[Herrdoktorprofessor]

All cars will have issues. Given their history and that this is a brand new model the Giulia is likely to have more issues than the average premium sport sedan.

I live in central PA and the nearest dealer to me is about 2 hours away. Am I crazy to even consider buying/leasing one of these cars?
I've become strangely obsessed with the Giulia and love the idea of replacing my BMW with one. However, my practical side is hesitant.

The heart says yes but the mind says ****-to-the naw!

 

[John_K_348]

Most of us went through the same thing. I placed my order a couple weeks ago. A second year or later production year is a good way to start anyway. There may still be some issues that need ironing out but I think a lot has been sorted even this past year

 

[Alfa in Vegas]

You don't buy/lease an Italian car with your head. I lived in central PA when I got my first Alfa...and this was after they had already left the U.S. Only Italian car mechanic I could find was in York and it was a good hours drive. But I still loved that car. Driving it to State College for Penn State games was a fantastic fall experience. And now, 26 years later, I have a Giulia...which I love driving even more!! I'm no longer in PA...and I have 2 dealers very close by...but that wouldn't have stopped me from getting this car.

 

[Chanosh]

You are making sense to me. I know this is different, but when we lived in Durango, CO, the nearest BMW dealer was 4 hours away. It was the second year of the 335i, and the first year had problems with overheating to the point where first-year buyers were nearly beta testers. I waited for second year, and before ordering the car, I made sure the dealer would flatbed the car down to Albuquerque if there were problems. Our dealership was very reasonable, and I ordered, and really loved that car until I traded it to same dealer for an M3. Kind of a long-winded post to say -- it all depends on the quality of the dealership you are working with.

Having said that, I now live about 7 minutes from a solid Alfa dealer, and anticipate unexpected visits for the first year, and am at peace with that. Not sure if I would feel great about being 2 hours away.

Just one opinion, and there are many experienced voices on this forum. Some probably are in your situation, and can offer other advice....


Whatever you choose I hope it works out great.

C

P.S. sorry, I was writing this as Alfa in Vegas was! Just read his post......... See what I mean!

 

[AlfaAndy]

I live in central PA and the nearest dealer to me is about 2 hours away. Am I crazy to even consider buying/leasing one of these cars?
I've become strangely obsessed with the Giulia and love the idea of replacing my BMW with one. However, my practical side is hesitant.

Herr Dr. P.,
I too am replacing a BMW (01 530i, e39, w258k miles) and am (still) questioning this decision.
Well, I went ahead and ordered a MY2018 Ti awd.
I too live in Central PA.
What Dealer are you considering?

 

[Herrdoktorprofessor]

I live in central PA and the nearest dealer to me is about 2 hours away. Am I crazy to even consider buying/leasing one of these cars?
I've become strangely obsessed with the Giulia and love the idea of replacing my BMW with one. However, my practical side is hesitant.

Herr Dr. P.,
I too am replacing a BMW (01 530i, e39, w258k miles) and am (still) questioning this decision.
Well, I went ahead and ordered a MY2018 Ti awd.
I too live in Central PA.
What Dealer are you considering?

I've been scouring the dealers as far west as Pittsburgh north to Erie, East to the Jersey burbs and south to the DC metroplex. Several have potential contenders in terms of car specs. Faulkner in Mechanicsburg, Heritage in the Baltimore Burbs, and Ken Pollock In Wilkes-Barre are all pretty much equidistant from me.

The problem I'm finding is that most cars are AWD. I'm not absolutely opposed to AWD but I personally prefer RWD.

When we were looking to lease a Mini Countryman for my wife the Pittsburgh dealer said they would just pick up the car when it needed service and drop off a loaner. Not sure if any of the Alfa dealers would do that.

 

[AlfaAndy]

I've been scouring the dealers as far west as Pittsburgh north to Erie, East to the Jersey burbs and south to the DC metroplex. Several have potential contenders in terms of car specs. Faulkner in Mechanicsburg, Heritage in the Baltimore Burbs, and Ken Pollock In Wilkes-Barre are all pretty much equidistant from me.

The problem I'm finding is that most cars are AWD. I'm not absolutely opposed to AWD but I personally prefer RWD.

I too shopped Faulkner, Heritage, and D'Ambrosio in Malvern.
I too found that the ratio was 10 / 1, AWD vs RWD for the 4 cyl cars (obviously).
I guess that's the market demographic for this area.
FYI, the Giulia AWD operates as a rear wheel drive 100% of the time until slip is detected, and only then sends drive to the front wheels. If you choose the Performance Package and get the limited slip differential it should stay in RWD a bit longer before it begins to send drive up front.

 

[Alan]

You may be nuts, but your going to kick yourself every time you see a Giulia if you don't. Clearly most of the people here have decided to roll the dice and I'm certain the fans of the competition are doing all they can to shout unreliable because even if it's not true it's all they've got.

 

[Papa Gallo]

i live 80klms from my service centre ( one and a half hours drive)
have only had to go there once, for my 1500klm service (932.0568 miles) where they reloaded 6001 update properly

(took delivery March 2017, accrued 6700klms = 4164.187 miles)

just sayin'

 

[FNM]

welcome! Yes get it (we aren't going to say anything different here)

Something to bear in mind, if the worst really came to the worst they throw in towing with the warranty so you'd be somewhat covered there in the two hours though loaner would be difficult. Touch wood, I've had zero issues with mine owned since April other than some prat scratching her on the door handle and had fun on a track etc.

 

[Max]

All cars will have issues. Given their history and that this is a brand new model the Giulia is likely to have more issues than the average premium sport sedan.

I live in central PA and the nearest dealer to me is about 2 hours away. Am I crazy to even consider buying/leasing one of these cars?
I've become strangely obsessed with the Giulia and love the idea of replacing my BMW with one. However, my practical side is hesitant.

