Alpine A110: an owner’s experience

[moto63]

moto63 said:

Yes I enjoy a bit of character too so long as it doesn’t let me down as it did the previous owner.
Even with its faults and crummy aftersales I can’t find anything I would exchange it for.

Edited by moto63 on Saturday 30th March 11:22

I tell a lie

[Julian Thompson]

What I don’t understand here - and apologies if I’ve misread - is why the supplying Toyota dealer is not the one you are legally tied to?

Surely, as your supplier, within six months of purchase, they are responsible for your experience? They might have to chase Alpine on your behalf, but in the end they took the money off you for the car and if the car wasn’t right they should be the ones giving it back to you?

[Andy665]

Julian Thompson said:

What I don’t understand here - and apologies if I’ve misread - is why the supplying Toyota dealer is not the one you are legally tied to?

Surely, as your supplier, within six months of purchase, they are responsible for your experience? They might have to chase Alpine on your behalf, but in the end they took the money off you for the car and if the car wasn’t right they should be the ones giving it back to you?

I thought exactly the same, all seems a little strange, especially the bit about Alpine being sued - yes they were not great at identifying and remedying the stalling but is that really grounds for being sued - seems OTT, incompetence = probably guilty, negligent - thats a stretch

[essexstu]

Andy665 said:

Pistom said:

As for Alpine ownership - I wouldn't be buying one in the expectation of Porsche levels of build quality or reliability.

Always makes me smile when I see this mentioned. For some reason regular mechanical issues and associated costs with Porsches seems to be accepted as part and parcel of owning a Porsche - threads far and wide from owners throwing big sums of money at very regular intervals to keep their cars on the road - not sure why Porsche problems / costs are seen differently

I'm too early into A110 ownership to know if service is good, bad or indifferent, I have experienced zero issues in 7 months, I do know that I would never buy a Porsche again and expect great reliability, my most reliable cars have been the Tuscan, Alfa GTVs and Jaguar S Type - none of which should be touched with a bargepole according to many

Edited by Andy665 on Saturday 30th March 08:43

totally agree, this urban myth about Porsche reliability is laughable. I bought a used 997 Carrera S (with warranty) which had already had an engine rebuild at 20k miles by Porsche. The car had 40k miles on it and turns out it needed another rebuild because of the cylinder scoring issue. Fortunately under warranty the engine was rebuilt, for the second time, at a cost of over £6k. So much for 911 "bullet proof" build quality.

[essexstu]

Terminator X said:

Kananga said:

Potential buyers be warned!

Zero problems with mine + love it, favourite car I have ever owned by a country mile.

TX.

Same here. Local dealer has been excellent (John Banks Cambridge). Fuel pump replaced on recall (not that I had had any issues). Faults I have had were a de-laminating? headlight (looked like scratched under the surface) and lately a cracked windscreen. Both dealt with by the dealer as warranty claim and I was given another A110 for a loan car. With such a low volume "hand built" car there are going to be issues but I am completely satisfied with Alpine customer service and the dealer. The car is a "keeper" for sure...

[Spokeyblokey]

essexstu said:

Andy665 said:

Pistom said:

As for Alpine ownership - I wouldn't be buying one in the expectation of Porsche levels of build quality or reliability.

Always makes me smile when I see this mentioned. For some reason regular mechanical issues and associated costs with Porsches seems to be accepted as part and parcel of owning a Porsche - threads far and wide from owners throwing big sums of money at very regular intervals to keep their cars on the road - not sure why Porsche problems / costs are seen differently

I'm too early into A110 ownership to know if service is good, bad or indifferent, I have experienced zero issues in 7 months, I do know that I would never buy a Porsche again and expect great reliability, my most reliable cars have been the Tuscan, Alfa GTVs and Jaguar S Type - none of which should be touched with a bargepole according to many

Edited by Andy665 on Saturday 30th March 08:43

totally agree, this urban myth about Porsche reliability is laughable. I bought a used 997 Carrera S (with warranty) which had already had an engine rebuild at 20k miles by Porsche. The car had 40k miles on it and turns out it needed another rebuild because of the cylinder scoring issue. Fortunately under warranty the engine was rebuilt, for the second time, at a cost of over £6k. So much for 911 "bullet proof" build quality.

