Do Giulias last that long?

 

You're paying their mechanic over $100/HR to 'inspect' light bulbs.

Just do the oil change.

 

My service department told me that, in addition to the routine service stuff, they change out the brake fluid. I've never had to have that done before at 20,000 miles, but it is listed as required every two years, regardless of mileage, on page 203 of the Giulia's Owner's Manual.
They told me I should expect to pay over $500.
Page 204 indicates that at 30,000 miles, spark plug replacement is mandatory. That's the really big one that I am dreading. I have read that it will be more than $1,000 just a few months before I have to return my leased car.

 

my service department told me that, in addition to the routine service stuff, they change out the brake fluid. I've never had to have that done before at 20,000 miles, but it is listed as required every two years, regardless of mileage, on page 203 of the giulia's owner's manual.
They told me i should expect to pay over $500.
Page 204 indicates that at 30,000 miles, spark plug replacement is mandatory. That's the really big one that i am dreading. I have read that it will be more than $1,000 just a few months before i have to return my leased car.

not sure about your area, but around here you can still return your car if the maint. Hasnt been done, not sure if they can actually make you do it or prove it was done. Id just try to return it and if they say it needs to be done, do it at that time.

The plugs im pretty sure are iridium, pretty expensive plugs if you look it up, not aure about labour, we usually get 1-2hrs to do a 4cyl spark plug change, so yea, $1000 sound pretty steep to me.....unless its a quad

 

interesting. I had my brake fluid changed on my 10k service to Castrol SRF so if you wish to save on that one just bring a bottle yourself for $60 and they'll (or should) charge you an hours labor

 

Anyone know why the spark plugs are so costly? My brother is a mechanic and says spark plugs are usually a cheap and labor-unintensive job on most cars, and $1000 sounds like highway robbery to him

 

It is, especially on a motor that is shared with a Jeep. O Helllllllllllllllll NOOO.

I really, sincerely doubt they're gonna have very many takers at that price- well maybe some idiot with more money than common sense, of which they work the planet.

 

I'm only at 8500 miles so far, so I'm at least a year away from the 20000/2-yr servicing. However, I did purchase a 4-year service plan at the time I bought the car, and the dealer provided an "official" brochure listing the activities that should occur at each servicing. See the following attachment...

 

Cost??


How much did they charge you for the 4-year plan?

 

i dont know how the spark plugs can cost 1k $ when they are easy to accesss only by removie the plastic cover... ill do it my self in 20 minutes lol

 

So when I reach 20,000 miles on my 10 month old Giulia, do I flush the brake fluid or not?

 

Are you leasing the vehicle or a buy?

 

The fine print of the service contract limited the service to an oil change, and capped the value. Any other service required is bourne by the owner. I cancelled my policy on what seemed like a good idea at first.

As an aside, my finance manager gave me the same impression of this being a mistake and should not be for the QV. then tells me Alfa changed it. This smells like an underhanded sales tactic.

 

I bought that maintenance plan from Strongsville OH $1600. I just happened to call the local dealer who gave me the skinny on "that plan" and that it is BS. I informed Strongsville what I was told and they acted like they were surprised. I would have been so mad if I had moved forward with that only to find out it did not cover the maintenance. It is effectively a discount on the maintenance and it would have cost me 1600 which is ludicrous. Better to just pay the maintenance.

 

Another one that is recommended in the manual for cold and/or dusty environments is to replace the serpentine belt at 18,000 miles. I declined that during my 20k service as the belt looked completely fine. Seeing as you're in CA I don't think you need to worry about it. I'm also lucky that my purchasing dealer include free oil changes and inspections at all service intervals so my 20k service was free. I had my brake fluid flushed back in May since I was taking my car to the track.

 

Heat roaches the **** out of the seals in the pistons- especially if driven hard. Fresh fluid prevents that and corrosion.

