Rusting Alfasud

Sir,

I think that my recent experience with Alfa Romeo (G.B.) Ltd. regarding my 1975 Alfasud S.E. may be of interest to your readers.

I share your enthusiasm and that of other motoring journals for the Alfasud as a driver’s car. Mine has not missed a beat in 30,000 miles and still is a delight to drive. However, after two years the bodywork and paintwork are causing me serious concern. The car was rustproofed when new but I have recently had to have filling and respraying work done to the area above the windscreen where serious corrosion was appearing. This may have been worsened, but certainly not caused, by replacement of the screen. I have noticed this problem on many other Suds of the same age and so I thought it reasonable to take it up with the importers.

Alfa Romeo seemed determined to treat my complaint as a claim under the guarantee although I made it quite clear that it was not. They said that they considered the matter “to be a reflection of fair wear’ and tear when considering the age of the vehicle”, a statement I find quite astonishing in respect of serious rusting above the screen of a two-year-old vehicle rustproofed from new. They then added insult to injury by saying that the total cost of the repairs “reflected work of a superficial nature”, although I pointed out that this was only so because I was prudent enough to have the work done to prevent matters getting considerably worse.

In our inflationary times the life of a vehicle must be of increasing importance and I think that anyone considering buying an Alfasud would be wise to ponder its potential lack of longevity, particularly in the light of what I consider to be the unsympathetic and extraordinary attitude of the importers to the Achilles’ heel of this otherwise excellent vehicle.

Huntingdon ROBIN M. CHAPMAN

(We have a white P-registered Alfasud here which looks like a pepper-pot, so bad is its paintwork. An N-registered Ti we disposed of recently had exactly the same problem. Any comment, Alfa Romeo, on what, from observation, are not isolated cases? -Ed.)