Harry does the Levante

Wattie said:

Stelvio over the Maserati all day for me!
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/...com_breaking&utm_source=AlfaOwner.com20170118

cheers Wattie

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The more I see of it the less desirable it becomes to me. I'd take the look of the Levante over that picture every day of the week. Given the state of the pound that 'First Edition' is looking to come in at a similar price to the diesel Levante. Perhaps the Levante is too cheap?

Stelvio for me ..... I just am not warming to the Maserati even now I've seen one in the flesh. Love the interior mind you. But saying that I wouldn't buy either as I have no need for that type of car. If I wanted something with more space I would buy an estate...plus there are 4x4 ones out there as well.

Sat in the Levante a couple of weeks back and pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

Love my Alfas but Ive just bought a Ghibli having considered the Giulia and the Alfa is nice but the Masser just feels more premium all round.

Andyk said:

But saying that I wouldn't buy either as I have no need for that type of car. If I wanted something with more space I would buy an estate...plus there are 4x4 ones out there as well.

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So true Andy, probably 99% of people don't actually need the true capabilities of a SUV.
In fact most SUV's don't actually have the true capabilities of an SUV either!!

I've said this before on the Alfa forum where they suffer the same sales point vs manufacturer issues. When 2 seemingly separate entities are involved, one blames the other as its the easiest thing to do. Manufacturers should operate the dealerships themselves, that would sort out so many issues.

I forgot to mention that after spending £70k on the car all I received from the dealer was 2 gallons of fuel in the tank and a keyring that is available from the online Maserati store for under £13. I didn't notice the empty tank upon collection or I'd have certainly asked them to give me at least half a tank full. I've never received so little fuel in any new car before. It is over a week since I collected it and I've not had any follow up call from them to ask how things are going which is pretty much the absolute minimum level of normal aftersales these days. I had better service when buying a Fiat Panda 4x4 last year.

That's because the Panda 4x4 is a huge margin, double priced supermini so they are really happy to sell them.

I've had no gifts with the last four cars I have bought new - over 200 units of hard earned dosh - in fact I gave the salesmen and lorry driver a bottle of champagne each for bringing up my GranTurismo early on covered transport to then sit in my garage to wait for the plate change. Maybe I am too nice?

The Panda had a whopping discount off it and is one of the most entertaining cars I've owned in years. The Fiat dealer didn't do anything other than provide good communication throughout, did what they said they would within agreed timescales and called up after delivery just to ask if everything was ok. Those are the things I consider being very basic to make a customer feel their business is valued and is what leads to repeat business for them. It is simple, easy and involves no real cost to do.

I have also bought a large number of cars in the last 10 years or so that span out across the price range. In the last year I've bought a Ranger Rover Vogue AB, Huracan, Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder along with the Panda (all new cars) so have regular experience of dealer service levels. A half or full tank of fuel has always been the norm and although I am not at all bothered about gifts (I'd rather have some level of discount) there has always been something given with the car. There was no discount off this purchase so the dealer has made a decent earn from it. If Maserati want conquest sales they are going to have to do a lot more on the customer care side to stand out and I just mean in terms of basic level communication that makes you feel valued as a customer, not bottles of wine or flowers left in the boot. I don't want red carpet treatment but I do expect sales people to have the courtesy to respond to emails in a reasonable timeframe.

Lots of dealers have similar problems. I have had a selection of poor service in sales from Audi in particular over recent years. The basic issue is that most 'salesmen' now are just order takers.

IainS said:

I forgot to mention that after spending £70k on the car all I received from the dealer was 2 gallons of fuel in the tank and a keyring that is available from the online Maserati store for under £13. I didn't notice the empty tank upon collection or I'd have certainly asked them to give me at least half a tank full. I've never received so little fuel in any new car before. It is over a week since I collected it and I've not had any follow up call from them to ask how things are going which is pretty much the absolute minimum level of normal aftersales these days. I had better service when buying a Fiat Panda 4x4 last year.

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That's crazy. I got a full tank of fuel and have had good after sales service, even though I've had some issues with the car.

We've had a similar experience with Alfa dealers though. The local dealer is relatively new as an Alfa dealer. When we bought the MiTo it was pretty much, "you've got the car now, bye". The car was one on the shop floor and missing its manuals, despite being told that they were on their way nothing appeared for months. In the end we had to go to the dealer and stand there making a noise to get them to pull their finger out. This was a complete contrast to the other Alfa dealers I used to buy and service the Giulietta. They were great and, if we buy another Alfa, we won't be using the local dealer.

