Thoughts on the Alfa Romeo 4C?

[Vr-4-Life]

Anyone paying attention to the upcoming return of Alfa to the USA? I'm pretty much in love with the 4C...

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

Anyone paying attention to the upcoming return of Alfa to the USA? I'm pretty much in love with the 4C...

It's pretty, but expensive. When Alfa comes to mind, I can't help but think of it being broken down on the side of the road or on fire.

[Vr-4-Life]

Yeah i know... I've been watching 4c-forums a bit and I wouldnt buy a launch edition. However, maybe in a year or so I'd like to pick one up... They're just so stunning.

[Bates]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

Yeah i know... I've been watching 4c-forums a bit and I wouldnt buy a launch edition. However, maybe in a year or so I'd like to pick one up... They're just so stunning.

Agreed. I would love to grab a used one if the price is right in a few years. One of the nicest cars I have seen in a long time. 70k for a launch edition is rough for a 240hp MR. I could buy a MR-S, slap a hard top on it and a 2ZZ swap and be nearly as happy at a fraction of the price lol.

I have always wanted an Alfa though. Almost traded one of my old Zs for a GTV6 a few years back. I always stop to admire an Alfa when I see them on the road, except the Spider. Don't like that little car.

[Vr-4-Life]

I like the spider if it is done right... My idea of right is red or green with a tan top.. Tan leather, wood wheel, brushed metal, nice gauges, roll bar, metal toggle switches, etc.

I'll go test drive one of these after the launch blows over and they have some stock...

[OBEEWON]

Man, they delayed the coming. Not that I was going to buy a new one, but I would love a chance to own a 4C down the line. I also like their diesel wagon. I forget the name.

[Vr-4-Life]

I do have to say though that so far I dont have a great impression of FIAT dealers.

[c7scayman]

I don't like the plastic headlight covers and I expected better track times, but still a nice car.

[CleanNeon98]

Not to derail, but if its performance and style you want, take that same 40-50k you'll spend on a used one and INVEST it into an older Ferrari, Porsche, etc. or even a Lotus Elise (and then sell me the seats), if it's going to be a secondary car (knowing you Rich, it will sit under a cover 300 days of the year) lol

[Vr-4-Life]

Well I got a call last friday night from someone at Fiat & Alfa Romeo of Maple Shade NJ. They said that they had a 4C coming in early AM on Saturday and that I should come take a look.

This is the same dealership that annoyed me a month ago when I called to see what their stock was. Back then, they said that they had one 4C that was sold but still in the show room. They said I could come take a look but it was locked and roped off. I said I may be down to see it, and what do you know the next day I'm getting emailed appointment reminders, text messages, and finally a call asking me if I needed help finding the place. I told them I didnt schedule an appointment and to stop bothering me.


Anyhow, I went to go see the car which was in their garage and wow was it beautiful. I had that feeling in my heart and stomach and I knew this is a car that I would adore for the rest of my days. I scoured the outside of the car from every angle soaking in every single detail.

I was then handed the keys, and boy did that leather & alacantara smell amazing. The quality inside was better than it looked in photos. The carbon fiber door sills were thick so getting in and out was NOT graceful. I dont care though... I felt like i was sitting in a Ferrari 458. I started it up and drove it around a bit. The thing sounds amazing, and the turbo is very pronounced. Theres a flutter that almost sounds like compresser surge with the blow off too. I guess its similiar to how a tial vents when at partial boost.



Here comes the bad part... The MSRP on the sticker was 72,000.00 and they were asking 25,000.00 over MSRP. This kind of dealership greed really infuriates me. I went back and forth with the sales guy who kept running out to talk to the sales manager. The sales guy was ok, but he did brag about how he took the car out earlier and was taking turns at 90mph. Great, tell a buyer that you were beating on the car. Anyhow, he couldnt make any descisions on his own and it wasted a lot of my time. After waiting 10 minutes for the sales manager I couldnt stay any longer. I left an offer of 1500 over MSRP and left.

