Dealer still shite

Had a test drive booked between 11-12 (wasn't sure what time I could get there for), and I said I was interestedin either the V6 or the Diesel (not the 2.2Petrol).

Soooo... after waiting about 25 minutes for a salesman, he looks a bit confused about the aforementioned test drive, and says ermmmm the only Brera we have on-site is the 2.2 Can you come back tomorrow when the other 2 will be here?

Ermm NO I have taken time out of work to com ehere, I may as well try the 2.2

Out comes the 2.2 (took him about 10 minutes to find it and bring it around, I nearly left at this point). It's not even PDI'd yet - not a proper demonstrator !

Dealer still doesn't know whether you can tow with the car, but I did learn that the V7 is permanent 4WD (variable), but the 2.2 is FWD.

Took it for a boring drive - never got about 40mph due to a slow car on the only bit of NSL, but I learnt the following:

Positive:
Seat quite comfortable
Funky ignition key / engine start/stop button
Funky dials
Pretty car
Reasonable size boot (so long as you don't get the BOSE option which robs a lod of bootspace for the sub apparantly)
Not too understeery
Funky glass roof with electric sunshade thing
Smooth gearbox

Negative:
Even with the seat on its lowest setting my head was brushing the roof; not directly above me, but by my right ear - the corner between roof/door seems to cut in too much
Pedal space is very small - accelerator/brake nice and close (not too close) but not much space for the clutch without brushing the bodywork on the left of the pedal
Long throw on the gearshift
Not sure the seats in the back are worth anything - couldn't fit a person in them !

So overall the car isn't toooo bad, but the dealer is awful and disorganised enough to put me off buying one.

 

Unlucky dreamer, it sounds like you have experienced the whole plethora of dealer lethargy that eventually put me off owning Alfa's after several years.

The cars are (generally) great to drive but the dealer network just grinds you down in the end

 

Alfa cars are cool to drive as long as you're willing to put up with crap dealer service, awful electronics and huge service bills.

My old man has a 147 - I had it for about 6 months while he was away travelling - it was a labour of love........you can drive off with everything working beautifully and then only a couple of miles down the road, the stereo stops working (for no apparent reason), then turns itself on 10 minutes later. The lights on the dash change colour (again for no apparent reason), the boot refuses to open with the key fob one day, but works fine the next!!

Only if you truly love the car can you put up with these kind of foibles! Otherwise, it's darn right annoying and not something you can ever forgive a

 

It is making me appreciate Honda and Audi dealerships that's for sure

 

Jo, nip to your local Porsche garage and take one out , see what you think

 

V7?! Unusual configuration... Sorry, couldn't resist!

I drove an Alfa 159 recently, 2.4JTDm, it was good... but not good enough to overcome all the old problems. Warning lights were illuminated on the dash (it had 761 miles on the clock! ), the build didn't feel that good and you've still got to contend with those dealers... as you've already explained, they're not very good.

I so dearly want to love Alfas because they look awesome and have some nice engines... but I think you ought to steer clear of the Brera by the sounds of it.

 

Are you deserting us Jo ?

First we lost Kelk & now you as well

What's going on ?

Bharat

 

The one I drove was pre-PDI but it had loads of weird warning lights illuminated on the dash. The dealer said "oh that's just because it hasn't been PDI'd" - ermm I thought PDI was just a check list to make sure it was ok! Not to fix thing like that !!

 

Jamie - happy with a Porka for the right price, so lon gas it can tow and has a decent size boot !

 

Cayenne?