4C - Where are we with prices right now?
Discussion
DeejRC said:
But but but but...having the air con on drops the mpg below 41...!!!!
I can live with it.Speaking of "Customer Service" or lack of it does anyone get a decent level of service from AR? When a chum made a call to a main dealer to enquire about a 4C and was first addressed as "Alright Bro" you get the impression whatever, if anything, is advised by AR UK, doesn't get filtered down to in-house staff training and selection.
AR UK if you want to improve the brand and raise your profile/image provide some distance between yourself and Fiat/Jeep.
Armitage.Shanks said:
I can live with it.
Speaking of "Customer Service" or lack of it does anyone get a decent level of service from AR? When a chum made a call to a main dealer to enquire about a 4C and was first addressed as "Alright Bro" you get the impression whatever, if anything, is advised by AR UK, doesn't get filtered down to in-house staff training and selection.
AR UK if you want to improve the brand and raise your profile/image provide some distance between yourself and Fiat/Jeep.
I'll give you my experience with the customer service provided by Alfa Romeo UK and their dealer network.Speaking of "Customer Service" or lack of it does anyone get a decent level of service from AR? When a chum made a call to a main dealer to enquire about a 4C and was first addressed as "Alright Bro" you get the impression whatever, if anything, is advised by AR UK, doesn't get filtered down to in-house staff training and selection.
AR UK if you want to improve the brand and raise your profile/image provide some distance between yourself and Fiat/Jeep.
I agreed to buy an Alfa 4c spider over the phone from a main dealer last week. The car was my ideal spec but I was unable to view it or drive it as it was coming direct from Alfa Romeo. I paid a £1000 holding deposit straight away on the basis that I could reject the car if it was not as described...
I asked that the dealer check that all accessories were with the car including the fitted car cover, I was told that only the anniversary and launch edition cars were supplied with a cover, I disputed that and eventually having called Alfa Romeo uk it was confirmed that the car should have been supplied with a cover, I emailed a link to the supplying dealer and asked them to ensure it was with the car, no reply was received.
In the meantime I'd been told by the supplying dealer that I could purchase and extended warranty underwritten by Alfa Romeo from them to run after the factory warranty finished. I didn't receive any paperwork for this so I called Alfa Romeo UK once again to clarify it. It became apparent that this dealer warranty was not the official Alfa extended warranty (naughty) and I was directed to Alllianz whom I was told were the Alfa uk extended warranty provider... after a 10 minute wait in a call queue, it became apparent that Allianz provide roadside assistance and not warranty for Alfa Romeo, unbelievable!!
I called Alfa Romeo Uk again and they apologied and provided me with contact details of two wholly owned Alfa Romeo dealerships that they assured me could discuss the "Mopar" extended warranty scheme.. I subsequently left 4 'messages for each branch, - further 2 messages at 2 more dealerships, none of these calls have ever been returned. Then my "customer experience" just gets better...
My new car I was told would be collected on Monday and the dealer promised to update me about the condition, with pictures and of course confirmation of the car cover. Monday came and went, no call. Tuesday came and went, no call or reply to my chasing email. This morning I called Alfa Uk again re warranty and finally got to the bottom of the warranty position which is frankly chaotic..BUT not as chaotic as my next call to the "suppplying dealer" who called me an hour ago to say that their driver had arrived to collect the car to discover that it was in fact a coupe and not a Spider, to say that I'm absolutely f---ing livid is an understatement, I've arranged insurance, taken Friday off to collect the car and had planned to surprise my daughter collecting it on Friday as it's her birthday on Saturday.
What a totally incompetent bunch of t@&£&@
I’m rather afraid that is par for the course.
Have a crib through my Alfa related posts and note the language I use when it comes to describing Alfa the company and how things “happen”.
It was largely similar when I was dealing them for the 8C also back in the day. I have absolutely
no doubt that it will be the same when dealing with them for the new 8C.
Alfa the company *will* be incompetent with you. It’s just a fact of life
Have a crib through my Alfa related posts and note the language I use when it comes to describing Alfa the company and how things “happen”.
It was largely similar when I was dealing them for the 8C also back in the day. I have absolutely
no doubt that it will be the same when dealing with them for the new 8C.
