[steve6225]

Hi, everyone... Last Friday my wife and I purchased a new 2018 Verde Visconti Stelvio Ti AWD from Alfa Romeo of Portland. (Maine)

The Stelvio replaced my Fiat 500, but It was her turn for a new car, so it will be her daily driver. It's about time we added an Alfa to our Italian stable, along with the Fiat 500L (her old daily driver, now mine) and the Abarth 124. (my toy)

The Scorpion badge is pretty cool, but the Alfa badge is the coolest badge ever.

Steve

 

[Scalewoodman]

Greetings, Steve + welcome to the Alfa side. Wishing you many miles of great driving + appreciate your input in advance!

 

[lost1750GTV]

welcome, I was checking on my order with Ken today, and he mentioned some new stelvio owners over the weekend, guess you/your wife is/are one of them.

 

[steve6225]

welcome, I was checking on my order with Ken today, and he mentioned some new stelvio owners over the weekend, guess you/your wife is/are one of them.

Yes we are. I bought my Abarth 124 Spider from Ken also. He's a good guy.

 

[lost1750GTV]

did you get your Fiats serviced there? how are they post purchase?

 

[CalgaryStelvio]

Congrats! post up some pictures.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[harrymai22]

Congrats,

I am in NH as well - some great roads up here to take the Stelvio around. How is the service at Alfa Portland - I can say without hesitation, avoid the Boston dealers at all costs for service.

 

[LC_LC]

Welcome to the forum

 

[ViscontiVerde 164L*]

Welcome fellow visconti verde owner!!

 

[marraccinijd]

Welcome! The Abarth 124 is also a fun car Enjoy!

 

[Alfaholico]

Welcome...AROC National held a great convention in New Hampshire in 2004 (Produced by Alfa Owners of New England- AONE) and track events at New Hampshire International Speedway...The parade laps at that convention were extremely spirited....!!!! Enjoy your Stelvio !!!

 

[steve6225]

did you get your Fiats serviced there? how are they post purchase?

I talked to Ken today, he said you ordered a Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Hopefully you get it soon. I ordered my Abarth 124 Spider from Ken. I waited 10 months and 2 days to get that car and it seemed like 10 years, but in the end, it was worth the wait. Ken was really good about keeping me updated, but the car seemed to go into a black hole for months at a time. Strange that we can track a box of garbage bags from Amazon, but we can't track a car!

Once you have a VIN, you can also Email FCA customer service and they will give you an update. I was also able to get the build sheet for the Abarth at the Dodge website. The Fiat VIN worked, perhaps the Alfa VIN will too.

I have had warranty work, recalls, and oil changes done there and so far they have been fine. Most of the work was on two Fiats I purchased from Fiat of Manchester, who closed. (a 500 and a 500L)

Most of the work is done by two Fiat/Alfa mechanics that work out of the Chevy garage next door. If you bring the car in for service, you see Karen at the Fiat/Alfa dealership, then they bring the car next door to get worked on.

One time, I thought I would save them the trouble and dropped it off at the Chevy garage. I planned to give them the keys, then walk over and check in with Karen. Save them a trip over to get the car.

It's best to just bring the car to Karen at the Fiat/Alfa dealership... The Chevy people are very very hostile to Fiats, and I assume Alfa. They were kinda nasty, wouldn't take my keys, and made me bring the car next door, only to walk over and get it a few minutes later. This only stood out for me because I was surprised how much the Chevy people hated the Fiats. (they didn't have Alfa at the time)

The guys who work on the Fiats and Alfas seem to know and like the cars. They notice the mods I have done to the Abarth 124 and make positive comments about them.

Other than that, they have done good work and I have no complaints. I make my living as an industrial mechanic, so I would recognize shoddy workmanship if I saw it.

 

[lost1750GTV]

I'm very glad to hear that about the dedicated guys doing good work - portland is a ways away from me, but I keep hearing negatives about the MA dealers. You've probably noticed on the other forum a lot of negativity towards the fiat aligned dealers, but to me it's the individuals who make the difference.

Ken has been great from day 1.

 

[tom1356]

Southern NH here.
Welcome t0 the club!

 

[steve6225]

I'm very glad to hear that about the dedicated guys doing good work - portland is a ways away from me, but I keep hearing negatives about the MA dealers. You've probably noticed on the other forum a lot of negativity towards the fiat aligned dealers, but to me it's the individuals who make the difference.

