Very fascinating. Growing up, the Clubman when it came out was my favorite car ever (as a 9 year old so don't worry, things have changed) and the JCW is absolutely amazing. It's just a shame BMW has ruined the look since the original model and is flat out hideous, along with most of the MINI lineup now.

I also find that I know more than the salesmen too, but it is a shame that so many seem to be getting just downright unpleasant salespeople with Alfa Romeo. I am quite a young guy at the moment and never thought I'd be able to test drive the Alfa and that is okay with me, but they basically threw the keys at me and I got to really give the Ti the beans on a test drive, and it was a great experience, basically solidifying my love for the car and proving that it needs to be my next car. That is how a test drive on a car you love should make you feel.

Summary: Clubman is fast but hideous these days but more predictable in terms of reliability, Alfa is definitely better value to me and just so pretty ... :smile2:

 

Sorry to hear about your experience at Alfa...it is EXACTLY this that they need to address and correct otherwise the merits of the car will be lost as will sales....
Good luck on your hunt!
BTW I drove an old JCW (Matt Farahs old car) and he could not leave well enough alone and did all sorts of things to it...
it was a BLAST to drive...a Go-Cart for the street....

 

The staggered width 19" wheels are no longer available as part of the Ti Sport pack... it has been removed from the online configurator. So the salesman you had may very well be correct about that.

 

It's still on the configurator, on the options page (19 x 9.0). Who knows, maybe he was right but I still wouldn't buy a car from him. I had a 5 minute test drive.

 

From https://www.alfaromeousa.com

19 x 8" 19" x 9" Dark 5-Hole Aluminum Wheels
Staggered Front 225/45R, Rear 255/35R 19-inch 3-Season Performance Tires.
225/40R19 255/35R19 Summer Tires

 

Strange, I noticed it was gone the other day when I pulled up my Ti build and did a dealer search. It still isn't showing in the configurator for me tonight too.

Edit: staggered width 19" wheels on Ti Sport pack has been removed from AWD cars, but is still available on the RWD car in the configurator. Wonder why that is?

 

Edit: staggered width 19" wheels on Ti Sport pack has been removed from AWD cars, but is still available on the RWD car in the configurator. Wonder why that is?

Interesting. I had not noticed that either, and I have gone through that configurator about a thousand times.

The staggered wheels are for "3-Season Performance Tires" Are those the tires you have to constantly replace?

 

It's under exterior options, for what it's worth I'm using a Mac & iPhone.

 

The MINI angle is an interesting one. I have owned 3 in the past (an R53 Cooper S, an R53 GP and a Countryman S) and the first one was when MINI had just entered the market.

My experience with MINI back then and my (so far only) experience with Alfa mirrored yours. The MINI staff was enthusiastic (had obviously drank the Koolaid) and knowledgeable about the car and its history.

I went to the closest Alfa dealer to me here in DFW a few weeks back and from the look and feel of the dealership to the 5 minute test drive (in total silence consisting literally of turn right out of the dealership, right at the first light, right at the next light and right at the next stop sign and back into the dealer lot) of a base model (not the QV that I'm interested in) it was disappointing to say the least. The fact that the closest dealer to me required a 50 minute drive away to a far northern suburb was a little defeating but the lack of either knowledge or enthusiasm from the staff was troubling.

I get that this is an $80k that has been getting incredibly glowing reviews and is essentially sold out at the moment but there was no follow-up of any kind and their "demo" asset is a QV that's the owners that they "may" let you drive if you run your credit through by them. When you're competing in a market like DFW against solidly run BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Porsche dealerships selling known commodity M cars, AMGs and the like, it's disappointing that this is the face of the Alfa brand.

