i want to buy an alfa am i mad?

Michael Myers · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:36

hi guys

been looking for a replacement car for awhile now, and have fallen for an alfa 156.
so i have done some research and it seems the only real issue they have is making sure the cambelt is done every 3 years, does anyone on here own one? or have an previous experiences with them?

Cr0fty · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:39

My dads' exploded on a motorway in France

(Obviously not an explosion so large as say, a nuke from orbit)

Michael Myers · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:40

well thats a positive start

Cr0fty · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:41

I can take a pic of the peice of twisted shrapnel for ya, if you like?

(When im at my dads' next)

Matmulder · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:42

I'd go to www.alfaowner.com if you want some (slightly bias) but genuine advice on what to look out for.

Everyone on here will just tell you they break a lot and you should buy a BMW/Ford.

Michael Myers · 7 Sep 2008 at 23:44

well the only bmw's or ford's i like i cant afford hehe

GSXRMovistar · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:01

I had one (156 2.0 Selespeed) for well over a year and didn't have a single problem, good car and enjoyed owning it.

[TW]Fox · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:04

Matmulder said:
Everyone on here will just tell you they break a lot and you should buy a BMW/Ford.

They won't tell you as often as people like you post that, though.

Sarduk · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:14

[TW]Fox;12455731 said:
They won't tell you as often as people like you post that, though.

Oh, I'm sure they will

M0T · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:17

I have one, but I have the v6 which is the one to get.

stoofa · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:38

They say you're not a true car lover until you've owned an Alfa.
However the problem is that if you've got any plans on being rich or even having spare money in your pocket at the end of the month - don't buy an Alfa

I love the looks of Alfa's - always have.
But personally my head rules my heart and I couldn't take the financial risk.

PardonTheWait · 8 Sep 2008 at 00:47

Meh.

My dad's had two Alfa race cars, two Alfa road cars (one of which he basically used as a van for the last year or so he owned it), and my sister's had two on the road.

They were all fine.

Cupra · 8 Sep 2008 at 01:04

there a lot better now id love an alfa and you get a lot of car for the money now

-westy- · 8 Sep 2008 at 01:12

This is fantastic, everyone slagging Alfa's off drives the used price down for people like me, who aren't afraid of maintaining a car

Michael Myers · 8 Sep 2008 at 08:22

im pretty sure im going to get a 1.8 or 2.0 now, just need to find the right one as there is so many different interior specs etc and make sure it has a very good service history

Third Opinion · 8 Sep 2008 at 08:58

mine went over 108k without any problems. The JTS is better if you can stretch to it as belt failures are almost unheard of. Twinny's need lots of maintenance but perform well.

Listen for suspension knocks, check for low oil and make sure it has lots of history. Check the oil every week to begin with. If it uses lots of oil switch to 10w60. Cam belts need changing at 30k on both twin spark and JTS.

FirebarUK · 8 Sep 2008 at 09:03

I'm in the same quandry. Looking at an Alfa 159 2.4JTDM - plenty of people tell me the newer Alfa's are fine, but still a bit wary...

POB · 8 Sep 2008 at 10:03

The only cars I have ever seen on fire on the side of the road are Alfa 156s, only seen two mind, but never seen another car catch fire on its own.

I would totally buy an Alfa though, (and a fire extinguisher)

Sparky · 8 Sep 2008 at 10:29

-westy- said:
This is fantastic, everyone slagging Alfa's off drives the used price down for people like me, who aren't afraid of maintaining a car

Maintaining is one thing, £1000 bills for selespeed actuators is something else.

Gilly · 8 Sep 2008 at 11:00