Picked up my new Alfa Mito (in Alfa Red) from a West Yorkshire dealer yesterday. As I'm downsizing have just gone for 1.4 non turbo version in lusso trim.
First impressions are very good - as I remember on the test drive. Car seems well put together and looks good outside. Interior looks great and of good quality. I'm downsizing from a bigger car and for a small car I'm impressed with the Alfa.
There wasn't much discounting to be done, getting "safeguard" and some petrol thrown in was the extent of it. Dealer easy to deal with and gave a comprehensive handover when I picked it up.
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I'd seriously like to move across to the new Alfa brand/range (Mito/Spider on looks alone) but, as I rather inappropriately stated some weeks ago!) I'm still not convinced about their short-term reliability, even in this day and age.
I guess they really can't make a bad car in the 21st-century but the stigma from days gone by still hangs around their neck ? unfairly?
Perhaps you'd be prepared to provide us with quarterly reviews/updates doctork...
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Last year I saw an 08 147 having a spectacular under-bonnet fire, so I wouldnt feel too guilty about having continued concerns.
Good luck with the MiTo though, hope it has a fire extinguiser as standard :-)
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I've seen a fair few new VWs which had broken down too. However I like to think Alfa's are now great but I went in a 147 on a 53 plate a few months back, it had 57k on the clock and the gearbox had a horrible whine and suspension clonked all over the place. It felt like 157k and that was just as a passanger. I like to think that was a one off bad example though.
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Nice one Doctork, indeed keep is informed. I test drove the 1.4TB in Italy last year and was very impressed. The DNA switch really made a difference, and the quality feel was excellent. Its a shame people still have preconceived ideas about Alfas but thats life.
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Happy to keep you updated. I'm aware of all the Alfa stories and never have bought one before ( have slimmed down from Hyundai Coupe) but first impressions are good. Hope it stays that way. Now need to get off and buy a fire extinguisher...........
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>>Now need to get off and buy a fire extinguisher...........<<
Haha, I am not joking about the underbonnet fire, saw it with my own eyes so not entirely sure how that is a preconcieved idea as it was concieved after seeing the fire!
It may just be a novel italian way of heating the underbonnet area :-)
Still, to the OP, good luck with the car, look forward to your updates and hopefully news that Alfa now wire them up correctly.
What colour is yours by the way? Colour is everything with an Alfa!
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Well by the same logic I have seen hundreds over the years and never seen one on fire. I have also seen a Honda broken down at the side of the road, therefore they must be very unreliable.
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I think a car catching fire is somewhat more serious than breaking down. To test the theroy, try putting someone you care about in a car that is broken down and then in one on fire, see which motivates you more.
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Not exactly what I meant but nevermind. Also the preconceived bit, check the times of the posts, I was writing that and hadnt seen your reply. I was going on experience on this site of when someone mentions they want to buy / have bought an Alfa people start coming on who have a mate who has had one or seen one by the side of the road and therefore they are all like that. I was proved right sooner than I thought I would be ;)
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It's very true what you say PR. It's interesting isn't it how hard it is for old stereotypical opinions to wane.
I've never driven an Alfa Romeo, although I'd like to some day, so I'm not biased one way or another.
But it's funny how if you mention Alfa, people remember vividly the broken down one they saw 2 years ago, or suck in their breath if you mention Skoda as they're "cheap and nasty", or would buy a Volvo because they are "safer than other cars".
Pre-conceptions are very hard to shake
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think i saw one of these today in black,looked very nice and chunky but with good lines as only alfa can do.......
hope you enjoy it doctork the cars they build today are much much better built and any car can catch fire ,if i added up the burnt out fuse boxes ive seen on pewgot 206"s i would be a poundaire
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I think there are very few idiots in here that would suggest a Skoda is cheap or nasty ( given that it would imply that all VAG products which share its tech would also be by default ), or that Volvo are safer ( since Renault seem to be the leaders on this ).
My only opinions on Alfa concern what ive seen with my own eyes and what Alfa owners I know have told me.
The Alfa GT is a thing of beauty for sure and if they can build up a track record of consistant good build and reliability they can also turn their image in the way that Skoda has done.
But it can take a decade of good performance to positively change public perception and as Mercedes proved, just a few years to ruin it - last week I was talking to an owner of an 07 ML320 who said he had been disappointed at the lack of durability and general cheap finish in his car and it was only that it drove so much better than other 4x4 that he chose it.
I wouldnt buy one of those Mini Coopers that can catch fire either, I dont fancy it myself.
Alfa dont have a reputation for rusty cars anymore, because they stopped them rusting and after a decade, the memory faded. If Alfa slapped a 7 year warranty on all their cars and offered Lexus levels of customer service, id be more than happy to hand over my money for one, because sometimes you need to pull out all the stops to prove you have changed. Alfa so far havent really.
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Well by the same logic I have seen hundreds over the years and never seen one on fire. I have also seen a Honda broken down at the side of the road therefore they must be very unreliable.
Well put PR. I saw a broken down almost-new BMW once - therefore they must be shoddy products too.
Incidentally the best colour for any Italian car is bright red.
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I have seen 5 underbonnet fires this years so far., None have been Itallian.
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Stuart, had someone left an oily rag in the engine bay? Maybe it had been serviced by a cowboy garage? My point being you dont know the circumstances.
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I think the main problem with AR is their dealers, who never used to give a damm.
A friend had a very dangerous experience, due to incompetent AR "servicing" , and said he would never touch one again
MVP
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And as a result they have got rid of most of the dealers. The new ones are reputed to be much better and although I have little experience of this personally a lot of people who do report this being the case. (I dont use main dealers as my car is out of warranty).
