However, the problem – as far as UK sales are concerned – I feel at present is the lack of dealers. It used to be the case that every FIAT dealer had a small Alfa section tacked on to it. Now this was probably not the image that Alfa wanted – If you think about it its probably the sae as every MINI dealership having a small BMW bit tacked on or what you could so at a BL dealership in the 70’s in so much as buying everything from a Metro right through to Rover 3500. Same company but aimed at different market segments. Also, when the salesforce had to sell everything from a FIAT Panda to an Alfa 166, it meant you were buying a car aimed at a premium part of the market but not getting the sales (and particularly the aftersales) to match.

So, FIAT (nee Alfa) took the decision to prune its dealers and sell them from only Alfa dealers. Correct thinking but it has pruned them too far. You can struggle to find one now. I mean in Scotland, until a small one opened in Glasgow recently, there was only three covering the entire country.

So I hope that when considering Alfa’s future, the FIAT boss takes a look at their own actions. If FIAT truly has ambitions of being a global car company, it cannot afford to not compete in the BMW/Audi/Lexus/Jaguar sector. It cannot move Ferrari or Masterati down market into that segment and at the same time FIAT is too mass market to move it up and Lancia is not even selling cars in two of the major markets for those types of cars. As for Chrysler/Dodge – could they really be seen as an aspirational choice over a BMW?? So that leaves Alfa. I just hope FIAT realise that before doing anything rash.

Only one of the above solutions is legal however…

Do go through the insurance, the car is only uneconomic to repair a cat.c write off. They’ll make you an offer and either leave you the car or make a small charge. Don’t take the 1st offer, usually a joke, always ask for more.

Good luck with it

Now that is a comment I’d never thought I would see!

The only issue I had was when some idiot reversed along my old BX. I thought the car would be written off but they replaced the door and sprayed it without complaint (other than taking 4 weeks but hey, Polo SDis aren’t that bad…

Having got two tyres done, on the way to get the others done, the car was rammed from behind by a very inattentive woman in a Mitsubishi Colt. Damage extended to a bent exhaust, a burnt-out electric boot release that kept trying to unlock, and the bumper – and the CD changer started skipping; the insurance company allegedly came to inspect the car despite my never seeing a loss adjuster. I’d got a quote from the garage for repairs which included a new CD changer, taking the total to around £1400, and the loss adjuster had apparently only wanted to verify that this equipment was fitted to the car!

The end result was a cheque for £1210 and “you can keep the car as you’ve just taxed it and it’s perfectly safe to drive” (points I’d made prior to settling). The car was then swapped for an XM estate I saw when on the way to the scrappy to get a bumper, and then found in a Loanhead scrapyard a year later – properly written off this time and rather than the >200,000 miles it had when written off, a credible (for the condition of the interior and body) 77,000 miles on the clock.

I know someone who would love the Metro, too, and she’s in need of a small car as her Micra keeps breaking!