anyone owned an alfa 147 ?

I bet the GTA is enormous fun for the money, but I imagine the tyre consumption is going to get a bit old after a while, and getting out of junctions a bit sharpish on a wet day is going to leave you cursing those scrabbling front wheels :D
 
Moeks said:
I bet the GTA is enormous fun for the money, but I imagine the tyre consumption is going to get a bit old after a while, and getting out of junctions a bit sharpish on a wet day is going to leave you cursing those scrabbling front wheels :D
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They are - I've only driven the 156 GTA, but been a passenger in the 147, I actually thought the 156 was better somehow. You completely forget you're in a FWD car, until you get to a corner a little too quick :D Though this 156 had some sort of Diff installed and goodness me it added something to the cornerning, but rather violent torque steer too!

The traction control system isn't actually that bad at keepign the power on the road in the wet, or the dry, but it's got a lot of feedback so actually with all those factors combined it makes it quite driveable in day to day life.

Witor said:
Still massively tempted by a red 156 GTA down here. £8.5k and 40k miles on the clock iirc, great nick. Still havent been able to shift the Leon though i've got someone coming round at 6 tonight to test-drive it.
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Ditto - and I know that autodelta are preparing, or in the process of preparing a RWD conversion IIRC. They certainly are for the 159 platform, but I'm sure they mentioned something about a 156 too. Even in spite of this I'd quite happily have a 156 GTA :D
 
I can't see a RWD 156 working all to well. The platform was designed with FWD in mind.

There is a 4x4 version of the 159 already, so RWD should be OK, but why not have 4 wheel drive?
 
I've been very tempted with a 147 as my next car, but Parkers suggests the 2.0L 150bhp models only manage a 0-60 of 9 seconds, i.e. slower than a 2.0L Focus. I know they aren't particularly light cars, and 0-60 isn't that important in the scheme of things, but that seems exceptionally poor. Just another load of bull-plop from Parkers or is this real?
 
Dogbreath said:
I've been very tempted with a 147 as my next car, but Parkers suggests the 2.0L 150bhp models only manage a 0-60 of 9 seconds, i.e. slower than a 2.0L Focus. I know they aren't particularly light cars, and 0-60 isn't that important in the scheme of things, but that seems exceptionally poor. Just another load of bull-plop from Parkers or is this real?
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I would imagine that's more to do with gearing than anything else. In any case I wouldn't call 9 seconds "exceptionally" poor :p
 
I haven't "g-metered" mine. It certainly doesn't feel sluggish certainly pulling onto the motorway I get up to speed with ease. Can't comment on the 0-60 times.
 
Ooo this is becoming more topical for me at the minute. Sold the Leon 20 mins ago for asking price, test driving the 156 GTA at 2.30...thoughts will follow :)
 
daz said:
I would imagine that's more to do with gearing than anything else. In any case I wouldn't call 9 seconds "exceptionally" poor :p
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I would, it's horrendous for a 150bhp hatchback, a 2.0L familly car would give similar performance. The 146 with the same power and slightly more weight manages 8.2s, which is why I'm dubious that it's correct.
 
Witor said:
Ooo this is becoming more topical for me at the minute. Sold the Leon 20 mins ago for asking price, test driving the 156 GTA at 2.30...thoughts will follow :)
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It must be an amazing car that GTA if its been for sale for 3 months now (Based on your last thread) and still nobody has bought it yet :p
 
[TW]Fox;15891265 said:
It must be an amazing car that GTA if its been for sale for 3 months now (Based on your last thread) and still nobody has bought it yet :p
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If he only just managed to shift his Leon today, i can't imagine the used car market is booming in Gibraltar :p
 
Aye Fox. However this is not the UK. As mentioned my Leon's been for sale for ages, it's pristine all things considered. Few things to clear up:

  • Market is stagnant here, 28,000 people, narrow it down to prolly 15,000 who can drive, narrow it down to what must be a paltry amount who are looking to buy a car, and probably around 80-120 cars for sale at any given time (2nd hand)
  • Not many people buying new or 2nd hand cars at the moment in Gib.
  • GTA has been for sale for around 3 months, aye. The 530 was sitting there much longer. I still see the same old 2nd hand cars in the local mags, websites and showrooms.
  • We're just out of the Xmas period.
  • It's (GTA, 530) totally uninsurable for anyone under 30, thats the way it goes out here. Few "younger" lads drove it, had the cash, couldnt get insured.
  • Not everbody here wants a 3.2 litre car, for mostly town driving (I couldn't care less in the grand scheme of things)
  • Alfas Past reputation :)
  • The dealer in question renovated over Xmas, knew the car was still for sale but it wasn't in the front showroom for a while.
Test drive was...amazing. Im in love with the car, everything worked fine, felt very well bolted togther (shocker). Sounds petty, but I have misgivings about the boot size, which is about the only thing the wife has a say on wasnt too impressive. Obviously a hatch has better "access" to the boot. The alfa's was a tad larger, but definitely needed relocation of the 10cd changer (not a large job), and a bit of forward planning when filling the boot with the required double pram and large suitcase. Hopefully my plans aren't scuppered.
Fingers crossed the original "she picks houses, I pick cars" sticks..lol

Edit - knocked the price down a grand. Found out (working here has it's uses), the owner is an MD of a rather large online betting company, practically made of money, just purchased an E60 M5. Wonder if I should have knocked it down more...ah well, happy at the price if I do indeed go ahead.
 
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Ze Alfa is...

is...

mine! :D:D:D

Car (as Fox quite rightly mentioned.. :) ) was for sale for approx. 3 months and was due a yearly service in late december i.e after it was handed it for sale. Picked up on this after phoning the official Alfa dealer for more details on service history, wasn't prepared to purchase a car and spend a minimum of £250 (according to Alfa dealer) for a service right after purchase. Asked for either £250 to be knocked off, or some sort of meet-me-in-the-middle arrangement. Turns out the previous owner was extremely apologetic and has already booked in the car to be checked over and serviced next week, and he will pay any and all costs incurred for said service. Result!

My heart is beating at 120bpm...could desperately regress and smoke a ciggarette if I still did!
 
Gta's are amazing cars, however they also knock out all of the front bushes in a couple of thousand miles, expect a main steeler bill of £550 to replace them.... i had the 2.5 in a 156, it was a superb car to drive and sounded amazing in the higher rev band, but although nothing major broke or had to be replaced, I spent a lot of money keeping it that way!
 
Enjoying my Alfa so far... picked it up yesterday and it's a 2.0 Lusso with satnav and the top-end stereo. :)

Apologies for the terrible quality, i have a Windows mobile phone. :/

1265351131.jpg
 
Moeks said:
...better yet, same engine in the Alfa GT ...I think really they are much the same thing, but the GT looks much better and has a nicer interior.
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The interior in the GT is (save for the ashtray) almost identical to the 147's.

Agreed on the looks though, I think a GT is my next car (V6 though.... :D)
 
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