I told you Alfas were a load of !*&#*

Oil leak - 1 hour job and a new gasket, Payen £15.
Lower Wishbones - £70 each, so thats £140
Timing belt kit - £65
Clutch kit - £133

Then the gas struts are going to be £38 as said above. So for parts you are up to £350. Then windscreen for £50 on fully comp insurance. So thats £1k on labour? Is it really going to take 20 hours for an indy to do that?

Edit - Those prices are from Eurocarparts, which I don't normally find to be the cheapest, but they have a good website.
 
Sounds like a "we don't want the work" quote to me.

This, sounds like they are quoting everything and anything they can as they doubt your sister will know anything about cars.

No one would ever put 'Floorplan' or 'Undertray' in to a quote as it is simply about 4 screws. Takes 2 seconds to undo and is there to stop crud getting into the engine bay. It's like quoting you £50 to open the bonnet.

"Yes you're gonna need oil (£40), labour (£20) and your bonnet opening (£50)."
 
According to the recall notice I got when I had my 156, the bonnets like to open themselves on some alfas anyway :)
 
Best be sitting down for this one then
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1100896.htm

Hah! Do *not* touch that one. Guy on the Alfa forum bought it, it lasted 2 days before going bang. Apparently the 'charger conversion is an utter mess.

The garage gave him his money back, have somehow managed to fix it (despite not knowing how to, and having to call a well-known specialist to ask what to do). To top it all off, there is no way thats kicking out 400bhp.....340bhp tops, even if its running spot on.
 
Anyway, Alfa are on the up these days...

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So it needs a service...

How many miles has it done?

Also, removing the "floor pan" to change the clutch is complete *******, You take an under tray off, undo the n/s bottom joint (replacing the part anyway), separate the gearbox from the engine, and the clutch can slide out.

Edit: And the cam belt is every 36k, not 60 as mentioned above, or 72, which they used to be.
 
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Hah! Do *not* touch that one. Guy on the Alfa forum bought it, it lasted 2 days before going bang. Apparently the 'charger conversion is an utter mess.

It wasnt done by AutoDelta themselves then?

I'd love a GTA - I remember seeing the 156 at the scottish motor show when it came out and I was 13, I wanted one ever since. Bought a 2.5 Lusso but the opportunity to buy my own place because of a promotion meant I had to sell it for something sensible :(

Edit: And the cam belt is every 36k, not 60 as mentioned above, or 72, which they used to be.

Thats the only thing that the OP might be able to complain about, 36k is a very short interval for a cambelt change. Even then, its about 2 years on average if not more and not an expensive job
 
have somehow managed to fix it (despite not knowing how to)

Hey, that's totally possible. Last year I was struggling with rubbish TV signal from the aerial. So anyway, I had a few cable ends lying around and couldn't remember which was which, so I plugged one of them in. Perfect signal. I tracked it back, and it didn't even go anywhere.. fixed with magic :D
 
The only thing to have gone wrong on my 147 is the driver side electric window motor. I've had to do a cambelt change, brake change and suspension change as part of general wear and tear - this was the first time they were replaced in 38k miles. Not really that shocking and to be expected.
 
The thing is, people with golfs and foci need to do those things too but dont complain becuase its normal wear and tear.

The Alfa haters seem to think cars dont need routine maintenance :confused:
 
How old is the car? And what sort of service history does it have?
lol @ the windscreen crack, that's definitely all the fault of the car, not the fact that it's been washed wrong, de-iced savagely or the victim of a loose stone...

Was any research done prior to buying this car? I'm guessing not?

Might as well get her to sell the car and buy something else? It'll still have things go wrong with it but hey... At least then nobody will have a problem with it, right?
 
Come on, all of these faults didnt happen at once did they? sounds like shes lets a few things slide and then had all the faults checked over at once. If the faults/wear had been takcled as the various issues arose she wouldnt be faced with a bumper bill to get it all done.
 
The thing is, people with golfs and foci need to do those things too but dont complain becuase its normal wear and tear.

The Alfa haters seem to think cars dont need routine maintenance :confused:

In nine years of car ownership in this country, I've never had any of that list done on any of my cars. They were all serviced on time every year, and nothing other than the stuff in my first post ever cropped up (oh, yes - other than a suspension coil going in the Polo).

Depends on the mileage - if it's done 50k I'd be put out, if it's 60k to 100k it's understandable.

My Polo did 85k before anything remotely interesting (see above) happened.

Rubbish cars that look absolutely stunning. I wouldn't say 'no' to any with the 3.2 V6, even knowing that it's probably going to break down at some point.
 
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