Just bought an Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6

Third Opinion

Third Opinion

Third Opinion

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2005
Posts
5,365
Location
West Sussex
I guess most will find me nuts and have a good laugh over my purchase but here it goes.

I cannot deny being an Alfa fan, especially the V6 versions. I posted a while back when I guy down the road was selling his 166 auto. I gave it a miss, now so a bit regrettably as it was a lovely car. But I wanted a weekend toy and the only other use would be for my partner to run to the shops and pick the kids up when it was raining.

A few days ago we came upon a 156 2.5 V6, 2001 registered. The car is in very good condition for the year. It has a service book with receipts backing up 15 services (Alfa specialist) since new. Cam belt's were done in August @92,000 miles with a new MOT. It now has 96,000 on it.

The owners have had it for 8 years and been all over in it. The body is clean un-dented and without major scratches. I will benefit from a clay bar and some decent polish and wax. The interior is very clean with it only showing some light wear on the drivers seat. I have already purchased a replacement of the same style and spec for £60.

The Alloys have begun to wear, I am not keen on the teledial Alfa alloys so I may change in the near future. It still has a good set of the Goodyear F1 GSD3 on it, two less than 5 months old.

The only other cosmetic issues are the body kit slightly coming away (common problem needs new adhesive) and the badges have faded (about £15 each).

With a bit on negotiation I managed to acquire it for £650. It was not a drive away as the tax has expired. The owner now has a Alfa GT. I will pick the car up next Friday and to be honest even with tax there is no way I would have got it through the floods round here today.

I was however able to give it a good test drive (I know I should be slayed as it had no tax) and it drove beautifully and everything worked.

Now I have something to play around with both driving and restoring at weekends. I have finally filled the empty garage that costs me £10 a week.

I will post pics when I get it back. I know most will hate but I am happy.
 
Alfa specialist and West Sussex I assume that's Monza Sport then?

Lots of car for the cash, if you can find Bianco Alfa wherever they went then you'll be onto some really cheap servicing, is alfa156.net still up and running, loads of info on there
 
maccapacca said:
Alfa specialist and West Sussex I assume that's Monza Sport then?

Lots of car for the cash, if you can find Bianco Alfa wherever they went then you'll be onto some really cheap servicing, is alfa156.net still up and running, loads of info on there
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Yeah some Monza and some Alfa Mike/Gatwick Alfa in Rusper. Thanks mate for the link. My friend who trains various engineers gets his 147 Q2 done by a guy who trained at Monza and now has his own garage. He is meant to be seriously good so I will give him ago to support new business when it need the next one.

Really fed up with weather cause my partner says we could have made post office and got it home if it wasn't for weather.
 
They're an absolute ballache to work on too which probably offsets the more expensive M taxed parts for yours, I still really enjoyed mine though - would definitely have a V6 if it was for disposable cash like the OP's
 
Had a tussle with one of these once on a fast straight road when I had my EP3. Couldn't shake it at all which impressed me. Then I looked at the performance figures and saw the lolmpg. :p
 
Yup. Even though Alfas dont make a lot of sense to my German car brain I can see the attraction as they are so non-conformist.

That sense of specialness plus V6 orchestra under the bonnet must be such a win
 
rodenal said:
They're an absolute ballache to work on too which probably offsets the more expensive M taxed parts for yours, I still really enjoyed mine though - would definitely have a V6 if it was for disposable cash like the OP's
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You hit the nail on the head cash wise. If it blows up or something major goes wrong I would just scrap it. Being the 2.5's are quite rare nowadays I am sure if I broke it for spares I would get a majority of my money back. Even if I didn't £650 will hardly break the bank.

The good news is the belts (serious money) and the clutch have both been done in the last 12k.

I would have kicked myself if I couldn't have owned one of the old Alfa V6's again before they are resigned to the breakers yards or a few over priced classics.

I have been looking at them from £2500 and ended up with the cheapest because in all honesty it was the best. Not in complete overall condition, it had the highest mileage. The others had patchy history and lots of dubious owners. This seemed the most genuine car and drove better than the others.
 
I'd find it hard to justify £2.5k on one so I think you've made the right choice - by the time you're getting close to 3 grand you are only another grand or so away from GTA money, now THAT would be a dangerous purchase
 
good luck :)

fantastic cars, has a 156 jts up till early this year. i'm still haunted by it lol

beautiful car lovely interior even the 4 pots are crackers. ours made a serious effort to bankrupt me as well as rob me of my sanity.

Would I have another, in a heart beat (albeit I want a full fat one with 6 cylinders :)
 
Matt82 said:
Yup. Even though Alfas dont make a lot of sense to my German car brain I can see the attraction as they are so non-conformist.

That sense of specialness plus V6 orchestra under the bonnet must be such a win
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I think we can all agree the German alternatives are better cars all round with maybe the exception of the singing engine.

