Would you get an Alfa?
- Thread starter smokedog
- Start date
v0n said:
not as funny as someone boasting about a diesel shopping trolley!
seriously; there was a thread recently talking about the cost of bmw maintenance due to their complexity; nissan (once famed for build quality) now have very bad quality control since their closer involvment with renault.
Soldato
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Alfa's seem to represent good value for money and no, they don't break down like they used to. I like the 156/166 though I've only driven a 156, it was a nice place to be.
Matt82 said:
to be honest mate, i have always been the same. my favorite cars have always been the bang for buck jap wagons (which used to be very underated but never went wrong).
a few years ago, during a holiday in barcelona i was informed that due to a mistake, the diesel focus (or equal) i had booked for transport wasnt available and i was handed the keys to a brand new 166 jtd. the car was great to drive, great to look at (imho) and a great place to sit.
since then i have driven a few alfas including a 146 - basically an mk2 golf in disguise. i have also driven the gtv, 156 and a gt - all special cars that i would own with my own money - infact the only reason i dont own an alfa at the moment its becuase the 166 3.0 is too thirsty and the derv isnt availabel in the uk and i knew that the 156 was about to be replaced and didnt fancy the extra depreciation.
the 166 looks slightly sinister with the right wheels on (no idea what option, month/year of car they were available to) etc but some looks awesome, same with 155s.
the rest, i just cant get excited about, not to the extent you hear some people go on about
the rest, i just cant get excited about, not to the extent you hear some people go on about
Soldato
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Between the wife and I we have owned 6 Alfas over 16 years. The latest being a 156 Sportswagon which will still have. All except the 156 have given good service especially our old Alfa 75 Twin Spark. The 156 has had the fatal cam belt failure which ultimately cost a complete engine rebuild.
The 156 is a great value car however the Twin Spark engine is showing is design age. The older 8v unit like that found in the 75 and 164 was a much more reliable with cam chain design.
Alfas have come like a full circle, it used to be said "Great engines, shame they are rust buckets". Now they have the body sorted they just need a reliable lump to put in them. Hopefully with this new engine using the GM bottom end we will see an improvement.
My next car will not be an Alfa until I see some feedback from the new 159's and Brera's.
The 156 is a great value car however the Twin Spark engine is showing is design age. The older 8v unit like that found in the 75 and 164 was a much more reliable with cam chain design.
Alfas have come like a full circle, it used to be said "Great engines, shame they are rust buckets". Now they have the body sorted they just need a reliable lump to put in them. Hopefully with this new engine using the GM bottom end we will see an improvement.
My next car will not be an Alfa until I see some feedback from the new 159's and Brera's.
I bought a 2.0 GTV back in february and apart from a few niggles its great fun.
Having said that ive had a few minor issues
- exhaust downpipe needs replacing to get rid of an intermittant rattle. Will cost 400 quid to fix.
- Doesnt like being driven in hot weather for long periods as i found on friday when the engine water overheated and boiled away 3 litres of coolant suddenly when the temp hit 130 C and had to pull the car off the motorway and into a verge. Thankfully topping the water up seemed to fix it. Had nightmares of thousands of pounds of engine repairs but thankfully it seems alright.
- insurance is too high. group 16 for a 2 litre normally aspirated car is a bit steep. The sporty image is probably to blame for that.
- paintwork is showing its age after 10 years.
Aside from that ..... i challenge anyone to find anything that gets such positive comments and discussions at work and with friends for anything in its pricerange of 3-4 thousand pounds. Half the fun of alfa ownership is having the guts to buy one and knowning exactly what johnny 6 pack and his 'sensible' ford mondeo are missing out on
Girls love it aswell
Having said that ive had a few minor issues
- exhaust downpipe needs replacing to get rid of an intermittant rattle. Will cost 400 quid to fix.
- Doesnt like being driven in hot weather for long periods as i found on friday when the engine water overheated and boiled away 3 litres of coolant suddenly when the temp hit 130 C and had to pull the car off the motorway and into a verge. Thankfully topping the water up seemed to fix it. Had nightmares of thousands of pounds of engine repairs but thankfully it seems alright.
- insurance is too high. group 16 for a 2 litre normally aspirated car is a bit steep. The sporty image is probably to blame for that.
- paintwork is showing its age after 10 years.
Aside from that ..... i challenge anyone to find anything that gets such positive comments and discussions at work and with friends for anything in its pricerange of 3-4 thousand pounds. Half the fun of alfa ownership is having the guts to buy one and knowning exactly what johnny 6 pack and his 'sensible' ford mondeo are missing out on
Girls love it aswell
Third Opinion said:
Agree. Cant believe the V6 in the brera is a General Motors one - and from what ive heard thats going to be a common thing in times to come.