Ken has been great from day 1.

I happen to like Fiats. I have owned 3 of them, and I still own two. Fiat brought me to Alfa Romeo. I would have never considered Alfa if it wasn't for my happiness with my Fiats.

I think all of these dealerships should be stand alone Fiat, Abarth, and Alfa Romeo dealerships. The three are pretty interconnected.

For example, the 1.4L Multiair engine used in the North American spec Fiats is actually an Alfa Romeo engine.

Another example, the 124 Spider started out as an Alfa Romeo project. Sergio decided that all Alfas will be built in Italy, so the project was passed to Fiat. If you take a good look at the car, it was certainly designed by Alfa Romeo. It looks to me like Fiat changed the grille, tail lights, and added two humps to the hood. If the 124 started life as a Fiat 124, it would probably be a 4 seater like the classic 124 instead of a 2 seater.

The 124 gets a lot of attention, I believe that it is mostly due to Alfa Romeo's contribution to the cars design. Because of the Abarth badging on mine, most non car people have no idea what my 124 is... The number one guess is Alfa Romeo, followed by Maserati! (I have even heard Ferrari) People also think it is a $100,000 + car.

That said, thanks everyone and I will try to put up a photo after I wash it this weekend.

 

[Scalewoodman]

I am very concerned about Elizabeth and want a good outcome but in the interest of balance, other than an initial issue that was minor and resolved easily, we have had no- as in zero- issues with our Stelvio: finish, fitment, operations, etc and I am a bit of a perfectionist. This, of course, is what I would wish for others. Coming up on 10K miles and other than the recalls and service and a hitch there is nothing we need at the dealership.

 

[lost1750GTV]

we need the cars that have been ordered by customers to have delivery priority over vehicles ordered for the lot.
AR made their ordering customers second tier waiters with the giulia quads, and it sure looks like they are doing it again with the stelvio, even after a shuffle in north american management.
this tells me three things:
- they don't learn from their mistakes
- they don't realize a happy customer sells more cars than a gouging dealer in the long term
- their focus is on the dealer because that is who they consider to be their customer

 

[steve6225]

we need the cars that have been ordered by customers to have delivery priority over vehicles ordered for the lot.
AR made their ordering customers second tier waiters with the giulia quads, and it sure looks like they are doing it again with the stelvio, even after a shuffle in north american management.
this tells me three things:
- they don't learn from their mistakes
- they don't realize a happy customer sells more cars than a gouging dealer in the long term
- their focus is on the dealer because that is who they consider to be their customer

My experience with ordering my Abarth 124 was similar to what you are experiencing right now.

When I ordered the car, the Heritage Stripe (matte black hood and trunk lid) was not available and could not be ordered. I waited 10 months for the car, but several months before I got it, Heritage Stripe cars were showing up on dealer lots.

It's obvious that they were filling dealer orders that were placed well after I placed mine first.

The 10 month wait sucked, but in the end, I think it was worth it, I love the car.

And I am actually glad I didn't get the Heritage Stripe. Matte paint is a PITA to take care of.

Ken assumed that I would want to order, but after seeing my experience with the Abarth, my wife wanted one off the lot as long as it checked all the boxes.

I used the time I waited for the car to buy stuff for it, I had quite a pile of parts in my spare room when I finally got the car.

Once you get your car, you will be happy with it, and all the research and waiting you have done will give you an even stronger sense of ownership then you get when you buy off the lot. It really will be your "Baby"... At least that was my experience.

 

[lost1750GTV]

As a business practice I think it's BS, and I think it's bad business.
They would be much better off having people receive their cars and being pleased and spreading the word than having dealers try to pick up an extra 10k on a couple units of new model inventory.

there are giulia quads sitting on lots all over the place (check strongsville OH) with heavy discounts, and I doubt that would be the case if the guys who ordered them in the first place spents months gloating about their great var instead of complaining about AR.
I thought they learned from that - I was wrong. To AR usa, the customer is the dealer, and the big dealers get priority. the actual buyer of the car isn't a priority for them.
yeah, I'm a more than a little miffed.

 

[steve6225]

Here is a photo of the Stelvio as I promised. Right after a quick was and dry. I didn't have time to detail it, hopefully I can next weekend. It's not a very good photo either.