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Why did you really buy your 4C (tell the truth)?

13K views 72 replies 49 participants last post by  dbell 
#1 ·
I don't race cars or take cars to tracks. I don't have a lot of experience with so called high performance sports cars. When I test drove the car I was amazed, but the reason I bought the vehicle was simple... it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I like looking at it as much if not more than driving it... still do. Anyone share my opinion?
 
#2 ·
Definitely share your opinion.

I have been a closet fan of supercars - moreso since the 3 stooges from Top Gear started driving across my TV screen 15 years or so ago. Never figured I'd own one myself, but developed a real appreciation for them.
Although mostly a truck and SUV guy out of necessity, I did pick up a kind of cool Honda in 2011 and caught the modding bug.

The 4C first came across my radar in the form of internet pictures (see, I do surf porn). This was long before the first example hit North America. I needed to learn more about the car, and everything I read increased my interest. Driver oriented. Lightweight. Carbon structure. DCT transmission. Launch control. 4.5 seconds to 60. Beautiful interior and sex-on-wheels exterior.

Once I found out the expected price was just about within reach - if I sold my left nut along with most of my possessions and deferred every other purchase, switched to a cheaper brand of cat food (and stop feeding my cats altogether). I just HAD to have this car in my life.

As soon as dealerships were announced, and without knowing final cost, delivery date, or even having seen one in person, I put my deposit down.

Eventually (4 months later), I got to see and sit in one for the first time, and I couldn't believe that this fantasy might just come true. Another 7 months of agonizing waiting after that, I drove a 4C for the first time (but only once I had handed over a cheque and taken ownership). That was an amazing day, and it's been just as fantastic since then. I still pinch myself when I look at the car.

Now, I own 2. Guess I'm a sucker for a pretty face and a body that just won't quit!
 
#3 ·
The truth, huh? Who has time for that? Lol!! A good friend of mine has some serious hardware. I do not. He has one, and we were talking about it, and he advised that it is remarkably similar to an F-40. He would know. I will never have an F-40. But I can have an Alfa 4C, so I do and have enjoyed driving it, looking at it, letting others drive, and feeling that it is a remarkably similar car to arguably one of the greatest cars of all time. So yeah I am living my Ferrari equivalent to a Michael Jordan fantasy, with absolutely no talent or redeeming quality whatsoever.
 
#11 ·
He has one, and we were talking about it, and he advised that it is remarkably similar to an F-40. He would know.

I drove a 458 at the factory in Maranello. The 4C drives VERY similar to the 458. I fell in love with the 4C when I saw it at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. It IS one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen. Pictures don't even come CLOSE to capturing the beauty of this car in real life. To me, it's like a discount Ferrari without feeling discount. It's been less than a month, but I couldn't be happier with my purchase!
 
#4 · (Edited)
As a life-long Alfista, who in their right mind could resist the combination of looks, performance, simplicity and relative economy of ownership? It is everything an Alfa should be and light-years ahead of anything they had previously built. They at last built a car worthy of the name and worthy of my support. So thankful to Sergio for giving it the green light. To those who buy and then sell after a quick fling, you have no real appreciation of this cars’ place in Alfas’ history and it’s real value. I’d been waiting almost a life-time for this car from Alfa. Not selling, ever. That’s the truth.
 
#10 ·
i have a similar history of the brand as Alfanut and felt for the first time that Alfa was finally on the right track of being great again when the 4C was announced. Thank you Sergio .... Believe it or not, i was not looking to purchase a 4C though as i preferred at the time to own more classic Alfas ( 63 Giulia Spider and 67 GT Veloce). as fate would have it i was at the Eurofest car show in South Carolina a few years back and the Benson Fiat dealership had a half dozen cars there including two 4C Spiders. i've know John Montgomery (great guy and salesman) for a few years and i offered to help drive a car back to the dealership after the show. He was short staffed and accepted my offer but originally he didn't want me to drive a 4C back because they were customer cars so he handed me the keys to a baby blue Fiat 500 (not even an Abarth). Sorry, no way was that going to happen with the 500. i told John that i would be careful and i know how to handle paddle shifters as i had a Maserati Coupe at the time. At that time, many dealerships didn't allow a test drive and some didn't even allow you to sit in the 4C but i was allowed to drive one about 20 miles. Once out ot the car, i realized what an amazing car it was and i was hooked. The following week i saw that John Montgomery at Benson got a Pearl White Spider with a red interior in with all the options in (exactly the way i would have ordered one) and the rest is history. A few weeks later i sold the 63 Giulia Spider to pay for the 4C and never regretted it.
 
#5 ·
My first car was a 1969-70 ALFA spider Veloce I bought new in 1970 and kept for over 40 years (a picture of that is in my garage here). I lived and breathed ALFA for many years....was a part owner of a B sedan ALFA GTV we raced in SCCA back in 70s. Even my brother was an ALFA nut...had a 2 liter Berlina. I belonged to the ALFA club back than in California and still do here in Michigan where I have lived since 2004. I have had many other cars over the years but nothing as memorable as the ALFAs.

