Trying to buy a new Alfa. Not impressed so far.
Discussion
My ex-wife and I went into the Hamilton Alfa garage back in 2002 to look for a car for her, we arrived in an immaculate integrale. I thought I may have had some interest.
Stood around for 30 minutes, trying to give the sales staff eye contact. No-one was interested. We left and bought a new Mini from the BMW garage across the road instead. Put me right off them. Can't stand poor (no) service.
Not surprised they don't sell many cars.
Stood around for 30 minutes, trying to give the sales staff eye contact. No-one was interested. We left and bought a new Mini from the BMW garage across the road instead. Put me right off them. Can't stand poor (no) service.
Not surprised they don't sell many cars.
My parents had a similarly dissapointing experience. My Dad fancied a change after two 320ds, so after liking the brochures they sent him, booked a weekend test drive in a 159. Apparently the car was dirty outside, and inside there were crisp packets on the floor and dust everywhere. The car was 'ok' apparently, but they were sufficiently unimpressed to not buy one.
Things will have to change to sell the 4C if this is a common experience!
Things will have to change to sell the 4C if this is a common experience!
You could always try another dealer. Someone I know got a cold reception at Porsche trying to buy a Boxster S, so he just went to the next nearest dealer and ordered it there instead. The whole experience was so good that he bought a 997 C2 from them a few years later.
I'd persevere if I were you, or perhaps get in touch with Alfa UK. The 4C looks like it'll be worth it
I'd persevere if I were you, or perhaps get in touch with Alfa UK. The 4C looks like it'll be worth it
I've not bought a new Alfa, but I did pop into one one day asking if they had a catalogue of the current paints or even just a bit of metal plate or a decent picture reference in a brochure for their range so I could get a reference for my restoration project. About half an hour later they said they don't have anything like that, and not even in the brochure do they have paint examples, just a list of what's available and a few pictures of red cars.
It was a Fiat dealership as well and they were putting stickers on a new 500XL, which was hideous, but I went to ask politely about it and get some information, like whether it was a full 4WD or the like. "No, it's just 2WD, but it's as good as a 4WD off-road." I asked how and they said they didn't know, but Autocar was apparently raving about it. Uh huh. I asked about whether it had special braking technology, special suspension, and they all said they had no idea, but it was getting great reviews in magazines and it was a special technology. Peer underneath the car - torsion bar rear suspension.
It is disappointing as three of my cars have been Fiat group products and while I know I'm not an actual customer of their new cars, the lack of care they seem to show is a little disheartening.
It was a Fiat dealership as well and they were putting stickers on a new 500XL, which was hideous, but I went to ask politely about it and get some information, like whether it was a full 4WD or the like. "No, it's just 2WD, but it's as good as a 4WD off-road." I asked how and they said they didn't know, but Autocar was apparently raving about it. Uh huh. I asked about whether it had special braking technology, special suspension, and they all said they had no idea, but it was getting great reviews in magazines and it was a special technology. Peer underneath the car - torsion bar rear suspension.
It is disappointing as three of my cars have been Fiat group products and while I know I'm not an actual customer of their new cars, the lack of care they seem to show is a little disheartening.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
So you complain that you turn up 5 minutes before closing and the guys are all getting ready to clear out? It's not brilliant I'll grant you, but it's also exactly what I'd expect going into pretty much any business 5 minutes before they are all due to go home.The manual paperwork process is poor, but some of the best companies I deal with do not use integrated systems or CRM. Do you think everyone was s
t and useless at everything before they used database driven software to manage their affairs?Finally, and more importantly perhaps, if nit picking about this sort of thing is an issue then I really don't think an Italian car is a great idea as you stand a fair chance of being back in the dealership with it an awful lot if my ex wife's experience of her new Alfa is anything to go by. If she could trade the 1001 problems she's had with it in for a slightly lazy dealer and disorganized paperwork I think she would
Alfa have always had issues with their dealers, that's why loads of them lost their franchise years ago.
Mangoletsi are the nearest to me, but my two experiences of them have been poor. Firstly, when the roof on my wife's Spider started to malfunction we were told the fix was to hit the motor with a hammer. Secondly, before I bought my 147 GTA I went to view a 156 GTA there and the 'salesman' took me out around the local lanes, ragging the car from cold and basically putting the sts up me.
Caledonia in Warrington were even worse, but they closed years ago.
How about Bauer Millet in Manchester? Obviously a trek from Dorset but if I was spending that kind of money I'd want the whole experience to be positive.
Mangoletsi are the nearest to me, but my two experiences of them have been poor. Firstly, when the roof on my wife's Spider started to malfunction we were told the fix was to hit the motor with a hammer. Secondly, before I bought my 147 GTA I went to view a 156 GTA there and the 'salesman' took me out around the local lanes, ragging the car from cold and basically putting the s
ts up me.Caledonia in Warrington were even worse, but they closed years ago.
How about Bauer Millet in Manchester? Obviously a trek from Dorset but if I was spending that kind of money I'd want the whole experience to be positive.
deltashad said:
My ex-wife and I went into the Hamilton Alfa garage back in 2002 to look for a car for her, we arrived in an immaculate integrale. I thought I may have had some interest.
Stood around for 30 minutes, trying to give the sales staff eye contact. No-one was interested. We left and bought a new Mini from the BMW garage across the road instead. Put me right off them. Can't stand poor (no) service.
Not surprised they don't sell many cars.
They're not telepathic, try talking to them.Stood around for 30 minutes, trying to give the sales staff eye contact. No-one was interested. We left and bought a new Mini from the BMW garage across the road instead. Put me right off them. Can't stand poor (no) service.
