The two main car forums I check daily are for my Alfa Romeo and the other here for leasing. I posted this on the AR forum to get their perspective and wondering how people on this forum have dealt with a similar situation with other brands.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
“I’ve always loved this forum and have learned a ton about AR and cars in general but looking for some advice regarding my 18 Giulia Ti.
Please note, this is not some AR bashing. I participate in S. FL Alfa club and constantly advocate for this brand but at this point, I need to cut my losses and make sure my family is safe.
It’s a two-year lease with 6 months left. Currently have 22k miles on it and have had a bunch of electrical issues the first year. In the shop more times than I can remember but each time the problem was fixed, loaner was provided … so just sucked it up to owning an Italian.
The biggest issue I had was the engine replaced back in December. The whole thing was an absolute embarrassment from the start. You can read more about here but bottom line, eventually it was completed, and I was on my way.
About a week after the engine was replaced, started getting a Christmas tree worth of lights upon starting the car. Throttle, ESE, auto/stop, etc and would be stuck in N mode. I would have to drive a block or two, restart my car and the put it back in D mode. This occurred 1-2 times a week. Very busy with work and just dealt with the inconvenience. Finally had time to bring it in and they replaced the steering column rack. That was a 2-week ordeal but at least had a reliable loaner.
Picked up the car ready to enjoy my car. The next day, dash lit up again. Now starting to lose my patience. Happened 2-3 more times in the next two weeks. Then while driving, dash cut out and restarted (which has happened before) but this time also got an ABS light flash and it felt like the car turned off but didn’t.
Last weekend, I go out to my car and it’s completely dead. Tow comes on Monday and they kept it until Wed. They couldn’t replicate anything. Picked it up and first 48 hours fine. My wife jokingly said she was taking the car to go food shopping and to have my phone on me “just in case”. No joke, upon shopping , the car wouldn’t start. After a few resets, it turns over. She is now over this car.
I was hesitant to drive it over this weekend … that’s how much faith I have lost. Anyways, drove it about 30 minutes down to Ft. Lauderdale for work yesterday. No problems … whew … I made it.
Last night, decide to take a nice 10-mile ride to Delray Beach to just see how many people are out there. Everything is great until I get a throttle error followed by a check engine light. I start to pull over to an open spot and make it halfway in the spot and halfway in the middle of a busy strip. Car just died and the car behind me hits the break. After two hours, tow comes and brings it back to my driveway, where it’s sitting now. Having it towed to the dealer tomorrow and will be meeting with the general manager to start.
Bottom line, I don’t feel comfortable driving this car anymore. Now it’s much more than a huge inconvenience, it’s the safety of myself and family. Wife refuses to go it in now.
I have 6 months left on the lease. Do I start Lemon Law, knowing that it will probably take 30-90 days, demand a replacement (loaner) for remaining time, insist on talking to regional manager, etc?
At a loss for the next steps. No matter what they tell me they’ve fixed, I don’t want to drive this car ever again.
What would you advise?”
law cases. Can’t say enough good about the whole team.
