These days, if you just want a good, relatively basic car that still offers a few modern features, it’s hard to beat the Honda Civic. The hybrid is arguably the better overall buy, but since the Civic lineup no longer includes a separate hybrid model, that hybrid’s superior fuel economy (and the power boost that comes with it) requires spending $30,590 on a mid-tier Civic Sport Hybrid. Or you could save about $5,000 and spend $25,890 on the base Civic. But what if I told you there’s currently an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio for sale that costs even less than a base-model Civic?
Suddenly, that brand new, warranty-intact Honda Civic doesn’t sound like such a good deal now, does it? All you’ve got to do is wait for this latest ice storm to pass, head on down to Snellville, Georgia, and for the low, low price of $24,999, you could be the proud new owner of this bright red 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. “But wait,” you’re probably thinking, “Shouldn’t a Giulia QV cost a good bit more than $25,000?” And you’re right, it is suspiciously cheap.
But that’s mostly because the 110,000 miles on the odometer mean it’s been driven a lot more than most other Giulia QVs. And that, my friends, could either mean one of two things. On the one hand, it could be a ticking time bomb, and even $25,000 is far too much to spend on a car that will quickly end up costing you far more than you would ever want to spend. I mean, we’re talking about a notoriously unreliable Italian sport sedan that already has more than 100,000 miles on it.
There’s always an exception
On the other hand — and I need you to bear with me on this one — what if it’s normal for Giulia QVs to have fewer miles because most of them really are that unreliable? What if most owners don’t drive them very much because they’re constantly in the shop, and even when they aren’t, their owners are worried they’ll just break again? If so, the reputation they’ve earned over the years would make sense. But also, what if that somehow means this one car is the sole exception that proves the rule?
What if, purely by chance, the right group of factory workers all showed up on exactly the right shift and built one incredibly reliable Giulia QV? Is it possible that this car could have nothing wrong with it and run for another 100,000 miles? If I were a betting man, that explanation is not exactly the one I’d put my money on, but I also can’t tell you for a fact that it isn’t the case. And if it is, then $25,000 is a heck of a price for a car that’s as fun to drive as these things are. Even without a manual transmission, that thing was absolutely transcendent on the track. Technically, I don’t think I’ve driven a new base Civic on a track, but I’m willing to guess it wouldn’t be quite as fun as the Alfa.
Unfortunately for all of us, I don’t and likely never will have $25,000 to gamble on a high-mile Alfa Romeo, but come on. You know you want to. Even if there’s just a 1% chance this is God’s most perfectly reliable Giulia QV, don’t you desperately need to know? Someone? Anyone? Oh, come on now. Don’t everyone all volunteer at once.