When ALFA left the US for about 20 years I was heart broken as I always was waiting for a cool car to replace the spider and GTV. When the 4C was announced I was excited but even more so when they decided to reenter the American market. Needless to say I decided to go for it and bought my 2015 LE coupe in Feb. of 2016.

What attracted me? Having owned an ALFA before and knowing the history of ALFA I appreciated the marque for what it is and was. Of course when I saw the beauty of the car and the performance potential I was powerless to resist its siren song. To me most other cars are just appliances. Of course super cars like Ferrari, Lambos, McLarens are great cars and certainly not appliances....but they are at a price level that makes them less likely to move into my garage. And frankly I consider the 4C to be just as desirable for the things that push my buttons.
 
#6 ·
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE....." Oh, wait, I bet you can.

Anyway, I came about the 4C as I was picking up my 2016 500 Abarth. They had a red spider and coupe in the showroom. I sat in the spider... wow! I will never be able to afford this car I told myself. I have always been attracted to small sports cars. My father bought a new Spitfire in '62 (or 63). He passed soon after that but we had the car for about 6 years before my brother sold it. I was only 6 - 8 yrs old at the time, but it stuck with me.

In the early 70's I bought a '72 Spitfire. God that was so much fun! Not too great for carrying my surfboard around, but it was worth it. Not long after that I got a '67 TR250; then a series of practical cars before the Lotus Europa. Not having the $$ to keep it running it went away.

Years later the Miata showed up and I was hooked. Got a '93 in '97, joined the local club and drove all over Washington. Had several other Miatas since.

Back to present time; I was telling my wife how much I loved the 4C and she said: "If you really want one, you should get one." The search was on... just need to sell a couple other cars, a kidney, and probably a liver, and I'm there! Never drove one, didn't care, I knew I wanted it. My financial guy came up with some $$ for a down payment. Went for the slightly used version and saved about $30k from MSRP.

I have always loved Italian cars, how could you not? And the Alfa 4C, it's just beautiful; and ALMOST in my price range! It does not disappoint. What a fun car!
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm a huge car enthusiast and always have been. I appreciate cars across brands but grew up with a particular affinity towards Porsche and Ferrari.

Some cars really capture my imagination - the 4C (particularly in red, and particularly the LE) is one such car. The coupe's styling just grabbed me and all the things cited as shortcomings by (some) reviewers just made me even more interested. Style is beautiful, rawness and purity of the drive is compelling, lightness, minimalism... all traits that really sold me.

I grew up lusting after the F40 and this just feels like it's in a similar vein so between that and the above, it became a must-have. Thrilled that I made the decision. As for Alfa Romeo as a brand, I have always known the history but never got directly into it until now. Other cars I currently own include BMW, Porsche, Dodge, Toyota and Volvo so I do appreciate variety.
 
#9 ·
I knew of the 4c and caught a glimpse of one on a Swiss mountain pass, whilst on holiday in my Smart Roadster. Then some months later I watched the Video ‘making of the 4c’ . A few hours later I had found a new coupe in Madreperla /Red leather, which was at a dealer about 4 hours away. Drove straight there the next day and bought it on the spot.
The drive home was epic, as is every outing .
Certainly a very special car.
 
#13 ·
Truthfully I always wanted a Ferrari. Since I was a little kid. The used ones have not only skyrocketed but the maintenance costs are just plain stupid. I wanted the 4c as soon as I saw it since to me it had everything the Ferrari had and then some. Pedigree, gorgeous flowing lines, Italian made (complete with Italian car quirks lol) and it’s extremely unique. But it’s “relatively affordable”. I think I love the uniqueness more than anything. It’s a real driving machine. And I love that it creates conversation with people that are passionate about cars.
I originally couldn’t justify the cost of buying new. I drove a new version Abarth 124 for a year and decided I only live once and sprang for a 4c. I got a fair deal on a 2015. It really is a dream come true. Best of both worlds. Much better than a Ferrari in most respects for me. I’m not what most would consider wealthy but I’m a true car enthusiast. So I didn’t mind stretching a bit in order to be part of the wonderful group of 4c owners. I’m very proud of that.
I’ve rarely had a car that the more I drive it the more I want to drive it. It never gets old. Only more exciting.
 
#14 ·
The Brera made attracted me to Alfa back around 2006 or so and I've grown to appreciate all models since then. The 4c though was love at first sight.

Before the car even went on sale I had read the owners manual and was generally obsessed.

<3
 
#15 · (Edited)
For the looks and performance!

It feels so special inside and I love the way people respond to it. It makes me happy.