 

^^ This, plus heat weakens the fluid. Heat is the enemy for all things rubber, including brake lines. The problem with these new brake-by-wire systems is we no longer get direct feedback from the brakes themselves. We're getting a report from the computer. Before these systems, you could tell in the brake pedal what was going on in the brakes. Now the computer hides all that and just tells you you're braking.

A good and proper brake flush is sealed; it won't introduce any dirt or contaminants into the system. In fact, on my Camaro, I used to use Super Blue which was actually blue colored, and I would alternate that with their amber colored version when doing a flush. It was easy to see when you had successfully flushed a line because you'd see the color change. I don't think they sell the blue version anymore, but maybe there's something similar that would work. BTW Super Blue was a DOT 4 fluid; Giulias come standard with DOT 4 and should be flushed with nothing less.

 

Spark Plugs Make and Part Number?

Adding another question - Does anyone know the make and part number for the correct spark plug for the 2.0 engine? It would be interesting to see if these must be sourced through AR, or if they are available from a mainstream spark plug manufacturer (like Bosch, AC Delco, Autolite, NGK, etc...). I have changed my own plugs for years and not about to stop now :grin2:

 

Adding another question - Does anyone know the make and part number for the correct spark plug for the 2.0 engine? It would be interesting to see if these must be sourced through AR, or if they are available from a mainstream spark plug manufacturer (like Bosch, AC Delco, Autolite, NGK, etc...). I have changed my own plugs for years and not about to stop now :grin2:

Couldn’t find a proper fitment in NGK, Champion, Bosch or Autolite. Note the plug change is STRICTLY at 30,000 miles, the time passed is irrelevant.

 

Interestingly, I ran across this YouTube video on a separate thread also discussing expected service costs. According to the guy who does the Ron's Rides videos, the second service cost at his dealership is $350 which I can live with (several filters to replace in addition to the brake fluid and oil service.)
If you look at other videos on Ron's Rides YouTube homepage, you will find a more recent video indicating that the 30k service on the QV is $2,000, because spark plugs and the serpentine belt are replaced. He said he will post later on what the 30K service will cost for standard Giulias.

 

Curious what makes the QV service so expensive? I get having to change the serpentine and plugs which are nominal material costs...Is it simply the labor costs? Are the plugs that difficult to get to? I have a lift in my garage and have routinely done my own maintenance including full frame off restorations. Granted I've never done anything near this sophisticated, but is it beyond the ability of a shade tree mechanic/owner?

 

I watched the video on the service for the serpentine and spark plugs. The labor is estimated at 8 hours. The $2k still sounds steep at that labor rate but i am not accounting for spark plugs. I live in a desert but the car is 90% in the garage so I doubt we will willingly go for 18k mile more like 30k unless they can show the wear. It shows inspection. Maybe if i was tracking it but i don’t live in sand.

I asked our local dealer directly about the 5 year total maintenance cost BEFORE we bought the QV. After we brought her in to meet her doctors then he said oh i hope you didn’t get CCM brakes. SURE DID. But we knew going in what the maintenance cost and schedule was so no surprise. Hey, you only live once and outside of the CCMs we have the 125k warranty and 8 years so hopefully we just have to pay for the maintenance. I am not sure maintenance on any performance cars are necessarily less expensive so we know. Is this maintenance so outrageous for a QV compared to a comparable car with the same capabilities?

 

Access to that belt is a mofo. From another thread:

The accessory drive belt service does look complicated.
Here's another one. Valve cover gaskets on the 2.9 Quad.

Since the valve cover incorporates the upper camshaft bearing cap, the pressure on the cam gear must be released before the valve cover can be removed. To do that, you must remove the timing chain cover and remove the timing chain.Since the timing chain is located at the rear of the engine block, you have to remove the engine. Yikes!

OK, I love the Quadrigfoglio, and I bet it runs like a raped ape but that above, is turd-ish. Would I want that in my life without a 2nd car to drive and a warranty?

