Aeromotive

Hi all,

I leased then purchased my IS350 (RWD). First, I have to say I'm in love with my car. It's meticulously maintained and extremely clean. No need to mention it's been extremely reliable, with absolutely no problems in my 4 years. Even at only 306hp the RWD is a blast to drive in summer. It'd break my heart to let it go, but driving it in the Montreal winters (even with proper winter tires, the Nokian R2's) has been stressful and the tires are so soft that I don't enjoy it anymore (very wobbly and feels unstable at times).


(did you see the squirrel in mid-air?)

On the other hand, I love the Giulia since it came out.

I have 2 options :

1) Keep my IS and purchase a winter beater (might as well drive a boring car in the winter instead of my IS with non-sport tires), which means keeping my IS even longer and in even better condition

2) YOLO it and lease an AWD Giulia for a year-round car

I have one main worry : I got used to (and spoiled by) the reliability of the Lexus, which is something to be expected. I'm worried about the reliability of the Alfa, and I'm certainly hoping it's better than the Germans.

Being a very unbiased and objective forum, can you talk me in or out of this?

Sasnuke

LOL!!!! I see the squirrel!!

EZZ

YOLO! I say you get the Giula. Just do us a favor and keep us informed on the reliability. Inquiring minds want to know

Flash5

The Giulia is a very sexy car and I contemplated it before getting my brand new IS 300 (decided I didn't want another V6 since I have a G37S and definitely was not getting the 4 cylinder Giulia). If you do get it, let us know how it is. It might become my next used purchase if it's reliable.

JDR76

The Giulia is a beautiful car, no doubt. I too would be concerned about reliability but I guess that's the price to pay!

If you want a fun AWD car I'd also consider a G70 or Stinger.

arentz07

^^ This. The Giulia and the G70 are both kinda wild-card choices in the segment, but I'd imagine the G70 to be more reliable and more affordable, while the Giulia should be more fun to drive based on what critics say. Then again, the G70 seems to be pretty fun based on early feedback. Stinger is a bit different in terms of its mission and won't have quite as nice an interior as the G70, but the Alfa's interior isn't especially nice either. This is actually a really tough call.

dmavilia

Buy an Italian car with the same caution a naked man uses to climb a barbed-wire fence.

skiracer

I remember reading in some magazines (Motortrend maybe?) that it has Italian car manners. In particular, Italian reliability...

GNS

The press release Giulias were going berserk, and not in a good way. I don't think I've read a more scathing review than the above R&T article, well-deserved abuse is dished out on literally every paragraph. Even BMW would be more reliable than Alfa Romeo, and that's saying something.

​​​​​Going YOLO sounds fun, but is it worth it when you're dealing with random failures all the time? Is your time worth more than taking the car into the shop, or being stranded miles from home? If a car can't car anymore, why even bother owning it?

GNS

See the article I linked to. When your press cars are breaking right off the factory line, that's when you know you have problems.

jkonquer

FIAT's are leasing very low right now, not the quadrifogio, but TI can be had for less than 300/ month. And Quadrifoglios are selling more than $10k off sticker right off the bat.

skiracer

This article makes a Benz or BMW a top notch car for reliability :P

2XLXTN

If you get the Giulia, DEFINITELY lease it. Alfa's reliability as a whole is known to not be great. You'd be going from the most reliable brand to one of the least reliable.

Before the Giulia debuted in the US, I remember reading pre-launch reviews that said their testers has significant electrical issues/failures during the review process, powertrain problems, etc. I don't have the links, but a quick Google search should yield the results.

Granted, these were pre-release models, so they could have ironed all of that out. I did a similar thing about 5 years ago. Traded in a super reliable F-150 I had and loved for a Dodge Challenger SRT. While the SRT was fun to drive, it was in the shop so much that I ended up getting rid of it and eating a few grand in negative equity. Went years wishing I'd never gotten the Challenger. Just a little personal anecdote. Once the sheen of the Giulia wears off, you may regret getting rid of your rock solid IS350.

All that to say, aside from the technical/mechanical issues, the Giulia has gotten great reviews as a really awesome driver's car. May be worth it for a YOLO lease.

E46CT

The reliability of that Alfa will be nowhere near "the germans."

Your best bet reliability wise with german will be BMW or Mercedes.

If you need at least Lexus levels of reliability, stick with your IS, and just get a winter beater. Why eat all that depreciation.

And on the tire thing I don't get how a Giulia will suddenly give you the stability you require.

Just keep your IS. that's a hot color you don't see often and with the Giulia you'll be blending in and paying/eating a ton of money to do so.

skiracer

FYI, my Old S4 was very unstable turning in the local canyon roads

I took it in for an alignment and one of my front tires toe was really off. So, after the alignment the car was happy again..