Alfa Romeo Brera

DiscoDave

DiscoDave

DiscoDave

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Joined
6 Jun 2005
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1,856
Location
Cambridge
Hi Everyone,

The Alfa Romeo Brera has caught my eye as of late. Seen a few around that might be worth a visit.

Now, when I talk to people about Alfa's they instantly associate the name with very poor reliability. I understand that this may have been the case 10+ years ago, but how about more modern Alfa's? such as 2006+

I've been looking at the 2.4JTDM and 2.2JTS.

Thanks,

David
 
No idea if they're good cars. However I used to think these were the best looking car in the world, now every time I see one I just think "that's not grown old to gracefully".

Sorry.
 
I used to have a 159. In short, don't do it. It will be woefully underpowered and drink and disproportionate amount of fuel. The Brera is heavy, and has an interior that, whilst different, is incredibly basic and dated.

The only time these cars really look for is from the outside and from the rear. Do yourself a favour - get something else and if you really still like the Brera, get a photo of one and frame it instead.
 
They seem to have held their value well.
I do like them, always fancied a 4WD red one with the V6.

2.4JTDM is a decent engine, remappable if that's your thing. Still a FailDiesel though :P
 
Hey.
I used to have a 159 too, and also in short - don't do it!
I agree with the Abyss - very underpowered. I had a 2.4jtdm and it didn't seem to have anywhere near the grunt that the 210bhp engine would suggest.
I only managed 35mpg on average from it too.

The rumours are incredibly accurate regarding reliability.

I only kept mine for 4 months because there were a lot of things on the verge of going wrong.

In the time I had it, the handbrake failed while it was parked on my drive. Resulting in £1k of body work and £500 of new garage door on the house.

Also the locks stopped working so I couldn't lock it any more until it had another £250 fix done.

This was on a 3 year old car.

Have a look on the alfa owners forum and all you will see is people with problems with their cars. Nobody talks about how good they are.
 
I have had a 147 for around 18 months now and not had anything go wrong with at all. An alfa is essentialy as reliable as any other car these days with parts shared with GM and Fiat.

I think the interior is a matter of opinion, I love it but obviously some will hate it.

Used alfas are great, you get a lot for your money. But a full service history is essential and definetley don't buy at the bottom of the price range. You can get a pretty good one for around £8k and upwards if you take your time finiding the right one.
 
Many year Alfa and Fiat diesel owner, they have been superb, never let me down.

get a 210bhp 5 cylinder and get the DPF removal + remap it should be pretty trouble free.
 
I've had an Alfa GT and now drive a 159.

The GT was faultless in the 130k miles I did in it.

The 159 has had a new steering rack at 30k but that was covered by the supplying garage.

Don't be put off by the reliability woes of old......just accept that as with any modern diesel things can...and do go wrong!

I've stuck with the 1.9JTDm as I've found it perfect for my requirements. The GT would do 44mpg to a tank and the 159 is slightly heavier and returning around 42mpg.

Alfa's really are a car you buy with your heart!
 
Have to admit that I gave strong consideration to the 159 when I bought the Saab. Both were on the list, it just happened that I found a tidy one owner 93 before a 159. Same engine and a lot of other parts in common, the JTDm is the same as the TiD in mine - I'm averaging 47mpg on my mostly a road commute
 
The steering rack was just about to go on my 159 before I got rid.
That was the same fault that everyone was complaining about on the forums. It wasn't just bad luck, they weren't built for purpose.

Also, everyone had a problem with the DPF clogging up. That happened on mine too and kept making the car go into limp mode. Everyone on the forums had the exact same problem.

Hopefully the OP has already been talked out of it. But just in case anyone else is considering buying an ALFA because they are tempted by the big engine sizes and pretty looks, dont do it if you want a car that will get you to work every morning.
 
My Alfa starts every morning and drives. In that cold weather everyone was getting a jump start off my 156.

Kind of funny when you have a Golf TDi, Nissan Primera, Focus and a Mondeo all relying on an Alfa Romeo to get them started for work.
 
"Everyone" had the DPF clog? I'm fairly sure thats an exaggeration

DPFs will be problematic with any modern diesel if used for lots of short journeys - DPF cleaner is a good way to keep on top of it though
 
I bought a '09 3.2S and I absolutely love it.
I must admit I was a salesmans dream when I walked into the show room as it was quite obvious that I was leaving with that car but I did get a 2 year warranty with it.

I went from an Elise so to me it was the height of luxury and I just love the sound the 3.2 makes.
Its deffo got its down points...fuel economy is ridiculous, tax is also stupidly expensive and a set of boots is nearly £1200 but every morning when I look at it and start it up i get a rumbling in my loins :D

Its definately a head and a heart thing
 
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