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I've owned only two vehicles for the past 11-years. They've both been Octavia hatchbacks (SLX & vRS). They've both been utterly reliable and have served my needs exceptionally well ?i.e. they easily accommodate a couple of bikes, garden rubbish, builders rubble sacks, large pieces of timber, etc. I shall retain the current vRS until it dies on me (I'm looking for a second vehicle). It turned 70,000 this week and seems to drive better, and dare I say, faster ? Brighton to MK in under 2-hours last Sat ? as time goes by, but before the launch of the Octavia all those years ago my opinion of Skoda was the same as everyone else's? I wouldn't have touched one, but since they became part of the VAG 'stable' I don't think you can fault them. They've been transformed beyond belief...
...so, in conclusion, I guess that I need to have the courage of my convictions, become an Alfa owner and just sit back and see what happens...
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Stunorthants -It's in Alfa Red - looks good too.
The dealer in question has a number of franchises with the one I went to having Alfa and Vauxhall (somewhat oddly!) on the same site. Good to deal with though.
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Ah good man, I did wonder if you were one of the crazies who had gone for white ( it wont be in fashion next year! ).
How often do they need servicing? They belt or chain?
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There's nothing quite like an Alfa really - is there!
I nearly bought one back in the early 70's but as I was a teenager the insurance was a tad high - even back then, but I'm talking Alfa Romeo Giulietta here ~
www.giulietta.com/
Now that I'm an old buffer and a mimser, I'll stick to my Almera 1.8 which has been beyond reliable in the 2.5 years I've owned it.
Do me a favor though - if anyone asks you what colour it is, tell em Rosso red :)
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It's a belt and service intervals quoted as 2 years/18000 miles -although I will probably default to 1 year minimum with the oil and filter.
The service book is the only flaw - it's the generic one covering all models -except the Mito ! (Slightly unprofessional!) All the over paperwork is fine.
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The service book is the only flaw - it's the generic one covering all models -except the Mito ! (Slightly unprofessional!) All the over paperwork is fine.
im sure the mk2 punto service book still has a uno in it or was it a 132 or 131 or 500 anyway its italiano enjoyo itsa good o yes
dont forget the updates good and bad,seriously
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I see you bought a Mito from a West Yorkshire dealer. Which one did you go to? I went to Dews near Brighouse for a test drive and the whole episode was a nightmare. Completely disinterested staff, test drove the 155bhp (I was looking at the 95) and advised therefore not to put my foot down too much, one of the staff locked the doors whilst we were looking inside it and told us to look at the one in the showroom, the chap who was meant to be dealing with us vanished in to thin air and, needless to say, we've not heard a dickie bird from them. An utterly lost sale.
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There's an article about the MD of Alfa UK going around the dealerships as a mystery shopper and being kept waiting for considerable periods in many of them.
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I'm surprised by that observation about the West Yorks dealership. I went for the 95 version and drove one too -end of March. However the (female) member of staff I dealt with left on the day mine was handed over in mid June -might explain something.
I will use a local dealership for service -just had to travel to Yorkshire or Cheshire to buy one. Mind you if they are keeping people waiting then they need to get a grip.
Quick Mito update -going well so far - drives OK -still not many around where I am, interior looks fab for the money I think - As HJ suggest in road tests everthing is better when "dynamic " mode selected - I agree and drive mostly with that engaged. Need to put a few more miles on yet though -trip to Cotswolds next week will give it a good test. Not bad on motorway either. Colour -Alfa Red -is fab too.
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It's just about 6 months since I got the Alfa Mito (95hp version -Lusso trim) and I have to say that it has been a pleasure (hope I'm not tempting fate here).
It hasn't broken down or caught fire as people have outlined as possibilities in fact it hasn't missed a beat. Outside it looks very well (it should do after 6 months) in Alfa Red and inside I think it is very well finished for a smallish hatch and looks more expensive than it is. In the Lusso form I was able to choose a have the dash and seats part burgundy which looks fab.
Driving wise it is fine. I downsized from a Hyundai Coupe 2.0 so obviously it is completely different but now I'm used to it, it's a decent enough drive for its size. I drive most of the time with the "d" -dynamic, mode selected in the dna switch as I agree with HJ that in the mode it's all a bit sharpened up. Pottering around I get around 37mpg but on longer runs this improves considerably. Longest run so far was down to the Cotswold when I was averaging 51mpg on a journey of 160 miles from home of which about 100 was motorway, and I wasn't trying to conserve fuel particularly. It seems happy being given a bit of right foot and of course there are quicker versions but in basic engine form it is pretty acceptable.
The service interval of 20,000 or 2 years seems a bit long to me, think I'll settle for oil change after 1 year and then more regularly as my mileage is less than it used to be.
Anyone who is considering a Mito but undecided I would recommend it, and of you're bothered about these things people look at it and remark what a good looking car it is.
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thats good
not even a rattle
thanks for the update
its still a rare see up here in yorkshire so good on you for getting one and also having fun with it
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Nice little motors, friendly and modest looking but personable.
I keep seeing the Lombarda courtesy car (they are just down the road from me in an alley). You can't miss it because the whole of both sides is covered with writing.
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doctork did yu try out the new mito with the revlutionary multiair engine, 14 but power of a 1.8?
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Saj -No, it wasn't available when I bought mine. Might be interesting though !
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The headlights remind me of the Lancia badge - I wonder if that is deliberate for the European market?
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I have an Alfa 156 and I am surprised how well put together it is. Owned it for 2 years now and its never broken down. Nice car
Might PX it for a Spider next year
The only thing wrong with it is I need a spare key which Alfa charge £210 for!
Edit, I have seen a Mercedes on fire. Had a VW Golf that was forever breaking down
Edited by skittles on 15/11/2009 at 22:22
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