Alfa Romeos

[robbieguy2003]

Right, now I've got the swearing out of the way - has anyone lived with one of these?

I fancy either a 147 or 156 - prob around the 2 litre mark - Prob thinking of getting one thats around 5 years old at most.

I guess the main question is - do they still deserve the reputation of being really unreliable or has that gone away with the slightly newer models?

I've had a look on the net and can't see anything massively wrong with them.

I'd be using it to go to work/meetings but only a few days a week so not going to pummel it in terms of milage.

I know all cars aren't going to be totally reliable but just wondering how bad it would be.
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[rotax81]

in 1985 i worked at a body shop. we had 2 'new car' contracts, one with alfa romeo and the other with saab.
ALL of the alfa's came to us after being shipped over to have the rust remedied before going into the showroom. this was mainly around the sunroof area.
the saabs simply turned up with transport damage etc.

i had 3 alfa's but couldnt hack the rot situation. may be different these days but it put me off.

one thing i can say though.... you dont need a stereo in an alfa, they sound gorgeous
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[Kickstart]

Hi

The reputation became undeserved about 25 years ago. Mid 80s they were no worse than Fords (and in reality better for many things), while being rather better to drive. Rust hasn't been a problem for ages.

The 147 and 156 have a few issues. Cam belts need changing. Originally Alfa said to do them at 72K, but have now revised that to 36K. Problem is that the tensioners go and kill the belt, which wrecks the engine. Just service it and it will be fine (often recommended to change the water pump and timing variator at the same time as the belt).

Front wishbones wear out as the bushes are bonded to them (or rather, cease to be hence need replacing). About £90 of parts each side (from an Alfashop advert).

They have fairly small oil sumps, which is fine until they start to use a bit of oil. With a long service interval and a small sump plenty of people run them out of oil, wrecking the crank.

We have just bought my fathers 156 from him, with 100K on the clocks. It is replacing a 155 that has about 120K on the clocks (which replaced a 155 that had ~130K on the clocks when the cam belt snapped).

All the best

Keith
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[robbieguy2003]

Thats good to know, I dont expect the thing to run forever, i'd just expect it to do ok if serviced correctly.

The sound of the engine is part of the reason I want one - and they do look good and are comfy - and at that age, there isn't much around thats as nice in the same pricepoint.
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[Kickstart]

[robbieguy2003]

I've found controls on nearly every car I've driven to be fiddly though, I generally try and get them set up before hand if possible.

I've got a Freelander at the moment which is excellent apart from the fact my sister has nicked it - Its a good car (the 2.5 v6) but suffers from the usual 4x4 high centre of gravity so you can't have that much fun in it.

I agreed to sell it to her other half so she can have it all the time - which leaves me in the fun position of looking for something else
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[Wave2k]

I love the new 3.2 V6 GT, i may go and test drive one

https://www.auto-blog.pl/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/alfa-romeo-gt.jpg

https://i9.ebayimg.com/08/m/000/9c/a4/cbd7_27.JPG
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[Kickstart]

[Wave2k]

With Alfas its all about the look and the sound, and its probably the only FWD car id consider.

But i could only have the V6 model, and other engine would be offensive in an alfa.
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[robbieguy2003]

Yeah the GT does look pretty nice... I'm thinking about how much i want to spend though - I could go for something really nice but thinking how much to tie up in a car.

If I was going to splash a fair bit the mercedes slk would be quite high in the list but would have to be the newer shape one.
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[Kickstart]

Hi

The 4s are revier generally (although not as good as they used to be, the old 8V twin cam TS engines were very revvy, as were the flat 4s). The flat 4 engined Suds and 33s were great fun (in the hooligan way a 2 stroke 250 is fun). With the V6 ones you land up with a heavy lump of an engine (the old Alfa V6 had an alloy block so wasn't too bad).

Alfa keep talking about going back to rwd, but seem to content themselves with fwd and 4wd.

The 156 my father bought is about 4 years old I thin, 2L JTS sportwagon in red and is immaculate (seriously, previous owner used protective floor mats to protect the Alfa floor mats) with about 40k on the clocks. Took him a while to find a petrol sportwagon (most of diseasals) but think it cost him £7k.

