Stellantis, what have they done to alfa romeo?

[BigsimonY]

Lucky enough to be on the hunt for a new car — just for me this time. The family runs a 2025 Vauxhall Grandland. It’s fine. Nothing special. Gets the job done.

Now I’m eyeing something more personal — the Cupra Formentor, Alfa Romeo Junior, and Mercedes CLA. All hybrids. All around the £30k mark.

The Formentor really stands out. Yes, it’s part of the VW Group, but it feels different. Better design, sharper materials — a real identity of its own. It’s not just a rebadged Golf with copper accents.

The Alfa Junior though? Painful. A clear-cut Stellantis rebadge job. It is a Peugeot 2008/Citroën C4 underneath — and it drives like it. Same shape. Same cabin materials. Same feel. But with a £10k markup and a badge that used to mean something.

What are they doing to this brand? Where’s the Italian passion? The driver focus? The flair? Alfa used to make hearts race — now it’s just a C4 in red trousers. A little more engineering, a little more soul, and they could’ve made something special. Instead, it feels like a cash grab in a nice badge

[mmm-five]

Because some people are snobs and wouldn't be seen dead in a 'cheap' French car.

Add an Italian badge, £10k and it's no longer a 'cheap' French car.

[Krikkit]

BigsimonY said:

What are they doing to this brand? Where s the Italian passion? The driver focus? The flair? Alfa used to make hearts race now it s just a C4 in red trousers. A little more engineering, a little more soul, and they could ve made something special. Instead, it feels like a cash grab in a nice badge

Aside from the Giulia and Stelvio, Alfa have been struggling with getting consistently good cars out for decades. It's not new.

[blueg33]

Giulia is lovely - Alfa dealers are painfully bad

[mac96]

blueg33 said:

Giulia is lovely - Alfa dealers are painfully bad

Seems to have been a lot of the problem for years. Certainly was when I had a 156 over 20 years back.

[blue_haddock]

If it ain't got a busso or a twin cam it ain't an Alfa!

[blueg33]

blue_haddock said:

If it ain't got a busso or a twin cam it ain't an Alfa!

Hmm. Giulia Quadrifoglio?

[ninepoint2]

blueg33 said:

Giulia is lovely - Alfa dealers are painfully bad

Round here they are all Arnie Shark owned, probably the main reason they are grim.

[blueg33]

ninepoint2 said:

blueg33 said:

Giulia is lovely - Alfa dealers are painfully bad

Round here they are all Arnie Shark owned, probably the main reason they are grim.

Different owners around here and they are still grim.

[egor110]

blueg33 said:

ninepoint2 said:

blueg33 said:

Giulia is lovely - Alfa dealers are painfully bad

Round here they are all Arnie Shark owned, probably the main reason they are grim.

Different owners around here and they are still grim.

How come there grim ?

I work for another stellantis branch and the support to dealer is useless .

Ie we can't get parts straight from fiat now it has to go thru our local hub who are uselsss (totally random delivery times)

The whole parts system is dire , basically i can see if stocks in my local hub , the uk main depot or Italy however just because it shows online doesn't acually mean it is in stock , so for instance last friday ordered a part showing in stock in the uk depot didn't turn up mon or tues and i get told the eta is 14th july !

Orders just disapear , so i chase up a order and just get told you'll get credited and the part re-ordered , there seems to be no understanding we have customers who actually want there vehicles fixed and time is of the essense .

[blueg33]

Poor service, disinterested, over priced, dated uncomfortable waiting areas if they even have a waiting area, automatic denial of warranty claims, insufficient customer parking.

The only good one was Johnson’s in Solihull but they closed down.

[Lester H]

blueg33 said:

Poor service, disinterested, over priced, dated uncomfortable waiting areas if they even have a waiting area, automatic denial of warranty claims, insufficient customer parking.

The only good one was Johnson s in Solihull but they closed down.

To be fair to Stellantis, as long as I’ve been reading P.H similar things have been said about Alfa. They have been one of those makes which for years seems to have been in poor business health. I do like the cars though. On the topic of showrooms, also mentioned, I’m not convinced that really plush plate glass premises matter as much as a decent workshop.

[blueg33]

Lester H said:

blueg33 said:

Poor service, disinterested, over priced, dated uncomfortable waiting areas if they even have a waiting area, automatic denial of warranty claims, insufficient customer parking.

The only good one was Johnson s in Solihull but they closed down.

To be fair to Stellantis, as long as I ve been reading P.H similar things have been said about Alfa. They have been one of those makes which for years seems to have been in poor business health. I do like the cars though. On the topic of showrooms, also mentioned, I m not convinced that really plush plate glass premises matter as much as a decent workshop.

Nice premises especially the waiting area comes into play when you inevitably have to wait. I sold my Alfa a couple of months ago, but every time it was serviced by a main dealer, it was not ready on time, and/or they didn't have a loan car without 3 months notice, so I had to wait and work. This needs decent wifi and comfortable seating.