BMW X3, broke after 5 months. Dealer says they only give 3 months warranty

Tilt

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Diesel doesn't seem to be the real Alfa, so you go and buy a 4wd??
Can't compare it to a rwd 3 series.
Sure it's a nice car though

I DIDN'T compare MY particular car with a 3 series... I personally didn't give a toss what it was compared with and there were quite a few variants of the 159. The motoring media compared it including Honest John;

QUOTE: There's no doubt it's a looker. Just like the Alfa 156 put the BMW 3 Series in the shade, the 159 does the same. But the 159 is styled by the master, Giorgetto Giugiaro, not Walter d'Silva who left and went to SEAT. All through my life my blood has been stirred by Giugiaro designs, starting with the 105 Series Giulia GT when he worked for Bertone. Whether the 159 quite does it in the same way as d'Silva's 156 is a vexed question. It's certainly a far more beautiful sight to open your garage doors to than a 3 Series.

JustinR1979

Tilt wrote: »

I DIDN'T compare MY particular car with a 3 series... I personally didn't give a toss what it was compared with and there were quite a few variants of the 159. The motoring media compared it including Honest John;

QUOTE: There's no doubt it's a looker. Just like the Alfa 156 put the BMW 3 Series in the shade, the 159 does the same. But the 159 is styled by the master, Giorgetto Giugiaro, not Walter d'Silva who left and went to SEAT. All through my life my blood has been stirred by Giugiaro designs, starting with the 105 Series Giulia GT when he worked for Bertone. Whether the 159 quite does it in the same way as d'Silva's 156 is a vexed question. It's certainly a far more beautiful sight to open your garage doors to than a 3 Series.

I didn't say you did - but you brought up the comparison

Tilt

JustinR1979 wrote: »

I didn't say you did - but you brought up the comparison

Only because it was a matter of fact that the motoring media made the comparison.

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

I'll probably get some stick from this, but I don't care because i actually speak from the experience of owning a similar aged Alfa 159 3.2 Q4 JTS as the OP's BMW.

For those of you in the know, the 159 was pitched in direct competition to the BMW 3 series but was significantly cheaper.

Mine was purchased with full service history just over a year ago from an independent dealer with just shy of 80k on the clock. It is the fully loaded version (built in sat nav, colour screen and phone system) and would of cost around £28k new. I paid £7,300 for it which I think is an absolute bargain for what spec it has. The big downside (apart from it being thirsty) is the tax. £500 for 12 months! which I must admit to not researching before buying it. But i've always wanted one and trying to find the right one wasn't easy. Most on sale appear to be diesels and some how that dosn't seem to be the real Alfa deal to me.

It too came with a 3 month warranty BUT after 12 months of ownership (and about 4k more miles), it hasn't missed a beat. Only thing that dosn't work is the driver's heated seat function which is down to a faulty switch. At £125, I can live with it for now!

Point is that it drives like it just rolled off the production line... even the engine looks new. Why oh why Alfa stopped making it is beyond me.

Oh, and Honest John seems to like them as well when compared to a BMW!

Ok, let the ridicule commence! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I did similar some years ago. Went to look for a 320i BMW, ended up going across the road to an Alfa dealer and buying a 3 year old 156 2.5 v6 Veloce instead. :eek:

Loved it. Fantastic car.

The "problem" with the 159 was as follows :-

• FIAT pitched it as a BMW rival. It wasnt really.
• They tried not to discount it heavily, but it didnt sell
• The residuals were poor compared to BMWs etc
• They are a heavy car and the diesels werent terribly economical
• They never really shook their "unreliable" image
• Their dealer network is crap
• It wasnt competitive dynamically, though it looked pretty

Pity. I liked them. I aspired to own one when they came out. Nearly did a couple of times...

Tilt

motorguy wrote: »

I did similar some years ago. Went to look for a 320i BMW, ended up going across the road to an Alfa dealer and buying a 3 year old 156 2.5 v6 Veloce instead. :eek:

Loved it. Fantastic car.

The "problem" with the 159 was as follows :-

• FIAT pitched it as a BMW rival. It wasnt really.
• They tried not to discount it heavily, but it didnt sell
• The residuals were poor compared to BMWs etc
• They are a heavy car and the diesels werent terribly economical
• They never really shook their "unreliable" image
• Their dealer network is crap
• It wasnt competitive dynamically, though it looked pretty

Pity. I liked them. I aspired to own one when they came out. Nearly did a couple of times...

I agree apart from perhaps the one i've highlighted. Let me first point out that I used to work at a Fiat/Alfa dealership BUT before both the 156 and 159 were introduced (basically the mid 1990's). It was about then that build quality was an issue with mainly poor trim finishes. Alfa's would turn up at the dealership off the transporter needing more PDI work that the then Fiat range!

However it was true to say that Alfa's needed a bit more owner maintenance compared to other marques due to their oil consumption.

But since the "new" range came in (147, GT, 156 facelift) and later (159, Brera Spider), the reliability has drastically improved and has continued to do so. It's a great pity that Fiat (or Alfa) have discontinued a good range of cars rather than let them evolve further. The current range is, quite frankly, pitiful with just 3 models (although there are more in the pipe line).

But, like with Fiat of the early 70's, I suppose the negative reputation stays with a marque for quite a few years. I however, am one person who knows from quite a bit of experience (i'm on my 14th Fiat atm) that the negative reputation is (or should be) buried in history.

sh0597

It's like people that won't drive an automatic. Or think you need at least a 2 litre engine for motorway driving.

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

But, like with Fiat of the early 70's, I suppose the negative reputation stays with a marque for quite a few years. I however, am one person who knows from quite a bit of experience (i'm on my 14th Fiat atm) that the negative reputation is (or should be) buried in history.

Yes, i personally dont have much issue with their reliability. I found it there or there abouts with other brands BUT i know there is still this "concern" over reliability, particularly when Alfa were asking people to pay a considerable amount of money for a 159.

I'd a 156 v6 Veloce - red with black leather, then a 147 JTD TI - red with black leather, and at a point later a 156 1.8 in a lovely bright blue with black leather.

I would certainly have another one again at some point - particularly the big petrol engined ones.

motorguy

sh0597 wrote: »

It's like people that won't drive an automatic. Or think you need at least a 2 litre engine for motorway driving.

:huh:

What is?

londonTiger

darkmatter101 wrote: »

I don't really see why the dealer that you purchased the car from is obliged to sort out the car. Car broke down AFTER the warranty period. Before that, like you said, everything was fine. It's a second hand car, so there is always a risk of something happening, and considering its a BMW, which normally gets 'average' for reliability ratings, and are expensive to fix when something goes wrong, you can't be complaining about £1600 out of pocket expense. What do you expect, its a BMW out out warranty, if money is more important to you, get a second hard Japanese car that is more reliable and less expensive to fix.

Did you look at the service history before purchasing the car?

agreed. people are forgetting this is a USED vehicle, not a brand new vehicle.

4x4s break down from time to time like that, often people mess up their ride because they use 4x4 mode on roads. I think dealers hands are clean, you had 5 whole months of good working motor and now it breaks down you think the dealer is culpable?

Maybe I should take my 12 year old golf back to vw for the cracked exhaust.:rotfl:

FiremanDave

londonTiger wrote: »

agreed. people are forgetting this is a USED vehicle, not a brand new vehicle.

4x4s break down from time to time like that, often people mess up their ride because they use 4x4 mode on roads. I think dealers hands are clean, you had 5 whole months of good working motor and now it breaks down you think the dealer is culpable?

Maybe I should take my 12 year old golf back to vw for the cracked exhaust.:rotfl:

Agreeing with that fool? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: