I'm currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Alfa Romeo which is taking up pretty much all of my non-work (and a fair chunk of my work) time. Basically my Alfa's engine blew up and needs to be replaced at a cost of $13,000-$15,000 and the morons are refusing to cover it under warranty because they claim I haven't been putting oil in it. I've challenged their claim by showing documentation that I've bought
22 litres of oil to top up the engine this year alone - that's a LITRE of oil every two weeks or every 800kms. I've never heard of a car using up this much oil.
To make things worse this is a lease vehicle so I'm still paying the lease cost even though I'm not using the vehicle, and I'm already starting to incur fringe benefits tax on it as I'm not putting the required kilometres as it's currently immobile in the shop.
I've tried to work this out with first the dealership and then with the Alfa organisation but they're basically shuffling me around, so I've decided to seek legal advice and will most probably litigate. It will cost around $5,000 - $10,000 but I'm prepared to pay whatever I need to pay to get justice done as this is BS.
So guys, please understand if you don't see me around now and then, this is a fairly serious issue for me.
Here's a copy of the letter I wrote to the President of Alfa Romeo here in OZ.
Quote:
3rd November 2004
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Mr. Kevin Wall
Alfa Romeo Australia
Heritage Bldg, Campus Bus Park
350 Parramatta Rd
Homebush 2140
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Dear Mr. Wall:
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I am writing to seek your assistance in resolving a significant problem I am having with Alfa Italia Crows Nest (“Alfa Italia”). Alfa Italia has denied warranty coverage on my vehicle for the reasons outlined below, which is a breach of the terms of the warranty.
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I am currently leasing a 2002-model Alfa Romeo GTV Twin Spark with current mileage of approximately 39,000 kms. On 16 October 2004 the engine failed as it was being driven at 80 km/h on the M5 in Sydney and the vehicle was towed to Alfa Italia. Alfa Italia’s service manager, Mr Mario Fontana, consequently advised that the engine would need to be replaced and denied warranty coverage on a replacement engine on the basis of insufficient maintenance. Specifically:
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· At the first scheduled maintenance service (as described in the owner’s maintenance manual) (“Scheduled Service”), Mr Fontana alleged that the vehicle was low on motor oil; and
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· Mr. Fontana is currently alleging that the vehicle had missed its latest Scheduled Service. He alleges that the vehicle was 5,000 kms overdue on its second Scheduled Service (which should have been done at mileage of 35,000 kms given that the first Scheduled Service was done 5,000 kms early). In addition, the vehicle should have been brought in for regular maintenance outside the Scheduled Services, every six months, as an additional preventative measure.
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In response to Mr. Fontana’s assertions:
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· The vehicle was brought into Alfa Italia for its first Scheduled Service when it was still 4,000 kms short of the required mileage due to concerns I had with the engine. That concern was expressed to Mr. Fontana who stated that that the engine was apparently low on oil. When asked what remedial action should be done, Mr. Fontana stated that he could remove the engine from the vehicle in order to examine it more carefully but stated that at that stage it would not be required, as the solution was to ensure it was sufficiently topped with motor oil. If Mr. Fontana had taken the time to remove the engine and examine it, the problem would likely have been detected at that stage.
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· The engine oil was checked regularly. In the year to date, the engine was topped up with motor oil at the rate of one litre of oil every two weeks or approximately every 985 kms as indicated in the attachment. I raised my concerns with Mr. Fontana regarding the amount of oil being consumed by the engine on a number of occasions. Mr. Fontana stated that this was “normal” for high-performance engines similar to those found in vehicles manufactured by Alfa. I have itemized records from Shell to substantiate the amount of oil purchased in the past year. When these records were shown to Mr. Fontana, he first asserted that we could not prove those records related to the vehicle in question, then stated that the vehicle’s engine could not possibly need that much oil on a regular basis.
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· The vehicle was not brought in for its second service at the recorded mileage of 35,000 kms as the owner’s manual did not indicate that this is required. The owner’s manual indicates that first Scheduled Service is required at 20,000 kms and the second Scheduled Service at 40,000 kms. It does not state that if the first Scheduled Service was performed earlier, then the second Scheduled Service would need to be done early as well. Mr. Fontana did not indicate at the time of the first Scheduled Service that this was required.
