What to Do with 2011 Alfa Giulietta?

UPDATE: Car has been sold to an OzBargainer!

Hi,

I've got a 2011 Alfa Giulietta - I estimate its worth about $6000-7000 (originally I had $9500) if it was in good condition. It has a few minor scratches and 1 big one. I think the big one will cost about $2-3K to repair. It also has a few minor issues like the speakers on one side only work intermittently.
On the plus side its been great mechanically and 2 of the tires aren't too old and battery is 9 months old and it hasn't been driven much in the last 2 years.

I don't need the car anymore so I'm trying to decide if its worth getting repaired or trying to sell as is for a cheaper price?

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Cheers

Comments

  • +17

    Swap you for 400k Velocity points

    • +7

      haha - thats like $4 now

      • +63

        Approx what an Alfa giullieta is worth.

  • +10

    You will not add any value to the car by repairing it. In addition, the market for a second hand 2011 Alfa would be pretty small. Be prepared to cop a bath on it.

    • i didnt pay that much for it in the first place so not really worried. Do you think best thing is to talk to wreckers then?

      • +2

        You'd be lucky to get $1k from the wreckers. You could put it on gumtree and get inundated with the scammers or carsales (at a cost), where someone looking for an Alfa would go. You could also try one of the Alfa clubs where an enthusiast might be interested.

        • +2

          Car sales is actually free under $5k these days, over that they rip you a new one.

          • @brendanm: How much is Carsales these days? I've listed cars years ago and it was a one off fee of like $100 or something.

  • +4

    I estimate its worth about $9500 if it was in good condition

    Have you checked Red Book? You may be in for a bit of a shock, values of older cars are dropping almost daily.

    You won't get back what you'll be spending on it to fix it up unless it's an exceptional car, super low mileage, limited edition etc.

    Currently second hand cars aren't selling well according to friends in the trade and they expect prices to drop even more as people who now are without jobs try to sell their now unneeded cars.

    • -2

      -1 you misquoted to establish your point. Not fair.

      ‘- I estimate its worth about $6000-7000 (originally I had $9500) if it was in Good condition.’

      • +1

        Obviously saltypete you didn't read the OP's original post which they've edited. So my quote, which was from their original post, is 100% correct and fair!

        Apology accepted.

        • -1

          FYI saltypete did not apologise

          You're welcome in advance

        • +7

          Just logged back in. Consider apology actually delivered. 👍

          • @saltypete: ^^ Fellas, meet Pete. A salty, albeit very decent humanbeing.

          • @saltypete: Considered, accepted, and very impressed.

  • +1

    No way a near 10 year old alfa gonna be at your price estimate

  • +1

    5k-15k

    Any photos of the 3k scratch?

    • +1
      • +1

        def. NOT worth $3000 to fix that scratch.

        drop $500 off the asking price, and do the deal….

        • +3

          That's not how it works. Even if it costs $500 to fix, you are without the car, have to get it done, deal with any issues, paint match etc. You have to take off way more than the repair itself is worth.

          Also, you have no idea about paint and panel, a red car I'd that age is going to need almost the entire side resprayed, as the paint is faded.

        • +2

          That 'scratch' requires repairs on 2 panels. That's an easy $1k there. Plus the car will need to be repainted. I had damage on the exact same area of the car and the repairer (under insurance) repainted most of the car to match the new white paint. Matching 9 year old red paint… problematic.

          • @Cluster: What, are you serious?

            I just had some roo damage repaired. Replaced one whole panel of my car (a bigger one than this too!), matched paint, painted part of two neighbouring panels.

            $900.

            No way this is more than that.

            @Geoff-bargain, find a local panelbeater and drive the car there. Ask them how much to fix this and colour match. If it's less than say, $750, do it and sell the car at $xxxx+$750. If it's more, sell the car as is.

        • +1

          I had similar-ish damage repaired/resprayed on a Kia for $800.

      • +2

        That's not a big scratch. On gumtree, that's called "wear and tear from usual usage and given the age of the car, it is in good condition". Trust me, I have seen worse scratches but the owner is describing like this. Haha…

      • +1

        Hi Mate,

        Have you tried putting rubbing compound on the scratch for a start?

