Alfa Parts - This has got to be a record!!!!

[vicw]

Are you OK?? Just relax... Rang Euromarque in Brisbane and the Xenon assembly for the latest Audi A4 is $1800Au. A bit of a difference to $3500Au.

Well, I'll admit that price surprises me.  However, would you have still started this thread if Alfa had quoted you $1800?

I think I would have. Maybe I wouldn't have been as taken aback and I wouldn't have worded it as strongly. When anyone gets a quote they have a mental limit beforehand in their mind and I guess mine was about $1000 fitted. I'm talking about just the plastic shell which should be replaceable in my mind without having to pay for the rest of the rigamarole which still works fine. With Alfas I've learned to expect somethings that I would imagine expensive not to be that bad while other things that I would think aren't much, turn out astronomical.

One thing I was told was that HID (Xenon) lights are still under patent worldwide and EVERY light that is fitted there are royalties involved. I think that could be a lack of competition because of this and hence the ridiculous prices.

Having said all this, after experiencing Xenon lights I couldn't go back to halogen.

[Jekyll and Hyde]

With Alfas I've learned to expect somethings that I would imagine expensive not to be that bad while other things that I would think aren't much, turn out astronomical.

While not made exactly clear, my reason for my original reply was exactly what you've just said... Its the same story with every car manufacturer, just different parts cop the ludicrous price tag.  Whether you actually need that part in the course of your ownership is a different story, and is often the reason why one person will refuse to ever buy another car from one make or another, while someone else doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

[vicw]

With Alfas I've learned to expect somethings that I would imagine expensive not to be that bad while other things that I would think aren't much, turn out astronomical.

While not made exactly clear, my reason for my original reply was exactly what you've just said... Its the same story with every car manufacturer, just different parts cop the ludicrous price tag.  Whether you actually need that part in the course of your ownership is a different story, and is often the reason why one person will refuse to ever buy another car from one make or another, while someone else doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

I agree with you. The Alfa GT I have now would be the best car I've ever driven. Apart from a couple of small niggles it has been very reliable. I guess I got shocked that when the warranty was up the first thing is I'm slammed with is a huge bill for something that really is not complex. (Talking about the condensation NOT the mechanics of HID).

When it all boils down Alfas aren't as unreliable as folklore would suggest. I have relatives that have niggled me re my Alfa choices in the past but my Alfas were still running and registered as second cars long after their Mitsubishis and Nissans had been made into metal cubes at the junkyard. How's that for going off on a tangent? 

[vicw]

sorry im not 'down' with the lingo.. these crazy kids today and their hoola hoops and pacman video games...

(can anyone guess the movie reference?)

Schlinder's List. 

[vicw]

haha. (insert family feud wrong answer noise here)

wrong!

Baseketball.

It's a Trey Parker & Matt Stone film, they are the guys who do South Park.
It's about two guys who invent a new game that becomes a pro sport, a cross between Basketball and Baseball.

If you like their quirky stuff there's a movie they made called "Cannibal! The Musical"...  Interesting film.