3rd Aug 2002, 15:45
Also have love hate relationship with 2.0 spider. Had noise from in front of bulkhead after 2000 miles.Turned out to be problem with some welding points!Interior had to be removed, central console damaged. Alfa dealer has still not successfully matched and replaced this. Developing rattles from interior. Owned BMW and Volkswagen before, Alfa build quality is a joke, so is dealer after sales service. But car is much more fun to drive than any of the German cars of similar performance, will wait to see next spider in 2004 it may take general motors takeover to resolve build quality.
9th Sep 2002, 14:56
With relief I sold my Spider after 10 months of continuing frustration with roof (repeated failures), flooding foot well, switches disappearing into fascia and flat battery. The excellent engine, gearbox, steering, suspension and road holding did not make up for unreliability. The sheer quality of my Nissan, now 5 years old, was too much of a contrast and I would never buy another Alfa.
6th Aug 2008, 03:52
N I S S A N??? Please do not mention Nissan and Alfa Romeo in the same breath - your 350 doesn't even have a NISSAN engine!!!
And as far as alfas being unreliable - that's rubbish, I've had 5 of them ranging from a 84 model to 2001 model; never any issues.
Hahahahaha.
12th Aug 2008, 04:47
Please be honest please, I have worked with an Alfa garage for years in sales, I have seen the cars in droves been returned again and again for repairs, and I am talking recently new models.
The proof of how awful these cars are, are stated within the reviews, also JDPOWER surveys, which place them firmly on the bottom for satisfaction, and reliability.
German A.D.A.C worst cars for breakdowns.
You can't place these awful Alfa's in the same breath, as the superbly engineered Nissan 350z. The Nissan is way ahead in all departments and will spent a lot less time being repaired plus be far more satisfying to drive.
17th Aug 2008, 12:58
Toyota Yaris is basic, not designed to be sporty, so I feel you drew a bad comparison, compared to most Japanese sports cars, Alfa's are inferior, and that's from the mouths of motoring journalists.
As I said previously, Alfas get poor customer survey reports, bad reliability stats, according to car rescue operators, Japanese cars score extremely high in customer satisfaction and reliability, and as for soul, what soul?
The poor soul stuck yet again on the motorway, as the awful Alfa breaks down again.
28th Sep 2001, 02:46
I have a love-hate relationship with my 2.0 Spider Lusso.
The dealers were very slow - I almost began to feel that they didn't want to sell me the car.
The electric roof has broken on three occasions, door seals are bad, instrument panel is broken, something's just gone in the engine, and parts are unavailable for months on end.
But then, when it works, it's wonderful.