Edit: We did get a nice bottle of Bolly when we picked up the Ghibli

Contigo said:

Alfa really are making some cracking cars now, they just need a new 6C or 8C and lots of members on here would be jumping ship I'm sure.

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This nails things IMO.

Shame Marchionne isn't as big a fan of Maserati as he is of Alfa Romeo.

Personally feel that's the reason for the investment and strategy change for Alfa over the past decade.

Not that that's a bad thing. Still. No sign of a Maser GT replacement - STILL.

Pretty poor.

Just had time to catch up on this thread. I picked up my Levante before Christmas and the roof was dented in transport and the paint was covered in micro scratches and scuffs. I took the car on the basis that Maranello would take it back in early Jan and fix it. That was 2 weeks ago and I'm still waiting. In the meantime I've had a Ghibli petrol S and now a diesel as a loaner. The issue at the moment is that they need a part but there aren't any part numbers in the UK for the Levante as its so new so they can't order it from Italy. This has been going on for a week. Luckily I am busy and the roads are **** at the moment so I don't think I'm missing out too much. Maranello have been as good as I could have expected in trying to help me but Maserati UK really have let me down in terms of transporting and then the failure to anticipate that the Levante's may need parts at some point.
On the issue of power I agree I would prefer the petrol but the if this is your everyday car then the power and torque are more than enough and it makes jumping in the MCV a good contrast. Its not as fast as my old Macan but whereas the Macan was sports SUV the Levante fees like a GT SUV, a different experience. The footwell issue is not something I had even noticed. G
Given their ambitions to sell around 1200 units in the UK I think demand will be good and residuals will hold up making it a really cheap drive. I'll give more feedback next week when I get it back next week.

I'd prefer a petrol. Maserati are upping their social media presence. So if you see an ad. on linked in just add a comment that the UK needs a petrol. That's the power of social media - direct customer feedback. Whether they choose to listen is another thing.

Blu

I've done 1000 miles in mine now, longest drive so far just under 2 hours, iam six foot tall and have not noticed the legroom issue.

Not had a 4x4 before, so really didn't know what to expect, so far iam very pleased, it " bumps " a bit on full lock when parking etc but my Strad did that as well, not rattles or noises so far, it's a revelation to what iam used too, never had 3D Nav, touch screen, cameras etc.

My dealer was great, it's my 3rd car from them/Maserati, the salesman has always been spot on and very helpful.

I'm at 1700 miles, and it's been faultless so far. I'm 6'2" and also can't say I've noticed any issue with footwell width or my left leg pressed against the centre console. Really impressed with the improved quality of it and I'm sure that's feeding through across the range. If they could put the QPVI GTS engine in it I think they would have all bases covered.

BLUMASER said:

I'd prefer a petrol. Maserati are upping their social media presence. So if you see an ad. on linked in just add a comment that the UK needs a petrol. That's the power of social media - direct customer feedback. Whether they choose to listen is another thing.

Blu

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Someone at Dick Lovett in Swindon told me Maserati have definitely decided to bring a petrol version to the UK, probably toward the end of this year, probably the 424hp 'S'.

Didn't realise you you still couldn't get one. Must be losing a few customer by not having one in the range so that's good news.

Andyk said:

Didn't realise you you still couldn't get one. Must be losing a few customer by not having one in the range so that's good news.

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At the moment they are still selling steadily according to the MD I was talking with yesterday. The initial surge has dropped off though so having a petrol added to the range will help with that. Shame it's going to take so long. I would have thought that, with the fancy production lines they have these days it should be easier to slot a new variant in.


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What sort of surge was there Mick....I've seen two and both at Dick Lovett....Oh and a white one in Chepstow town centre. Travelling 50 miles to Swindon every day and all motorway not seen one and with Dick Lovett on my door step would have expected to so a few more over the last 6 months. Are people still waiting for delivery ?

I've seen one. They were shipping a few a week after launch. It has dropped off this month. They've got more waiting for the new reg.

They are still getting a lot of interest for second hand GTs and Strads though. Still not sure about Maserati's marketing. It's nice to keep the brand exclusive but you need to sell enough so people know they exist.


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