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Close to ordering a MY18 Quadrifoglio (for QV owners)

3K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  2017QV 
#1 ·
I am very close to placing an order for a MY18 Quadrifoglio and would welcome thoughts from the Alfa enthusiasts on this forum. I am a major car enthusiast, take very good care of them, and attend 3-4 track days per year. Having had several BMWs, including an E46 M3, I now have had a 2014 Audi S4 with GIAC S1 and TCU tunes for the last 4 years. Car has been absolutely great but time has come to consider other cars.

As probably several of you have done as well, I looked at the new M3 with Competition package (great but soulless), the MB C63S AMG (awesome V8 engine but can't see myself in it), the BMW M550I XDrive (great and fast but more luxury first vs driving feel) and of course the AR QV (simply amazing).

I am thinking of ordering:
- MY18 Quadrifoglio in Montecarlo Blue
- Bright 5 Hole Wheels
- Carbon Steering Wheel
- Green and White Contrast Stitching
- Yellow brake Calipers
- Carplay

Several questions I have:
- What should I expect to have to pay? From what I have seen on the forum anywhere from MSRP to -$2500 approx.?
- How long was the wait for those of you who order from placing the order to receiving the car?
- Is it worth getting a maintenance package?
- Expect to replace stock tires at <7500 miles? Any of you running other than OEM tires? Thoughts? I have Michelin PSS on S4 and they have been solid
- For those in the Midwest, any thoughts on Jim Butler Alfa Romeo in St Louis?
- Are the Carbon Ceramic brakes worth the $8K? I am on the fence.
- What do you like best about your QV?

Thanks and hope to join this special group soon!

Andreas
 
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#2 ·
Andreas,

- If you are patient and willing to shop around a bit, I believe you could fine one in the range of list to $2500 under, as you describe. I had an early MY17 and still was in the range of list + 1000.
- I picked mine up from a dealer lot, I didn't do a custom order.....
- I did get a maintenance package that added about an additional 30 K miles to the standard warranty
- The stock Corsa tires on mine were down to the wear bars at 7400 miles. I replaced them with P Zero's, I think the PSS or new P4 are also excellent tires.
- I did not go with the Carbon Ceramic brakes, I could not convince myself they were worth the additional $$
- I did not go with the Sparco seats either because they don't offer heating, out here in Colorado heating is not such a bad thing.
- Best thing about the QV is how much you look forward to driving it everyday. Plus you have a car that is pretty unique, it is not every other BMW or Audi that you see. I've had mine 6 months, have not regretted it a single day .....
 
#3 ·
Hello Andreas, lots of good questions. I think most of your questions can simply be answered by driving one! Perhaps put a post in your geographical location with a request and maybe another car enthusiast would allow you a drive. Dealer test drives can be hit or miss. Some will allow it. Others will not. I can say that there are a couple dealers that have been sitting on some oddly optioned cars for some time and their anxiousness to sell just *might include the ability to drive it 10-20 miles. Alfa Romeo's USA site has a good locator on it for finding available Quadrifoglio's.

1. Pricing, like any car, is somewhat based on supply vs. demand. The Quadrifoglio is a rare car. Less than 800 reported sales for MY2017. If special ordered, I would expect to pay MSRP. Some dealers may attempt to gouge above MSRP because allocations are scarce. But, this is a matter of finding the correct dealer. Hopefully there is more than one dealer near to you so there is a bit of known competition. Less than 3 months from order to delivery. Well, kinda. People that placed orders for 2018 base Giulia's are crying right now because their wait may be more than 3 months. There are a lot of cars at ports right now that are in pre-delivery status waiting for updates or who knows what. Alfa is being tight-lipped about the lack of release of these cars because as you know most new model year cars are typically available during the last quarter of the prior model year.