 

In New England I have been to two Alfa dealers so far. Kelly in Danvers, MA was great -- the salesman was super nice and treated me very well and we explored the QV together in great length even though he knew my budget was more base-model than QV. The passion was there for sure, and while certain questions couldn't be entirely answered, info is still taking its time to make its way to the dealers and unfortunately the salesman can only know so much with these cars, at least in my opinion. Herb Chambers was also very good, but since they already knew me from previous times in the dealership, it was much more like meeting with friends and driving an Alfa rather than trying to get sold on the Alfa. To me, I don't mind. They already know I know a lot about the car too. When I went to drive the Ti (not my intention that day), I brought my dad along so he could drive it because he drives a 2016 A4 (competition to the Giulia of course) and wanted his thoughts. We spent probably close to 40 minutes in the Ti, pushing buttons and driving it on nice backroads and main roads too. Then, the salesman told me to try it out without hesitation, which was really nice of him.

Maybe I am just lucky, but I cannot actually remember any bad experiences at car dealers anywhere my whole life. Maybe dealers in NE are just a little more welcoming? Who knows. I am very intrigued by what everybody says about other dealers around the country

 

<< I am very intrigued by what everybody says about other dealers around the country>>

I live in Seattle - did my test drive at the area Maserati/Fiat/Alfa dealership. Good experience in terms of nice long test drives of 2 different Giulia's. Very knowledgable sales guy.. But then the price game started - had me wait in the room by myself while the sales guy and "invisible sales manager" huddled two different times trying to put something together. They started at $4k above MSRP - on a Ti! They came down but only to MSRP.

So a week later I was in Tacoma, 35 miles to the south. It's a FIAT dealership that just picked up Alfa, but really it's part of the mega Tacoma Dodge... right behind their 5 Giulias were 20 Challenger Hellcats, etc. But even with the Dodge feeling - I bought that day.. My sales guy was probably 21 years old but had done his research on the Giulia - very passionate. Offered me as long as test drive as I wanted. The sales manager was on day 1 coming over from the Dodge side and was no BS.. No one else in the dealership had test driven a Giulia yet! We actually just worked out a price right on the showroom floor...I offered $5400 below MSRP, they countered at $4400 off, I told 'em I'd agree to that if they'd do the first 4 annual services at no cost. They said yes. The whole negotiation took about 10 minutes. It was kinda funny because I had to go over to the Dodge location to sign with the finance guy for title...so there was no upscale buying experience at all. However, it was one of the most laid back and easiest car transactions I've done. And from what I can tell by tracking inventory they continue to sell about 1 per week.

Side note: the day my wife and I first visited Alfa in Kirkland we also visited Lexus, Jag, and Mercedes.. Maybe it's just the hot economy in greater Seattle, but at Lexus and Merc no one came up to us in ~15 minutes of walking the showroom floor - both places were overly crowded with prospects . At Jag a sales guy did come over after 5 minutes, but said any test drives would have to be done by appointment mid-week as they are too busy on weekends. The place was as busy as Lexus and Merc- most all looking at the F-Pace, which is why we were there as it's a car my wife likes.. Both Alfa dealerships were much less busy, and I received the appropriate attention right away.

My takeaway is that Alfa, right now, has a spotty dealer network in terms of sales guy knowledge, image, etc, when compared to the Germans and Lexus (imagine going to buy an AMG or BMW and walking amongst a mixed inventory of Fiats and Dodges)!! . That didn't bother me as I had enough passion for the car. Who knows, with a hot economy there are probably enough crumbs left over from the other brands to move a couple thousand units per year. But if FCA wants Alfa and the Giulia to really scale they are going to have sink some dollars and lots of time into dealer development.

So all that said this was a car that made more sense to lease (first year of production, Alfa's reentry into the US market, dealer questions, etc). But even knowing that I bought outright. The car is that much fun to drive!

