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Loaner

6K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  tadslc 
#1 ·
My Giulia went to the dealer for the first time. No issues just needed to replace a black window trim piece that had a small scratch at delivery and to do one of the updates.

Dealer (Faulkner in Mechanicsburg PA) valeted the car and dropped of a Maserati Levante as a loaner. $84k sticker. I've only driven it a few miles but apart form the engine note I can think of better ways to spend $84k on a car. Not much of an SUV fan personally.
 
#3 ·
Haha! And I just learned it's a Chrysler 60' V6, not the 90' in the Quad. Still, an awesome loaner.
 
#4 ·
Brought my Q4 in last week for updates and minor fixes (tow hook cover popping out). Bought my car in Long Island but I live in Boston so I went to the dealer over in Wayland since it's an Alfa/Maserati/Lamborghini/Rolls Royce/Bentley dealership. Was optimistic as I had read of other people who have gotten lucky with loaners like you. I drove away in a Chevy Impala...
 
#7 ·
Bingo!


That is exactly what I got. Dropped off my Ti for 6 or 8 updates and drove off in a Fiat 500. Its like driving a bathtub ?.
This is an Alfa/Maserati dealer, but the service guy just laughed at me when I lobbied for a Maserati.
 
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#11 ·
again it is really dealer dependent, plus other factors like: How many cars do they have in their loaner fleet?...IF you bought your car from them or not? will certainly play into what you get as a loaner...the OP was given a Maser SUV!
@OP was this the dealer you purchased your car from???

personally my service dealer (didn't buy from them) gives you a Maserati as a loaner....usually a Ghibli, sometimes a Levante.....I'm sure the Bentley, Ferrari & Aston Martin guys who want loaners aren't expecting like brands in return...LOL

on the flip side...my selling dealer didn't even offer me a loaner when I had my initial issue with the car!!!
 
#12 ·
My bathtub

Here's the bathtub on wheels that is temporarily replacing my Giulia which is in for a boatload of updates. On the plus side, it does have a large, crystal clear rear view camera picture that puts the Giulia's to shame.
 

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#13 ·
I just picked my car up from my dealer but they had given me an A6. The car is very nice and spacious. But when I sat in my car for the first time in almost a week, my goodness, my Giulia's interior feels and looks miles ahead compared to the A6. When I drove off, i immediately felt the superior difference in the steering dynamics of the Giulia compared to the A6. I felt I was driving an extremely premium car as I drove off the Dealership. Its crazy how quickly you become accustomed to the Giulia and you kinda forget how incredible the car drives.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hehe, love these posts. When the Mazda Gallery in Norwood choked on my piggy back harness shorts and tried to tell me I needed a new engine, they sent me across a drainage ditch next door to Enterprise to rent a car. (I am sure they wanted my iron block and all my mods) I ended up with a seafoam green 500. Bath tub, bread van, with absolutely NONE of the driving dynamics of the classic Ferrari or an Abarth. Again I was coming over from my lowered boosted Miata and the sitting height is about 6 inches different and then some. My 17 year old Miata is faster louder and lower than the new ND. The RF is kinda silly and took Mazda forever to get on board. And those news ads with the designers stitching steering wheels and admiring their Kodo styling blocks, just leave me cold and disappointted that they dropped the Mazdaspeed packages. To say nothing of their dealers. And those **** CUVs are trying way too hard to look like a Maserati. Don't go there! The switch gear sucks! ;) A 500 is revvy but that's about it. oh and one more thing... I do not care at all that Alfa switches are a plastic. I thank heaven above that they don't have that God forsaken rubber coating that goes sticky and gooey under UV light on years of Ferraris. Can I get an Amen?
 
#18 ·
I have to say driving the Levante around for 2 days I'm not really impressed. Sure it's comfy, it's quick for a big heavy SUV, and the materials are nice. But no way at $84k I'd buy one of these. The engine and transmission are not really simpatico with each other. The exhaust note sounds good, until it doesn't. Under moderate to heavy acceleration with upshifts it sends these weird rattling exhaust vibrations that seem to shoot out the side of the car and not out the back. The gear shift is even more wonky than that in the Giulia. The steering wheel has a weird polished wood insert that runs around the outside edge where the palm of your hand rests. If feels really awkward.
 
#19 ·
That's great, and you even got a loaner. Compared to your dealer, mine's pathetic. I called to see if I can bring the car in to have the brakes looked at (loud clunking noise under hard braking, normal, gradual application of brakes is fine). They told me that they only diagnose problems on weekdays (even though they're open 7 days a week), AND I cannot make an appointment, but just show up and wait, and it may be some time before they can take me in, as in a couple hours. IF it's a recall then they can see me right away.
 
#22 ·
Shocking

They told me that they only diagnose problems on weekdays (even though they're open 7 days a week), AND I cannot make an appointment, but just show up and wait.
Then when I picked the Giulia up it was filthy! I mentioned this to the guy that drove my car up and he said oh we don't courtesy wash anymore
All I can say is thank God I'm on a lease. I was so excited and enthusiastic about the brand when I got my car, that I actually went out and bought an Alfa Romeo t-shirt. It doesn't get more crazy than that! :wink2:
But with this kind of customer service (and this forum is loaded with similar experiences), and service departments telling people that Alfa is unable to update their own car systems, they may be gone before my 3 years is up. At least I will only be out the cost of my t-shirt. Sad.
 
#20 ·
I think I have all of you beat. When I took my Giulia in for it's first oil change and updates/replace glove box door they gave me a rent a car for the week. It was a base 2016 Nissan Sentra ... I used to drive a Sentra SE-R in 1992! It was so bad and made so many noises I thought it was going to break down. I was so relieved when they called me to pick up my baby. Then when I picked the Giulia up it was filthy! I mentioned this to the guy that drove my car up and he said oh we don't courtesy wash anymore because of the drought and we will charge you for washing the car. This was at Champion Fiat/Dodge/Alfa dealer in Downey. I opted to wash the car myself. This is where I purchased my vehicle and I will not be going back to that dealership for maintenance anymore.
 
#24 ·
Never driven the Fiat 500 but after 8 days in the Impala, words cannot describe how good it felt to sit back in the Giulia. For cars with similar curb weights, its simply amazing how nimble the Giulia feels compared to the mound of metal you feel like you're driving with the Impala.
 
#29 ·
You know I might agree with that after driving the 200 and Dart. And the 500 wasn't bad just more of the tiny cute aspect of the Miata without the sporty mods I invested so much time and labor into.

It does sound like crappy dealer. I mean how can "making an appointment" be flat out rejected by any professional outfit in the modern world? That is so lame it's crazy. Appointments actually help reduce stress and make you more efficient by allowing you to plan. It's a rational step that any rational business person should desire to take. The place is probably filthy just like the cars they "can't wash." But in some cases I'd rather they didn't wash them to avoid swirl marks.

Have you guys seen Garage Rehab on Velocity Channel yet? With Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey.

https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/garage-rehab/
 
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