2. The Pirelli Corsa's are amazing tires though they do have a very limited tread-life. 7500 miles is definitely pushing it. Though, they are extremely grippy. Similar performance can be had with the Michelin's. Though the Pirella Corsa system tire on the Quadrifoglio's were designed, built and tested solely for the Quadrifoglio. Little known fact, the OEM tires actually have "AR" showing on the sidewall.

3. Brakes- if you can afford them, go for it. The factory pads dust like crazy with the steel rotors. Advantage: Carbon Ceramics (virtually zero dust) and much less unsprung weight. Pads for the CCB's are pay to play again.

4. The driving experience is the best thing about the Quadrifoglio. It is truly a 4-door race car on the street. Alfa Romeo really knocked it out of the park. The vast majority of media outlets placed the Quadrifoglio over and beyond the competitors (AMG, M, V). Motor Trend TV has the best summary in my opinion about the real performance aspects of the Quadrifoglio. Longer tracks-- there is no comparison. The horsepower and handling of the Quadrifoglio puts a lot of distance on the competition.

Plus, the Quadrifoglio can be a docile commuter car. In the "Natural" mode, the suspension is soft enough and does not punish the occupants. It is compliant and articulate without being harsh. Twist the knob up a notch and you can go to the medium setting or full "Race" mode. In each of the upper 2 modes it is possible to change the suspension back one notch to a softer setting. In this regard, the Audi and BMW have an advantage in that the driving settings can be more personalized. However, from one of the first owners who has put many miles of smiles on my car, those creature feature adjustments fade into the woodwork in rapid fashion. The driving experience of the Quadrifoglio is absolutely outstanding.

Seriously, if you were to drive your S4 back to back with the Quadrifoglio, you would not want to drive the S4 home. I still have an S4 for winter use and the cars are not in the same league whatsoever. The Quadrifoglio is a real driver's car with incredible mind-warping performance. It begs to be driven -- fast. Your first highway trip during your first tank of gas, I guarantee that you'll look down at the speedometer and not realize that you are travelling 30mph over the limit without knowing it. The car begs to go fast, always. If it were not for slower traffic, there is a sweet spot in the Quadrifoglio to naturally cruise at over 90mph. The car remains quiet and composed and disguises how fast you are actually traveling.

Not slamming the Audi's but their front suspension technology revolves around a quad balljoint rubber isolated 4-arm configuration. There is no way for them to give a true on-center feel. Then, they went to the electronic version of the steering box and that convoluted the actual steering feedback even further. You will not have this experience in the Quadrifoglio. The steering is predictable with tons of feedback and good on-center feel and response. I'm telling you flatout, don't drive it or you will take it home and ditch the Audi ;)

Keep asking questions. Lots of good ownership stories here.

Lastly, forget about the issues and reported problems. This is a reason why quite a few members are signing on-- everyone needs help from time to time. It is good to realize, though, that every brand has their "gotchya" quirks and issues. Every brand has some flaw. Though, none can compare to the Quadrifoglio in terms of driving experience. Seriously.
 
#9 ·
Seriously, if you were to drive your S4 back to back with the Quadrifoglio, you would not want to drive the S4 home.
+1 on this.

We went from a 2013 Audi S4 to the Quadrifoglio. The S4 was a great car and if the Alfa didn't really "convince" us there was no need to make this purchase. At the dealership, sitting in the car, starting it up, and then switching to Race mode, I knew then - even before driving the vehicle - this was going to be in our garage...

:)

.
 
#6 ·
Worth pointing out that the Corsas are capable of big miles, it depends on how you drive. My car has covered 14k miles on the original Corsas (they are pretty much done now, replacing them with PS4Ss next week). Most of the miles are highway and town but I do try to break the land shouted record whenever I get the chance.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I am hoping I can get a good deal on a 2017 Q.V. since the 2018s are coming. Are you guys buying or leasing your 2018? Bostonb, can you pm me. I Have leased a lot of cars before. Wondering how much off msrp, residuals etc.

Can’t wait to drive!!

Thanks guys!
 
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