Alfa Brera

Third Opinion · 12 Sep 2016 at 07:37

CooK1E said:
Owned a GTV for 10 years. If you are buying an Alfa, make sure that you are handy with spanners - otherwise you will spend a lot of time in other cars waiting on the garage. That said I loved every moment and £4000 in parts over 10 years for a '99 plate car is hardly stupid money.

Maintenance is key. Alfa's become dogs when they are neglected. A lot of garages(even dealers) are clueless with maintenance. They cut corners when servicing or miss out vital serving tasks and they become a nightmare.

I always say to anyone I know who is considering buying an Alfa, make sure you find a good specialist before looking at a car.

If there is nobody decent in your area then forget the purchase.

The guy I use to use was brilliant, he could change a front wishbone in under 40 minutes on the 156. Alfa allow over 3 hours for this job.

rodenal · 12 Sep 2016 at 08:42

I changed a wishbone on our 156 - absolute ******* to do and is a recurring theme with them. Things are just a bit....uniquely put together so someone who knows them well would make any jobs on the car much easier as above

The_Abyss · 12 Sep 2016 at 08:47

Maundie said:
Not really going to be doing more 6k a year

You've already got the perfect mindset for owning one of these

I love the look of the Brera, and have owned a 159. They're packed full of Italian 'quirks' and have bags of 'character' (frustrating things always going wrong or not operating as you'd expect).

Overweight and underpowered. Far better to look at (and then only from the outside) than drive.

Cleisthenes · 12 Sep 2016 at 09:28

Although my Alfa does have its problems, the way it makes you feel when it's working properly is priceless (this really doesn't sell them all that well does it?

)

insane200 · 12 Sep 2016 at 10:43

dacads said:
Should still have a record regardless of mileage, and should be serviced every year even if it's not been used rigorously.

Oh of course, the advert might just be missing that info, nothing a quick call couldn't remedy.

hartgeh3 · 13 Sep 2016 at 20:25

Look nice with tan leather if you ever find one!

TacticalFish · 14 Sep 2016 at 10:17

I was very sad to see my 156 go that's for sure. It wasn't horribly un-reliable, EGR valve needed replacing and that was about it. Had to sell as issues were stacking up, and would've cost about as much as the car was worth.

I'd love a 159, have to echo what people say about finding one that's been well looked after (goes for most cars though really).

Love the front of the Brera, god knows what happened in the design process when they got to the back.

I'm glad they've gone back to more original styling with the Giulia, not a fan of the MiTo at all.