Is Alfa Romeo reliable? An honest look at the brand

• Is Alfa Romeo reliable?
• How reliable are consumer reports?
• Why is Alfa Romeo unreliable?
• Common Alfa Romeo problems

When you are looking at cars, reliability is an important factor. So important, in fact, that it is one of our top priorities when looking for a new car.

But, is this the case for those who are looking at buying an Alfa Romeo? As Which? said; “It’s widely accepted that anyone who buys an Alfa Romeo does so with their heart instead of their head”. Is this true? Are Alfa Romeo’s really that unreliable?

In this article, we look at whether Which are right, and whether Alfa Romeo’s are really as unreliable as people say, and how they fare against their competitors.

Is Alfa Romeo reliable?

No, is the short answer. As it stands, Which? is looking pretty accurate with its summary of Alfa Romeo.

ReliabilityIndex gives Alfa Romeo a rating of 214 for reliability, which is very poor. The UK Reliability Index takes into account the following:

• The factors of a repair
• The cost of the parts
• The frequency of the failures

The average of all cars is 100, and the UK average index is 118. So the lower the number, the more reliable the car is. And as we said, Alfa Romeo has a score of 214. Reliability Index state that the average age of an Alfa Romeo is 4.9 years old and the average mileage is 54,857 miles.

WarrantyDirect also scores Alfa Romeo as poor in terms of dependability.

However, if we look at the Auto Express reports from those that own the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the reviews are completely different. In fact, if we looked at those reviews alone, Alfa Romeo would look like one of the most reliable brands around.

That said, Auto Express, themselves have said that there is a problem with reliability, and in their Driver Power Survey of 2015, the Giulietta came 69th, which is quite a fall from the top ten when it debuted in 2013.

And of course, in the Which survey, Alfa Romeo came in the top 5 for most unreliable car manufacturers, with a reliability score of just 69%.

Everything but the driver reviews are telling us that Alfa Romeo are unreliable cars.

Looking for a new vehicle but not sure where to start? Get our best special offers in your inbox every week. Let us help you to find your next vehicle.

How reliable are consumer reports?

Because everyone but the actual drivers are telling us Alfa Romeo are unreliable, how do we know if the consumer reports are reliable themselves?

To be honest, they are pretty reliable. Consumer surveys ask those who own the cars, and they also draw upon recalls and faults. WarrantyDirect, who work with Reliability Index, gather their results from their own data. WarrantyDirect sell extended warranties and have over 50,000 cars to gather their data from.

So, they are pretty reliable.

Why are the drivers on AutoExpress telling us differently? It could just be the people who are commenting. Consumer reports have a much wider range of people to gather results from, and the sample on AutoExpress is considerably smaller than the ones WarrantyDirect have had.All in all, consumer reports and surveys are probably the most dependable way of knowing the longevity of a car.

Want to find out more about leasing a vehicle? Fill in the form below and download our FREE comprehensive guide to vehicle leasing.

Why are Alfa Romeos unreliable?

There are a few reasons why Alfa Romeos are considered unreliable.

According to Reliability Index, one of the main problems falls to the Axle and Suspension. This accounts for 25.91% of all faults. Electrical faults come in second with 18.13% of the faults.

Jalopnik has said that the car’s quick development time could be to blame for the unreliability of the car. The Alfa Romeo Giulia was developed in just two and a half years. This is nothing compared to the six years Mercedes tend to spend, or the seven years Volvo spent developing seats for their newXC90.However, Alfa Romeo is rebranding, according to Alfa Romeo. Well, at least in Australia. It has been reported that the new Giulia will come with a three-year, 150,000km (almost 100,000 miles) warranty, which is considerably better than some of their rivals. They are also offering a three-year capped-price servicing deal. Unfortunately, this is only happening in Australia as far as we know. But that’s not to say they won’t bring this incentive over to Europe should it go well down under.[vc_single_image image=”49911″ img_size=”article-image”]Alfa Romeo is not the only one that have had to rebrand after reports of unreliability. The likes of Fiat, Skoda and Dacia have done the same. And look how successful those brands are now.

Common Alfa Romeo problems

If you are buying a used Alfa Romeo or you are simply looking towards the future then you should be aware of the common problems that people face with Alfa Romeo’s. These include;

• Suspension problems
  • The front suspension can fail, and you will know this if you hear a knocking noise
• Door alignment problem
  • This is more common in the 159 and you can tell if there’s a bit of a breeze coming in

So it’s worth looking out for these if you are looking for a second hand Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo reviews

View the Alfa Romeo Giulia

View the Alfa Romeo Stelvio

LOOKING FOR A NEW ALFA ROMEO?

Get in touch with our team of vehicle experts. Request a callback or call us now on 01903 538835