Alfa GT - WORDS FAIL ME!!!!

[vicw]

This is really the ultimate in price gouging that I've EVER seen. I have an Alfa V6 3.2 L with Xenon lights. My warranty ran out around 3 weeks ago. I washed my car over the weekend and found condensation in one of the headlights. Not just misting but droplets of water.

Well of course I wasn't happy especially since the warranty had just ran out but this was nothing to how I felt when I priced the part.

ALFA HAS THE AUDACITY TO CHARGE $3500 FOR THIS PIECE OF PLASTIC. The guy who gave me the price treated it like a big joke.

He gleefully informed me that if I didn't replace it I would go through Xenon bulbs at $600 a pop.

So even if I replace the part I could be up for another $3500 in another year or so. The cost of this non-mechanical part is more than the cambelt/metal water-pump/40K service that I just have had.

To say I am disgusted in Alfa and my choice of a GT is an understatement. Does anyone have any suggestions apart from taking to the car with a sledgehammer and dropping it off outside Ateco. It will probably turn out cheaper in the long run.

Signed,

Vic (An extremely disgusted long-term Alfa owner).

[Jamie alfa]

First, try drying it out with a hair dryer, then you have to find the leak, was the rear cover on correctly or is it split between the glass and the backing? if you can find the leak you can cure it with a small amount of silicon sealer

[Doug Gould]

All headlights are vented - repeat all headlights are vented. They must be because the headlight bulb heats & expands the air. Something you did with the washing probably got a squirt of water just in the right place at the right angle to get through the vent. It happens with all cars. Chances are that when it dries out it will be OK and not reoccur until next time you wash it and just happen to get..... Most washes should be OK. Driving with the lights on will probably give it enough heat to make the water evaporate.

Xenon headlights are complex things. While $3k is a lot, I reckon you'll find that its a typical price across all makes and $600 for a bulb is cheap believe it or not.

Finally, did you talk to the dealer? If it genuinely is an issue, there is usually a compromise available.

Doug

[vicw]

All headlights are vented - repeat all headlights are vented. They must be because the headlight bulb heats & expands the air. Something you did with the washing probably got a squirt of water just in the right place at the right angle to get through the vent. It happens with all cars. Chances are that when it dries out it will be OK and not reoccur until next time you wash it and just happen to get..... Most washes should be OK. Driving with the lights on will probably give it enough heat to make the water evaporate.

Xenon headlights are complex things. While $3k is a lot, I reckon you'll find that its a typical price across all makes and $600 for a bulb is cheap believe it or not.

Finally, did you talk to the dealer? If it genuinely is an issue, there is usually a compromise available.

Doug

Thanks Doug. I've been away from the forum for a while. I took the car back to Euromarque in Brisbane and they fixed it for free by resealing at the back. They reckon someone had fiddled with it and left a gap in the seal. I don't know who would have done that. The last service was nowhere near the passenger side HID unit as far as I can gather.

Anyhow it is fine now and knowing how much these babies cost I will be treating them with kid gloves.  You're right about the cost of these regardless of the car make. Having said that I would NEVER go back to 'normal' lighting after these.

In some ways I am expecting high maintenace costs for my car as it wasn't cheap new, but I understand that cheaper Mazdas have Xenon lights so I imagine people who own these would get quite a shock if they needed to replace them. You wouldn't want to have any enemies and have to park on the street.

Thanks,

Vic

[Doug Gould]

The good news is that the new polycarbonate lenses are nearly indestructible. In about 3 million km of vehicle testing, we have never had a "plastic" headlight chip, crack or break. On the other hand, our windscreen tally would be something like a dozen

Doug

[vicw]

The good news is that the new polycarbonate lenses are nearly indestructible. In about 3 million km of vehicle testing, we have never had a "plastic" headlight chip, crack or break. On the other hand, our windscreen tally would be something like a dozen

Doug

I have a feeling that the polycarbonate used in the lenses has much similarity to airplane cockpits so they are indeed virtually indestructable on normal road use.

Vic