Alfa the company *will* be incompetent with you. It’s just a fact of life
3 months on I'm still waiting for the touch up paint the salesman promised me....... Needless to say that email never got answered.
I knew I was on a downward slope when the receipt for the deposit listed my car as the wrong colour! Which surprisingly was never put right as I'd wanted.
I think there is a high turnover of sales staff in these gaffs as the first guy I dealt with in Feb at a local dealership (who was excellent BTW) has moved on presumably he was headhunted being competent!
Rob on here who has assisted buyers give me some reassurance that there are competent dealerships who value customer service but the rest appear to be a shower of s
te. Perhaps I've been spoilt by Porsche OPC up then again it shouldn't be difficult.
Out of interest are we supposed to get any correspondence from ARUK outlining warranty stuff etc as I've got sweet FA.
Perhaps it might be worth pointing ARUK to this thread to show your not alone........
I knew I was on a downward slope when the receipt for the deposit listed my car as the wrong colour! Which surprisingly was never put right as I'd wanted.
I think there is a high turnover of sales staff in these gaffs as the first guy I dealt with in Feb at a local dealership (who was excellent BTW) has moved on presumably he was headhunted being competent!
Rob on here who has assisted buyers give me some reassurance that there are competent dealerships who value customer service but the rest appear to be a shower of s
te. Perhaps I've been spoilt by Porsche OPC up then again it shouldn't be difficult.Out of interest are we supposed to get any correspondence from ARUK outlining warranty stuff etc as I've got sweet FA.
Perhaps it might be worth pointing ARUK to this thread to show your not alone........
Lord Marylebone said:
Believe it or not, I almost never test drive anything before I buy it.
I don't see the point really... It is what it is, it will either be really good, or have 'character'.
I've owned and therefore driven heaps of stuff such as classic Porsches, stuff from the 60's, Astons, Hot hatches, Pickup trucks, modern stuff... you name it.
As long as it looks cool (It does) and makes loud noises (I will make it louder if it isn't already) then I will probably be very pleased with it as a new toy.
First Alfa ever though... Apparently everyone has to have an Alfa at some point??
I ordered my first one 3.5 years before it arrived, based on an article in the news , never regretted it and now on my second, my post was more for those not sure , sounds like you should be happy anyway I don't see the point really... It is what it is, it will either be really good, or have 'character'.
I've owned and therefore driven heaps of stuff such as classic Porsches, stuff from the 60's, Astons, Hot hatches, Pickup trucks, modern stuff... you name it.
As long as it looks cool (It does) and makes loud noises (I will make it louder if it isn't already) then I will probably be very pleased with it as a new toy.
First Alfa ever though... Apparently everyone has to have an Alfa at some point??
Alfa Romeo U.K. couldn't care less it would seem. I spoke to them at lunchtime today about "the wrong car" issue naturally they were appalled.. so appalled that by 5.30 this evening I'd had no call back. I rang them again at 5.30, my "case manager" was taking calls and his colleague didn't have the authority to let me speak to someone more senior. I was informed they close at 6 uk time, I requested a call back before then, as of 18.15 no call back.
I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
T5GRF said:
Alfa Romeo U.K. couldn't care less it would seem. I spoke to them at lunchtime today about "the wrong car" issue naturally they were appalled.. so appalled that by 5.30 this evening I'd had no call back. I rang them again at 5.30, my "case manager" was taking calls and his colleague didn't have the authority to let me speak to someone more senior. I was informed they close at 6 uk time, I requested a call back before then, as of 18.15 no call back.
I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
The annoying thing is the 4C are great cars but AR are failing to capitalise on it. I'd be interested to know if Maserati owners get the same treatment given the 4C is build in the same factory and ideally should be sold through these dealerships. I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
T5GRF said:
Alfa Romeo U.K. couldn't care less it would seem. I spoke to them at lunchtime today about "the wrong car" issue naturally they were appalled.. so appalled that by 5.30 this evening I'd had no call back. I rang them again at 5.30, my "case manager" was taking calls and his colleague didn't have the authority to let me speak to someone more senior. I was informed they close at 6 uk time, I requested a call back before then, as of 18.15 no call back.
