2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia - 1yr/17k mile Review

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Good evening, folks.

Saturday 9/21 marked the 1 year anniversary of taking home this Italian beauty. In that time I've racked up slightly over 17k miles of year-round daily driving usage. I wanted to share my experience thus far for anyone who may be in the market. Vehicle in question is an '18 Giulia Ti Sport Q4 w/ Performance Package. For a complete write up please check out my 5k mile review here. Nothing has changed regarding driving dynamics, looks, etc. So this will be short and sweet.

In 1 year the Giulia has seen the dealer 5 times. Twice for a passenger side door rattle, once for a recall and free oil change, once for a recall/oil maintenance light reset (after DIY change) and once for a valve stem replacement. That's it. No doom and gloom stories from me on this one. Total maintenance costs have been $164.28. $78.78 for the oil and filter and $85.50 for them to reset the oil light. Yes, you read that correctly. They charged 1/2 an hour of labor to reset the oil light. While there have been some, I repeat some, horror stories of Alfa ownership. Most board members seem to have similar experiences to what I've shared. One or two initial growing pains then smooth sailing from there. One of the things that attracted me to this car was the efficiency to power ratio if you will. She's a great performer and will put down power when you need it, while also delivering a 24.1 lifetime mpg average. Considering I have a 50 mile daily commute of suburban stop & go traffic, I truly can't ask for more.

Positives
  • Undeniably beautiful
  • Powerful yet efficient
  • Comfortable seating
  • Unique cabin
  • Smooth and adjustable suspension


Negatives
  • For the love of God give owners access/ability to clear codes and reset maintenance lights
  • Harmon Kardon is simply subpar for the cost
  • No spare tire (an un-patchable nail resulted in an $1,100 bill for a new set, while this isn't really an Alfa issue, it's an annoyance that modern AWD vehicles bring)
 
good lookin cars for sure, but even IF i could afford one NO THANKS as its a FCA product. hope your luck with that beauty continues.
 
Originally Posted by JC1
Are those Run flat tires? That's a common occurence.

Glad you like the Alfa. How long do you normally keep your cars for?


Yes, stock tires are Pirelli run flats. Replaced with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06. While I would have liked to stick with run flats as a just in case situation, that wasn't worth limiting my scope in options. Being 225/40-19, options aren't plentiful to begin with.
 
Originally Posted by RamFan

Negatives
  • For the love of God give owners access/ability to clear codes and reset maintenance lights
  • Harmon Kardon is simply subpar for the cost
  • No spare tire (an un-patchable nail resulted in an $1,100 bill for a new set, while this isn't really an Alfa issue, it's an annoyance that modern AWD vehicles bring)




My $1,000 Autel does Alfa, or at least it has the Alfa icon so I assume it can.
The only music I want to listen to on that car is the music coming out of the tail pipes.
Who buys a whole set of tires when one needs replacement???
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by RamFan

Negatives
  • For the love of God give owners access/ability to clear codes and reset maintenance lights
  • Harmon Kardon is simply subpar for the cost
  • No spare tire (an un-patchable nail resulted in an $1,100 bill for a new set, while this isn't really an Alfa issue, it's an annoyance that modern AWD vehicles bring)




My $1,000 Autel does Alfa, or at least it has the Alfa icon so I assume it can.
The only music I want to listen to on that car is the music coming out of the tail pipes.
Who buys a whole set of tires when one needs replacement???


2018 and newer FCA has an SGW installed at the OBDII; 3rd party scanners can read codes but you can't reset/change anything. There are SGW bypass modules and a software that can be purchased but I'm letting others guinea pig it first. Though it seems promising. A complete set-up would be about $300, while not exactly cheap it will pay for itself in a few uses.

Tires were worn to 6/32nds and it's AWD. You can't replace just one tire.
 
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Love the Giulia. Great report!

My 2018 Wrangler, which was early production of the new JL, has been to the dealership twice in two years and 23k miles. Once was for an update to the radio to get off-road pages. The other was to replace a bad steering dampener. The second dampener failed, so I put an aftermarket Fox dampener on there. Guess what? FCA reimbursed me for it! So much for terrible customer service, right?

I didn't count one trip to the dealer to have a Mopar 2" lift installed. That was an add-on, not a maintenance or repair item. The lift has been awesome, btw.

Keep us posted on that car. I was in Rome when it was announced as North American Car of the Year and the Italians were going nuts over it. They were just overjoyed to see that!
 
Originally Posted by IndyFan
Love the Giulia. Great report!

My 2018 Wrangler, which was early production of the new JL, has been to the dealership twice in two years and 23k miles. Once was for an update to the radio to get off-road pages. The other was to replace a bad steering dampener. The second dampener failed, so I put an aftermarket Fox dampener on there. Guess what? FCA reimbursed me for it! So much for terrible customer service, right?

I didn't count one trip to the dealer to have a Mopar 2" lift installed. That was an add-on, not a maintenance or repair item. The lift has been awesome, btw.

Keep us posted on that car. I was in Rome when it was announced as North American Car of the Year and the Italians were going nuts over it. They were just overjoyed to see that!


I'm still angry that my 19 trailhawk that was promised off-road pages STILL doesnt have them.. one of the reasons I bought the 2019.

offroadpages.png
 
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Originally Posted by atikovi
6/32 is nearly worn out so you were going to replace them anyway. Or couldn't find a used tire for the next 5-10,000 miles? Or shaved a new one?


As you mention, 6/32ths is getting low. I was waiting on the 4/32ths mark for a new set so the nail just accelerated things a bit.

Shaved would've been an option if the rest had more meat, being halfway worn however, that would've been a waste.

Again, this isn't an Alfa annoyance but rather a cost to owning an AWD.
 
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Originally Posted by mclasser
We need pics of this beauty
smile.gif



Ha, crazily enough I've not taken any pics in her glory. Crazy I know!

This is from when I signed the papers.

[Linked Image]
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by atikovi
6/32 is nearly worn out so you were going to replace them anyway. Or couldn't find a used tire for the next 5-10,000 miles? Or shaved a new one?


The tires on my sportscar have 6/32nds when brand new...

Nice car, OP.
 
Living dangerously with a euro turbo car no doubt. Im glad i bought a Buick Regal Tourx, a quality AMERICAN vehicle!
27.gif
 
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Originally Posted by dareo
Living dangerously with a euro turbo car no doubt. Im glad i bought a Buick Regal Tourx, a quality AMERICAN vehicle!
27.gif


ROFL! This is the kind of humor we need in the world.
 
Originally Posted by dareo
Living dangerously with a euro turbo car no doubt. Im glad i bought a Buick Regal Tourx, a quality AMERICAN vehicle!
27.gif



Haha, you ARE joking right?
 
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