Recently bought a 2000 (W) 145 Cloverleaf, in red, of course. It was immaculate condition (so I thought) with 15k on the clock. This car passed the 30 point check, and was given Alfa Approved Used Car status. So much so, it was offered with the additional All Electrical + All Mechanical warranty thrown in. Which sounds great, until after 2 months of driving the car happily, it all went pear-shaped..

Airbag light keeps coming on -open circuit on driver's airbag.

Driver's seat height adjustment unit not holding in place - the driver's seat goes up & down.

Driver AND Passenger seats both broken - when they fold down flat they are supposed to slide forward - neither did from time of purchase.

Just had the tyres changed as the fronts were nearly bald when I bought the car, at the same time had the tracking done - BOTH sides were toeing out 2 degrees, so no-wonder the inner edges were so scrubbed the metal beads started to show after 3000 miles.

The wipers have decided to pack up. They only work on constant sweep, on the fastest setting - no intermittent or slow wipe. The wiper motor was diagnosed at fault.

It took 5 weeks to get the car booked in to be looked at, and that was classed 'emergency' as it had an airbag fault.

They had the car for the whole day, and at the end, I received a telephone call... none of the work is covered under the warranty.

I was less than pleased. Letters went straight off to the Service Manager, the Aftersales Director of the (fairly big franchise garage - with Alfa status) and the Director of Aftersales of Alfa Romeo.

The problem still remains unsolved, I have a meeting set with the director of the garage and with a warranty inspector from Alfa Romeo. There is still no guarantee the parts will be covered under the warranty. Even if they do, the waiting time is now 6 weeks. There is 2 weeks until the meeting.

Far less than impressed that a car was in the first place sold in that state with hidden problems, but even more so the fact that I am having to battle with Alfa and the garage to get the items replaced under the Alfa Romeo warranty.

I did already know that Alfa's service was not really up to scratch, but I ignored and bought the car anyway. Now the service department really is living up to their reputation - as being the worst service department around.

That is a shame, as otherwise the car is great fun to drive. The cornering is similar to a go-kart and it really flies. A real head turner.. due to the awesome Alfa 'rip' and gorgeous looks.

I just hope those items get resolved asap..