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· Given that I am neither a mechanic nor an expert with motor engines, I take guidance from the owner’s manual and what authorized service providers advise me. In this case, the owner’s manual does not state or recommend checks by the service provider beyond Scheduled Services, and I was not advised by Mr. Fontana to bring the car in every six months until after the engine had failed.
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While I find Alfa Italia’s position and attitude appalling, it does not come as a complete surprise. By way of history, I had considered a number of vehicles before deciding on an Alfa. Despite negative feedback from current and former Alfa owners as well as non-Alfa owners on the vehicle’s questionable track record on quality, it was an extremely enjoyable vehicle to drive and I believed that any quality aberrations, while an annoyance, would be minor and that I would put up with them. These service and manufacturing aberrations include:
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· The dealer loading the wrong petrol in the vehicle when I picked it up on the first day, resulting in the shutdown in the flow of fuel into the engine as I was driving the vehicle in heavy traffic. Mr. Jason Mikellides (the Alfa Italia sales representative who sold me the vehicle) admitted the error and advised that the vehicle could be returned (on a tow truck, presumably) to Alfa Italia to have the fuel tank cleaned out. After attempting to take up this option following day, I was told that this process was much more time consuming than expected and that I should just continue driving the vehicle to use up the fuel and top the tank up with the correct petrol in order to dilute the lower-grade petrol. What followed was a week-long process where I would attempt to drive the vehicle for as far and long as I could until the fuel flow to the engine was shut down again, and then wait for a day until the engine would restart, and so forth. Eventually I decided to take the vehicle in to Alfa Italia where it was determined that the problem was with a loose wire in the engine.
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· Malfunctions in the engine immobiliser, which would not switch off despite having the key in the ignition. Several attempts, for up to ten minutes at a time, were required before the engine would successfully start. At one point the vehicle was brought into Alfa Italia, courtesy of a tow truck, so that the immobiliser could be reset.
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· Problems with indicator lever which did not return to the neutral position after a ninety-degree turn.
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· Remote locking system not working for a period of time.
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I am tired of defending Alfa’s quality record to those who view the brand with derision. However, while I was prepared for the ‘typical Alfa problems’ to arise, engine failure is a major problem and Alfa has an obligation under the existing terms of the warranty to repair it, at its own cost.
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I got this vehicle on the basis of representations made by Alfa Italia’s sales team that the Alfa customer service mentality had changed for the better and that any problems that arose would be resolved promptly. I have found that this is not the case.
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I look forward to your response.
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Yours truly,
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Mario Estacio
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I engaged a lawyer's services today and it looks like I can't sue Alfa Romeo, because I don't own the vehicle - Custom Fleet (the leasing company) does. Therefore I don't have a business relationship with Alfa. So essentially I have to sue Custom Fleet (who I do have a business relationship with) and then get them to chase Alfa Romeo. Which is probably why Alfa Romeo have been dicking me around.
The annoying thing is the lease company (which I'm paying $2000/month lease and FBT payments on and they should be working on MY behalf) have hung me out to dry on this issue and they've basically taken Alfa's side in the matter and have washed their hands of the whole affair.
Anyway, I really am caught between a rock and a hard place here - I'm paying $2k a month for an unusable vehicle and am starting to incur fringe benefits tax because I'm not driving the requisite kms for it (in OZ you pay fringe benefits tax which is proportional to the number of k's you drive - so if you drive 40,000kms a year you pay 7% of the cost of the vehicle, if you drive 25-40000kms you pay 11%, etc, all the way up to 26% if you drive less than 15000kms. I'm on the 11% bracket at the moment but if I don't use the car till the end of the FBT year (March 05) I'll drop to the 26% bracket, which means a lump sum payment of $8000 for missing my kilometres.
So unless I get this car back on the road I'll have to pay this amount as it's a govt tax, and have to then claim it afterward as part of my costs.
Speaking of costs, looks like the legal costs will be about $5000-$10,000 if it goes to court, but may take a few months. I'm thinking of paying the $15000 to get a new engine (the old one will still be there) just to get the car back on the road so I can make use of it and get some value out of my lease and FBT payments and then incorporating this cost into my lawsuit.
It's a feckin nightmare, guys. The worst thing that's happened to me in life thus far. And it's taking up so much of my time, I'm stressing about it, worrying about, both on and off work.
So if you don't see me around, this is why. I feel like I'm in a John Grisham novel.
[ 12-03-2004, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]