End of an Era

Discussion in '4 Series' started by Hodge67, Jun 17, 2021.

  1. Hodge67
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    Hodge67

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    After 22 years of owning a BMW I recently changed my car and left the fold. Had my 428i M Sport for nearly four years, been a great car, fast, comfortable, reasonable on fuel and cheap to own, my only expense outside of servicing was an air con condenser. I do like coupes but not wanting another 4 Series and not really liking the look of Mercedes C and E Class found myself unsure what to get. Occasional trips to restaurants with my family make a four door a bit more sensible so broadened my search, not keen on the newer 3 Series or C Class I took a look at an Alfa Giulia. I contacted Sytner Oldbury who had a 68 plate Veloce for sale and following a good chat with Hannah Melding and a video of the vehicle I placed a deposit to view and collect a few days later. Hannah was great, friendly, no hard sales pitch for add ons, all explained, declined and a deposit paid. Drove up from Devon last Fri and loved it, handover done got a good price for mine as PEx £13250, I paid £20495 for it 4 years ago. New car was well presented.
    As I arrived home my old car was for sale on their website for £17250, not sure I'd pay that for a six year old car but they obviously think some one will.

    My only disappointment was the front tyres, they had fitted two new Minnell M+S tyres, the rear has two nearly new Michelin PS4s. I got two PS4s fitted to the front on Mon. Having been offered £11k for mine at two other garages I wasn't too bothered, the deal was good.

    The Alfa is beautiful, drives well, my first auto, need to get used to kickdown and paddles etc but loving it so far. It's just a bit softer than the 428i, the ride is excellent yet it still has no body roll and drives great.

    20210612_082406 - Copy_LI (2).jpg 20210612_082333.jpg
     
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  2. Wynne71
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    Wynne71 WARLORD Site Supporter

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    That is a great looking car, I hope it is good for you. Having had three Alfa’s over the years I can say I’d love to go back to one, one day. A Guilia Cloverleaf is on the shortlist in a few years time.

    Great colour on yours, would that be Stromboli Grey or have they changed the shade/name?

    How does the interior compare to the F32? That was one of my concerns, wouldn’t stack up to the quality of materials and tech etc. Although I believe the post ‘20 cars had an upgrade in that respect.
     
  3. Hodge67
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    Hodge67

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    Cheers it is Stromboli Grey; the interior fit and finish is on par with my old F32, the leather feels a little softer to the touch, there are no rattles, car has covered 31k miles. The infotainment is almost the same and the DAB works very well always a bit hit and miss in my BM. I haven't used the Nav yet, people say it isn't great I only use it rarely so as long as it gets me there I'm not too bothered if the graphics aren't latest tech. The car has Android Auto but I've only connected via bluetooth so far which works well, stereo sounds a bit better probably due to 8 speakers. The gear lever and surround are a bit plasticky but I don't mind, feels ok. First impressions are very positive; extremely comfortable ride, don't see many around, I hadn't seen one in the metal before viewing this one.
     
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  4. Wynne71
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    Wynne71 WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Your old car is looking good on their website, but as you say, rich money. Shows the current second hand car market, it’s all gone a wee bit mad.
     
  5. aldo
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    aldo

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    Very nice, wish you many happy years with it.

    Be interesting to hear how you get on. Alfa’s always been a bit questionable on the reliability, or is that an old myth nowadays?


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  6. Wynne71
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    Wynne71 WARLORD Site Supporter

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    I can vouch for a bit of both! Had one 159 for 2 years and 40k miles and didn’t miss a beat. Then a GT Q2 for 18 months and 22K (including a 3K round trip to Italy and back) with only a split charge pipe. However, the next 159 was a pig, died in the middle of France and was never the same afterwards!
    The newer cars look to be pretty reliable, more so than some German marques in recent reliability surveys.
     
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  7. E39mad
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    E39mad

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    There is a saying that your not a true petrolhead unless you have owned an Alfa. Not sure I agree with it although I had a 156 back in 1999 for two years and I loved the way it drove.

    Good luck with your new one - it looks great. Shame they don't do a wagon version as I could consider one but I suppose SUV's are more popular these days.
     
