r/AlfaRomeo

I knew the name before I knew much else about cars.

I’ve been an Alfa Romeo fan for as long as I can remember being interested in cars. At the time, I didn’t know exactly what drew me to them, but the design was impossible to ignore. Back in the mid-90s, most cars around me seemed to resemble one another. Alfa Romeos were different. They were good-looking, a little strange, and promised more fun than the refrigerators on four wheels around me.

Alfa Romeo 146

My first Alfa love was the Alfa Romeo 146 Junior. I spent a lot of time outside a local Alfa Romeo dealership, admiring the 146 through the window. At some point, even though I wasn’t old enough to drive yet, I found the courage to walk in. I was grateful that the people there were kind enough to let me sit in it and take it all in, even though I certainly didn’t look like a prospective buyer.

To me, it felt like going to a theme park. It looked nothing like anything else I had seen, and even though I couldn’t legally drive it yet, I could at least imagine myself driving it while sitting behind the steering wheel. That alone made it special.

Years went by, and I still didn’t get a car, even after getting a job. It stayed out of reach, but I kept following Alfa Romeo anyway. New models, announcements, photos, whatever I could find. Since I couldn’t own one, I found other ways to keep the interest alive, mostly through Alfa Romeo merchandise.

Alfa Romeo 156

The next Alfa that truly pulled me in was the 156, released in the late 90s. I still remember seeing one on the road for the first time. It stopped me in my tracks. If I thought the 146 looked like nothing else on the road, the 156 looked like something alien. Its designer, Walter de Silva, became a design hero to me. I wanted one, but I couldn’t afford it.

Life moved on through school and work, but Alfa Romeo never really left my mind. When Alfa Romeo released the Giulia, it instantly became a favorite of mine. It always brought a smile to my face when I crossed paths with one on the road. It had that same feeling: different, elegant, and somehow more alive than most of what was around it. So when the time finally came to buy a car, the Giulia was already somewhere in the back of my mind.

A Giulia on a damp road, just like the one that made everything click.

For close to six months, I had been thinking about buying a car, looking at all the logical options: a reasonable SUV, maybe a German liftback, or even a Japanese sports sedan. I went to see a few of them in person at dealerships, but I kept coming back to the same question: is this really what I am going to drive? More than that, would any of them make me turn around after parking and feel genuinely glad it was mine?

Then one morning on my way to work, on a damp highway, a red Alfa Romeo Giulia overtook me with an older gentleman behind the wheel, grinning from ear to ear. In reality, I think I already knew the answer. I was just trying very hard to choose the car that made sense on paper, instead of admitting which one I actually wanted.

Finding the right Giulia was not straightforward. I had been looking for a very specific one: Milano White, red seats, rear-wheel drive, and the Veloce package. For a while, I wondered if I would have to keep waiting.

Then, somehow, the right car showed up **.

My 2026 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce

I had to fly to another city to pick it up, then drive it back close to 350 miles (about six and a half hours with stops and traffic). Most of the drive was just that: driving, navigating, watching traffic, and staying focused on the road. But every now and then, the realization would hit me all over again: I’m driving my Alfa Romeo home.

Even now, looking at the pictures in this post, part of me still feels like someone is going to pinch me and I’m going to wake up. It may take a while for this to fully register.

After close to four decades of dreaming about an Alfa Romeo, today I brought home a 2026 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.

I’m biased, but pics don’t do this color justice. I thought the seats were bright red when I first saw the photos, but in person they’re a deeper red — almost burgundy — and honestly, it looks even better.

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**I have to give my thanks to u/Consistent-Group-314 — not only for replying to a thread I started, but for actually helping me find the right car. I use Reddit for a lot of things. Finding cars was definitely not on that list.

Apologies if this is a frequently asked question here. For context I’m 17 years old, just bought my first car (a cheap Hyundai) and expect to drive this for at least 2 years or more.

Maybe it’ll be longer before I can afford an Alfa, but I’ve just recently began daydreaming over one

I have a connection with Italy and Italian cars because of my family and adoption history, so it’s a bit sentimental as well.

Aside from it being an absolutely stunning and unique car

But I’m just curious if it would be smart for me to strive for one given reliability concerns?

If that even matters

I’ve heard as long as you’re on top of oil changes that it’s fine. Also, would it be stupid to buy used? 2019+ model, 60,000km or less??

Sorry for the many questions. Thanks in advance!

Hey guys so I own a 2019 stelvio sport, Basically flashing odometer out of the nowhere. No history or trouble with the car at all. Oil change every 4k miles. But At the same time the backup camera stopped working and the ac doesn’t even turn on. All of this happened at the same time which led me to thinking it was the battery but the battery is testing normal. Open to any ideas or suggestions!