Alfa Romeo - Satisfaction Guaranteed??

LarWright

Alfa are "so convinced that you'll fall in love with your new car", they'll give you your money (and original trade-in) back within 90 days if you're not fully satisfied. That's the jist of the ad thats linked below....

Well, my wife hasn't fallen in love with her Mito! (I warned her not to change the Cooper S but...... well, boredom set in with that!!)
Too many problems (some minor, some not so minor) for a new car. Bought 70 odd days ago so lets see if Alfa put there money where there mouths are.....

I have to say, after sales in the Dealer has been great, and I can not fault them, but the point is, we don't wanna be back there every 2 months because something else has fallen off, is rattling or squeaking, is broken or has stopped working!

I have a feeling this is whole thing too good to be true? T&C's apply, and the ad directs you to the website, but there is no mention of this.... Can some eagle eyed boardsie find the "Terms & Conditions" on alfaromeo.ie.

I've called and gotten nowhere, nobody on Alfa Customer Care, either knows, or indeed "cares" about it. A case has been opened but who knows how long this will take to come through with Christmas on the way. I have been promised a callback today from head office, but I was promised this yesterday too..... still waiting.....

One dealer told me it's only for cars bought in 2011.... so if I buy and register a car today they won't offer this to me? Or won't honour the 90 day return for a car bought 70 something days ago?

CLICK HERE FOR THE RADIO AD!!

unkel

If this deal wasn't specifically in place (and mentioned in the contract) when your wife bought the Mito, it won't apply to you unfortunately. You could always try though

Could you list the probs for us ?

LarWright

I'd say so yeah... BUT, Advertising Standards will be contacted about this...

If it is an offer ONLY in January (as I have been told) it should say this in the ad, and not just "offer ends" and also, the terms and conditions mentioned in the ad, haven't been published either, so false advertising on two levels.

I see there's a similar trend with flaws in there commercials, as with there cars!

Matt Simis

As per the radio advert, the offer ends at the end of Jan 2011 and is being run now, so they cannot say its only for cars bought in 2011. Every other advert on the radio these days has a load of T&Cs at the end, did this one? If not, they weaken their argument.
The fact they also guarantee your original vehicle back means they need to keep it available for 90days too, which means paper work and inventory management.

Im kinda shocked you havent got anywhere with this, some of this scale should have a detail project plan at every dealership as its too easy to f-up.


They have all their official documents as PDFs on the site and doing a PDF specific search limited to that site in Google does not unfortunately find a PDF of use to you. There is also no mention of the offer on the site when I looked (though that doesnt mean anything):
http://www.google.ie/search?q=filetype%3Apdf+site%3Awww.alfaromeo.ie&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=raG&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images&tbs=


Have you contacted the Consumer Advice Board? Im sure the Papers would like to run with this story too.

LarWright

RoverJames wrote: »

Could you list the probs for us ?

• Door Sill scratches (only noticed after sale and now rectified)
• Interior Trim falling off (speaker covers)
• Bluetooth doesn't work with 3 different phones I've tried (Nokia, Sony Ericson & iPhone4) (The Blue&Me system is rubbish!)
• Squeaky brakes (parts changed to fix this, but to no avail)
• Remote Central Locking not working and causing problems with alarm. This whole unit is in the garage waiting to be fitted now but can't get to garage at the moment for various reasons.

Like I said, I cannot fault the aftersales from the Dealer, they have been great and if they sold ANY other brand I would recommend them, but it's very inconvenient to have to go to them with these faults for a car that's 77 days old.

As a mate of mine (regular on here) pointed out, his car cost 2k and is 10 years old, he's had NO problems with it... This Mito was 20k+ and is 77 days old and has been a bit of a nightmare.

LarWright

Matt Simis wrote: »

As per the radio advert, the offer ends at the end of Jan 2011 and is being run now, so they cannot say its only for cars bought in 2011.

I got a call back a few mins ago and was told by head office it's only for cars bought in January (false advertising). She said she'd bring it up with marketing dept. She also said that T&Cs haven't been published internally even (false advertising again).

Matt Simis wrote: »

The fact they also guarantee your original vehicle back means they need to keep it available for 90days too, which means paper work and inventory management.

No trade in given to garage so this doesn't come into play but I can see where you're coming from.

Matt Simis wrote: »

Im kinda shocked you havent got anywhere with this, some of this scale should have a detail project plan at every dealership as its too easy to f-up.

They have all their official documents as PDFs on the site and doing a PDF specific search limited to that site in Google doesn't not unfortunately find a PDF of use to you. There is also no mention of the offer on the site when I looked (though that doesnt mean anything):
http://www.google.ie/search?q=filetype%3Apdf+site%3Awww.alfaromeo.ie&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=raG&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images&tbs=


Have you contacted the Consumer Advice Board? Im sure the Papers would like to run with this story too.

Thanks for the search and I will get onto CAB (Not that CAB lol - although maybe they might be good too). I will, I'm told, get another call back today to try to sort out a copy of T&Cs. Somebody in Fiat/Alfa marketing has made a big boo boo by booking the ads this early, or not checking the script and cross media details properly.

Stevie Dakota

Bluetooth doesn't work with 3 different phones I've tried (Nokia, Sony Ericson & iPhone4) (The Blue&Me system is rubbish!)

Remote Central Locking not working and causing problems with alarm. This whole unit is in the garage waiting to be fitted now but can't get to garage at the moment for various reasons.


Whatever about the other items, minor/rectified it's a pity to hear that Alfa are still letting cars out of the factory with problems like the above.

LarWright

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

Whatever about the other items, minor/rectified it's a pity to hear that Alfa are still letting cars out of the factory with problems like the above.