Same here. Bought a new Taycan two years ago and it's about to go in for its third warranty issue, on top of which I've had two LiFePo battery failures over the same period. By contrast, my A110S which I got six months later, has only had to have its filler flap re-fitted to align it better.

[Pistom]

Spokeyblokey said:

Same here. Bought a new Taycan two years ago and it's about to go in for its third warranty issue, on top of which I've had two LiFePo battery failures over the same period. By contrast, my A110S which I got six months later, has only had to have its filler flap re-fitted to align it better.

I really wish I hadn't used the stupid Porsche analogy as I knew it was a rubbish one at the time.

Had I used a brand that really is reliable like say Suzuki or Honda, that wouldn't have been understood by many.

[Spokeyblokey]

Pistom said:

Spokeyblokey said:

Same here. Bought a new Taycan two years ago and it's about to go in for its third warranty issue, on top of which I've had two LiFePo battery failures over the same period. By contrast, my A110S which I got six months later, has only had to have its filler flap re-fitted to align it better.

I really wish I hadn't used the stupid Porsche analogy as I knew it was a rubbish one at the time.

Had I used a brand that really is reliable like say Suzuki or Honda, that wouldn't have been understood by many.

[tupak798]

essexstu said:

Andy665 said:

Pistom said:

As for Alpine ownership - I wouldn't be buying one in the expectation of Porsche levels of build quality or reliability.

Always makes me smile when I see this mentioned. For some reason regular mechanical issues and associated costs with Porsches seems to be accepted as part and parcel of owning a Porsche - threads far and wide from owners throwing big sums of money at very regular intervals to keep their cars on the road - not sure why Porsche problems / costs are seen differently

I'm too early into A110 ownership to know if service is good, bad or indifferent, I have experienced zero issues in 7 months, I do know that I would never buy a Porsche again and expect great reliability, my most reliable cars have been the Tuscan, Alfa GTVs and Jaguar S Type - none of which should be touched with a bargepole according to many

Edited by Andy665 on Saturday 30th March 08:43

totally agree, this urban myth about Porsche reliability is laughable. I bought a used 997 Carrera S (with warranty) which had already had an engine rebuild at 20k miles by Porsche. The car had 40k miles on it and turns out it needed another rebuild because of the cylinder scoring issue. Fortunately under warranty the engine was rebuilt, for the second time, at a cost of over £6k. So much for 911 "bullet proof" build quality.

At least they fixed it under warranty. Unlike the OP.

The Which ranking is very surprising but given some of the issues reported here it seems accurate.

which.co.uk

news/article/most-and-least-loved-cars-for-2023-amzz16g63Uko

Which survey said:

When there’s a problem, it’s always big

Alpine A110 owner

Confirming that getting the mundane aspect of everyday driving spot on is key, the Alpine A110 sports car sits at the very bottom of our owner satisfaction rankings, for both new and used models.

When it arrived in 2018, the A110 was a breath of fresh air in a shrinking sports car market. We judged it to be a ‘true driver’s car’, for its agility, performance and well-judged ride comfort.

While this focused setup hasn’t been lost on thrill-seeking owners, everyday usability has been severely compromised, with its tiny boot, basic infotainment system and lack of refinement coming in for criticism. 'It’s quite annoying to drive sometimes. The seat can be quite hard to adjust,' was just one of the negative usability comments we received.

Alpine isn’t winning customers over with its shaky reliability, either. 'When there’s a problem, it’s always big,' railed one frustrated owner. 'It breaks down a lot,' surmised another.

[RikkertBiemans]

The discussion should not be about reliability, but about how the company reacts and cares when something happens. This is also why all those comments like „my alpine doesn’t have any problems“ aren’t really helpful. Just be thankful that you did not have to experience alpines customer service. I am really afraid of the future ownership experience when you need some replacement parts in 10 years from now 😕

[bcr5784]

RikkertBiemans said:

The discussion should not be about reliability, but about how the company reacts and cares when something happens. This is also why all those comments like „my alpine doesn’t have any problems“ aren’t really helpful. Just be thankful that you did not have to experience alpines customer service. I am really afraid of the future ownership experience when you need some replacement parts in 10 years from now ??