  8. The_Master
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    The_Master

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    Super looking car and I'm sure you'll enjoy it, have always liked Alfas (although not had one since an AlfaSud back in the day)
    I had a good look round a Giulia at Goodwood a couple of years back and was impressed with the interior quality and overall build of the car.

    I think Alfa have really upped their game on the reliability front and all the reviews point to a great handling car.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
  9. Spuffington
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    Spuffington Staff Member Admin Site Supporter

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    Beautiful car that - at the risk of upsetting BMW owners, I think that's potentially more beautiful than anything in the BMW range right now (or even over the last few years).

    I think Alfa have really upped their game in terms of build quality and chassis engineering. The amount of super reviews the Stelvio gets, together with the saloons, I think they're on point. Just hope their previous reputation on the reliability side is behind them. I'm sure it is by now.

    All the best with it - it's always odd changing brands and there are bits I really miss from BMW in my Porsche (mainly the in car entertainment and ease of use), but as long as the rest of the car stacks up, that's the most important thing.

    Enjoy and do keep us posted on the longer term proposition.
     
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  10. Adie
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    Adie WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Gotta admit Alfa styling is much better than anything in the current BMW range. Would be interested about their longer term reliability and depreciation. The lack of local dealerships would be a potential issue if i were in the market for one.
     
  11. E39mad
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    E39mad

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    I believe they have 5 year warranties now from new - might help those with reliability concerns.

    Have to say the dealers were shocking in 1999-2001 around Manchester and Cheshire and I tried three of them. All were tagged onto Fiat dealerships. I hope things have changed in 20 years.
     
  12. Adie
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    Adie WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Looks like 36 months new car warranty, Manufacturer + Retailer, plus 8 yrs Manufacturer warranty for the body:

    Alfa warranty.jpg
     
  13. E39mad
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    E39mad

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  14. Adie
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    Adie WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Extended warranty but no mention of cost, model dependent i suppose

    alfa 5 yr.jpg
     
  15. Hodge67
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    Hodge67

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    I assumed it was 3 years warranty, car was registered 28 Nov 18 the 3-5-3 deal began Jul 18 so potentially the service it is due in Aug could be free. I was going to book it in with Vospers Exeter anyway so will give them a call and find out what applies. I am aware of the perception of Alfa relaibilty but I don't think there are any really bad cars anymore, I only do approx 5-6k miles a year and most of those are longer drives around Devon and Cornwall or up to airports to go on holiday pretty much ideal use for a petrol car. I have had one largeish bill on each car I have owned so as long as it doesn't throw somethig too big I will be satisfied. I seem to be having luck so far, I got Hannah to tax it for me in the showroom expecting to pay £495 and was a bit surprised when she said £85 for 6 or £155 for 12 months, did a double take so checked the info and all was correct VED £155. Took a look at the ad for my old car bit surprised to see it listed as one owner; I was the second, Arval were the first, it does look good, it only needed a proper clean though. I'll update as I go if anything interesting happens. Cheers all.
     
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  16. quinnj3
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    quinnj3

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    I don’t want to scare you but this was my experience with an Alfa 159. Posted from another thread:

    It was a very nice car to look at and very comfortable. 2.4L 5cyl derv ti model with qtronic auto box. I haven’t owned a manual since. Had the car for 4 years (longest I’ve owned any car). It cost me a small fortune to keep it running. Every time I thought it was sorted something else would pop up. I bought it with 50k and I did 70k in it fitting 16 tyres, 3 front wheel bearings, 2 full sets of front wishbones, springs and dampers all round, inlet manifold swirl modification to prevent surging...... it was never ending. In the end I refused to spend more money on it. It lasted 6 months before I decided to move it on as it needed another set of front wishbones, front tyres and exhaust rear section.


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  17. Wynne71
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    Wynne71 WARLORD Site Supporter

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    To be fair, anyone who has ever owned a 159, I’ve had two, knows that front wish bones are pretty much serviceable items. Had two sets on my 07 plate 159 and one set on my 09 159.
    Tyres, especially the Ti 19” set up, are incredibly sensitive to set up. I had mine set to 0 degrees of camber the moment I had mine, that sorts the early inner tyre wear.
    Swirl flaps, any car can have that problem. Heavy car, especially with the 2.4 five cylinder diesel unit. Also increasing tyre wear
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2021

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