Edit, my Giulietta 1750 tbi (16 plate) was a nice car but was loosing it's value every month, I traded her in and got the 4C, I figure my money won't disappear, although the extras I keep buying maybe not the case:/
 
#18 ·
For the looks and performance!

It feels so special inside and I love the way people respond to it. It makes me happy.


/

it also makes everyone who sees it happy too. win - win for sure
 
#17 ·
I drove a friend's 458 and loved it. Thought I'd save to move up from my 308 to a 360/430. Read a magazine review of the 4c. Scored a test drive at my local dealer and 100 feet down the road I knew it was a great blend of old school and new tech. Reminded me of a 7/8 scale 458. In other words, one you could drive at sane speeds and have fun. No need for a race track to have fun. I don't care about top speed...but here in TN great twisty roads everywhere. The faster cars are not as fun on a tight 2 lane roads.
 
#19 ·
the 308 is the only other car I’d want other than the 4c. That was my childhood dream car. I know it’s a bit of a lacker in performance but it’s iconic.
But now that they are north of 100 grand (in canada anyway) and with the cost of maintenance, I just can’t justify it now. 15 years ago I could have scored one for 40 grand
Grateful for the 4c. Who knows. Maybe in 15 years these cars will appreciate. Never know
 
#20 ·
Saw 4C being built in Modena @ Maserati. Saw the Alfa Romeo museum. Saw one of the first LE's at Simeone Automotive Museum in the sunshine, running around outside at an Alfa Romeo historic race car demo day.

Already knew of all the reviews, criticisms and bogus enthusiasts criticizing its strengths. The last part -- criticism of its strengths -- got me to find one locally and test drive it, but it had to be a coupe and well-equipped; the gambit being that if I fell in love, I am leaving with a good one bar none. Emotions might make me settle on one day and regret later. Test drive must be in a well-equipped model.

Positive to me and a negative to auto journalists/morons/frauds:
-Carbon tub with rough ingress and egress
-No power steering
-Basic radio
-Loud
-Firm
-No frills interior

The test drive concern: How did they program the trans to shift, in both manual mode and auto mode. I have driven some dual-clutch gearboxes where, even in manual mode, the computer calls for downshifts at weird times, and has 'creep mode' built in, or downshifts into 1st at 5 mph crawl (even in M mode), which is a horrible, horrible thing.

Short gears and close ratios: Missing this point is the hallmark of a moron. It might be the single most important reason that the smile factor is off the charts. The engine is slightly -- only slightly -- hyper. It's the throttle mapping and short gearing that make this a keeper.

Most people, or nearly everyone nowadays, do not know the joys of short gears and close ratios, and they probably never will.

Cars get heavier; engines get torquier, gears get longer and 350 HP winds up feeling like a snoozefest, and you will even hear moron reviewers complain about 350 HP engines and say they are overrated, or unresponsive. Duh... they are connected to a transmission designed to penny pinch every drop of fuel.

GoKarts make people smile. Sounds matter. Lighter is better. Less is more. Gearing is underrated and discussed infrequently. Just wrap all that up in some sexy skin, with the engine behind your head, and make it cheaper than some American pickup trucks and I'll be there to buy it.

I had a 911S that was number for number as competent or more competent. Got bored. I have run the 4C the same miles and I cannot get enough.


.
 
#30 ·
I became interested in the 4C when I saw it at the 2014 Toronto International Auto Show. From that point on, it was on my list of vehicles to aspire to owning. When it finally became available in the Canadian market, it was going to be doubtful that I would be able to afford it as a second vehicle. As they say, all circumstances are in flux, and 2 short years later I was in a position that I could add a weekend vehicle, so naturally the 4C was at the top of my list. Then I had to fend off the well intentioned, 3 co-workers who tried to intervene, and convince me that the 4C was not the vehicle for me, that I would hate it and sell it straight away, lol. I assured them, I was certain the 4C would be perfect for me.

Now my only concern with owning the 4C is how many kilometers I have managed to put on it, so I have another of my aspire to own vehicles, a Super 7, arriving any day now to spread the kilometers around.
 
#31 ·
I have always been a sucker for things of great beauty, with gorgeous curves in a red dress....

Alfa made the 4C & I had to have one....

And to quote Jason Cammissa "The car is rolling, screaming Italian pornography - I love every last bit of it"

The car gives me a huge grin every time I look at it and drive it.... not many motor vehicles can do that to you.

Cheers,

Alf.
 
#33 ·
tldr entire thread, but ......

Sold my beloved R8 V10 6m since it was out of warranty (I rarely keep cars past their factory warranty) and the car had some major maintence coming up and it was getting old (2010 1st gen). I was looking at getting the new Supra. Glad I didn't. A couple yrs ago ... saw a red 4C in front of my office. Fell in love. Never test drove the car. Read of the reviews. Followed this forum and then bought a brand new 17 fully loaded.
 
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