        I can tell from the picture that it looks a lot worse than it is. Once you give the "scratch" a good rub with a heavy duty rubbing compound it'll take off most of the white marks which is paint/ residue from whatever you banged into. Alternately, take it to a decent hand wash place and ask them to do it.

        A new buyer may choose to live with the scratches if they are not as visible and therefore you may be able to get a better valuation.

        Definitely do this before you put it up for sale - also, please put before after photos if you do choose to do this.

        Best of luck!

  • Two examples above are out of reg..
    Depends on your definition of "been great/is great mechanically"
    Wouldn't throw any more money at it.. but don't expect a quick sale unless going with that 2k valuation

    • +1

      ok yeah I might just stick it on for 2k and see what happens

  • +1

    I have seen ads for tax deductible vehicle donation in shopping centres, just an idea.

    • thanks hadn't thought of/seen this

  • +1

    OP, do you have the 1.8 ltr engine or the 1.4 ltr engine ? Your sale price goes up if you have the more powerful engine in it.

    • Yea this, what's under the hood OP?

    • 1.8 would be the QV which should be closer to 10k.

      I'd be all over it if it was the QV.

  • +5

    hasn't been driven much in the last 2 years.

    I wouldn't touch it. Hardly driven and probably short trips when it was. This is the worst thing for engines, especially Italian jobbies.

    Shit duco and probably a shit engine.

  • +4

    Given it's low value and apparent low desirability - if you've got no issues with it's reliability, I'd just keep it and minimize the annual outgoings (such as only getting third party property damage insurance and rego each year) in case you need a car for some reason.

    • +2

      yeah thats what I do now - just not sure if its worth keeping for that

      • +6

        I say keep it because, for that kind of money, it'll be difficult later to get another vehicle where you have a level of confidence in its abilities..

  • +3

    Advertise it for $1-2k less than others listed. ignoew the low ballers but take a decent offer. Be honest in the listing, show photos of the damage.

    Failing that, I’ll take it off your hands for $1500. Pick up this weekend.

    • +1

      Pretty generous offer tbh, there have been a couple of these sit around for sale around $2k on gumtree around here.

      • Rats. Thought OP was in Sydney, won’t be able to get to SA until they open the borders.

        • Dodged a bullet ;)

  • +4

    I would keep it. Someone I know owned a 2016 diesel Giulietta automatic. Bought brand new in the low $40k range. Leather interior, really nice. When he went to upgrade just 3 years later he was offered… $9000. That really shocked him.

    Your car has problems and unfortunately old Alfas are not renowned for being reliable, even if yours is. Would you be happy with $5k? That's maybe all you'll get. Remember the car has existing damage so the new owner can't get comprehensive insurance easily.

    One thing you haven't mentioned is the odometer reading.

    These are gorgeous cars. A family member has one. Looks really good and drives well. But they just don't hold their value. It's a terrible time to sell a car right now. I live in SA and have had family members travel interstate to buy cars. That's really difficult and troublesome at the moment.

    • Id def be happy with 5K but doubt I would get that much. I think 3k would be lucky.
      Odometer is 110,000.
      I bought second hand so hasnt cost me that much over the 5 years I've had.
      Yeah I'm in SA too - I dont need to sell it so could hold until the virus passes.
      I was just trying to get an idea of should i sell as is or fix or sell to wreckers - or maybe another option that I hadn't thought of.

      • Try one of those "sell your car for cash now" people. I just sold a car with areyouselling and while the price was obviously lower than private sale, it was easy and car was gone in a day.

      • For $3k you would have people lining up around the block to buy it. $5k I think you'll get instant interest, maybe knocking the price off by $500. $7k I think the car will sit around for a few months waiting to be sold. There are 2013 Giuliettas with less km and no body damage for $7k on CarSales.

  • +4

    These are excellent cars and the most beautiful hatchbacks on the roads, but resale is horrendous, even worse than the French cars, which are also bloody fantastic. If it was me i'd keep driving it, and see if a touch up guy can fix up the scratches. Maybe even attempt a DIY repair after a bit of research.