I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
Fancy my one? Madreperla spider with tan interior.I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
T5GRF said:
Alfa Romeo U.K. couldn't care less it would seem. I spoke to them at lunchtime today about "the wrong car" issue naturally they were appalled.. so appalled that by 5.30 this evening I'd had no call back. I rang them again at 5.30, my "case manager" was taking calls and his colleague didn't have the authority to let me speak to someone more senior. I was informed they close at 6 uk time, I requested a call back before then, as of 18.15 no call back.
I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
Sadly the dealers are simply dealers and have no legal tie with Alfa UK. By that I mean they are an independent trader who buy stock off of Alfa UK and then sell it on . But Alfa have a duty to bring pressure onto the dealer , they also have access to the whole network and know where cars are ( or can bloody find out ) so should be able to find another car if one exists and smooth it’s delivery to you . AND YES they need to do better . Your only recourse I would have thought if you don’t get a car is to sue the dealer for financial loss, stress etc .I sold a bloody lovely TVR Griffith to own a 4c Spider, I now bitterly regret that decision.
I had issues with what I considered a design issue on a Skoda years ago and had months of bitter arguing and at the end my only recourse was to sue the supplying dealer as that’s who my contract was with . I found someone else who had done similar and Skoda supplied the dealer with a highly qualified legal team for free. In your case it’s I would guess simply a breach of promise by the dealer from which you incurred losses so might be an easier one to go for but get proper advice before you start .
I didn’t bother with Skoda , just traded the car
But again I strongly feel Alfa UK should step up to the mark on this and if handled properly they can ensure it’s the dealer who picks up the tab. And in fareness to the dealer perhaps they were told it was a spider and were acting in good faith
I Hope Alfa UK in the end get you a car somehow
MattyB_ said:
!!
How come you're selling Joe? (TBH I've only just clicked that you're OA from AlfaOwner
)
I've really enjoyed it, driven it to Italy and back. I've got a Stelvio Quad coming some time in the next few months so the 4C becomes an unnecessary luxury. I've still got my GT4 for the fun weekend stuff. Just being sensible I guess!How come you're selling Joe? (TBH I've only just clicked that you're OA from AlfaOwner
)Just to update this, I've still not heard back from Alfa Romeos customer care centre, despite having been promised quick action..
I've left two more messages for my "case manager" but no callback.
It would seem as though Alfa Romeo U.K. had this car listed incorrectly on their own stock order system, the fault therefore would seem to mainly lie with them and not the dealer, but, if the dealer had got hold of the pictures of the car that I asked for on numerous occasions it would have quickly become apparent that the car had a little extra metal in the roof department than I had requested.
I've left two more messages for my "case manager" but no callback.
It would seem as though Alfa Romeo U.K. had this car listed incorrectly on their own stock order system, the fault therefore would seem to mainly lie with them and not the dealer, but, if the dealer had got hold of the pictures of the car that I asked for on numerous occasions it would have quickly become apparent that the car had a little extra metal in the roof department than I had requested.
Armitage.Shanks said:
Can only speak for the coupe but it works well enough. If the fan speed is set to '0' but the AC is on, a low speed fan runs by default which until recent heat wave has been enough for me.
I tend to leave AC on all the time all year round to keep it active.
The AC on the spider is really good actually. Both identical systems. But I can have the roof off and I normally leave the AC on 2 or so pointing on our legs which keeps the cabin pretty cool if you have the windows up.I tend to leave AC on all the time all year round to keep it active.
Kind Regards
Joe
_Superleggera_ said:
I've really enjoyed it, driven it to Italy and back. I've got a Stelvio Quad coming some time in the next few months so the 4C becomes an unnecessary luxury. I've still got my GT4 for the fun weekend stuff. Just being sensible I guess!
I think it's out of my price range, but how much are you after? Drop me a PM of you'd rather not make it public.MattyB_ said:
I think it's out of my price range, but how much are you after? Drop me a PM of you'd rather not make it public.
Not at all, I'm probably going to advertise it at £45K when I eventually get round to it. It's in better condition than most 2000 mile car's I've seen. PPF has kept the car looking its best. That and the fact its spent its life in dehumidified storage when I'm not using it.Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff