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2 years of ownership, 40K miles... I'm disgusted by Alfa Romeo!

22K views 73 replies 40 participants last post by  alphalfa 
#1 ·
@AlfaRomeoCares

I've tried everything, I've been to multiple dealerships service departments, I've lamented, pleaded, begged, demanded, and each and every time I have been disappointed, frustrated and ultimately I'm the only one paying for it.

I bought a new 2018 Quadrifoglio in late June 2018 and had the car throwing up error codes on the drive home from the dealership. I've had the car in many, many times for: the "Active Aero" (splitter faults and won't close), "Electronic Throttle Control" (exhaust bypass valve sticking), "Active Torque Vectoring" (dealership unable to duplicate or diagnose), oil leaks, power steering failures, and numerous trim pieces that have simply fallen apart. I've had the turbos replaced and the motor dropped twice due to oil leaks, multiple trim issues. This is the only vehicle in my adult life that has leaked oil 3 times in my garage.

The vehicle has spent months at the dealer, usually with no resolution to the warranty issues, eg. I just had the 40,000 miles service done at 39K and, after two weeks, the dealer could not fix the "Auto park brake" (doesn't release), "Active Aero" (splitter faults and won't close), "Active Torque Vectoring" fault and power steering failure :oops:" (I believe due to the battery moving under cornering causing a short effecting the ATV and the power steering).

Apparently my car does not stores any error codes, I started taking photos on the error messages to record them, no code, no fix is what Alfa Romeo Doesn't Care told me today. If the fault can't be duplicated there is nothing to do. They offered me a 2yr 35,000 mile warranty. When I told them I was concerned that the vehicle would become ineligible due to mileage I contacted Alfa Romeo Doesn't Care and they said don't worry get the vehicle into the dealership. Today, when I ask for the extended warranty offer in writing I get an email today:

Hello (SF)

I regret to inform you that the vehicle is no longer eligible for the Max Care Service Contract previously offered to you in Case 76094XXX. Irder for a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract to be added to an Alfa Romeo vehicle, the vehicle must have less than 36,000 miles. At the time that the goodwill offer was originally presented to you in Case 76094XXX, the vehicle had 30,663 miles. The vehicle now has nearly 40,000 miles therefore making it ineligible to have a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract added.

Should you have any additional questions, feel free to contact Alfa Romeo Premium Care at the number below.


Alfa Romeo Cares is a joke of an organization, I thought the the prize for a lack of empathy and a complete lack of customer service would usually go to Comcast or AT&T, but my dealings with Alfa Romeo Doesn't Cares have been nothing short of the WORST EXPERIENCE as a customer in my entire life.

I bought the most expensive vehicle that they offered at the time, I paid everything the dealer asked and I have had a car that while brilliant to drive when working, is constantly having problems with the dealer, and Alfa being unable, or unwilling to fix, it's a joke! A bad, and expensive joke.

I was just offered $37k as a trade for a car that sold 22 months ago for $80K (MSRP $89K). The worst reliability, the worse vehicle service experience and the absolute worst customer service I've ever experienced. I feel really quite stupid, for not listening to all those who warned me to reconsider buying the vehicle, I wish I had grabbed a C63 instead.

What a shame that a lack of money, intellectual or human capital, has caused a company to be so woefully inadequate.

This ownership experience has been horrible, and the thrill I get from driving the car is now, sadly, overwhelmed by the disgust, frustration and exorbitant costs I have incurred. I'm sick of it, and reached out to an attorney today, to seek restitution for my losses.

Caveat Emptor!!!

SF
 
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#2 ·
I had to dump my Alfa after 1 year due to too many issues, car stalling, useless dealer, and useless customer service center. All my buddies are all "I told you to not buy an Alfa". Well, Alfa proved them right.

I feel really bad for the great guys on this forum to bash. But Alfa needs to know they are losing an important customer base - the enthusiast who will spend $80k on a sport sedan. Every time I go out to my M car I never have to pray that it starts or doesn't stall out while driving in a turning lane.
 
#3 ·
I remember asking at my local dealership (before they closed 7 months ago) about a QV that was returned after 4K miles. I had seen it driving around my town and the owner would always be heavily accelerating at lights so I assumed they loved it. The sales rep quipped, "Ah, it was just too much car for them." I remember naively agreeing and smiling.

Looking back and thinking about it, I now know that the most likely cause for its premature return was that it was always at the dealer for something. My theory was confirmed when I looked at the history report (it had 12 services in the 4 months of ownership.) While I understand these cars, specially the QV, will need more patience, I do always think its sad when things simply can't be fixed. The owner loses out, the dealer loses out, and we as a community lose out. It's just a shitty situation all around. I'm sure this happens with all car brands but it will have a heavier effect with a small car brand like AR. Like we are dependent on good dealers, Alfa need to feel more dependent on customers.

Hopefully you find a solution and are at peace with a car you can enjoy - sometimes just having something that can be dependent is a real joy.
 
#17 ·
I remember asking at my local dealership (before they closed 7 months ago) about a QV that was returned after 4K miles. I had seen it driving around my town and the owner would always be heavily accelerating at lights so I assumed they loved it. The sales rep quipped, "Ah, it was just too much car for them." I remember naively agreeing and smiling.

Looking back and thinking about it, I now know that the most likely cause for its premature return was that it was always at the dealer for something. My theory was confirmed when I looked at the history report (it had 12 services in the 4 months of ownership.) While I understand these cars, specially the QV, will need more patience, I do always think its sad when things simply can't be fixed. The owner loses out, the dealer loses out, and we as a community lose out. It's just a shitty situation all around. I'm sure this happens with all car brands but it will have a heavier effect with a small car brand like AR. Like we are dependent on good dealers, Alfa need to feel more dependent on customers.

Hopefully you find a solution and are at peace with a car you can enjoy - sometimes just having something that can be dependent is a real joy.
Absolutely agree. I've seen this on the Porsche site (RMS) as well. They are intricate machines with many failure points. Can't believe I keep agreeing with an Arsenal fan.
 
#4 ·
Sounds like you should be starting a lemon law case instead of being on here. You should also invest in a code reader than can reach the modules you arent reaching, so you can record the codes that are being recorded and cleared before you take it in for service.

Also, they definitely can add extended warranty to your car. As the car company itself obviously they can add whatever warranty they want, thats just a weak excuse like we all expect from an FCA customer care group.
 
#7 ·
Reliability can be an issue, but if dealers can't fix said issues (with the manufacture's technical assistance)..... I can't blame the customer.

And IMHO, it is not reasonable to expect customers to have to buy diagnostic equipment; that's what service departments are for. (How difficult would it be for FCA to have a section on the infotainment system to view the error logs anyway?)
 
#9 ·
And IMHO, it is not reasonable to expect customers to have to buy diagnostic equipment; that's what service departments are for. (How difficult would it be for FCA to have a section on the infotainment system to view the error logs anyway?)
Certainly shouldnt have to, but if you are having issues getting codes dealt with its a good way to help yourself get the repairs you need. I advocate that every single owner of an OBD2 vehicle should carry a bluetooth dongle and have the ability to read codes. I suspect "there were no codes" is the #1 reason cars of all brands under warranty get turned back at the dealership. Its classic, and its also usually a lie.
 
#8 ·
It's always bad news to hear owners with problems in their QVs. It is for sure frustrating to those owners and clearly a big inconvenience to them. That is all true and factual.

But, we need to keep the objectivity in all these kind of bad situations. I know one QV owner who lemon-law'ed his QV and recovered all the money he invested. There are two QV owners in this thread who clearly exposed their terrible cases and will never buy a QV (or an Alfa Romeo ever in their lives). There is probably another NRING owner here around who is thinking on returning his QV, too. But, there are thousands of QV owners, like me, around the world super happy with their QVs, with their dealerships (capability and service wise) and with the reliability of their cars.

I am positive that Alfa Romeo does not care about the handful of QV owners whose QVs are lemon-law cars. If we are talking about >95% customer satisfaction and >98% reliability, all what is posted here does not matter. It matters big time to the specific owner or specific dozen of owners but, it does not matter. I have no other than good things to say about AlfaCare, I am recommending Alfa Romeo to the hundreds of people who ask me every day about what kind of spectacular car I am driving, I know that the QV is not perfect (and it throws some false CELs in cold starts sometimes) and, it is an imperfect Dream Car.

I am afraid that you will be posting something very similar in the near future on either BMW Forums or Mercedes Benz Forums (or Audi Forums for that matter). Do not waste your time/money on a Extended Warranty after all what you have described for the past 40K miles and see if you can proceed with Lemon-law the car.

Good Luck!
 
#10 ·
Bummer man. Yeah id sour on the brand too. The alfa is special in that it drives and steers like a car that weighs 500lbs less than it is but if you cant enjoy it theres plenty of mostly reliable cars from Audi RS5, Mercedes C63, Lexus LC500, and Porsche Cayman or Panamera
 
#11 ·
Good luck man, keep us updated. I have a 2018 Giulia QV with 13k miles. The fuel pump failed at 10k miles.

Did they give you any issues with the warranty work regarding your turbo failures and oil leaks? Some dealers are hit and miss, in fact I myself am not confident with some of the service writers up here in northern CA.
 
#12 ·
Yikes! Sounds like a lemon law case to me. I had a similar issue with my X5d that I purchased new. Really soured me on BMW and after owning BMWs for years, I never went back as they refused to cover items that were a federally mandated service bulletin (except for a motorcycle which I no longer own).

Good luck with your next vehicle!
 
#14 · (Edited)
You damaged your car

Is this piece falling off my Quad important?

is it important ? LOL
YES it important

and you never said (admitted) how hard you drove that car into the ground, or what happened, what you hit or what you did and now reckon "bits keep falling off"

you are not providing both sides of the story and quite frankly champ DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON LEGAL
 
#16 ·
regret to inform you that the vehicle is no longer eligible for the Max Care Service Contract previously offered to you in Case 76094XXX. Irder for a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract to be added to an Alfa Romeo vehicle, the vehicle must have less than 36,000 miles. At the time that the goodwill offer was originally presented to you in Case 76094XXX, the vehicle had 30,663 miles. The vehicle now has nearly 40,000 miles therefore making it ineligible to have a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract added.

Should you have any additional questions, feel free to contact Alfa Romeo Premium Care at the number below.
sounds like they made you an offer and you refused -
 
#21 ·
It is unfortunate that the DS has had some problems with his Giulia. It does seem that he has not played his hand as well as he could have. I have been in the car sales and repair biz for about 40 years and I am more than a bit fussy about details and expectations. Our Giulia was my first new car purchase (wife has more under her belt) and I was truly concerned that I would not be happy with (potential) lack-luster service from the Dealership. I have been pleasantly surprised, even delighted, with all aspects of the Dealership experience. There have been a few hiccups with the Giulia electronics. Park-Assist module failed after an update, EVAP purge system setting CELs, and an early fight with FCA to install the Apple Car Play-Android Auto system for free. My Dealer fought for me and we won. The other repairs were all done correctly, the first time. Car returned clean, no damage, smelling fresh. Alfa Care has always contacted me to make sure that I was satisfied with my experience. From the beginning I made an effort to be friendly, and I believe that it has paid-off. The Service Manager helped me buy a set of new car take off wheels and tires from a recent new purchase and then helped me sell the tires to a Forum member. Heck, we even go to lunch together when time permits. Maybe I'm just lucky.
 
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#22 ·
@AlfaAndy, you are not lucky. What you perfectly describe is what has happened to thousands of customers, in the US, let alone, the whole world. This Forum has more than 8,000 people and only a dozen (or two) of them are complaining, frustrated and annoyed with one of the best car brands in the world. I am sure that they have good reasons to be that way and rightfully so, they are frustrated. But again, those are clearly exceptions and when you put all the numbers together, we are talking about >95% customer satisfaction. If we want to see 100% customer satisfaction, let's move to Mercedes Benz, BMW or Audi (really????).
 
#24 ·
Two years of ownership as well but with only 19,000 miles and I've been having just as many issues. But I still can't speak about it because I'm still fighting a lemon lawsuit going on for over a year and six months now, covid is just adding to the time line. What an absolutely nightmare :mad:
 
#27 ·
@AlfaRomeoCares

I've tried everything, I've been to multiple dealerships service departments, I've lamented, pleaded, begged, demanded, and each and every time I have been disappointed, frustrated and ultimately I'm the only one paying for it.

I bought a new 2018 Quadrifoglio in late June 2018 and had the car throwing up error codes on the drive home from the dealership. I've had the car in many, many times for: the "Active Aero" (splitter faults and won't close), "Electronic Throttle Control" (exhaust bypass valve sticking), "Active Torque Vectoring" (dealership unable to duplicate or diagnose), oil leaks, power steering failures, and numerous trim pieces that have simply fallen apart. I've had the turbos replaced and the motor dropped twice due to oil leaks, multiple trim issues. This is the only vehicle in my adult life that has leaked oil 3 times in my garage.

The vehicle has spent months at the dealer, usually with no resolution to the warranty issues, eg. I just had the 40,000 miles service done at 39K and, after two weeks, the dealer could not fix the "Auto park brake" (doesn't release), "Active Aero" (splitter faults and won't close), "Active Torque Vectoring" fault and power steering failure :oops:" (I believe due to the battery moving under cornering causing a short effecting the ATV and the power steering).

Apparently my car does not stores any error codes, I started taking photos on the error messages to record them, no code, no fix is what Alfa Romeo Doesn't Care told me today. If the fault can't be duplicated there is nothing to do. They offered me a 2yr 35,000 mile warranty. When I told them I was concerned that the vehicle would become ineligible due to mileage I contacted Alfa Romeo Doesn't Care and they said don't worry get the vehicle into the dealership. Today, when I ask for the extended warranty offer in writing I get an email today:

Hello (SF)

I regret to inform you that the vehicle is no longer eligible for the Max Care Service Contract previously offered to you in Case 76094XXX. Irder for a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract to be added to an Alfa Romeo vehicle, the vehicle must have less than 36,000 miles. At the time that the goodwill offer was originally presented to you in Case 76094XXX, the vehicle had 30,663 miles. The vehicle now has nearly 40,000 miles therefore making it ineligible to have a MOPAR Alfa Romeo Max Care Service Contract added.

Should you have any additional questions, feel free to contact Alfa Romeo Premium Care at the number below.


Alfa Romeo Cares is a joke of an organization, I thought the the prize for a lack of empathy and a complete lack of customer service would usually go to Comcast or AT&T, but my dealings with Alfa Romeo Doesn't Cares have been nothing short of the WORST EXPERIENCE as a customer in my entire life.

I bought the most expensive vehicle that they offered at the time, I paid everything the dealer asked and I have had a car that while brilliant to drive when working, is constantly having problems with the dealer, and Alfa being unable, or unwilling to fix, it's a joke! A bad, and expensive joke.

I was just offered $37k as a trade for a car that sold 22 months ago for $80K (MSRP $89K). The worst reliability, the worse vehicle service experience and the absolute worst customer service I've ever experienced. I feel really quite stupid, for not listening to all those who warned me to reconsider buying the vehicle, I wish I had grabbed a C63 instead.

What a shame that a lack of money, intellectual or human capital, has caused a company to be so woefully inadequate.

This ownership experience has been horrible, and the thrill I get from driving the car is now, sadly, overwhelmed by the disgust, frustration and exorbitant costs I have incurred. I'm sick of it, and reached out to an attorney today, to seek restitution for my losses.

Caveat Emptor!!!

SF

Sorry for your pain....but very well written. Its refreshing to read a well written complaint every now and again.
 
#28 ·
Yes if being rude in a public post bashing a vendor service is your idea of well written 😂 it’s also funny the primary complaints are related to error codes and OP states vendor was unable to replicate. So did the car have error codes on it or not when it was taken in? No need to replicate if so. I always feel these bash post are one sided where the OP omits specifics. Post pictures of the messed up trim to make it public. Post pictures of the error codes. OBDII readers are cheap and would provide the people here who care a lot about the brand valuable information to either help troubleshoot or the info would simply provide information for people with similar issues.
 
#33 ·
While its clear your car has some issues, looking through your post history based on some other posters comments, it sure sounds like you didn't help the situation by beating the crap out of the car at every chance possible. Powersliding it everywhere, alluding to street racing all night, 90 mph highway curves, the fact you managed to rip that diff cooler scoop off the car, etc. Hey man its your car and your life but its clear by the mpg figures you posted too that this car sees nothing but very hard or even abusive driving. And then they offer you a warranty extension (free?) and you say no? Seems like you had some mods too based on your discussion of the centerline X Pipe, which was improperly installed and may have damaged some wiring or who knows what.

As I said, the car may well have its problems, but getting hammered into the ground sure didn't help things.
 
#34 ·
Kind of absurd people saying you should take an extended warranty offer. Couldn't ever imagine with any BMW I've owned if there were an issue the dealer offering you the extended warranty because they know your car won't last past it where you are expected basically to pay for an insurance policy to makeup for terrible engineering and execution by Alfa. Never had to take any of the 3 BMWs I've owned in for any unscheduled main BTW to begin with. And I always chipped and modded them. Nearly bomb proof.
 
#44 ·
My experience has been different. I've owned a few German cars over the years-M3, 911 and MB. None gave me any major issues except for the MB and that was because we used that for all our grocery and homedepot runs. I feel like we are at a point of manufacturing that most cars are at a level of dependability that's generally the same. Then you get the outliers that cause the issue and/or the owners (like me with the MB). I just love cars no matter what the badge is. And that, my good friends, is "what the world needs now-love sweet love."
 
#45 · (Edited)
Interesting post.

Anyone posting their frustrations should be assumed to be posting their side of the story. I would expect anyone in the situation to be so frustrated that they would be far more upset than in other situations. We should expect it and look beyond the venting.

I would think forum members would be a little more sympathetic to someone who is having the difficulties the original poster is having. Sure he contributed to the problems and should have taken the extended warranty when offered but we all make mistakes.

Even with the rough treatment the Alfa may have experienced, I would expect dealer service to be able to fix it. If they found it to be the owner’s fault, I would expect them to be able to diagnose and fix it and bill him for the repairs if they are his fault.

This is not a court of law and we are not responsible for the cost of repairs. Why not cut him some slack?
 
#46 ·
Hold it. Doesn’t the car have a 4 yr/50,000 mile warranty? If so, you should absolutely be able to buy the factory extended warranty.

As long as you are under the new car factory warranty you can buy the extended warranty. We had customers do this when I worked for VW.

If you want a good dealer contact, call Alfa Romeo of Winter Haven FL. Ask for Alex (Dealer Principal) or Van (General Manager). They are super nice and should be able to help you.
 
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