Cars - Rust on Alfa 147

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Rust on Alfa 147

I purchased a second hand 2001Y 147 1.6TS Lusso approx 8 months ago from
Dixons Motors in Leeds. This came with a 1 years Dixons warantee. However,
I have just noticed rust at the bottom the rear door near the wheel arch. I
took it into Alfa who told me this must be because the previous owner must
have had a scratch and has tried to cover it up himself. There is no
evidence of a touch up so if this is the case it must have been a complete
re-spray on the door. Very unlikely! They said this as there seems to be a
drip/run in the paint near the infected area on the rim of the wheel arch.
Personally i'm not convinced by this excuse. Apparently they have a
specialist who can measure the thickness of the paint on the car so they
can tell if it has been touched up or not. This has been arranged for next
month.

Anyway, I personally think my warranty should cover this. Does anyone else
agree? Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thanks in advance for your time and help

Mark

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 07:54:56 -0400, "Ballymoney"
> wrote:

<Snip>
>They said this as there seems to be a
>drip/run in the paint near the infected area on the rim of the wheel arch.

Paint run marks, rough areas, scratches, unfinished spot welds are
just some of the features you can expect on a brand new Alfa!

>Personally i'm not convinced by this excuse.

Good.

>Apparently they have a
>specialist who can measure the thickness of the paint on the car so they
>can tell if it has been touched up or not. This has been arranged for next
>month.

Will it make any difference? i.e. the difference between them or you
paying?

>Anyway, I personally think my warranty should cover this.

Warranties on bodywork usually only cover rust from the back through
to the front. If rust has started as the result of a problem on the
outer paint surface, you may have your work cut out to get the
warranty company to pay up.
<Snip>

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

Thanks for your quick response

I'm just concerned that they are saying the warranty does not cover rust
if it is a result of a scratch from a former owner. They are just assuming
there was a scratch. Its nonsense! There is NO evidence to suggest the
previous owner had a bump and a re-spray cos as you say runs in the paint
are a common problem with alfa. It's basically my word against theirs.
Anyway, i'll battle on. They haven't heard the last of it.

Is it worth contacting the former owner to determine if he did have a
bump? Surely even alfa couldn't argue against that, but then again...
they'll say as its a friday and its raining you're not covered or
something pathetic like that.

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 11:16:44 -0400, "Ballymoney"
> wrote:

>Thanks for your quick response

:-)

>I'm just concerned that they are saying the warranty does not cover rust
>if it is a result of a scratch

This is correct - body warranties cover perforation FROM the other
side of the metal. They do NOT cover scratches - partly as this is
already covered by your comprehensive car insurance policy anyway.

>from a former owner.

This doesn't matter.

>They are just assuming there was a scratch. Its nonsense!

...how can YOU be sure? Rust coming from the other side of a painted
metal usually forms a distinctive blister as the rust pushes the paint
layers off the underlying metal. For a fair bit of time, this paint
blister will remain intact before bursting from the inside out. Often
this paint comes off in a sizeable piece when you rub or wash it.

If it's a paint side scratch or hole, then you don't get the same
blister effect. For a start there's a hole or scratch in the paintwork
right from the start. As I said, warranty people will not entertain
repair of this type..ever!

>There is NO evidence to suggest the
>previous owner had a bump and a re-spray cos as you say runs in the paint
>are a common problem with alfa. It's basically my word against theirs.
>Anyway, i'll battle on. They haven't heard the last of it.

You may be wasting your time unless the rust started on the other side
of the metal.

>Is it worth contacting the former owner to determine if he did have a
>bump? Surely even alfa couldn't argue against that, but then again...
>they'll say as its a friday and its raining you're not covered or
>something pathetic like that.

You're still wasting your time unless the rust started on the other
side of the metal!

The paintwork (3 year against manufacturing defects only) and bodywork
8 year against perforation were clearly defined in the paperwork I got
with my car.

From memory, so the exact wording may be different: the body/paintwork
has to be inspected at the correct intervals (correct servicing times)
and any body repairs have to be of an approved standard. If the car
has been repaired then (by default) it looks as though the quality of
the repair was poor and you may not inherit the full body warranty as
a result until approved remedial work is carried out.

IMHO, if the paint is broken you'll have a job on your hands getting
money for this work. I don't wish to put you off though.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

Ballymoney > wrote:

> I purchased a second hand 2001Y 147 1.6TS Lusso approx 8 months ago from
> Dixons Motors in Leeds. This came with a 1 years Dixons warantee. However,
> I have just noticed rust at the bottom the rear door near the wheel arch. I
> took it into Alfa who told me this must be because the previous owner must
> have had a scratch and has tried to cover it up himself. There is no
> evidence of a touch up so if this is the case it must have been a complete
> re-spray on the door. Very unlikely! They said this as there seems to be a
> drip/run in the paint near the infected area on the rim of the wheel arch.
> Personally i'm not convinced by this excuse. Apparently they have a
> specialist who can measure the thickness of the paint on the car so they
> can tell if it has been touched up or not. This has been arranged for next
> month.
>
> Anyway, I personally think my warranty should cover this. Does anyone else
> agree? Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Sounds like it's had a cheap repair done at some point (quite possibly
by Dixons themselves). An original Alfa panel wouldn't rust in this way
as they're galvanised. I crashed my Fiat Cinq. several years ago, taking
paint off every panel down the off-side of the car - I continued driving
the car on gritted roads for a few months without covering over the
dented / scraped panels, and there wasn't even a trace of rust coming
through. I also have lots of chips and scrapes on my current 155, none
of which are going rusty - including an area about an inch square above
the sill cover.

The only way a modern day Alfa will rust at that sort of age is if the
panel has been replaced with a non-original ungalvanised panel.

I'd be shouting at Dixons for not declaring previously repaired accident
damage if I were you.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Zathras > wrote in message >. ..
> On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 07:54:56 -0400, "Ballymoney"
> > wrote:
>
> <Snip>
> >They said this as there seems to be a
> >drip/run in the paint near the infected area on the rim of the wheel arch.
>
> Paint run marks, rough areas, scratches, unfinished spot welds are
> just some of the features you can expect on a brand new Alfa!
>
> >Personally i'm not convinced by this excuse.
>
> Good.
>
> >Apparently they have a
> >specialist who can measure the thickness of the paint on the car so they
> >can tell if it has been touched up or not. This has been arranged for next
> >month.
>
> Will it make any difference? i.e. the difference between them or you
> paying?
>
> >Anyway, I personally think my warranty should cover this.
>
> Warranties on bodywork usually only cover rust from the back through
> to the front. If rust has started as the result of a problem on the
> outer paint surface, you may have your work cut out to get the
> warranty company to pay up.
> <Snip>

In the Alfa 147 brochure I picked up before I bought mine in 2002, it
states,8 year anti perforation warranty: Subject to regular
inspections being carried out, any perforation of the bodywork, due to
corrosion, will be repaired free of charge of all parts and labour
charges during the first 8 years.

3 Year paintwork warranty: Any paintwork defects, due to faulty
materials or manufacture, will be rectified free of charge during the
first 3 years.

Even if the car has not been resprayed,I think with the car being 2001
on a Y, you may be just out of warranty anyway.

Hope this is of some use to you. John, UK.

Thats my exact point...The rust is in the form of many little tiny blisters
and has not burst through the final coat of paint YET. This does suggest it
was not caused by a scratch.