Problem is most German cars of the same performance would cost far more to get anything half decent.

BMW's I have seen for less than 2k are very scabby or cheap old 4 cylinder 1.8 of the old type.

I suppose the best alternative to me for under 2k would be a Mondeo ST or some kind. I just can't get enthusiastic about Mondeo's although I know they are good cars.
 
rodenal said:
I'd find it hard to justify £2.5k on one so I think you've made the right choice - by the time you're getting close to 3 grand you are only another grand or so away from GTA money, now THAT would be a dangerous purchase
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Trust me, look on Autotrader and see what rubbish is around. One or two later cars which were some kind of imports showed them as Alfa GTV's on the documents. That would have been great fun explaining with the police and insurance.

I know this isn't the cleanest, but it had the best and a traceable history unlike the others. The only disappointing thing is no leather interior on this car :(
 
Third Opinion said:
I think we can all agree the German alternatives are better cars all round with maybe the exception of the singing engine.

Problem is most German cars of the same performance would cost far more to get anything half decent.

BMW's I have seen for less than 2k are very scabby or cheap old 4 cylinder 1.8 of the old type.

I suppose the best alternative to me for under 2k would be a Mondeo ST or some kind. I just can't get enthusiastic about Mondeo's although I know they are good cars.
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Define better, basically.

A BMW 318 is better than your car in many ways, but not better in any terms of excitement of fun

It all boils down to a car operating as a tool or as a toy. Being something different and fun is the Alfa's trump card

Youll have to keep the thread updated to so we can see how the car pans out

Do you have any immediate plans for the car?
 
Matt82 said:
Define better, basically.

A BMW 318 is better than your car in many ways, but not better in any terms of excitement of fun

It all boils down to a car operating as a tool or as a toy. Being something different and fun is the Alfa's trump card

Youll have to keep the thread updated to so we can see how the car pans out

Do you have any immediate plans for the car?
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Oh no you miss understand me. The BMW is a much better car in many ways. It is rear wheel drive and has a better chassis.



Day to day use the 318 would be a much better car even though straight line not as fast. This is just a weekend thrash and something to play with and hopefully go to italian car days in. Unlike the 318 there are not nearly as many about.

All I was saying that many cheaper BMW's with similar size engines in that price range often have poor service and maintenance as they go on so well without it. Alfa's wont go on long without servicing.

Like I say I would just like to improve it although it isnt bad at all and hopefully keep it as there are not that many about and they are good fun.

Please nobody think I was knocking 318's in any way. I was just saying being the base engine of any model they tend to be the cheapest. I believe the 318 out sold the Mondeo for a while hence being popular but unfortunately not always that well maintained due to it's competitive pricing.

If I was buying a car for day to day use, the 156 would be one of the last on my list. My partner and I will be keeping the Fiat Sedici AKA Suzuki SX4 1.9 JTD which will be my work car and work horse.
 
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Oooh too much for me to read there. I'm saying the Alfa is a good car, I can see why you got it. I am the one who bought a destroyed BMW to play with
 
Third Opinion said:
Yeah some Monza and some Alfa Mike/Gatwick Alfa in Rusper. Thanks mate for the link. My friend who trains various engineers gets his 147 Q2 done by a guy who trained at Monza and now has his own garage. He is meant to be seriously good so I will give him ago to support new business when it need the next one.

Really fed up with weather cause my partner says we could have made post office and got it home if it wasn't for weather.
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I bought my 147 from Monzasport as a 'import' although it was destined for the UK it was bought by Monza from Belgium when the £ > € was very strong, I got about £5k off Alfa list price and drove it for 100k Monza serviced it for 90k all well and good and any warranty work went to Gatwick Alfa which was a starter motor and a cam belt at 36k when the book said 72k.

The V6 is pretty bullet proof provided the cam belt is replaced as and when it's needed the rest really if you are handy is driveway stuff, fiddly irritating but loads of info about and saves you ooodles of cash.

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I loved it, like I love my E60 now, just a pleasure to drive.
 
maccapacca said:
I bought my 147 from Monzasport as a 'import' although it was destined for the UK it was bought by Monza from Belgium when the £ > € was very strong, I got about £5k off Alfa list price and drove it for 100k Monza serviced it for 90k all well and good and any warranty work went to Gatwick Alfa which was a starter motor and a cam belt at 36k when the book said 72k.

The V6 is pretty bullet proof provided the cam belt is replaced as and when it's needed the rest really if you are handy is driveway stuff, fiddly irritating but loads of info about and saves you ooodles of cash.

208_25691206873_6613_n.jpg


261_26707996873_7010_n.jpg


I loved it, like I love my E60 now, just a pleasure to drive.
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Was that a JTD/ JTDm 147? Looks identical to my friends who got his on a similar deal.
 
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