The heart says yes but the mind says ****-to-the naw!

I live 1hr away from my dealer in another state, but my only other car (Land Rover, lol) was about 50 minutes in the other direction ... living in NH, nothing is close unless you want to drive something boring. Alfa Roadside Assistance came with my car and that includes tow truck I believe. It's an Alfa, you just do it

 

[lockem]

I plan to move to Bridgeport California. Alfa "find a dealer" reports "you lose". The nearest dealer is in Sacramento, a 3 hour drive when there is no traffic and no snow. I needed it for my Polaris, so I bought a car hauler trailer. Hopefully I won't need to use it, but Giulia is Italian with an Italian temperament.

I am hoping Alfa will be successful and a dealer will eventually open up in Reno or Carson City which are 100 and 70 minutes away, respectively.

 

[Sal]

I am fortunate to have a Maserati/Alfa dealer 6 miles away. They pick-up cars at the house and leave a loaner. I have spoken to several Maserati owners and while they have had issues, they have never been stranded. I figure the Giulia has to be substantially more reliable than a Maserati.

 

[FNM]

I plan to move to Bridgeport California. Alfa "find a dealer" reports "you lose". The nearest dealer is in Sacramento, a 3 hour drive when there is no traffic and no snow. I needed it for my Polaris, so I bought a car hauler trailer. Hopefully I won't need to use it, but Giulia is Italian with an Italian temperament.

I am hoping Alfa will be successful and a dealer will eventually open up in Reno or Carson City which are 100 and 70 minutes away, respectively.

Slight hijack but can I ask what trailer you got, been thinking one of these for track days in the future and looking for something less than 5000lbs combined

 

[Herrdoktorprofessor]

I too shopped Faulkner, Heritage, and D'Ambrosio in Malvern.
I too found that the ratio was 10 / 1, AWD vs RWD for the 4 cyl cars (obviously).
I guess that's the market demographic for this area.
FYI, the Giulia AWD operates as a rear wheel drive 100% of the time until slip is detected, and only then sends drive to the front wheels. If you choose the Performance Package and get the limited slip differential it should stay in RWD a bit longer before it begins to send drive up front.

Where did you end up purchasing from? Why type of discount wee you able t negotiate?

 

[MDriver]

@OP and any other potential Alfa owner...
It has been my experience with my Quad and frankly with any of my purchases...I am buying the DEALER not so much the car...
Everyone's Alfa's are the same!....you want to find a good fit dealer wise...ask to see the service area, meet with the SA...if possible ask who works on the Alfa's or Quads....how are you treated overall?....if your treated poorly on the sale side why would the service side be any different...
IF that means driving 1-2 hours away for service...in my eyes it is worth..IF you like the car that much...
as I said just my experience, most evident with the Quad.

 

[AlfaAndy]

I ordered a MY2018.
They couldn't give me an exact price.
They said that the Dealer portal to Alfa isn't showing them 18 pricing on all of the packages and options.
They promised me FWP (dealer invoice) price, which is about 5% off MSRP, plus any incentives that FCA might be offering at the time (I believe that they are offering $2750. now if you own a Audi-BMW-MB-Lexus ????) AND if you join treadlightly.com at the $100. level, you can be included in the Affiliates Reward Program which gives you 1% off of MSRP. You must join 30 days before purchase (delivery) of you new Giulia. They did not require me to give them a deposit with my order, so I guess that I have a bit of leverage when the time comes.

 

[GioSailor]

wait for 2018 and then say yes

 

[lockem]

Slight hijack but can I ask what trailer you got, been thinking one of these for track days in the future and looking for something less than 5000lbs combined

It is tough to find a trailer that weighs less than 1500lbs that can carry a 3500lb car. I got a MAXXD 14' (hmm or is it a 16'?). It is reasonably priced and will carry a reasonably sized car. The dealer warned that it may be necessary to insert some 2x4s on and under the ramp to load a low slung car. I think a Giulia Q4 will not be a problem, but a QV will likely have issues. This is the brand that my trailer dealer carries, I did not hunt around to see if there is something better on the market. Anyway, it behaved well with my 2200lb UTV on it, at least once I set my truck's shocks properly.

Here is the listing for the 16' model

http://orlanditrailer.com/car-haulers/?listing_id=4349

The longer the trailer the more hassle it is to maneuver. Be sure to get one with electric brakes and a double axle.
MAXXD has stake pockets, so you can fabricate your own enclosure. IMO, fully enclosed trailers are a hassle for car hauling--how do you get out of the car once you have driven it inside?

Note the taper at the rear. This makes loading easier, but you can't see the rear of the trailer. A flag might be a good addition. I'm now replacing the front gate to my back yard :-(

You do need to have a place to park it. Fortunately that is not a problem for me.

 

[1stItalianCar]

@OP and any other potential Alfa owner...
It has been my experience with my Quad and frankly with any of my purchases...I am buying the DEALER not so much the car...
Everyone's Alfa's are the same!....you want to find a good fit dealer wise...ask to see the service area, meet with the SA...if possible ask who works on the Alfa's or Quads....how are you treated overall?....if your treated poorly on the sale side why would the service side be any different...

+1

My sales experience with the local dealer has been so bad that I'm very hesitant to get the car at all, even from a different dealer. The place is a dump, they have a very old-school car dealership vibe, do not respond in a timely manner to my questions (4 days and counting waiting for a callback with a price quote) and they are 40 miles from me to boot, which is not helping things. Next closest dealers are 81 miles and 131 miles away. What happens when my car goes into limp mode and I have to rely on them to fix it, especially after I got it from a dealer hundreds of miles away because I got tired of being ignored by their "sales team?"