Yep I think they are - hence the lack of the know-how/experience. For older models I've seen only one Coupe and a couple of classifieds for X1/9s - that's all. GPs are starting to take off a bit now - I've counted at least ten so far in about three months (woopee..)..

Well I think your being too hard on them,it takes years of experience to become a good tech (as in any other trade) & yes you do get alot of good info here but you also get alot of very bad info!

You have to remember that Fiat has been out of Oz for 18 years now!
be gentle on them, they cant go to Italy for a training nor can they do a big dealer day like they do in the UK due to lack of dealers and such a distanmce to travel.
Info is good, so long as it is correct. a lot of things on here are opinions remember not complete fact.
Be careful who you listen to for knowledge is all i say!

As for TI, well, he is God so dont wory about his info! (do i get brownie points for that?! )

fiatdownunder said:

do i get brownie points for that?

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Oh most definately

Any idea how Alfa are doing in Australia?

When i was last over there there were loads of 147/GTA's, 159 had just been launched but apparently they are getting a bit stronger now.
Alfas are still seen as a very niche market at this end. unlike the UK people actually like them!
merc and bmw are seen as very common cars and alfa/lexus are seen as quite a niche upper class car. funny how different countries treat different cars eh!

Good advice guys - I'll get them a box of chocolate on my next visit - always puts a smile on their faces

Alfas aren't doing too bad here - they're seen as a niche/posh type of car to drive..

That's why wheever i go anywhere i take one! hehe the snob in me comes out to play!
i just like to see peoples faces when a 25 yr old lad steps out of a top spec 159! :devil:

I hope you guys don't see me as some kind of barking mad dog.. I'm really just as gentle and cuddly as the sheep in NZ (minus the smell they give off)

luvduvs said:

I hope you guys don't see me as some kind of barking mad dog.. I'm really just as gentle and cuddly as the sheep in NZ (minus the smell they give off)

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and what were you doing cuddling sheep eh....

fiatdownunder said:

and what were you doing cuddling sheep eh....

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Great.. now I'm portrayed as a sick pervert playing with sheep.. :bang:

lol.
it's a set up guv'nor!
hey, at least you dont walk around wearing gum boots all day... that's when the rumours start!

fiatdownunder said:

lol.
it's a set up guv'nor!
hey, at least you dont walk around wearing gum boots all day... that's when the rumours start!

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.....

fiatdownunder said:

Alfas are still seen as a very niche market at this end. unlike the UK people actually like them!
merc and bmw are seen as very common cars and alfa/lexus are seen as quite a niche upper class car. funny how different countries treat different cars eh!

Click to expand...

Just to give you guys an idea of how much of niche Alfa is in Australia compared to other brands here is some of the 2006 sales figures.

Alfa : 1,646
Lexus : 7,162
Peugeot : 8,107
BMW : 16,034
Volkswagen : 21,571
Toyota : 213,847

Yeah, it's been 18 years since Fiat was last sold here (1989 they pulled out). The last models sold were the Regata and the ill-fated (at least for Australia) Croma. We've missed a lot of good models since then.

Troy.

TroyO said:

Just to give you guys an idea of how much of niche Alfa is in Australia compared to other brands here is some of the 2006 sales figures.

Alfa : 1,646
Lexus : 7,162
Peugeot : 8,107
BMW : 16,034
Volkswagen : 21,571
Toyota : 213,847

Yeah, it's been 18 years since Fiat was last sold here (1989 they pulled out). The last models sold were the Regata and the ill-fated (at least for Australia) Croma. We've missed a lot of good models since then.

Troy.

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i know i said niche but.... gee's that's very Niche isnt it!

fiatdownunder said:

i know i said niche but.... gee's that's very Niche isnt it!

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Alfa outsold Fiat though, they sold 1,101 cars last year. Probably half those sales were Ducato's (Fiat sold 605 Ducato's in 2005). Mind you the Punto only went on sale in July so that is why I didn't count it in the list. It will be interesting to see how sales pan out this year.

Troy.

TroyO said:

Just to give you guys an idea of how much of niche Alfa is in Australia compared to other brands here is some of the 2006 sales figures.

Alfa : 1,646
Lexus : 7,162
Peugeot : 8,107
BMW : 16,034
Volkswagen : 21,571
Toyota : 213,847

Yeah, it's been 18 years since Fiat was last sold here (1989 they pulled out). The last models sold were the Regata and the ill-fated (at least for Australia) Croma. We've missed a lot of good models since then.

Troy.

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Can you tell me where you sourced that from? Would be interesting to read.. thanks~

To be honest I see lots of Ducatos on the road and only 2 Puntos. I'm curious to know how many were sold in 2006, hopefully the number wasn't too low.

Aussies are just starting to warm to the diesel market so let's hope to see more around this year

Turbodiesel said:

To be honest I see lots of Ducatos on the road and only 2 Puntos. I'm curious to know how many were sold in 2006, hopefully the number wasn't too low.

Aussies are just starting to warm to the diesel market so let's hope to see more around this year

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Serious? I haven't seen a single Ducato before.. GPs are starting to become more common now, almost one every one/two days. I would love to have a chat with other GP owners and see how they're going with theirs..

luvduvs said:

Serious? I haven't seen a single Ducato before.. GPs are starting to become more common now, almost one every one/two days. I would love to have a chat with other GP owners and see how they're going with theirs..

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I saw a Grande Punto on the road for the first time just last weekend. I have seen heaps of Ducatos around.

I got the sales figures from

http://www.autoindustries.com.au/sales/

It doesn't give a model by model breakdown I'm afraid.

However this site does

http://www.automotivepersonnel.com.au/news/

you have to sign in but it's free to register. Here is what I gleaned from that site with regards to Grande Punto registrations

June : 13
July : 47
August : 53
September : 51
October : 65
November : 55
December : 51

That would give total sales so far as 335.

Troy.

TroyO said:

I saw a Grande Punto on the road for the first time just last weekend. I have seen heaps of Ducatos around.

I got the sales figures from

http://www.autoindustries.com.au/sales/

It doesn't give a model by model breakdown I'm afraid.

However this site does

http://www.automotivepersonnel.com.au/news/

you have to sign in but it's free to register. Here is what I gleaned from that site with regards to Grande Punto registrations

June : 13
July : 47
August : 53
September : 51
October : 65
November : 55
December : 51

That would give total sales so far as 335.

Troy.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that I'm assuming the total figure is spread across the country, which probably explains why its still relatively uncommon at each given area