Review
Oncoming drivers repeatedly flashed us at night, suggesting the beam was set too high, so it dazzled. We suspected that the beam had been knocked out of alignment when the car was pranged as it was being delivered to Fleet Towers.
Our suspicions were proved correct when we took the car to Marshall Fiat in Peterborough for work to be carried out – the nearest Alfa Romeo dealer is in Cambridge and the press office suggested this was the quickest way to get the fault corrected.
After the dealer was notified, the car was booked in for the next day, although no delivery or collection was offered. However, the work was carried out very swiftly, in about 20 minutes.
A Fiat mechanic had to take the car to the Peugeot garage next door, owned by the same dealership group, because the Fiat dealer did not have the equipment available to check the Alfa's headlight alignment.
The change has been very significant, as the headlights are no longer lighting up the night sky and instead focus on the road ahead, which is greatly reassuring.
However, the lack of an Alfa Romeo dealership in Peterborough also raised an important issue for the busy business driver. I rang the two nearest Alfa Romeo dealerships, Cambridge and Northampton, and both said that I was outside the radius where they would offer delivery and collection, although a courtesy car was available. Considering other luxury marques are represented in Peterborough, it seems an unfortunate omission.
