Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
I've made references to this purchase in other threads, but yesterday the dealership sent me this picture, so I figure it's time for a thread:
So, I think now it's time for the thread.
Ok, what is this: This is a 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Aside from being a mouthful, this is Alfa Romeo's SUV (the Stelvio). The four leaf clover in the white triangle on the fender indicates that there's more to it - as that's Alfa's racing symbol. The history is actually quite interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Quadrifoglio
So let me back up. Back in October, Laurie and I were going around kicking tires at dealerships. Her Mercedes had 135k miles on it and while it still drove fine, she was getting ready for something different in the future. We went by the Alfa Romeo dealer as the Stelvio interested her. We'd done zero research. Test drove one, actually didn't much care for it with the 4-cylinder. Then I saw one on the lot that had the Quadrifoglio badge on it, and asked "Now, what's different with that one?" Last time I touched a Quadrifoglio was when I was a Jag mechanic. It was a Spider (the little convertible) and as far as I could tell it was an appearance package more than anything, probably a bit in the handling department. No, in this case, it's basically a completely different car. A lot closer to what you see with true AMGs and M3s (not "AMG Sport package" or "M Sport Package" where it really is just appearances). This has a fire-breathing 505 HP twin-turbo V6, and ran a 7:52 at the Nurburgring (with a driver much better than me).
The one they had was a used 2019, and we test drove it. Yes, this is what we want. No question. We were going to buy that used one and then looked at a few other used ones. In the end, used just didn't make sense because of the relatively small depreciation in this market, plus I get a corporate discount on any Fiat/Chrysler/Alfa/Stelantis vehicles as my company is a supplier - including the Quadrifoglio. So we went to the local dealership, who we ended up walking out on after they tried to change pricnig and terms at the last second. No thanks. This is why Alfa is having trouble in the US - something like 10% of dealers are responsible for 90% of sales, because most of the dealers are just bad to deal with.
I found a high volume Alfa dealer in Ohio that was good to work with and high volume, got better terms and pricing, and placed the order towards the end of October. Keep in mind that Alfas are really a good deal in today's market, as far as I can tell about the only good deal. We sold the old Mercedes GL550 and Jaguar XKR for enough to pay for between 1/3 and 1/2 of the purchase price of this car, with the used values being as high as they are. Alfa still struggles some with the reliability image, and I'm sure there are concerns about how long they'll stay in the US again. I share that latter concern, but for now we'll have the car. In the end, this cost a lot less than any of the competitors in equivalent trim levels. We could've gone for a Wrangler Unlimited with a Hemi, but this cost only slightly more than that would've. And then we wouldn't have had a need for the Rover since Wranglers are good tow-behinds, and I still need to do that diesel engine swap.
Almost 4 months to the day from when I placed the order, our car arrived at the dealership in Ohio. So now comes the final paperwork and getting it to us, which we're still working the details of. Probably the only extra detail to work out is whether I want to extend the factory warranty (with a factory backed extended warranty). Given the complexity of the car, I think the answer is probably yes if the pricing is reasonable. At this level with the parts pricing, probably actually worth it.
We can't wait to get the car and put some miles on it, this will be fun.
So, I think now it's time for the thread.
Ok, what is this: This is a 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Aside from being a mouthful, this is Alfa Romeo's SUV (the Stelvio). The four leaf clover in the white triangle on the fender indicates that there's more to it - as that's Alfa's racing symbol. The history is actually quite interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Quadrifoglio
So let me back up. Back in October, Laurie and I were going around kicking tires at dealerships. Her Mercedes had 135k miles on it and while it still drove fine, she was getting ready for something different in the future. We went by the Alfa Romeo dealer as the Stelvio interested her. We'd done zero research. Test drove one, actually didn't much care for it with the 4-cylinder. Then I saw one on the lot that had the Quadrifoglio badge on it, and asked "Now, what's different with that one?" Last time I touched a Quadrifoglio was when I was a Jag mechanic. It was a Spider (the little convertible) and as far as I could tell it was an appearance package more than anything, probably a bit in the handling department. No, in this case, it's basically a completely different car. A lot closer to what you see with true AMGs and M3s (not "AMG Sport package" or "M Sport Package" where it really is just appearances). This has a fire-breathing 505 HP twin-turbo V6, and ran a 7:52 at the Nurburgring (with a driver much better than me).
The one they had was a used 2019, and we test drove it. Yes, this is what we want. No question. We were going to buy that used one and then looked at a few other used ones. In the end, used just didn't make sense because of the relatively small depreciation in this market, plus I get a corporate discount on any Fiat/Chrysler/Alfa/Stelantis vehicles as my company is a supplier - including the Quadrifoglio. So we went to the local dealership, who we ended up walking out on after they tried to change pricnig and terms at the last second. No thanks. This is why Alfa is having trouble in the US - something like 10% of dealers are responsible for 90% of sales, because most of the dealers are just bad to deal with.
I found a high volume Alfa dealer in Ohio that was good to work with and high volume, got better terms and pricing, and placed the order towards the end of October. Keep in mind that Alfas are really a good deal in today's market, as far as I can tell about the only good deal. We sold the old Mercedes GL550 and Jaguar XKR for enough to pay for between 1/3 and 1/2 of the purchase price of this car, with the used values being as high as they are. Alfa still struggles some with the reliability image, and I'm sure there are concerns about how long they'll stay in the US again. I share that latter concern, but for now we'll have the car. In the end, this cost a lot less than any of the competitors in equivalent trim levels. We could've gone for a Wrangler Unlimited with a Hemi, but this cost only slightly more than that would've. And then we wouldn't have had a need for the Rover since Wranglers are good tow-behinds, and I still need to do that diesel engine swap.
Almost 4 months to the day from when I placed the order, our car arrived at the dealership in Ohio. So now comes the final paperwork and getting it to us, which we're still working the details of. Probably the only extra detail to work out is whether I want to extend the factory warranty (with a factory backed extended warranty). Given the complexity of the car, I think the answer is probably yes if the pricing is reasonable. At this level with the parts pricing, probably actually worth it.
We can't wait to get the car and put some miles on it, this will be fun.
category. I don't get why we're able to buy a 505 HP luxury SUV that can run the Nurburgring faster than a Lamborghini Gallardo (or was it a Murcelago? I can't remember. They're both not slow) for less than I could realistically buy a new Tahoe for.