One thing that sold me on Alfa's (even if i did get a twinspark in the end) was the noise of the engine on a GTV V6 when my mate took me for a spin ... coming off the sliproad onto the motorway and just booting it while moving into the outside lane .... i felt like i was in a ferarri or something. Couldnt stop grinning.
The Alfa V6 is an amazing engine.
brid said:Half the fun of alfa ownership is having the guts to buy one and knowning exactly what johnny 6 pack and his 'sensible' ford mondeo are missing out on
Johnny 6 pack and his Mondeo?
Thats the single weirdest comment I've ever seen in here. And if thats the only reason you've got for buying one... well. Good luck to you
Gilly said:Johnny 6 pack and his Mondeo?
Thats the single weirdest comment I've ever seen in here. And if thats the only reason you've got for buying one... well. Good luck to you
hehe - do you have a mondeo?
It was a point (not entirely directed at mondeo owners) that alfa's seem to STILL have a perception in many peoples eyes for falling apart or whatever .... and because of that you hear a lot of people making comments about their entire range without ever actually driving one or knowing someone who owns or have owned one ...... there might be a slight bit of truth in some of the comments
.... but for the most part its an opinion that is a good 10-15 years out of date.I think the 156 looks stunning and wouldn't have minded the 2.5 V6 instead of my Mondeo, but in the end decided that although there are horror stories about reliability at some point about most cars, the Mondeo should prove cheaper to own in the long run, and being a student at the time with occasional and unpredictable income, that was important.
Nope, far from itbrid said:hehe - do you have a mondeo?
It was a point (not entirely directed at mondeo owners) that alfa's seem to STILL have a perception in many peoples eyes for falling apart or whatever .... and because of that you hear a lot of people making comments about their entire range without ever actually driving one or knowing someone who owns or have owned one ...... there might be a slight bit of truth in some of the comments
I simply don't understand what a) johnny 6 pack means and b) why he'd be driving a mondeo.I don't hold the opinion the Alfas fall apart either. I hold the opinion that they're ugly. The perception I have is that the misguided drivers of them think they're the bees knees
(the drivers themselves, not the cars).I would buy an Alfa and did just that recently, I've had a GTV V6 for almost a month now and I'm loving it. Alfa's reliability is not as bad as it used to be, they just can't compete with german/japanese companies for overall quality.
Reliability was a bit of a worry for me when I was thinking about buying one as I also have a 50 mile commute for work every day. After reading many forums for various cars I came to the conclusion that any neglected car will be unreliable.
It is a thirsty car but then what 3.0 V6 isn't? My friend has a 2.0 t.spark 156 and he has also found it to be thristy if driven even slightly hard.
One thing you get when you buy an Alfa is a degree of exclusivity. Drove 500 miles at the weekend and I saw one GTV, a twin spark, and countless mondeos, 3 series, astras, vectras, civics, etc... you get the idea.
Looks wise, it seems that some people love the looks and some people hate them. The best art always provokes an opinion
Reliability was a bit of a worry for me when I was thinking about buying one as I also have a 50 mile commute for work every day. After reading many forums for various cars I came to the conclusion that any neglected car will be unreliable.
It is a thirsty car but then what 3.0 V6 isn't? My friend has a 2.0 t.spark 156 and he has also found it to be thristy if driven even slightly hard.
One thing you get when you buy an Alfa is a degree of exclusivity. Drove 500 miles at the weekend and I saw one GTV, a twin spark, and countless mondeos, 3 series, astras, vectras, civics, etc... you get the idea.
Looks wise, it seems that some people love the looks and some people hate them. The best art always provokes an opinion
The GTV's arent expensive cars if you
- buy a low mileage, well serviced one
- know good specialists who charge decent prices for cambelt changes, variators etc
- keep a hawks eye on the oil levels and keep it topped up every thousand miles
- join a forum and get a feel for the kinds of things that go wrong and considerations worth knowing before going to a garage etc...
Mine has cost me a few hundred pounds in a few repairs since i bought it - but i think its a small price to pay for the feeling you get from owning one.
- buy a low mileage, well serviced one
- know good specialists who charge decent prices for cambelt changes, variators etc
- keep a hawks eye on the oil levels and keep it topped up every thousand miles
- join a forum and get a feel for the kinds of things that go wrong and considerations worth knowing before going to a garage etc...
Mine has cost me a few hundred pounds in a few repairs since i bought it - but i think its a small price to pay for the feeling you get from owning one.