NEW ALFA GT

[cirvy]

Been cruising round in the above the new Alfa for a couple of weeks now & thought i would share my views.
Car is a 3.2 in Strombolli Grey, red leather interior & 18" alloys ( as TV advert pretty much)
Initially felt a bit bigger & heavier than my 2.0 156 (which it is), but noticeably at the front end. The V6 power is superb, pull off from near standstill in 3rd, it is so smooth & it howls all the way up to ridiculous speeds!!
As i'm getting used to it, it's becoming surprisingly chuckable, we're just back from a driving week away in Cornwall, lots of tight twisty roads, the Alfa loved it.
It also loves unleaded, but its a fair price to pay for possibly the most melodious engine sound ever, i will never bore of it.
The week away also tested its practicality, with a missus who believes the kitchen sink is a requirement for anything over a 2 day break, and a toddler with the pushchair associated kit that goes along with him, the hatchback & roomy cabin did OK.
The turning circle is a pain sometimes, highlighted by the little cornish villages.
The general build quality has come on a long way, this is my 3rd Alfa & i can see the difference.
So, to summarise ( my longest ever post ), the car is superb,its comfortable, goes well, sounds good & looks good. (it turns heads wherever we go)

[PetrolTed]

Nice one. I've tried the smaller engined cars and they didn't have much impact on me. The V6 should be the only engine in a car like that!

[schnaf]

I'm on the cusp of buying an Alfa Gt. oddly, exactly the same spec as yours

Read an article from Tony Dron stating avoid the 18" alloys "like the plague"

Wondered how you are getting on with them

Additionally, seen multiple adverts from smart alfa offering £4K off the list

Did you buy independent or from main dealer

Best price from a dealer is -4% list

Look forward to hearing from you

[DavidCane]

I actually got a quote from Smart Alfa last week and had a chat with them today.

For the record I got quotes for a Diesel and for a 3.2 V6.

The Diesel came out at £22,241 OTR including metallic paint, leather, 17" spoked alloys, climate pack, MP3 player, BOSE stereo and parking sensor.

The V6 quote was £25,445 OTR with 18" alloys, climate pack and parking sensors. The V6 comes with all the other bits as standard.

Pretty damn good prices. The delivery time is 12- 16 weeks and the guy I spoke too was pretty honest with any questions I had. The Diesel price is about £2200 cheaper than the main dealer price, V6 is also about £2500 than the Alfa main dealer price.

However, Smart alfa are doing extra discounts on the GT at the moment. I didn't ask what the current offer is becuase I'm not actually in the market to buy a new car right now, however it might be worth you giving them a call. Those prices include the 3 years warranty and 2 years AA cover.

DC

[pwig]

Ah imports.

[schnaf]

Pwig

could you expand on the imports comment

Obviously a £4k saving is tempting!!

Same "UK" Speccar, same 2 years manufacturers warranty.. but then you're on your own

What other problems have you experienced

Perhaps a quick pro's & cons

My view after much thought is with a "specialist car" the dealer relationship is very important but does it carry a £3K premium

I'm making my decision in the next two days.. so a quick turn around would be appreciated

[pdV6]

pwig said:

Ah imports.

I'm sure we've had this conversation before.

If its built in the same factory, to the same spec then the only thing "wrong" with it is that some poor UK-based Alfa dealer loses out on their cup of tea.

My heart bleeds.

>> Edited by pdV6 on Wednesday 15th September 10:01

[schnaf]

The only important differences IMO between an import and UK sourced car, is that you loose the opportunity to have / renew the alfa romeo mastercare warranty and you will have trouble trading in your alfa to a dealer

When you come to sell it privately, you will be selling it without a warranty

One of the "musts" when I buy privately is a manufactures warranties

If I was buying/ importing toyota or Nissan, no problem ..but an Alfa V6...As I need to sleep at night a warranty is an important feature

It comes back to that £3k premium for peace of mind

[pdV6]

Untrue. The Alfacare warranty is pan-European and in any case, Alfacare will take anyone's money if its offered. No need to "extend" the original one - just buy a new one.

Been there, done that!

There really is no reason at all to look down on an import - they're all imported from Italy anyway!!!