NOE.

rjp

 

Access to that belt is a mofo. From another thread:

The accessory drive belt service does look complicated.
Here's another one. Valve cover gaskets on the 2.9 Quad.

Since the valve cover incorporates the upper camshaft bearing cap, the pressure on the cam gear must be released before the valve cover can be removed. To do that, you must remove the timing chain cover and remove the timing chain.Since the timing chain is located at the rear of the engine block, you have to remove the engine. Yikes!

OK, I love the Quadrigfoglio, and I bet it runs like a raped ape but that above, is turd-ish. Would I want that in my life without a 2nd car to drive and a warranty?

NOE.

rjp

Wtf? Remove the engine to open a valve cover? That's crazy talk.

 

Wtf? Remove the engine to open a valve cover? That's crazy talk.

Yep, that's just f**king stupid. I hope someone comes up with a 2 piece valve cover that addresses the problem. There's no way I would own one out of warranty. If this doesn't get a fix these cars will not make it long-term, who will want it with any miles on it?

Also, the timing chain in the back? Look at what happened to the RS6 and RS4- zilch value with higher miles.

125K mile warranty + patience of a monk + a 2nd or 3rd DD here I come.

rjp

 

Any guesses on when we'll see the 1st LS swapped quad??

 

One last thing- the standard 2.0 is very similar to the one used in the upcoming jeeps, which means it will be ghetto-cheap to service, and the serpentine belt on that engine you can grab with your bare hands, right here, right now- it's cake to access.

There you have it. Won't be bad at all for a DIY job. Oil change appears more of a hassle than a belt swap, plug change and filter swap.

 

Yeah, If you know a little about the history of maintenance on exotic cars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porches an the like, there’s a lot difficulty removing basic peripheral engine parts and sometimes total engine removal to get to belts and filters,etc. These sub hundred grand, 1/2 Ferrari engined Alfa QV’s might be bad ass. But but owning comes with a price. That’s why a two year lease might be the better option for some, or just going for a base Giulia and worrying less about upkeep.

 

 

Ah...sorry. I thought there was a video that showed how to do the service.

 

Sorry. Just confirming that it is very labor intensive job.

 

Revisiting this thread from earlier in the summer, I took a couple screen shots of the basic 20k and 30k service when I was at my local Alfa/Fiat/Maserati dealer in Naperville, IL. They have an excellent service department and good overall customer service.
20K service on the 2.0L Giulia, which includes a brake fluid exchange is $573. $745 for the Quad.
30K service on the 2.0L Giulia, which includes spark plug replacement is $809. $1,219 for the Quad.

They also offer something called "Gold" service that includes some upcharges for additional additives, etc. You can see the prices for those in the lists above the base service in case you've got additional money you want to burn.

 

Has anyone only opted for certain services at the 20,000 mark (brakes, oil)? I'd rather just take care of the air filters myself.

 

Brake fluid exchange is a good idea. I'd use the spec'd, regular DOT 4 stuff though and also I'd skip that BG oil treatment. I wonder how much that added to the final cost?
Greg

 

The only required maintenance at 20k is a bunch of checks, oil, oil filter, cabin filter. Brake fluid is 2 years. For 30k add air cleaner and spark plugs.

 

Actually, I thought that too, but then I read the manual again. The brake fluid is a required change at either 20,000 miles OR 2 years, whichever comes first.

As for labor, the current rate at my Maserati/Alfa dealer is $175.95 per hour.

Services are a whole list of inspections and the following mandatory:

10,000/1 Oil/Filter (1.5 hours)

20,000/2 Oil/Filter, Brake Fluid, Cabin Filter (3 hours)

30,000/3 Oil/Filter, Air Filter, Plugs (3 hours)

40,000/4 Oil/Filter, Belt, Brake Fluid, Cabin Filter (5 hours)

50,000/5 Oil/Filter (1.4 hours)

60,000/6 Oil/Filter, Air Filter, Brake Fluid, Cabin Filter, Plugs (5 hours)