 

Sorry to hear you had a lousy test drive and overall visit at your local Alfa Dealer.
I do try to keep in mind that everywhere and everyone has bad days and go back if the experience is poor but it is pretty hard to shake that first experience with a car dealership. I have to say my Alfa dealer in Doylestown PA was excellent, it is part of a large multi manufacturer complex and the AR's are being sold out of the Maserati showroom. The salesman really knows the cars and has clearly taken the time to drive the competition. Perhaps most importantly he really gets that a significant fraction of the people coming in actually love to drive and need a real test drive. I think many people get nothing out of the actual driving experience, they are looking for ..... something else out of a car. Witness what BMW have done to their new cars, to my mind they have sucked most of the joy of driving out of the non M's. They clearly know how to make cars for drivers but are simply choosing not to.
Long way of saying that I think Alfa Romeo task finding the right dealerships needs to include understanding that many of the people coming I are coming to really drive the cars and they need to let them do that to close the sales.
When we were finding a car for my wife we ended up having to cover some miles to get to a mini dealer but they also really understood that we wanted a car that was fun to drive and needed more than 5 minutes driving to experience that.

 

Thanks Alan. As far as this dealership is concerned - there are others on this forum that have (unfortunately) had a similar experience. However, since I'm in metro DC there are others I can visit so there is still hope.

 

Bottom line, most car salesmen suck. I have had to sell myself the car about 90% of the time, and have never met one who knew more about it than I did, which begs the question, do they even read the brochures?

I can understand your disappointment, but you will have to console yourself with the fact that the Alfa is far superior than a Mini in every possible way, and regarding acceleration, it is easily 1.5-2.0 seconds quicker to 60MPH.

Basically, go to a different dealership, or speak with another salesman or the sales manager. Keep this in perspective: you are only taking home the car not the saleman. After a few days of spirited driving, you'll be very glad you overlooked the sales process and just focused on the car. Good luck!

 

Amen 100%... The car is what I'm interested in not the salesman or dealer... worst case scenario I have to bite my lip and deal with them a few times per year when I need to take a car in for service. I've also never met a salesman who knew more than I did as well

 

^ thanks. I think I'm moving away from the MINI JCW although I did find a Youtube video that shows a 0-60 time at 5.8 sec (which after driving I totally believe).

I'm going to test drive the S3 and GLA45 soon. I could very well just opt for the Ti but I'll need some more time behind the wheel.

 

The S3 is also on my list and would be the 'lower risk' alternative to me (not worried about reliability or maintenance and VERY familiar with Audis, family owned Audis forever) but the S3 is just too small for the money, at least for me. The GLA, like most Mercs these days, is absolutely disgusting but at least it would be quick. The Giulia can do 0-60 in 5.1 with the Q4

 

Yes sport package! Was any of these Ti's a Q4 all wheel drive test drive in the snow?

 

I drove a Ti Q4 with paddles but not in the snow.

 

The Ti I drove earlier this week had the paddle shifters (which I used) and I thought the transmission was terrific. My biggest grip was how quite the car was - almost zero exhaust noise and although I'm not looking to be a hooligan - a nice exhaust note helps connect the driver with the car. The Ti was suffering in this department.

Of course the one (major) caveat was my super short (4 mi) test drive. I have a feeling the exhaust note picks up with the car in Dynamic mode.

 

I found the exact same thing. I put it into dynamic and while it piped up a little it wasn't as much as I'd like. If the Abarth 500 or 4C can sound like what they sound like, why can't the Giulia? There is a lot of potential but the average 3 Series, A4, C300 buyer isn't looking for a screamer -- but I know exactly what you mean

 

For what it's worth, the S3 is going be a very tough competitor for Giulia Ti.....
The S3 felt a bit quicker of the line and can be ordered with an intoxicating exhaust sound....
Although, It didn't feel as a agile as the Giulia.....

 

Biggest difference is size. The car is tiny, therefore not in the same category for comparison other than price and fun factor

 

MDriver, thanks so much for the offer, let's try to meet up.......

PM spedito.......

 

Is it a new or the one from Millbury?

 

Good point I am not sure. Millbury is also Herb I just realized.

 

Nice, I thought they had a buyer from California. A guy from Michigan bought the carbon one in Norwood, I heard.

 

I thought it was a guy in MI who bought the Kelly QV? I don't know a whole lot about buyers, hopefully all the QVs don't just immediately get shipped elsewhere like the Mercedes G-Wagons which all just immediately get shipped to Los Angeles, :laugh:

 

^ exactly!