    • Yeah I have a 2016 QV which I absolutely love, and get a lot of nice comments about, but unfortunately Alfas have a bad reputation and resale.

      A few people told me that because it is the QV edition with the special badgework/dash/graphics etc., it will hold value more than the Veloce they switched to in 2017, but I doubt that very much unless I meet a collector maybe.

      I knew that when I bought it though - no regrets.

      Shame really in my experience now over the last 4 years they don't quite deserve the bad rep they get but it is what it is I guess…

      I would be perfectly open to buying Alfa again. The new Tonale looks sexy as hell.

  • Which state are you in? prices seem higher in Sydney

  • +5

    Fix it and keep this beauty.
    Dont listen to the Ozbargainers here, they will tell you to sell it and buy a bucket on wheels aka camry

  • You rarely get your money back fixing cars
    Sell it AS IS

    • yeah after the comments here i dont think i will fix

      • What kind of comments did you expect?
        Unless it was a Toyota or honda, the narrative is 'Sell and get a Camry or Civic'

        • There is one comment above saying could possibly get scratch fixed for a lot cheaper and then it might be a case of get fixed and sell

  • +2

    I owned a White 2011 QV Manual and two 159s. Excellent cars. Reliable, lots of kit and excellent value for money used.

    If you wanted it gone. I would cut my losses and sell it privately for 1-2k under market value.

    Or if your a person that couldn't care less what you drive, attempt a DIY cheap repair and continue to drive it.
    Honestly it doesn't look that bad, even if you got super cheap auto touchup paint, it would still look tidier that majority of cars on our roads.

    https://ibb.co/7nYGzXd

    Especially if that's the damage. I reckon you could get it sorted for $500. Might not be perfect. But 99% of people wont notice

    • ok thanks for your input ill look into it.

    • What did you get for you QV if you don't mind sharing?

      • (In SA 9 months ago) I sold my 2011 Manual White QV 84000kms with full leather, sunroof, exhaust, tint for $10500. Interior/body was in excellent condition. Only problem with the car weas that the DRLs wouldnt always work.

        QV is a great car. If you wanted the equivalent underpowered GTI you have to pay more or have over double the kms for the same price.

        • I'm assuming there was a very limited market for your QV? Such a shame about the demand for euros and manuals.

          Genuinely tossing up between trying to get a Gulietta QV or a Megane III RS for around that price (10-12k). Some genuine bargains.

          • @lambsie: Umm, not really actually, there were 2 or 3 of the same type and white at the same time. I just presented mine well i guess.

            Meg 3 is a great car. And is a much better option in SA now with another dealership opening.

  • The sad reality is that Euros lose a lot of money each time they are sold. I've had some fiats, Renault and I have alfa now. When I sold them it's at a huge loss, due to no-one wanting them (especially in manual). I'm in the same boat where my alfa has got a few bumps and dings. I would say this is where your alfa will be a pleasure to keep. It's in this period that you don't care about how they look, so they are perfect to take to that tight car park and not care about what you come back to. Also, small cars are really fun to drive it like you stole it. I'm fortunate enough to live near Macquarie pass (an awesome winding mountain road), and the alfa always makes me smile when i drive that road. And hey, if it gets stolen or crashed, it's not a big loss.

    I'd keep it. If you have to, take the plates of it (get the rego back) and park it up for another day in the future*.

    *if it's the 1.4 multiair it's not going to like sitting with old oil in it for to long and may damage the valve mechanism.

    • yeah I have to say that has been a nice advantage as you say about leaving it in car parks and not being worried. But yeah just dont need the costs for something that gets used so little.

  • I was going to suggest to list your car in a car sharing platform, but not sure which company operates in SA. Car Next Door is not available there to my knowledge.

  • Glad you sold your car OP, would you be willing to disclose how much you sold it for, for the curious folks here?

  • Sell it but don't be fussy on the price. Take what you can get.

  • -1

    How much did you sell it for? Nice to know there are at least some Ozbargainers on here happy to think outside the box and drive something other than a boring Corolla

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