Not surprised they don't sell many cars.
They were probably wary of approaching the strange starey couple.
dme123 said:
So you complain that you turn up 5 minutes before closing and the guys are all getting ready to clear out? It's not brilliant I'll grant you, but it's also exactly what I'd expect going into pretty much any business 5 minutes before they are all due to go home.
Are you for real?In a sales enviroment I would expect them to stay on to get the business.
I just have clothes shops, everyone is allowed to leave at 5 instead of 5.30 but if a customer is in the store they have to stay and look after them, even if it takes an hour, and none of my staff have a problem with this.
If yours is the general expectation of service then no wonder I get wound up with poor levels of it all the time.
I agree poor dealers are a long running problem for Alfa Romeo in the UK. I remember a good friend running a new 156 2.0 TS as a company car back in the late 90s. The car wasn't brilliant in fairness, and had a lot of mostly niggling faults, but the dealer turned every one of these faults into a massive crisis. Chief among the many issues was the appalling availability of spare parts. Whatever the car needed at the time was never in stock and had to be ordered from Italy. Instead of acknowledging this and letting him bring the car back when the parts were in, they would strip it down, and render it completely unusable, before breaking the news that it would be 3 days or whatever for the bits to arrive. They would then give him the run around over a courtesy car.
When my friend's MD discovered the car had spent over a full month of its first year, at the dealership, in pieces, and "awaiting parts from Italy", he went ballistic. The car was never seen again.
Our old 156 won't ever see a dealer again, as all maintenance is now DIY using parts readily available in the aftermarket, but my wife is making noises about replacing her old mk4 Golf with a MiTo next year, and frankly it's the dealers that are my biggest concern. I am happy to look after an old banger myself, but I want proper support on something newer, with more complex electronics, and with a bit of value in it.
When my friend's MD discovered the car had spent over a full month of its first year, at the dealership, in pieces, and "awaiting parts from Italy", he went ballistic. The car was never seen again.
Our old 156 won't ever see a dealer again, as all maintenance is now DIY using parts readily available in the aftermarket, but my wife is making noises about replacing her old mk4 Golf with a MiTo next year, and frankly it's the dealers that are my biggest concern. I am happy to look after an old banger myself, but I want proper support on something newer, with more complex electronics, and with a bit of value in it.
Edited by Limpet on Thursday 29th August 09:30
My general experience with main dealers is that they are, and this is based on a significant number of experiences, fairly useless. Surprises me they sell many cars, but they must do or they wouldn't exist, so maybe it is me. I can be a .
I have had good service from a small minority though. I'll give you an example, about 18 months ago I was on the market for a new family saloon. Was looking at the usual suspects and called a BMW dealer in Leeds and booked an appointment to test drive a new shape 3 series. On arrival I was met by a very dismissive young salesman who proceeded to tell me they didn't have a 3er available to test drive! This dealer is enormous, must be one of the biggest BMW dealers in the UK. I think he thought I couldn't afford it. The following week I went into Mercedes (not in Leeds) who were extremeley good, long test drive, no pressure. Came out with a new C-Class.
On a side note, I would never purchase a car from those Mangoletsi bells.. They insist on sticking a large "M" sticker on the back of the cars they supply. Looks awful.
.I have had good service from a small minority though. I'll give you an example, about 18 months ago I was on the market for a new family saloon. Was looking at the usual suspects and called a BMW dealer in Leeds and booked an appointment to test drive a new shape 3 series. On arrival I was met by a very dismissive young salesman who proceeded to tell me they didn't have a 3er available to test drive! This dealer is enormous, must be one of the biggest BMW dealers in the UK. I think he thought I couldn't afford it. The following week I went into Mercedes (not in Leeds) who were extremeley good, long test drive, no pressure. Came out with a new C-Class.
On a side note, I would never purchase a car from those Mangoletsi bells.. They insist on sticking a large "M" sticker on the back of the cars they supply. Looks awful.
Mr Adds said:
I can recommend Alfa dealer in Newcastle when I bought my Brera, good service, helpful, nothing too much trouble. I think they have won best UK Alfa dealer a few years in a row now.
If its the same one I used - I had the opposite experience in March. The car I was interested in was a demo. The sales manager wanted me to agree a deal on the phone before he would get the car on site and cleaned. Nice start. I ended up having to speak to someone else to get a test drive arranged.
I turned up in a Renaultsport megane to test a Mito QV. Went for a test drive and the salesman insisted on taking the wheel first, walking me through how to use the lights and wipers etc. Things that would concern me if I was an 80 year old looking for a shopping car. I would have hoped that he would have realised that I could probably figure that out myself - I really wanted to give the car a proper drive. Clearly he couldnt.
Apparently he wasnt allowed to do any negotiations. That all had to be handled by the sales manager. A man so abrasive I almost walked away. A proper old school, 80s throwback. And also a man who couldnt understand basic maths.
I bought the car because it was what I wanted. But, I wouldnt ever go back there. The service was abysmal. The Mrs bought a Volvo last year and they were great - the difference was unbelievable.
Hackney said:
They're not telepathic, try talking to them.
They were probably wary of approaching the strange starey couple.
They never gave me the chance. Trust me. I've been in and out of car show rooms for the best part of 35 years around car buying on a regular basis.They were probably wary of approaching the strange starey couple.
It was s
t sales service. Like i said. I dont like poor service. If they cant even approach you there is something very wrong with the management.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff