Hello all My Grandmother purchased and had a stairlift installed from a well known stairlift company. Said stairlift company offered a 12 month warranty, plus one free service at a 6 month interval, however..they did not service it at the 6 month point, they serviced it far earlier on into the 12 month period. My Gran being 92 didn't even think about complaining, but did mention it and they fobbed her off saying 'oh we just do it whenever' (or words to that effect.) Anyway roll on to a few weeks ago..she was using the stairlift and it stopped (sods law it was about a week or so after they rang up offering the extended service/warranty) thankfully it started working again, and the man came out promptly and fixed the issue but said she'd get a big bill. She has received the bill for £190, and I don't really feel it's acceptable that a company can charge someone when it fails just outside the warranty period..if the same happened to a car, then the garage would still pretty much put the car right. Now I don't know whether because it was reconditioned, that affects any rights I may have, but you guys seem to know your stuff from a previous issue I had with my car, so I thought i'd grab your thoughts if that's ok?

Guys guys chill out! For all your Info's I've still got the 5 in the garage it's just untaxed untested and uninsured, I've also got my 1961 midget that I inherited from my dad (taxed and tested but with a head gasket failure) and the Alfa! And as for last Xmas special they said the barchetta because the five would have been the boring choice...they had bought a dud in the first place and they knew it. No 5 unless the block had been helicoiled by a moron would spit out its spark plug like that. However if a jobs worth doing its worth doing properly...so I've come to pick up the inspection lamp and remove the entire carpet and dry it out properly. You can Alfa bash all you want, the question was asked today 'do you regret buying the Alfa' and you know what, I don't for one second, because when it hasn't got a problem it's the nicest place to be. Yes the Italians have a slapdash approach to engineering, but somehow the car just feels 'good' in the same way the midget and the 5 feel 'good'

The dealer did indeed tell me that..when i rang up this morning.

Turned out to be a sodding blocked drain hole!!!! Except you'd never a) know the hole was there b) realise that you have to unbolt the windscreen washers and undo a load of plasticlips to get at said holes!!!! Thanks for your help as always guys! See you in another 3 months!!!! If anyone has got a cunning suggestion for getting all the water out tho, i'd be much appreciative.

helios could you explain further?

Thanks dx! Your a champ! PS do you mean a full replacement car?

Ok, So third post same car! Alfa 159 Last week I discovered that the rear passenger footwell was soaking, and thought oh it'll just be a dried out door seal. However it turns out to be a lot worse than that, as shortly after i noticed it was also sodden underneath the matt in the front..somebody suggested an air con drain pipe might be at fault anyway ...I was doing a bit of investigating this evening, and then as it was on my mothers drive..nose down, and it rained heavily..i came back to the car after 2 hours...with a deluged swimming pool in the driver footwell. So here's the complete history of the car so far. I bought the car in february, after purchase it developed a starting fault, diagnosis was new EGR, 2 new injectors and a new inlet manifold (warranty covered, but cost was about 20 hours layout @ £80 an hour, plus parts i think about £3000 to £4000 in total) This was done, shortly after a cooling pipe went, which cost £80 and was done at the same time. Sprang another leak in August, new front water rail required, I seem to recall that cost me personally about £700 because it wasn't covered by warranty being a 'pipe' and now this...it's either one of the following... 1) A door membrane, but unlikely..as the kick plates aren't wet 2) A weld has gone...i can't imagine this will be that cheap, as they are going to have to strip the car out. I understand that as i'm outside the 6 months, of dealer has to prove it was there when they sold it..but what exact powers have i got...I mean i paid £10999 for it. and to my mind, it's had half that value in repairs...this has to have some affect surely. Any thoughts are appreciated! edit: oh should probably add it's 2nd hand

Rightyho...off to small claims it is and a letter to the chairman of RM.

I've just (well i still am) on the phone and I've just been informed that the clearance fee isn't charged by RM, but by customs...and i need to get in touch with them...true or bs?

Tadge harsh Graham, 6 years ago I would have agreed...today not so much. Am I right in assuming you also think an MX-5 is a hairdressers car too?

Ahh apologies I should have explained more clearly.. The car went into the dealership yesterday morning, they traced my water leak, to this metal pipe with the plastic screws. They then replaced the plastic screws, with metal ones they had in stock (an updated part) But the pipe is still leaking from said hole. Thus necessitating new metal pipe @ £600

No.. this is a part on the vehicle that has not been touched since the car was purchased.

So, aside from the fact that I may have bought a bit of a pup, some of you will remember my thread from a few months ago which regarded my car needing a new inlet manifold and egr, following an egr failure before I bought the car. As well as a popped water pipe, which was why it had initially gone in. Next up on the agenda - Another water leak! From a metal pipe, cost = £575ish Well to be technical, my leak is from a plastic screw within this metal pipe, but they have replaced the plastic screw with the metal updated version...and it's still weeping. This was a modification made by Alfa Romeo, but not retrospectively fitted to all 159's Warranty excludes all pipes. Obviously if I've got to pay it i've got to pay it, but 3 flaws inside 6 months? Hmm....any suggestions gladly welcome. I was wondering if the sales of goods act, could come into play here. But obviously I can't say prove that the fault wasn't on there when I bought the car, otherwise it would have shown up last time the system was pressure tested, when it was repaired in June.

