Warranty advice please

[MrsFlipFlopGriff]

I'll be picking up my 159 Sportwagon next week and I need to decide what I'm doing about a warranty.

What do you advise?

The garage are providing a 6 month warranty with the car and they also offer their own 2 year warranty for £599 which covers everything except wear and tear items.

We've also looked at the Quentin Wilson warranty provision. This is more expensive but is it better to go with an independent?

Do Alfa Romeo provide their own warranty for used cars?

My 159 is a 2009 car.

Any advice you can give would be very much appreciated. I really want to get this right so it's worth making the effort to make enquiries.

Thanks.
Andrea

[Dave Brand]

I've never bothered with them. Basically all they are is insurance policies, with conditions & exclusions designed to minimise the chances of their ever having to pay out. In effect you're making a bet with them that your car won't suffer a fault costing £x to repair over the life of the policy; I've always been prepared to keep my money & gamble that it won't - if it does, I've got the money I didn't spend on the warranty to put towards the cost of the repair!

[coetzeeh]

The AR engines/gearboxes are pretty bullet proof. Just make sure the car has been properly maintained previously and keep it in top condition - just as you would do with your Griff.

I would not consider an aftermarket warranty ever again. Between the small print and their engineers' report you have little chance of being covered.

Use your 6 month warranty to the fullest and snag everything you find before it expires.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Being an Alfa I raised concerns and wanted to look at extended cover prices, as they are from a similar stable to the TVR's. I see loads of old ones on the road so I guess the old Alfa image still hangs with the brand, as did the TVR image.
Is there anything we should focus on that would potentially give us problems in the future. Not too concerned about smaller stuff but anything bigger we could get looked at whilst we still have the 6 month warranty?
Any small items we should hold as spares in the car?
Its a great looking car and much more Mrs FFG than the BMW we also had on the shortlist. Looking forward to driving it now, if I'm allowed.
Thanks for all the advice.
FFG

[V6Alfisti]

FFG can tell we have a similar taste in cars.

Relay kept in glovebox of last Chimaera, and fuel pump relay for the 4200

Which 159 model have you bought, i.e litre and fuel type?

Generally the 159 is tough and wishbones/bushes far more durable than the 156 generation.

Early ones until 08 I think often had the wrong fluid put into the power steering system from the factory and can cause premature failure.

Otherwise

2.2 JTS - Some cases of camchain stretch
3.2 JTS - Similar problems (due to long service durations some say)
2.4 JTD - Not as reliable as old 10v and might be worth removing the DPF
1.9 JTD - Understand you have to keep on top of waterpump changes/cambelts

[FlipFlopGriff]

2.0 JTDM ti Sportwagon, registered Sept 2009. Waterpumps and cambelt changed as condition of purchase. As well as full service. Done 88k miles.
FFG

[V6Alfisti]

Probably the one engine variant I know next to nothing about

I would go over to alfaowner and ask the same, plenty of guys on there who will know that model