All the best

Keith
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[Wave2k]

Actually keith, after you mentioned the 156 i had a quick look.
3.2 V6 156s are bargains, what are these like to drive etc ?

Reliabilty of the v6 lump ?
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[Kickstart]

Hi

The V6 is pretty good as far as I know, but I only have any experience of them in the old 12V form. As far as I know, keep on top of the cam belts and you will be fine (but not that much space to get at them).

All the best

Keith
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[Wave2k]

So a typical cam belt change is likely to cost more ?, are they every 36k like the 147s and 156 fours
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Honestly do not know. Best bet would be to have a word with a local Alfa specialist (there are plenty around). There is no balance shaft so that is one other belt that you won't need to worry about, and no variable valve timing so no variator to worry about, which probably makes up for any extra difficulty from lack of space.

All the best

Keith
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[Wave2k]

good stuff, i might seriously consider one considering the price, shame about road tax though.
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[FreshAL]

I've got a 156 2.5 v6


https://apholt.net/photos/1b99_3_2.JPG

111,000 miles and going strong.

The V6 is far more reliable than the smaller twin sparks. It's still 72k cam belt intervals for the V6.

Only thing to really watch for is the water pump. This must be changed at the same time as the cam belt, and ideally for one of the steel propeller ones not the OEM fit plastic one. If there is any sign of overheating, especially on even a short motorway run odds are the propeller has cracked in the waterpump. Expensive.

alfa aid in Maindenhead are really good, and not too badly priced for an alfa specialist.

edit: oh yeah, i forgot to warn you about the fuel consumption. It's not good. Typically 22mpg, but has gone below 15 if driven hard. And what's the fun of having it if you're going to drive like granny?

[Kwaks]

I have a 147 Selespeed, 2L engine, sequential gearbox which can be used with the paddles if you wish or in full automatic mode (still changes at 7000rpm in full auto if you are booting it).

Sounds great and feels like a go cart (my other car is a grand voyager ).

Had to do a few things to it, but still don't regret buying it
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[Whosthedaddy]

[Major_Grooves]

I really hope Alfas are reliable.
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[AJI]

156s are gorgeous. One of the most beautiful saloons ever, in my opinion. The 156 GTA is one of my more realistic dream cars...

https://www.gtvalfa.com/wallpaper/alfa156gta_800.jpg

Not hard to see why, either. Part of me really wants a 2.0 GTV as my next car. Again, doesn't take a lot of working out why:

https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1168/1423847379_276a62433b.jpg?v=0
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[Annabella]

[Major_Grooves]

[hornetmike]

Had a 156 2.5 V6 for a while was a lovely car very very thirsty, sounded amazing but died when the cam belt went
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[Faldo]

I used to work at a breakers yard, and used to specialise in Alfas. We also used to sell reconditioned engines (It was very busy ).

Alfa engines burn a lot of oil. Alfas recommended service intervals are ridiculous. If you own an Alfa you seriously need to check your oil on a weekly basis. We had many cars in that had full dealer history, yet needed a new engine at 40k+.

We used to have a waiting list for engines (2.0 TS), we just couldn't get enough core units to rebuild, and they weren't cheap either at £1350 + VAT. This was quite a few years ago now, so I'd imagine second hand engines are approx £500.

The 1.8 is a terrible engine performance wise. The 1.6 is much better.

The 2.5 V6 was a good engine, but reliability of that one was a bit suspect too I'm afraid. We had many V6 models that came in to us, after having £3k spent on them at an Alfa dealer replacing the heads and timing tensioners, and literally 500 miles later throwing a rod.

Avoid Selespeed models too. The gearbox actuators are the most unreliable of any manufacturer out there, and are bloody expensive.

156s also had a typical Italian electrical gremlin. If it starts to blow rear light bulbs then you need to replace the rev counter. Go figure

Other than that, I love 'em. I've driven most Alfa models (except 3.2 V6 GTA ), and they are good cars. I wouldn't buy one with my own cash because I'm a RWD type of guy ( I have driven a 75 too which was the last RWD Alfa).

I like the new Mito too, but as Kieth said, Fiat/Alfa have started developing cars with GM which is a real shame IMO. All the cars will mirror the Vauxhall line up soon.

If you get a 156, just check your oil every week.
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