As I'm walking out I hear some old guy in the car bouncing the engine off the rev limiter while parked. Yeah Its bad enough to do that to a car, and its even worse to do it to one in break-in while cold. I can say this is a car I will not buy preowned and when I do buy one, it will have transit miles only.

[Big_Jim]

I would never buy another car from Fiat of Maple Shade. I posted my own experiences with the dealership on here a while back (2012, i think)

Edit:

Found the thread

http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/...d.php?t=126683

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

Well I got a call last friday night from someone at Fiat & Alfa Romeo of Maple Shade NJ. They said that they had a 4C coming in early AM on Saturday and that I should come take a look.

This is the same dealership that annoyed me a month ago when I called to see what their stock was. Back then, they said that they had one 4C that was sold but still in the show room. They said I could come take a look but it was locked and roped off. I said I may be down to see it, and what do you know the next day I'm getting emailed appointment reminders, text messages, and finally a call asking me if I needed help finding the place. I told them I didnt schedule an appointment and to stop bothering me.


Anyhow, I went to go see the car which was in their garage and wow was it beautiful. I had that feeling in my heart and stomach and I knew this is a car that I would adore for the rest of my days. I scoured the outside of the car from every angle soaking in every single detail.

I was then handed the keys, and boy did that leather & alacantara smell amazing. The quality inside was better than it looked in photos. The carbon fiber door sills were thick so getting in and out was NOT graceful. I dont care though... I felt like i was sitting in a Ferrari 458. I started it up and drove it around a bit. The thing sounds amazing, and the turbo is very pronounced. Theres a flutter that almost sounds like compresser surge with the blow off too. I guess its similiar to how a tial vents when at partial boost.



Here comes the bad part... The MSRP on the sticker was 72,000.00 and they were asking 25,000.00 over MSRP. This kind of dealership greed really infuriates me. I went back and forth with the sales guy who kept running out to talk to the sales manager. The sales guy was ok, but he did brag about how he took the car out earlier and was taking turns at 90mph. Great, tell a buyer that you were beating on the car. Anyhow, he couldnt make any descisions on his own and it wasted a lot of my time. After waiting 10 minutes for the sales manager I couldnt stay any longer. I left an offer of 1500 over MSRP and left.

As I'm walking out I hear some old guy in the car bouncing the engine off the rev limiter while parked. Yeah Its bad enough to do that to a car, and its even worse to do it to one in break-in while cold. I can say this is a car I will not buy preowned and when I do buy one, it will have transit miles only.

I don't know man- gorgeous car but at the end of the day...$73,500 for a 4 cylinder turbo?

[OBEEWON]

^^ My feeling exactly. IF it were the 8C that would be a different story. I love that car.

[Vr-4-Life]

Yeah that little inline 4 hits around 20PSI with plenty of room for more boost. Ive been told the car can make over 300HP wheel safely with just a tune and even without it the cars faster than my V10 M5 due to the power to weight. Where the 8C had a steel chassis and CF body, the 4C has a CF tub, front and rears are aluminum, and the body is SMC. The entire car is lotus light with much better styling.

I've been reading about the car every day and I'm not sure when I'll pull the trigger. I've been in contact with two dealers but I refuse to pay anything over than MSRP. Hopefully I find one soon, my fear is that they may halt production early like they did on the 8C. The 8C had over 1400 orders in but they stopped at 500. All of these cars are hand made in Modina, unlike the production alfa counterparts like the Gulieta & mito.


I did also confirm that there is at least a markup on the LE of at least 3k. I was worried for a bit that they were selling them too close to wholesale and that they were in the red. Hopefully that means they can keep producing more and more of them after they get another assembly line going in parallel.

[Vr-4-Life]

Welp I decided to search for them on Ebay, and what do you know. I found #268 still for sale and it didnt hit the reserve price.

I'm going to check the car out again Saturday and take it out for a longer drive.

[CleanNeon98]

River rd shakedown?