Absolutely, the way issues are dealt with is as important as the issues themselves. The OP had, let's face it, a pretty minor problem. It was only that it wasn't addressed effectively that turned a non-event into a defining event for him.

Quite a number of us have had REALLY serious issues - Alternator (yes) and Fuel Pump (not me) in particular - and that has, to varying degrees, seriously coloured our judgement of the car.

In my case I'd say the car is objectively the least reliable new car I have owned in recent times - BUT the ONLY car I have ever thought of as a keeper, because the issues were dealt with well, and the car has so many good (unique?) virtues.

Let's face it if you design a new car ground up, with a material (aluminium) with which you are unfamiliar - and has to be made in another country (Italy) - then shipped to a "new" factory - then issues are likely. You only have to look at the Emira (whose genesis was far less challenging) to come to the conclusion that Alpine have done quite a decent job - all things considered. Could issues - the fuel pump in particular - been dealt with better, sure they could.

Edited by bcr5784 on Tuesday 2nd April 19:28

Edited by bcr5784 on Tuesday 2nd April 19:30

[timhum]

tupak798 said:

Surely these are characteristics of the car rather than faults. They would all be obvious in the showroom and on a test drive. Alternator and fuel pump are faults which are eventually being dealt with. From personal experience I'd suggest that if you want a car with faults and really shocking after sales service you get a Range Rover.

Tim

[Terminator X]

RikkertBiemans said:

The discussion should not be about reliability, but about how the company reacts and cares when something happens. This is also why all those comments like „my alpine doesn’t have any problems“ aren’t really helpful. Just be thankful that you did not have to experience alpines customer service. I am really afraid of the future ownership experience when you need some replacement parts in 10 years from now ??

It's helpful to future owners as you say "bad Alpine" yet for others it has been absolutely fine.

Fyi I had a chip on my brake caliper, replaced under warranty no issues.

TX.

[moto63]

timhum said:

Surely these are characteristics of the car rather than faults. They would all be obvious in the showroom and on a test drive. Alternator and fuel pump are faults which are eventually being dealt with. From personal experience I'd suggest that if you want a car with faults and really shocking after sales service you get a Range Rover.

Tim

Or Defender

[stanlow45]

timhum said:

Surely these are characteristics of the car rather than faults.

good one. Almost akin to ‘they all do that sir’.

Personally I prefer a car with as few faults characteristics as possible!

[essexstu]

As I said previously, I have had two faults, headlight (very rare) and cracked windscreen. Both dealt with by the dealer and sorted under warranty. Also had the fuel pump replaced under recall.

The OP has had a bad experience with his dealer not being able (or willing) to sort the fault. Interesting that it only started after the new fuel pump had been fitted. This I understand was done in Spain. Could it be that they did something wrong with the installation or required software reprogram and the UK dealer didn't want to try and rectify work done in another country?

[Pistom]

stanlow45 said:

timhum said:

Surely these are characteristics of the car rather than faults.

good one. Almost akin to ‘they all do that sir’.

Personally I prefer a car with as few faults characteristics as possible!

I guess it takes all kinds.

If I got reliability from a low volume, relatively low cost car manufacturer - that would be an added bonus if not very memorable.

Having said that, the OP has had a bad experience and I can understand why he feels the way he does.

Personally, I've always loved sorting problems out on cars and part of the joy of owning more specialised cars.

[timbo999]

stanlow45 said:

timhum said:

Surely these are characteristics of the car rather than faults.

good one. Almost akin to ‘they all do that sir’.

Personally I prefer a car with as few faults characteristics as possible!

I think its this bit ' its tiny boot, basic infotainment system and lack of refinement' that Timhum was referring to and they all do 'do that'! They are clearly characteristics not faults... and as stated easily spotted on even the most perfunctory of test drives.

[worldwidewebs]

essexstu said:

Could it be that they did something wrong with the installation or required software reprogram and the UK dealer didn't want to try and rectify work done in another country?

Well they're not exactly built in this country

[timhum]

timbo999 said:

I think its this bit ' its tiny boot, basic infotainment system and lack of refinement' that Timhum was referring to and they all do 'do that'! They are clearly characteristics not faults... and as stated easily spotted on even the most perfunctory of test drives.

Exactly what I meant, just my poor communication skills.

Tim