Why so few I45s on the road?

[Ferraricalifornia]

Before buying a conti PI or a used conti, be very very careful about the support network - particularly for the top end cars where the "owner community" is a major part of the benefit of owning.

 

I know for example that BMWs have an "international warranty" so can be serviced locally, on the other hand if you buy a PI Lamborghini the dealership is on record as saying that you will never be welcome at dealer organised events.

 

 

 

well,

 

as long as you own exotic and luxury cars,

 

you're miles ahead of the rest in our society....

 

don't have to be bothered with "organized events" right???

 

[Ferraricalifornia]

Hmm...the tax he avoided amounted to $1,300 per car. Not very much really.

 

What's also interesting is that for the owner of these cars - their OMV will be adjusted to the correct values, so their PARF gets a bump that they didn't have to pay for.

 

 

 

that's cool....

 

but still,

 

not much change in OMV values what....

 

at most $2k nia....

[Darryn]

well,

 

as long as you own exotic and luxury cars,

 

you're miles ahead of the rest in our society....

 

don't have to be bothered with "organized events" right???

 

 

You been to any of the events? I know the Lambo and Lotus events are pretty cool.

 

They also include track days, convoys to Genting (where they got red carpet treatment), special hosting, fashion shows and a whole lot more. Miss out on this and you do miss a large part of the ownership experience.

 

On top of that, a Lamborghini is not exactly the easiest car in the world to service or repair, so you would be cutting yourself off from a heck of a lot and exposing yourself to quite a big risk for what real purpose? You really telling me that you can afford $800k for a car but not willing to stump up that extra $100k to get it from the dealer...then also, you buy from PI the rest of community will point and laugh at you for being cheap 9and believe me, they will know where you got the car)

[Ferraricalifornia]

You been to any of the events? I know the Lambo and Lotus events are pretty cool.

 

They also include track days, convoys to Genting (where they got red carpet treatment), special hosting, fashion shows and a whole lot more. Miss out on this and you do miss a large part of the ownership experience.

 

On top of that, a Lamborghini is not exactly the easiest car in the world to service or repair, so you would be cutting yourself off from a heck of a lot and exposing yourself to quite a big risk for what real purpose? You really telling me that you can afford $800k for a car but not willing to stump up that extra $100k to get it from the dealer...then also, you buy from PI the rest of community will point and laugh at you for being cheap 9and believe me, they will know where you got the car)

 

 

 

used imports have really good deals....

 

can kick start one's ownership to such cars....

 

before moving on to getting it from the official dealers mah....

[Ben5266]

that's cool....

 

but still,

 

not much change in OMV values what....

 

at most $2k nia....

Well, if the OMV corrected up $2k and the current owner pays nothing, by 10th year, the owner could get $1k more back, courtesy of Mr. Sim. That's cool.

[Ferraricalifornia]

i guess so....

 

[Maroon5]

you serious???

 

many have that problem against me leah....

 

 

ya serious...its jus a forum...but i thk they agst u cos u talk too much nonsense haha

but no issues w me..

[Tigerwoods]

erm, regarding your part of Alfa's not bring put together. Not entirely true ...

 

My Alfa's build and finish is actually quite good and can be compared to other's conti make.

 

However! Only my car seems to develop some eletrical fault after my 1st servicing at the dealer and i have to tow it back 5 times. So i would not entirely put the blame on Alfa not building the car properly.

 

Cause other owner's of Alfas so far have not give them any major headach or heartbreak yet.

 

 

The i45 seems to be a very nice car. However as with all korean cars. Their engine may claim to have more horsepower compared to jap cars or conti cars. But in real life situation and driving conditions, wonder where all the horsepower have escaped to? Hyundai and Kia should do more research on their engine department.

 

My 2 cents worth

I agree that I had been harsh with Alfa. Yes there is major Electrical issues with Alfa in the past and it seems they have not fix that even now...

 

[Ferraricalifornia]

seriously,

 

why ain't the 159 flooding our roads now???

[Tigerwoods]

Over declare is not a very smart strategy at all. Remember that over declare by even $1 by the time reach comsumer that $1 has become $2.27....because of import duties etc. Anyway most people don't actually go and calculate omv yadda yadda.

 

Why overdeclare to pay govt more? Is better to build extra services into the sale to justify the price.

 

And to Tiger Woods - do you actually engage your brain before you open your mouth or do your fingers just randomly type crap? How many Alfa you own? Build quality is now quite good....

My brudder owned Alfa Romeo 145 and have so many problems that its mind boggling. Oneo of the major problem was electrical.

[Beehive3783]

my point is,

 

they overdeclare so manufacturer back in country of origin, and dealer/ distributor,

 

can profit a bit from the sale of cars mah....

