I have £8000 to spend..

Hedge said:
I love the look of the Alfa 159 , But all I ever remember hearing about Alfa ownership is that it can be quite pricey.

There is a decent one near me for under 8k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/ne332er/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

looks quite nice.
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1.9 Diesel needs careful servicing. They have been known to destroy water pump pulleys which rips off the cam belt and destroys the engine. Apparently if you have the water pump changed every cam belt service it virtually eliminates the problem. However as you stated it could be a pricey job for piece of mind.

I like the 159, but would never have it in 1.9 diesel.
 
That doesnt sound too appealing lol. I am happy to keep ontop of servicing but big bills are something id rather avoid.

Any good BMWs for this price? Mileage Ideally I think I want less than 80k
 
Hedge said:
That doesnt sound too appealing lol. I am happy to keep ontop of servicing but big bills are something id rather avoid.

Any good BMWs for this price? Mileage Ideally I think I want less than 80k
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How about a petrol 159 or a GT Coupe? Alfa's are not up to German car build quality but vastly improved over what they were knocking out in the the 80's,90's and early 2000's. I would personally go for a petrol 2.0 or a bigger diesel.

They depreciate quickly which means more motor but you could lose out in the future.

I know one thing however, I can't afford a decent German car, but would rather be in an Alfa than a french car which break a lot but avoid the reputation.
 
Im thinking more about Fuel economy and although I never previously did a huge amount of mileage, a lot of this was due to having a dodgy motor and a dislike of fuel costs.

If I have something more economical I think Ill use the car more :)

I dont think Petrol Alfas are too good on economy from a few Owner reviews I just scanned over.

If you were thinking of economy and comfort, what models of cars would you look at?
 
grimm said:
If something goes wrong on that Alfa you're looking at some hefty bills.
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Like most things these days. I am not going to say Alfas's are reliable because statistics say otherwise.

I will however say I have owned 9 Alfa's, classics to modern day, £1000 bangers to 9k cars 7 years ago. I have had just one major bill which was shell bearings on a Twin Spark. The car had a hidden history of problems bought of a dealer who lost his franchise. The rest to be honest was just the odd fault and wear and tear. A few niggles I did myself.

I reckon if you owned 9 cars of the same brand you will probably own one that was a dog.

What I love is the driver feeling, many people don't get it which is fair enough. But I do and love it so it keeps me coming back.


Alfa virgins that come to me I give the following advise. If you are paranoid about a car going wrong, Avoid. Look at the service intervals and cost and if you are shocked, Avoid. Are you worried about people making jibes about your car or what you read in the mostly German sponsored motoring press? If so avoid. Resale can be painful unless you want to keep it awhile.

If the above doesn't worry you get behind the wheel, you will either love it or hate it.
 
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Third Opinion said:
Like most things these days. I am not going to say Alfas's are reliable because statistics say otherwise.

I will however say I have owned 9 Alfa's, classics to modern day, £1000 bangers to 9k cars 7 years ago. I have had just one major bill which was shell bearings on a Twin Spark. The car had a hidden history of problems bought of a dealer who lost his franchise. The rest to be honest was just the odd fault and wear and tear. A few niggles I did myself.

I reckon if you owned 9 cars of the same brand you will probably own one that was a dog.

What I love is the driver feeling, many people don't get it which is fair enough. But I do and love it so it keeps me coming back.


Alfa virgins that come to me I give the following advise. If you are paranoid about a car going wrong, Avoid. Look at the service intervals and cost and if you are shocked, Avoid. Are you worried about people making jibes about your car or what you read in the mostly German sponsored motoring press? If so avoid. Resale can be painful unless you want to keep it awhile.

If the above doesn't worry you get behind the wheel, you will either love it or hate it.
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I'm not saying that they're unreliable, I'm just saying that if something needs replacing on an Alfa it's probably platinum plated and will cost a fair chunk to sort out :)

It's a bit like people looking at 2 seaters and it can be a choice between a Mazda vs a Porsche, you can get either one for a reasonable initial outlay, but the Porsche will really set you back if something goes wrong, whereas the Mazda will generally be much more cost effective to sort out.
 
grimm said:
I'm not saying that they're unreliable, I'm just saying that if something needs replacing on an Alfa it's probably platinum plated and will cost a fair chunk to sort out :)

It's a bit like people looking at 2 seaters and it can be a choice between a Mazda vs a Porsche, you can get either one for a reasonable initial outlay, but the Porsche will really set you back if something goes wrong, whereas the Mazda will generally be much more cost effective to sort out.
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No they are not the cheapest, but they are not supercar money to repair either. A cam belt is done locally on a 2.0 JTS for about £300. Not Mondeo money but certainly not Ferrari.

My old mans Pug 407 diesel cost almost a grand to fix a failed clutch when my 156 cost under £500. Granted his was stealer, but the stealer price for mine was £700.

Parts in comparison to French cars are pretty reasonable.
 
Alfa parts generally aren't too bad but they're put together in a very "italian" way so certain components can be impossibly frustrating to get to which pushes up the labour. I love the 156 / 147 gta's and had a 156 2 litre for a time that was a good car - the 159 doesn't really do it for me interior wise though
 
rodenal said:
Alfa parts generally aren't too bad but they're put together in a very "italian" way so certain components can be impossibly frustrating to get to which pushes up the labour. I love the 156 / 147 gta's and had a 156 2 litre for a time that was a good car - the 159 doesn't really do it for me interior wise though
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I would personally put parts and labour cost at about large French car prices. That isn't a compliment but it is not a complete disaster either.
 
What are the best model accords and mondeos I should be looking at within this budget?
 
The 2.4 accord is quite a nice all rounder - they're all pretty well kitted out too, EX is probably where you want to be. Mondeo wise titanium x is a nice spec and the 2.5t is a cracker (though thirsty), the 2.0t. Should be a good engine too but I dont think they'll be in budget
 
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Have a look at the Volvo S80.
Not the most exciting car in the world, but they are well within budget.
 
rodenal said:
The 2.4 accord is quite a nice all rounder - they're all pretty well kitted out too, EX is probably where you want to be. Mondeo wise titanium x is a nice spec and the 2.5t is a cracker (though thirsty), the 2.0t. Should be a good engine too but I dont think they'll be in budget
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The 2.5Ts are lovely for cruising on motorways and whilst thirsty on short journeys, they can do 450 miles to a tank if not pushed too hard.
 
realistically, you are not going to see more than 30/31mpg out of a Focus ST even on a long motorway journey. This is going by my own experiences of owning one as well as many other people saying likewise. Anyone that says otherwise is being economical (haha!) with the truth.
 
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