Hi , looking for opinions please from anyone who's had an alfa 147 1.6 as i'm buying one for my missus as a suprise , the car will be new so should have no worries on the mechanicals etc for a while but does any one have any gotchas etc and also how much does it cost for a normal service ie is it much more than my bravo .

Are you joking?

The Alfa service will cost lots more than a FIAT service. Probably as much as an HGT for a 1.6.

All in all a nice car but the one i drove was an early model which seemed to enjoy the same electrical faults as you might expect from an early release of a 'loaded' small car.
I think they are about 110ps with a much smoother power curve than the FIAT 16v cousins.
They had serious issues with the rear bushes on a few models - again this may have been cleared up now.
Finally, try very very hard to find a reliable dealer for services - they are notouriously bad at comms, pricing, timing etc.
I'd still get one!

Grandparents have a brand new 1.6. lovely car all in all. services agreed are suprisingly expensive grandad just serviced his and my nan beat him after she seen how much. but it was a lot considering its literally 0.8 years old and has less the 3k on the clock.

they are officially 120bhp but there are a few rumours out there that they actually come out the factory at 126bhp. All in all a superb car and a fine upgrade from my 1.8 hlx.

I've got mine with the 16"wheels (which are a must) and the handling is superb. The interior is really well built with some great touches that look really good. Very well equiped also, the lusso has as standard traction control, cruise control, a very fancy computer, dual zone climate control (allows my girlfriends side to be warm where mine is chilled) disks all round, alarm, remote boot and remote controlled windows (very nice touch) amongst many other things.

Great car but expensive to buy, service and insure but is well worth it. Been very reliable (touch wood) and even though only a 1.6 feels a lot punchier than the 1.8 in my previous bravo

Thanx for the info

Have you had a read through owner reviews.... The one on Parkers is rather good..

Found this bit about servicing for you..

"Insurance group high (12), fuel ok (we get exactly what the manufacturer's figures say), servicing variable (12k was about £140, 24k about £250, 36k about £360, 48k cheap again). Watch out for the 36k service if buying 2nd hand."

heres the link...

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/user_reviews/readReviews.aspx?model_id=1#

Servicing depends where you take it. Alfa main dealers are a big NO!!! Way overpriced and appalling customer service. However if you can find an alfa specialist you'll be surprised. Always a lot cheaper than main agents and not majorly different to must cars in cost. Had my GTV for a while now and servicing etc hasn't been too horrendous....

i actually bought mine from a fiat dealer and they service it for same cost as bravo hlx

I would get one. It def has more low down torque than a 1.8 bravo. I has a nice exhaust note as well.

Interior is as good as vw quality. But looks better.

It will be expensive to run but every car has downsides.

Ok i've gone n bought it for her ( and a well happy bunny she is ) , but just as a note i thought the bravo got a bad rap over its cam belt but the alfa appears to be even worse , seems to be the done thing to get it done at 36K as they don't seem to get to 50K miles very often ( original service guide was 72K , same as the bravo ) .

As a side note could someone tell me what a variator is , where is it and what it does ??

The 1.6 147 is a lovelly motor, we have tuned a number of them recently. They go realy well with an extra 14bhp and 12lb ft torque.
As long as its a Veloce or Lusso and not the 100bhp TS version!
They are not expensive to service, thats just crap! The parts and labour are the same as a Stilo 1.6 as is servicing.
Nige

So Alfa charge as much/little as FIAT for a service?
I find that odd since Alfa is supposed to be the prestige marque. Since you have owned both i'm sure you know more. The one I drove was a company car.
Alfa customer service, now that is crap!

Worse than Fiat's?

no not really lol!

Thanx for that nige , its the 1.6 lusso so not sure if thats good or bad , i don't think the servicing will be an issue really , i remember getting me bravo and thinking it was gonna cost loads in parts etc but its been fine ( now if thats not tempting fate !! ) , so i'm guessing the alfa will be the same , anyways gotta keep her indoors happy she loves all the new toys and i love the split air con so now i don't have to sweat in the front when she thinks its cold .

How much difference could you make to this then nige , its no good quoting figures at me , just will i notice the difference and if so where ?

nige very interested in your comments on remapping the 147. I have a 1.6 lusso and was wondering whether the remap makes much difference, how much it costs, does it effect fuel consumption and does it effect engine wear??

Thanks in advance

Ryan

Ryan, just try it! It really is good and its a steal at £225 plus travel
An email from someone we did recently...
Hi Nigel and Andrew,

Good to see you yesterday evening, the car feels wonderfully response with lots of low end torque What a change! Many THanks once again for your very friendly and excellent work.


Kind Regards

Robin Gxxxxxxy

i live in telford, shropshire nige so whats travel cost, would you come to me or do i come to you.

Seriously though, how does it effect fuel and wear - and it doesnt increase oil usage does it? Also would it invalidate my warranty/insurance??

I will try and break that down lol!
Telford - an extra £15 or come to me for the £225. I can come to your home or workplace it doesnt matter as I can run the whole thing out of the back of my car.
It may affect wear by up to 5% if you thrash the car all the time, but then thrashing the car all the time would reduce the life of it all anyway. As the engine is running more efficiently you have to strain it less to accelerate. This is why fuel consumption usually improves.

It doesn't use more oil - why would it?
Also would it invalidate my warranty/insurance??
Nope, suggest you read...
http://www.angeltuning.co.uk/ai_faq.asp

cheers nige, ive got service next month but i am certainly gonna get it done within the next few months, at the end of the day if i dont like it, it can be set back to how it was.

Thanks

Ryan