 

but over-declare can only be done for sale of popular models....

 

aka, mass market products....

 

Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

[Ferraricalifornia]

Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

 

 

 

dude....i already made my corrections....

 

what more do you want???

 

:angry:

[Ferraricalifornia]

My brudder owned Alfa Romeo 145 and have so many problems that its mind boggling. Oneo of the major problem was electrical.

 

 

145 nia....

 

now is Giuletta....

 

[Beehive3783]

dude....i already made my corrections....

 

what more do you want???

 

:angry:

I'm just asking if you know what you are talking about.. so hot for what?

[Darryn]

seriously,

 

why ain't the 159 flooding our roads now???

 

If you can find an answer to this question, then I am pretty sure that the boss over at EA wants to talk to you in great detail.

 

To me, I think the problem is multi faceted

1. Too many people are like Tiger Woods - they remember the problems of the older Alfas - like the original Giulia, 145 et al without realising how far Alfa has come in the last decade. The 156 was already recognised as pretty much solving the reliability issue internationally, then along came the 159 which was again streets ahead. JD Powers has put customer satisfaction with the 159 on a par with the likes of Nissan. I think it really says one hell of a lot about the confidence the dealer has in the car that they are actually offering a 5 year, 100,000 km warranty.

 

On top of this, the Mito is again a quality improvement on the 159, and the Giulietta is sure to push again, way beyond the 147.

 

2. The Alfa is a robotised manual. It is more aimed at "drivers" rather than commuters. Which simply doesn't suit the average Singapore psyche very well - this has a very knock on effect when people decide to buy. They have to justify their decision to their friends and family because of not only the old negative perceptions but because those that don't know find it "jerky".

 

3. Ther jerkiness is actually really unfair...having spent some time in the car I can get the gear changes to be about as smooth as those in my own Wish when I think about it - its just that too many people drive once, don't really remember their manual driving so well and jerk the car a lot.

 

4. The 159, because it is a "sports sedan" to many people falls a little into no mans land - it's smaller than a Camry or Accord but not as fast the likes of a Scirocco...

 

5. It tends to fall victim to it's own success a little (I feel). In price point its cheaper than a 318, and it will kick this car 10 ways from Sunday in every single area you can imagine, from equipment to space to power, yet when I see people comparing the 159 in forums, what is it compared against? It's always the 323 or the 325 (more direct if you are looking at specs) - cars that are what $50k more expensive? The last time I checked the V6 3.2 litre four wheel drive 159 was only $168k - and this has a big performance edge over the other similarly priced continentals.

 

6. I also felt that in the past, Alfa suffered from their location - which is less so now. But when they only had the Teban showroom they had little chance of converting "tyre kickers" or casual shoppers, becuase people simply wouldn't travel so far. I firmly believe that to "drive an Alfa is to love an Alfa", when the MiTo was launched there was simply nothing at the price point that could touch it in terms of performance and comfort for the dollar.

 

7. The model lineup is still too small. No SUV, no crossover, no people carrier, so it tends to be a little self limiting in that regard.

 

I am a huge fan of Alfa's, I think they offer a great blend of performance and "family". If the car market in Singapore was such that I didn't HAVE to buy a people carrier, I think chances are I would be driving a 159 Sportwagon today...

 

[Vinil]

the Kizashi has its sight on the 159....

 

in terms of body size....

 

 

 

but now,

 

we're waiting for the 1750tbi 159 to arrive nia....

 

cos the only transmission they have is 6MT...no 6AT or Selespeed yet....

 

i heard from AD they are not planning to bring the car to Singapore the OMV is very high and only manual ,so they will not be able to compete the pricing

[Ferraricalifornia]

if you're worried about the jerkiness of the 159,

 

there's always the normal "Torque Converters" for their 3.2V6 and 2.0JTDM (Multijet Diesel Engines)....

 

 

 

but i think one of the main problems is that,

 

people are now moving on to $170k German sedans....

 

the Alfa Romeo probably, price wise, doesn't have the image good enough to match the Germans....

 

 

 

price is the changing factor is this class of cars....

 

premium badge, premium pricing....

[Ferraricalifornia]

i heard from AD they are not planning to bring the car to Singapore the OMV is very high and only manual ,so they will not be able to compete the pricing

 

 

 

yah....for now,

 

the 1750tbi only has 6MT transmission (useless for local context),

 

but OMV shouldn't be a problem,

 

since the current 2.2JTS has an OMV of $24,600

 

but Audi A4 2.0TSI has an OMV of $42,000

 

 

so i guess it all boils down to branding, especially for our local market....where face is truly important in this sector of cars....