As some of you may know, I leased a 2018 MY Giulia a few months ago. A couple of my friends pointed out potential reliability issues but I wasn’t worried since I was expecting everything to be covered under warranty during the lease period.
2 months in the lease, I noticed some electrical problems. Once, the central screen went completely blank during drive on the highway. I had to restart the car to resolve the issue.
Next day, when I went to work, the car’s screen wudn’t power down when I turned the car off. I had to restart and turn the car off 5 times before the screen properly powered down.
-Next morning, my car was totally dead. Like a huge paperweight. The fob would not even unlock the doors, I had to use manual key to unlock the car. It spent a week at the dealership, they said the battery was dead but not sure about the cause.
2 months ago, yesterday, the same issue appeared. Now, I got a rental from Alfa but I was 90 mins late to work.
I am not saying I don’t love the car, but its hard to feel its a reliable vehicle if it can just stop functioning randomly one morning without any warning or hiccups.
I think this is part of an equation when considering a deal on Alfa/Fiat vehicle. When I tried to negotiate a lease on the Giulia, I weighted whether my Kia would be more reliable than Alfa before everything was finalized. So I went with the devil I already knew.
My stelvio screen stays on the reverse camera for like 30 seconds after going into park. Was your system updated? I ready on the forums that there has been 2 updates already…
I’ve only seen 2 cars on fire on the side of a road, both of those were Alfas in England. One was a 147, I think the other was a 159. Both models I still really like, but were notorious for serious issues, especially electrical. They were from a different era, and not a very good one for Alfa unfortunately.
I really like the Giulia and Stelvio, with the competitive pricing I would take them over most of the ‘luxury’ competitors. Hopefully they get real market traction.
You’re probably heading for a Lemon Law buyback. I don’t know what state you’re in, but most laws are similar. When you qualify, you should have a choice between a pro-rated refund of your lease payments, or substitution of a brand new, similar Giulia into your old lease contract. So maybe a 2020-2021 Giulia with low miles for you to buy out at the end. Or partially refunded payments for the hassle of driving a rental car. In a twisted way, the most economical driving experience…
Yeah that’s the dice you roll with an Alfa. You get your cheap lease for a reason.
My brother has a 159 sportwagon (UK) - and loves the damn thing. It cost thousands in warranty repairs when new - and has cost many more thousand out of warranty but he figures he’d still rather put up with that than drive an Toyota or Honda wagon. To each their own I guess.
I do wonder exactly who will be buying Giulia’s or Stelvio’s when they’re 5, 7, 10 years old? I guess many won’t make it that far.
It’s looking like they’ll be bargains of the century by that time. I could see the gulias easily being a sub $15k car in less than 3 years, making it an absolute steal for an off lease for those who are willing to take the risk of an unreliable but amazingly fun car for cheap
Same principle behind a V12 Mercedes for $5-10K. Your cost is in maintenance, not purchase. I’m a big believer in having an extended warranty if you own a car, unless you can do the work yourself. Modern electronics is where DIY becomes problematical. Even on a reliable car like a Toyota or Honda, extended warranties are relatively cheap.
Even still, why buy a Giulia or Hellcat when you can lease them so cheap? Take the best years of the car’s life and run.