Well there was no charge no quibbling and the dealership in question was really helpful Thanks for all the super useful info tho!

Not really looking to get into a 'weeing contest' I'm fairly handy with a spanner, but wasn't 100% on what the engineer at the dealership was telling me regarding oil pooling in the cylinder etc. (But i am aware of the difference between piston rings and oil scraper rings:thumb:) Either way we know that the EGR was sticking and that the injectors were out of tolerance. Also if it was using oil due to knackered control rings, surely it would have made a difference to the oil level in 3 months...and i'd have noticed the smell. Cheers for your contribution though! PS i am DEFINITELY not a slow driver! (I don't brake the speed limit, but having come from an mx-5 i'm definitely in the 'drive it like you stole it' category!)

Hi Sam No I didn't request a courtesy car, partly because that would probably have delayed my initial repair (and at the time I had my 40 year old backup car, which is now awaiting a tow to a garage to find a loose connection) Plus as we are now in to the rebuilding part of the car, (which commences tomorrow) it seems kind of pointless.

Thanks Sam, Martin! It's helped put my mind slightly more at ease. What is the process of appealing under the Sale of Goods Act? I assume that your referring to the EGR restriction gaskets? Which i can happily attest weren't fitted. They also changed the design of the cylinder head in the 08 revision of the car. I can't believe i never knew about this site!

Ok this is a slightly pre-emptive post but let me tell you a tale. In february this year I purchased from an Alfa dealership, a nice tidy 159 57 plate 2.4 diesel. I bought it, and I went about my merry way. I noticed an occasional stutter, and occasional 'warm start' issues. Informed the dealership by e-mail, but work was busy so didn't have an opportunity at the time to take it down. Then I developed a coolant leak. Fine, i thought i now need to book it in. So booked it in, and got a phone call 'hello mr robinson, yes sorry to say that the coolant pipe isn't covered, but if you pay for the part the sales department will pay for the labour as a goodwill gesture. Brilliant thats good..and we've also replaced the egr and the faulty injectors under the warranty. Brilliant I thought Not a great outcome but not a bad one either. Then, the chief engineer called me following the weekend and said, Hello Mr Robinson i'm not happy with the running of your car...and alfa tech have said to take the head off, to check that. But in case what we find isn't covered by the warranty (but it should be) we need you to authorise that to happen. Resigned I did so, thinking well it's not like theres anything in there that I could have damaged, it has to be covered by the alfa care premier warranty which I received with the car. I then rang this week to see where we were and the chief engineer was 'yep we can see that the exhaust valves are coked up and sticking'. But alfa want us to check the oil control rings on the piston, which is a 10 hour engine drop and then put the engine back. That was going to happen yesterday. Then Dave thought, why the hell are we doing this, we can see what the problem is, Alfa just want data...and we really don't want to drop the engine when we can test it by simply filling the cylinder with oil. So rang up the warranty engineer who popped in today on his way to Hull to say 'no we won't cover that, we'll cover the egr and the injectors but not the problems caused by the failure of those components' So i'm now in the position, whereby I can't do anything till tomorrow lunchtime once the engineers report is showing up on Alfacares system. But it seems ludicrous to me that I have a policy that reads Every Alfa Romeo Approved Car sold has a minimum of 12 months warranty included and a customer option to increase the duration of cover is available. Level 1 Premier cover is available for vehicled between 0-4 years and up to 60,000 miles. What is covered : Most mechanical and electrical components of the Insured vehicle: Examples : Engine; Timing Belts ; gear box; torque converter; diff; FWD; RWD; Propshaft; Wheel bearings; Engine cooling system; air con; turbo. fuel system ; fron and rear suspension ; steering; brakes; electrical system; ecu; Working materials components also included are oil seals and any oil seal of gasket where removal of the engine gearbox diff system is essential to effect repair. Casings: Damage caused to the casings and to other mechanical and electrical parts as a direct result of the failure of covered components is included. The following components are specifically excluded: bodywork, door locks, brightwork, pain, glass, trim, air bag, entertainment, sat nave, batteries, exhaust systems and catalytic converters, normal wear and tear or service items and other components subject to routine maintenance or periodic repair or replacement. Now a little explanation of why the problem occurs. The EGR is a known weak point on the engine...basically because it's from a 1.9 diesel vauxhall engine. So what happens is the injectors overfuel, this creates a lot of carbon..the carbon goes thru the egr, but makes the egr stick. When the egr sticks, it then redirects this heavily carbonised exhaust gas, back into the air intake which the clogs up the swirl valves in the inlet manifold (which also need replacing) and causes the exhaust valves stick, which in turn forces even MORE carbon thru the failed/failing egr, because the cylinder isn't under complete compression and therefore fuel isn't burning properly. The dealership in question have e-mails dating from a little over a week after owning the car, that the engine was stuttering. So basically what are my options? and before anyone says it, Yes I know I bought an Alfa. Also I should point out there are 3 seperate companies involved The Dealership Alfa UK technical support, who tell the service guys what to inspect and in what order (and are the ones that said take the head off look at the exhaust valves) Alfacare (the warranty company, which is simply a trading name for Motors insurance company ltd) The car as said has been in my possession for barely 3 months. Also it could be that the engineer thought i only had standard warranty rather than the premier one.