Any dealership that refuses to p/x a 2nd hand import can go take a running jump as they'll fetch more privately anyway.

[schnaf]

That's very interesting

As I phoned Alfa romeo today and asked for alfa warranty's number and they refered me to the dealers

Also smart alfa stated that it is not possible to purchase the Alfa master care warranty with an imported car- they provide an independent warranty

Do you have Alfa master care warranty's phone number

[Wombat Rick]

Do a SEARCH on SmartAlfa over on Alfaowner, and then see how important that financial saving is to you....

I have no personal experience of them myself, so all I can do is suggest you read other people's experience of them.

www.alfaowner.com/Forum/index.php?referrerid=2783

[pdV6]

schnaf said:

That's very interesting As I phoned Alfa romeo today and asked for alfa warranty's number and they refered me to the dealers Also smart alfa stated that it is not possible to purchase the Alfa master care warranty with an imported car- they provide an independent warranty Do you have Alfa master care warranty's phone number

Things may have changed, but I used Mastercare (who provided the Alfacare warranties) a couple of years ago and the phone number then was 0870 241 0837 (option "2" for Alfa)

[schnaf]

Many thanks

Gave them mastercare a call

"don't sell warranty to members of the public have to go through Fiat / Alfa dealer"

Also wombat, registered at AO searched the forum no joy

Can you throw a little more light on the subject of Smartalfa

Many thanks

[cirvy]

schnaf said:

I'm on the cusp of buying an Alfa Gt. oddly, exactly the same spec as yours Read an article from Tony Dron stating avoid the 18" alloys "like the plague" Wondered how you are getting on with them Additionally, seen multiple adverts from smart alfa offering £4K off the list Did you buy independent or from main dealer Best price from a dealer is -4% list Look forward to hearing from you

The 18's are fine, equally happy on bumpy Lincolnshire roads as nailing it round Donington Park ( you have to try these things ). Also, go & look at the difference when they've only got 17's, they do need the larger size as its quite a big slab-sided car.

I bought mine from my local Alfa dealer, but then mine was order no 1 ( very keen)

To me, the price advantage from the importers was'nt significant enough for me, with machinery like this i want to be looked after by my dealer, also, the spec i wanted just was'nt available early on.

Go buy one, it's great

[schnaf]

Great

Just the affirmation I needed!!

Specification sorted

Just got to go to work on the final deal

I'll let you know

[cirvy]

schnaf said:

Great Just the affirmation I needed!! Specification sorted Just got to go to work on the final deal I'll let you know

What's your spec?

[schnaf]

Strombli grey, red leather, winter pack, 18"

Don't know wether to go for park sensors, with vision out of car ??

Having owned the car for afew months What would your advice be on the benefits of this extra??

[pdV6]

schnaf said:

Many thanks Gave them mastercare a call "don't sell warranty to members of the public have to go through Fiat / Alfa dealer"

Sorry for the bum steer; they've obviously changed their tune in the last 2 years. Looks like another attempt by Alfa UK to stitch up the market.

Sod it - save the cash by importing and then spend a little of it on a decent 3rd party warranty if/when the Alfa one runs out.

[ettore]

I`ve had three new Alfa`s, one from an official dealer and two imported. I would recommend importing if you get the right deal but do be careful about who you buy from.

Interestingly, I recently p/ex my first 147 and got bids from two official dealers and the original importer. There was £3K difference between all three, one stealer offering the highest and the other the lowest! Importantly one dealer was unhappy taking in an import but the other didn`t care and said there was no difference in value from an "official import"...

I can recommend Melbury Motors in Dorset - used to be a fiat dealer and the owner (Chris) is a decent and straightforward chap. I saved £4.5K on a new 147 for the g/f. He is also able to get 3.2 GT`s, although the savings aren`t as good (circa £2.5K.)

[cirvy]

schnaf said:

Strombli grey, red leather, winter pack, 18" Don't know wether to go for park sensors, with vision out of car ?? Having owned the car for afew months What would your advice be on the benefits of this extra??

Top spec, having seen a small number out & about, that is the spec to have.

As for parking sensors, dont know really, i havent found it a problem without.