Good honest alfa mechanic in dublin?

shakenbake

Well I bought my 2ltr alfa 156 yesterday and the first problem to manifest itself happened right after I drove the ****in thing home and parked it

The alarm started to go off and wouldn't turn off, so I ended up having to disconnect the main battery. The bleeper battery was ok, so it wasn't that. I've since reconnected the main battery and checked my doors, sunroof and boot and they all seem ok. But the alarm is still going off erratically. When I have the thing alarmed and use the key to manually open the door the alarm doesn't go off either!

Poxy ass dealer didn't tell me about that ! Any suggestions, before I find a mechanic on tuesday?

boardsee

Damn Fiats!
when will folk learn.

mcguiver

I'd be inclined to go back to the dealer a.s.a.p.

Failing that the only Alfa specialist I've dealt with is in Cowper Street D.7. Next door to St Gabriels .school. (Around the corner from Aughrim St. church.)

1 man operation, only does Alfas, from vintage to the latest models...eats, lives and breathes them...I swear he can almost repair them over the phone at this stage....

Can't recall the name of the garage, but I'd deal with him before any of the Alfa Dealers. Great car to drive...crap aftersales service though!

shakenbake

^ I know where yer man is actually, I brought my bosses alfa down there for a service a few years ago. Cheers.

I'll talk to the dealership on tuesday though.

ds20prefecture

Might I suggest that you go to an alarm specialist instead of a dealer/mechanic? My 156 didn't have an alarm as standard - perhaps it's aftermarket? Is the alarm switch part of the key? If not, it's aftermarket and you'd be better off going to someone like Alarming sounds in Rathgar - Claudio Tamborini is the guy there, if they still exist.

ds20prefecture

mcguiver wrote:

1 man operation, only does Alfas, from vintage to the latest models...eats, lives and breathes them...I swear he can almost repair them over the phone at this stage....

Is that Ti autos? He has a great reputation.

ds20prefecture

boardsee wrote:

Damn Fiats! when will folk learn.

A$$holes - when will they stop trolling any thread that mentions Alfas?

mcguiver

I think thats him alright...nice guy, loves Alfas.

Off topic, ALARMING SOUNDS, I never dealt with Claudio... but the lad who's the owner....AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!

Enquired about a car kit from him.a few years back. sold me one that he'd stripped from a car, gave a gaurantee etc. .... blew my phone..then he didn't want to know about it. Took ages to get sorted, only when I started asking around in the trade and got tons of similar stories

Alfasudcrazy

Yep - Ti Auto's - his name is Gerry Cambell - but he tends to be booked out well in advance so might not be able to work on your car for quite a while.

I don't see why you don't go back to the dealer you bought the car from - that was a problem that they were certainly aware of and its up to them to sort it (assuming you bought it from a dealer)

I had an alarm like that on my Golf Gti (installed by a so called 'expert' who did not have a clue) ended up leaving the thing switched off as it was too much of a mess to sort it. If the dealer can't / is not qualfied to fix it then its up to them to take it to someone who can. :rolleyes:

mike65

Does anyone have TI Auto number? I'll enter the details in the Good Garage/Knowledge sticky.

Mike.

Alfasudcrazy

Gerry Campbell, TI autos, Cowper street 01 8386567.
I have my Alfasud booked in for Aug 8th so that day at least is taken.

Also Alasta in Ringsend are supposed to be very good according to Toad - never tried them myself 01 6671044

unkel

Alfasudcrazy wrote:

I have my Alfasud booked in for Aug 8th so that day at least is taken

For the whole day? How much would a full day's labour cost with him?

bmoferrall

Alfasudcrazy wrote:

Gerry Campbell, TI autos, Cowper street 01 8386567.
I have my Alfasud booked in for Aug 8th so that day at least is taken.

Also Alasta in Ringsend are supposed to be very good according to Toad - never tried them myself 01 6671044

Well I'm booked in with Gerry for Fri Aug 5th. Regular service so, hopefully, it won't take the whole day . Shame I'm going to miss the Alfasud by one (working) day though .

I've also heard very good things about Alasta. A fellow GTA owner uses them and speaks very highly of them, in particular the main guy Stanley Faulkner, an ex-racer like Gerry Campbell. (I'm currently trying to persuade Stanley to fit some Autodelta parts to my car.)

ds20prefecture

bmoferrall wrote:

I've also heard very good things about Alasta. A fellow GTA owner uses them and speaks very highly of them, in particular the main guy Stanley Faulkner, an ex-racer like Gerry Campbell. (I'm currently trying to persuade Stanley to fit some Autodelta parts to my car.)

Stanley took me to the cleaners when I had to sell my 156. I can't blame him though, the car had a deep scratch all down 1 side. I bought my Ibiza from them too - have to say I never had a complaint.

bmoferrall

ds20prefecture wrote:

Stanley took me to the cleaners when I had to sell my 156.

I think most 156 owners are taken to the cleaners when the time comes to sell . I'm determined to never give my 156 to a dealer.
The difficulty in selling Alfa's has forced me to hang on to mine and I'm glad of that. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure I would have regretted the decision had I sold it. Hopefully, I'll still be enjoying it in 10 years (my original plan anyway).

shakenbake

Thanks for the replies guys. Just to answer some of the questions, the alarm system is a stock one. I'll call the dearler first thing on tuesday and whinge at them to do something. But I know that the mechanic that they use has gone on holidays for two weeks. The car needs some other mechanical work done to it which I'm aware of so it will probably be easier to get the whole lot done together.

I've got a feeling the dealer is going to wreek of "caveat emptor".

Actually where do I legally stand with that? Does the dealer have a legal obligation to sort this out considering he never told me about it?

bazz26

If it is an Alfa alarm and you got a warranty with the car then the dealer is obliged to sort it out under the terms of the warranty.

As for the mechanic going on holidays for two weeks, that's the dealers problem not yours so don't accept that trip from them, surely a reputable dealer has more than one mechanic working for them or if not they farm the work out to a local guy for the two weeks.

But saying that if it is a dodgy alarm then it should be looked by an alarm specialist or auto electrician not a mechanic. Either way it is up to the dealer to get it sorted.

As for not telling you about this problem, they might have known about but then again they might not have locked the car with the alarm on, just locked it using the keys so might not have spotted it.

bmoferrall

I'd recommend AlfaOwner.com (http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/index.php?) as an excellent resource for any Alfa owners.
What those folk don't know about alfa's probably isn't worth knowing.
Tears, tantrums, tiaras...you get it all there