I'd expect issues with a used car maybe, but not brand new...

Idleater

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

Whatever about the other items, minor/rectified it's a pity to hear that Alfa are still letting cars out of the factory with problems like the above.

I'd be willing to suspect that this is a problem with that specific car or a PICNIC issue.

I've not heard of many of those issues that you are having from reading the owners' fora that I researched before buying my MiTo.

Generally the build and quality control on the newer alfas by all accounts are pretty much up there.

LarWright

Idleater wrote: »

I'd be willing to suspect that this is a problem with that specific car or a PICNIC issue.

May have been a Monday morning car, but that's not my point. It's the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" bit I'm on about.

Idleater wrote: »

I've not heard of many of those issues that you are having from reading the owners' fora that I researched before buying my MiTo.

Well the dealer knew about the Brakes issue, as they had parts in stock to supposedly rectify the squeaking, but they haven't works on this particular car.

Idleater wrote: »

Generally the build and quality control on the newer alfas by all accounts are pretty much up there.

I am aware of another Mito, that within the 1st month, the door handle came off in the persons hand. Maybe the lock mechanism is a problem too after all?

STForSale

LarWright wrote: »

I am aware of another Mito, that within the 1st month, the door handle came off in the persons hand. Maybe the lock mechanism is a problem too after all?

At least it wasn't the steering wheel

EPM

You bought the car 2 months ago and this is a new offer that wasn't in place at the time of purchase. You'd be doing well to get your money back. Although I hope you can find a loophole;)

It's a bit like taking a six year old KIA into the garage looking for warranty work because new ones come with a seven year warranty when old ones had a three year one.

LarWright

EPM wrote: »

You bought the car 2 months ago and this is a new offer that wasn't in place at the time of purchase. You'd be doing well to get your money back. Although I hope you can find a loophole;)

No loophole apart from they "Guarantee Satisfaction" (I was told on the phone) by fixing any problems... (WOW, they actually honour the warranty!) Hardly satisfying having to bring the car to and from the garage to fix issues that shouldn't arise in the first place.

EPM wrote: »

It's a bit like taking a six year old KIA into the garage looking for warranty work because new ones come with a seven year warranty when old ones had a three year one.

Not really, that's a bit extreme. The Mito is 80 days old. Thought that Alfa may have honoured this but as usual it's another "sounds too good to be true" offer.

(Did you know that Kia warranty only covers the original owner of the car anyway? Besides, manufacturing techniques and technology moves along alot in a few years, not so much in 80 days)

The T&C's aren't that good to be honest as it only covers "Major Manufacturing Faults", so basically they're saying, "if we really F**k up in the factory, we won't force you to keep the pile of scrap metal we sold you"!

It's easier to save yourself time, money and headaches, by driving straight past the Alfa dealer (as aesthetically pleasing as the cars are) and into another dealership that sells anything but Fiat/Alfa!!

Alfa Romeo Terms

Finally, the advert is quite misleading. To advertise something mid December that's only available from January without CLEARLY stating this, and then give a call to action and not have it backed up. Then after an enquiry, publish the T&C's and back date them so if anyone looks into it, they've covered their arses. At first, Alfa Customer Care didn't even know about it when I called... That's just ridiculous!

Ah well, back and forth to the garage we go! Hope the central locking is the last of the problems.

Adrian121

I drive a 08 MiTo, I also had problems with my Iphone but when I contacted the dealer they asked me in , gave me a coffee, updated my software and I was back on the road in 30 Mins.
I dont understand all the bleating about simple issues. If you have a problem and the dealer fixes it, whats the issue.
My wife had a Golf, Shes had loads of issues and recalls on the car, the service used to be good but now has deteriorated, they dont give a courtesy car and are constantly disputing clear warranty issues. I dont have a problem with getting a car fixed but I do have a problem with a manufacturer not standing over it.
It seems that Alfa are at least standing over the cars.

Mr.David

Adrian121 wrote: »

I dont understand all the bleating about simple issues. If you have a problem and the dealer fixes it, whats the issue.

Because people have better things to do than be constantly returning to the garage?

And because when the warranty ends it will cost you a wedge to fix?

:rolleyes:

Guy:Incognito

Is the alarm factory fit or aftermarket?

LarWright

Adrian121 wrote: »

I dont understand all the bleating about simple issues. If you have a problem and the dealer fixes it, whats the issue.

When I buy a TV, I don't have to bring it back to Currys/DID/Powercity every fortnight with problems. When I bought my home, I didn't have to call the builder every month with plaster falling off the walls. That's the issue. Besides, I also said that the noisy brakes issue hasn't been fixed properly, so it's just as well the lock mechanism had to be ordered in, or I would have been back in the garage for the same problem twice.

Adrian121 wrote: »

I dont have a problem with getting a car fixed but I do have a problem with a manufacturer not standing over it.

I don't have a problem getting it fixed either, my point is, with a BRAND NEW OUT OF SHOWROOM CAR, I shouldn't have to.

Adrian121 wrote: »

It seems that Alfa are at least standing over the cars.

You're right they are, and so they should. I said from the beginning, I don't have issue with the service / care from the dealer, I do however have problems with Alfa Ireland and the lack of clarity in there marketing campaign.

Stekelly wrote: »

Is the alarm factory fit or aftermarket?

It's the standard factory fit unit. The alarm issue arose out of the fact the remote central locking doesn't lock. When you press the button, the alarm enabled, but the doors didn't lock and vice versa. However, locking with the key itself works, but doesn't enable the alarm. Yeah, door could be locked, then alarm enabled, but that's too oldschool!