442 posts

267 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
Re the rest of the current AR range, I think the updated "family" face suits the 156 and 166 very well, looks decidedly odd on the 147 and downright fugly on the GTV/Spider.

cirvy

2,329 posts

269 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
I'm surprised by their lack of numbers on the road, in reality, who ( with any petrol in their veins) wants a 3 series & the Nissan, although stunning, is only a 2 seater. The Mazda is also stunning, but has a very odd engine & a foul interior, all strictly IMHO of course

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
Apparently the BMW is a "driver's" car. I wouldn't know cos I've never driven a 3 series.
I have driven the new 645 Coupe though and I thought it was sh17e. That may have been more to do with the really really bad SMG gearbox (anyone who buys one with that g/box should be taken out the back of the dealership and shot!). I cannot even begin to describe how awful that gearbox is - it completely cripples the car. A proper manual may be much much better but I actually have no desire to find out. The interior is horrible too and the nose is fugly (but I actually don't have a problem with the rear).

I actually really like the Nissan but it's just that little bit too expensive for me. The RX8 is just plain odd though.


=================================

Back on topic, I just spoke to Melbury. They order the cars through a Southern Ireland dealer and the price at the currrent exchange rate is £21200 for a 1.9 JTD with leather, 17" spoked alloys, Bose, MP3, CD Changer and Parking Sensors - My perfect spec

I'm gonna test drive a JTD and a 147 GTA on Saturday, from which point I believe I shall be addicted to Alfas.

DC

>> Edited by DavidCane on Wednesday 24th November 17:30

pwig

11,956 posts

276 months

Wednesday 24th November 2004
quotequote all
It used to be a 1 year manufactures warranty 2 years extended.

Now its two years Manufacturers and 1 year extended. So basically every Alfa gets a 2 year warranty, and providing you have up to date service history you get the extra year (not as comprehensive) warranty thrown into the deal too.

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
After a little bit of searching, I found this 6 month old GT for a good price.

It's been owned by the delear principle since July and has all the options apart from Connect Nav+. Collected on Friday, covered 350miles this weekend and am very happy with it.

There are a couple of small niggles, such as the dealer giving me a 147 owners manual instead of a GT one.

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DC

>> Edited by DavidCane on Monday 17th January 12:09

cirvy

2,329 posts

269 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
That looks superb, what colour is it?

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Stromboli Grey, Black Leather, 17" Spoked Wheels, Xenons, PDC, Bose, 10-cd changer and heated seats.

It's a sweeeeeeet toy and I'm loving every minute of it

And, Alfa have added £500 to the list price of the JTD and JTS this week. V6 has gone up £300 too. Looks good for future residuals.

DC

cirvy

2,329 posts

269 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
DavidCane said:
Stromboli Grey, Black Leather, 17" Spoked Wheels, Xenons, PDC, Bose, 10-cd changer and heated seats.

It's a sweeeeeeet toy and I'm loving every minute of it

And, Alfa have added £500 to the list price of the JTD and JTS this week. V6 has gone up £300 too. Looks good for future residuals.

DC



This is good news indeed, 'bout time Alfa turned it round. Had my GT for 7 months now, it has been faultless in that time, ( just like my previous 3 Alfas! ). A friend was with me over the weekend who has just changed her TT for a 147 after a run of trouble with the TT, it's nice when that happens.....

Incidentally, now having seen a few, i think that is by far the best colour for the GT.

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Have you got any tips for treating stone chips? I've got 2 which has really wound me up. One on the bonnet and one on the front bumper. The one on the bumper has left a small impact crater in the paint. The one on the bonnet looks like it's chipped the lacquer plain off, but has not distorted the paint around it.

The Stromboli grey really does look awesome one this car. The dealer had 2 red ones and a blue one there as well. The grey defintitely looked best.

What's the fit like of the electric window switch panels in your doors. Mine aren't exactly a 'quality' fit to say the least.

DC

cirvy

2,329 posts

269 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
DavidCane said:
Have you got any tips for treating stone chips? I've got 2 which has really wound me up. One on the bonnet and one on the front bumper. The one on the bumper has left a small impact crater in the paint. The one on the bonnet looks like it's chipped the lacquer plain off, but has not distorted the paint around it.

The Stromboli grey really does look awesome one this car. The dealer had 2 red ones and a blue one there as well. The grey defintitely looked best.

What's the fit like of the electric window switch panels in your doors. Mine aren't exactly a 'quality' fit to say the least.

DC



For stonechips all i would do is use the appropriate touch up pen from Alfa, not yet had any on the Alfa.
The fit of the switch panels in the doors are fine on mine, i do get a problem with daft little things like the seat sliding track ( which sometimes fails to latch when being moved to its extreme ). I also get a problem with the high level brake light which shines into the rear hatch space ( it illuminates the rear area in the dark which can be offputting), this said, the car is superb. I'm still surprised at the looks it gets, it turns heads & attracts comments constantly!

DavidCane

Original Poster:

853 posts

247 months

Tuesday 18th January 2005
quotequote all
The high level light issue was one of the 1st things I noticed on my drive home from the dealer, but I'll get used to that quite quickly.

At the moment I think I've got 2 things to be seen to under warranty - the fit of the window switch on the passenger door, and the window seal on the rear hatch is a bit poor. It was detatched from the glass when I test drove the car, and was re-fitted before I picked the car up. It's not perfect though so I'll get it done at the next service.....unless it lets water in, then it'll be at the dealer straight away.

It's a cracking car though, I'd love to try a V6 but I'm more than happy with the JTD.

DC