I've had mine for 6 months, more than 5000 kms In all conditions at all speeds - not the slightest issue. Am at Monza for the F1 Clienti event and the star of the Ferrari parking lot in the paddock is... you guessed it, the Alfa
I went to the Autobarn in Evanston, Illinois, to test drive and look at a Giulia. I walked into their outside parking lot and started looking at the cars. Within two minutes, a salesman came up to me and asks how he can help. I replied and said that I would like to test drive a Giulia, and his response was "Are you going to buy one?" And I said I would just like to test drive one. He took my information (drivers license and insurance card) and walked back into the dealership. Within a few minutes, he came back outside only to tell me that the porters were busy and they had cars all over the place. He asked if I could come back another day instead, preferably Monday. Mind you, this was a Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock PM. I guess I will keep my 1974 Giulia for much longer. I guess they don't want my money or my business. I will be calling corporate due to this issue. Little do they know, they just lost out on a sale. P.S. If anyone has red Alfa blood running through them, it's me. -Tony
Why didn't you just explain to him that you were there now, would like to drive a car, and were unlikely to return on a Monday? He asked... Though, I get it is a turn off to you, but if you are that easily passing on the car, I am not sure how much "red Alfa blood" is truly running through your veins... Maybe visit a different dealer, if you have an alternative.
Dealers get leery of "test drives" on new models. Lots of tire kickers. Back in '03, I had to visit three dealers before I found one willing to let me test drive an EVO VIII (when they first came to the US). That dealer had one or two set aside as "test drive" cars. They didn't have one in the color I wanted, so I left my number, and they called me a month or so later.
Isn't Autobarn a dealer of several makes?? So your not going to buy a new car from any of those companies either??
Hey guys, dealers are there to test drive cars. If they are not willing to give test drives, then guess what, they're not going to sell any cars!!! It's that simple. And yes, I do have Alfa blood running through my veins. I don't have to explain who I am. I should be able to walk into a dealership and test drive a car. Simple. And no, I will not be buying any cars from Autobarn of any of their dealers.
That's unfortunate! Alfa is trying to introduce a new car and re-introduce itself as an "upscale" brand. It's dealers need to bend over backwards to accommodate customers and get butts in the seats. I think this is dealer specific, though. I recently visited a local Alfa dealer and was able to drive the Giulia Ti and Quadrifoglio. They are wonderful cars... specially the QV. It is impossible to drive the QV and not fall in love. I walked in a curious "tire kicker" and left a motivated buyer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would call Richard Fisher, explain your experience. He is a genuine enthusiast. I know he'd want to make it right. I bought two cars from them a couple of months ago. I'd be happy to introduce you via email if you PM me. I have no relationship with the dealership beyond being a customer. Philip
My dealer had a Demo car the first day. He asked me if I wanted to drive it. The next day they took it to Cars and Coffee. I think the Giulia has to be sold just like the BMW 3 series. People need to drive it. The good thing is when the do, they like it.
This week I have done over 1500 kms across Italy. This car puts a smile on your face like no other - that doesn't have a Prancing horse on it. It is truly exceptional.
Every time a new hot car is introduced it creates a dilemma for the dealers. It is very, very difficult to qualify everyone walking through the door asking to "test drive", no problem with existing and known customers but would you be so willing to give the car to someone you see for the first time and suspect he read about it and is curious without intention to buy it? You get miles pounded on your new car that you OWN and it is virtually impossible to recover the invoice on a car with miles, known to be used as test driver. I was in sales in the 80s and frequently had guys test drive the no miles brand new car, exactly specified as they wanted and then requesting to find them a new, identical one with no miles (the car they just drove was driven ONLY by them and had the miles increased by themselves from 10 to 14-16), but they reasoned it was "used", even when they were the only "user".
Far be it for me to defend Autobahn as I find some of their sales processes and tactics abhorrent but .... car sales people are not there to "give test drives" they are there to sell cars. Test drives are a means to that end, not an end in themselves. Coming in at the busiest time of the busiest day and telling a salesman that you "just want to drive a car not there to buy" is the absolute definition of a time waster. The request for you to reschedule may have been more artfully handled but your reaction is also classic stroke. I'll guess if you were not know to the specific salesperson you were known to the dealership or the manager who told the salesperson to broom you as you weren't there to buy a car that day or any day. Again I'm not really out to defend Autobahn but I do know a little about how things work.
This is exactly what i have been saying about Alfa in the US. The dealers will be the main issue. They have a very tough uphill battle to take customers from BMW/Audi/MB/Lexus/Infinity and even Cadillac (which are getting very popular around here). But the sales people seem to be completely uninterested in fighting that fight. 2 years ago when i was seriously thinking of buying a 4C the Dealer in downtown Chicago told me they had no car for test drives. How are you going to sell a car such as an Alfa without a test drive??
The way i read it, the salesman question was strange considering it's a new car, from a brand that is being re-introduced in the US market, on a new platform. A lot of unknowns for $40k-$80k. I would have taken it as a way to make a sale and get the car driven. Test drives usually last 5-10mns so why ask him to come back another day? I live not far from the Alfa dealer in Naperville and drive by every day on my way to the gym, and they always have 5 or 6 Giulias parked at any time (except a few weeks ago when they had the open house and they were being driven all over Naperville - This was a good idea...it got the car out so that people can see them and people got to drive them.). I am sure most test drives do not end up in sales so it's part of the process. Alfa has to go the extra mile to win people away from the usual sedans. They need to take these cars to cars and coffee events, get them out at targeted events, etc. I hope FCA is investing in the brand because it seems the car is phenomenal. I love how it looks. I have been to all sorts of dealerships (new and used exotics) and they always let me test drive the cars. Granted i had shown interest but then how easy is it to fake that.
Maybe I am crazy but shouldn't the owner of each dealer be buying one of these for themselves as maybe their daily driver? This way each dealership would have at least 1 car available for test drives. Dealer takes a car with a $50k msrp and keeps it for the year, at the end of the year the dealer puts it in the used car fleet with 5-7k miles and takes a 15k hit and then gets the new model year car. Is that too much to ask? What am I missing, is that asking too much?
Update on my test drive: I want you all to know that the general manager reached out to me and I explained to him my experience. He said that this is NOT how they do business and he apologized. He told me that he wants to make it right. He wants me to come back up to the dealership and to test drive a car. - Tony
That's great. I hope your experience is fullfilling, the sales process goes smoothly ,and you end up buying a car you enjoy.
I don't know if this video has been posted - They put the QV on a lift and they go over all the features. There is a lot going on under this Car. The rest of the video is just Ok https://youtu.be/lCbKlF53KSM
I don't understand why you'd be purposefully vague with the salesperson. If you had answered, "if I like the car, I may buy one" you'd probably have gotten a ride, but if they're busy and they have some guy who says "I just want a test drive" with no prospect of a sale, it makes sense to tell you to come back when they aren't so busy. It sounds like you were ready to play games with the guy and then got mad that he doesn't play games with you (or doesn't play how you like)...Just be honest, tell him you're an Alfa guy from way back and if you like it you may buy one and things probably go your way.
