Sports Saloons - Italians leaving the Germans dead.
Discussion
Find it strange that so many people are having a hard time with BMW dealers.
Having owned many BMWs over the years, and dealt with the purchase of many both new and second hand through several BMW dealerships and two different franchises (Berry and Cooper), they have been consistently responsive - at times chasing me for me my business - consummately professional, and I have always rated their overall approach and manner as excellent. Not a single cause for complaint in over 12 years of dealing with them.
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Anyway.
A nice choice you have there to make, Ares.
The Maserati would probably be my first choice, though admittedly I have only driven the Gran Turismo and not the Ghibli. Maserati do make cars with bags of character.
2nd would be a tough choice between the Giulia and the M4. I prefer the looks of the BMW. That rear end of the Guilia is far too fussy, with overly dramatic diffuser, and those ridiculous plastic surrounds around the exhaust which protrude. It doesn't look good to me. I understand that it is an absolute hoot to drive though, poking fun at the rather more sedate character of the M4.
Last place would be the Mercedes. I have been in the market for the C63 AMG and test driven two examples. 9 gears I found far too many on the box, constantly having to flap between them which irritated me considerably. And the cheap plastic info screen which looks stuck on is a design decision that is at huge odds with Mercedes's normally top-end materials and gadgetry. Ruins the whole interior experience.
Having owned many BMWs over the years, and dealt with the purchase of many both new and second hand through several BMW dealerships and two different franchises (Berry and Cooper), they have been consistently responsive - at times chasing me for me my business - consummately professional, and I have always rated their overall approach and manner as excellent. Not a single cause for complaint in over 12 years of dealing with them.
~
Anyway.
A nice choice you have there to make, Ares.
The Maserati would probably be my first choice, though admittedly I have only driven the Gran Turismo and not the Ghibli. Maserati do make cars with bags of character.
2nd would be a tough choice between the Giulia and the M4. I prefer the looks of the BMW. That rear end of the Guilia is far too fussy, with overly dramatic diffuser, and those ridiculous plastic surrounds around the exhaust which protrude. It doesn't look good to me. I understand that it is an absolute hoot to drive though, poking fun at the rather more sedate character of the M4.
Last place would be the Mercedes. I have been in the market for the C63 AMG and test driven two examples. 9 gears I found far too many on the box, constantly having to flap between them which irritated me considerably. And the cheap plastic info screen which looks stuck on is a design decision that is at huge odds with Mercedes's normally top-end materials and gadgetry. Ruins the whole interior experience.
Ares said:
Just been in the same situation as the OP. My Giulia Quadrifoglio should be with me in June! And, yes, BMW were pretty poor. Plenty of time with the salesman and chose a spec, went through finance but the sticking point was trade in price. They offered £1500 less than Alfa, Merc and Jag (Ghibli is just too big for me) and the salesman was going to get back to me with a better offer and to arrange a test drive. That was 2 months ago and , despite me calling and emailing, I haven't heard from him since! Merc were actually OK to deal with though a bit blasé. Jag were easily the best but the XES is just too short of bhp and there's still no sign of an XER.
rayyan171 said:
Personally I'd be very happy with a used M5 as it performs much better than them all and will still be in warranty period at this price.
Having come from an F10 M5 to a Giulia Quad in my view the Quad is af least as quick as a stock M5.
The advantage the Quad has is that it is significantly more compact and easier to hustle along on tighter, windier roads.
I loved my M5, it was a fantastic car but more of a GT and straight line car than the Quad feels.
For me the Alfa every day of the week. Then the C63.
The wheels on the M4 look atrocious to my eye, I am repeatedly surprised that people can stomach them!
The Ghibli just doesn't look nice enough to me.
Please get the Alfa, it increases my chances of seeing them on the road, which I know is of utmost importance to you
The wheels on the M4 look atrocious to my eye, I am repeatedly surprised that people can stomach them!
The Ghibli just doesn't look nice enough to me.
Please get the Alfa, it increases my chances of seeing them on the road, which I know is of utmost importance to you
Zod said:
If ever the term 'c**k s****t' was invented for an individual, Mr DeMuro is that person...stewy68 said:
Zod said:
If ever the term 'c**k s****t' was invented for an individual, Mr DeMuro is that person...Incredibly irritating man, had to stop watching...
Zod said:
Watch this first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZnqnB6xDo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZnqnB6xDo
Alfa have got the quality of their build materials (erm, plastics and rubber bits) almost on a par with the Germans now.
Merc is let down by sub-standard spec in UK nowadays - their packages are designed for second hand retail value when the PCP car comes back.
Ghilbli isn't almost, but not quite, the finished article and sounds truly dreadful when cold.
Soundwise and lookwise the Alfa Quad is wonderful. Buildwise it's not bad.
Consider the petrol station test.... you're there filling up the Alfa and see one of the others come in for fuel. You'd think "yes, I could of had one of those".
Now think about when you've filling up one of the others and the Alfa comes in. You'll think "yes, I should have had one of those".
Merc is let down by sub-standard spec in UK nowadays - their packages are designed for second hand retail value when the PCP car comes back.
Ghilbli isn't almost, but not quite, the finished article and sounds truly dreadful when cold.
Soundwise and lookwise the Alfa Quad is wonderful. Buildwise it's not bad.
Consider the petrol station test.... you're there filling up the Alfa and see one of the others come in for fuel. You'd think "yes, I could of had one of those".
Now think about when you've filling up one of the others and the Alfa comes in. You'll think "yes, I should have had one of those".
rayyan171 said:
He makes a lot of points. The ghibli is essentially a tatted up Chrysler 300C, maybe that's why they stopped the production of that, to focus on this car. My money would definitely go towards one of the German marque as essentially you are buying the badge when coming to the ghibli.
Actually the UPCOMING 300C will be based on the Ghibli frame. Although the infotainment system and some interior switch gear are from lower Chrysler products everything else is pure Maserati. I don't see any Chrysler products with 6 pot front brakes. Also Lambo used to have a lot of Chrysler switch gear in them for reference (and the Diablo had 300zx headlamps).
dme123 said:
Jimmy Recard said:
Zod said:
I saw that the other day. Is it pretty much just me who didn't care about all the problems he found with it? He struck me as an idiot. No interest in the car, he seemed interested only in things like radar cruise control, that I've never used anyway in cars that have it.And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
t that only teenagers can possibly care about he did highlight that the car is a bit of a parts bin special competing in a field of highly competent and well developed cars; indeed the entire platform is shared with a Chrysler. It drives well, but no better than a BMW 550i, so the only reason to buy one is because of the badge, the sound, or the looks. That was certainly my conclusion after trying one too. Interesting that they are discounting them by 20% in the US too, ALD Automotive were leasing these for next to nothing in the UK at one stage last year. I was tempted though, entirely because of the looks, the badge, and the noise.
Personally I can't get with the idea of a Maserati that is full of highly conspicuous Chrysler bits and sold with a diesel engine. Platform and part sharing is just fine in ordinary cars, but for a car this expensive and sold under a name like Maserati I think you can expect better.
Edited by dme123 on Friday 21st April 11:48
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