Who here uses their Barchetta every day in England?
It's just I am contemplating my next car either the B or an Alfa Romeo 156 2.0

I know they are quite strange choices but its what I have managed to narrow it down to.

What do you think? Is it going to be ok for EVERY SINGLE DAY?

Thanks,

Ad.

I own and use both every day, mind you my Alfa is the 2.5 v6, bit of a gas guzzler but if it's an Alf then it should be a V6 petrol. The boat returns 36mpg on my commute.

Hi Ad

I've been using my b everyday for over a year now. There's been the odd niggle that most of us get like a wet bum when water has got in the drivers side window, and on a winter morning I often take a bottle of luke warm water out to defrost the door handle, but in general it has been fine and reliable.

xs

Hi, like Shelx I also have used my late 2005 B every day over the last year. I do lots of short journeys but counter this by having a regular blast every weekend. I've had very few problems, other than the wet bum. The car has to be kept clean to get the best out of it as it really does get admired everywhere. I get 320 miles out of every tank and fill up as soon as the low fuel light comes on. this is around 37 mpg.
The exhaust fell apart, and your WILL do this at some point. For £300 I had a stainless Powerflow system fitted and this has transformed the car.
Cars are meant to be used. Get going, you'll love it!

I used mine every day in Belgium for 3 and a half years without problem, other then frozen door handles as described by Shellxs and a frozen handbrake which was cured fairly easily and didn't come back. I never had the wet bum problem but did get water in the space where the roof folds if it rained hard and the car was parked for a long time.

I live Belgium, so the weather is a little bit colder in the winter (-14 last night and a high of -7 during the day) and a little bit warmer in the summer. On the whole it's much the same.

I did two types of commute, the one hour crawl into and out of the city and the two and a half hour motorway journey with a crawl at the other end. The Barchetta did both well and never let me down.

I had an Alfa 156 2.0, they are fantastic cars - just check the owners forums for common problems. Gave me around 30mpg with moderately hard use and carried 5 in comfort. Only sold it because I'm happier in smaller cars.

Just bought the Barchetta, so can't give you a real comparison against it yet!

The B is a fine car for everyday use. So far it has been one of my most reliable cars that I have owned and because its so beautiful, you will want to spend a little on it just to keep it nice. My B is an early model from 1995.

I initially bought my barchetta to use in the summer only but enjoyed it so much that I sold my other car and have used it all year round for the past 4 years.

There have been very few problems and I'd certainly recommend it if you only need 2 seats.

As an aside I used to have an Alfa 145 2.0 cloverleaf (same engine as the 156 I believe) which was also completely reliable. It was however much thirstier than the barchetta but the amazing noise it made made up for it...

They're both great cars.... can you stretch to one of each:idea:

I use mine every day rain or shine and I live in the middle of rural rainy Ireland. Our roads aren't great, full of farming types hooning around in 4x4's and the B gets covered in various types of crap very quickly so I keep the local jet wash place in business, usually its pointless cleaning.

Reliability is fine(so it should be with Punto basics) but the light build of the car is starting to show. Mine is a '00 with 45k miles up but starting to look 'well used' The bonnet is badly stone chipped, the roof needs replacing and the rest of the paint work will soon need professional attention to shift the fine scratches / dings etc.

The B is a great little car but I'm not sure I'd have another 2 seater with tiny boot as an only drive. Its very restricting if you have to shift anything bigger than 2 sports bags.. I had to pick somebody up from the airport the other day and faffed about borrowing another car with a real boot.

Thanks for the repsonses guys, I used to get a wet ass in my X1/9! Wasn't very nice in the winter. Its either the Barchetta or a 156 and the choice is a difficult one. I've had a 156 before and it was the best car I've ever had. I'm a member of AROC so I'm very competant with Alfa's.

The Barchetta I'm considering needs a new exhaust/roof. What is the best exhaust to get? I dont wan't a boy racer sound just a better design than the current back box which looks very constrictive.

Thanks,

Ad.

BARCHETTA BARCHETTA -----Get one.....

Exhaust - Do not use DTR. I had one on my current car and the local garage (BELLS) said it was rubbish and poor quality, not actually doing much for performance, bad grade metal (rusting) and the brackets! well not enough of them so the exhaust does not sit well.

I would advise finding a local garage that bespokes them, then you can decide how much you want, what sounds you want, the back pipes and wether you want 2 small pipes, one large one, middle centred or 4 pipes, 2 either side. Make it fit the car correctly.

Oh my car is a 1998 and works fine for everyday use, a little thirsty 30mpg on a good day.

p.s
Love X19's just hard to keep them going.

Good luck.

Nino_1975 said:

p.s
Love X19's just hard to keep them going.

Click to expand...

Tell me about it! I found my Lido in a Barn in Wales. I spent about £4k on it before selling it for just over £1k. Lots of experience though! I'm only 21 so the Barchetta insurance is still just over £1k!

Thanks.

I have had my b for 18 months now and have driven it more or less every day and loved all of the time I have spent behind the wheel! As its based on the Punto it is a very useable little roadster, they suffer from the same issues as any Italian car (build quality is ok now but components are 'questionable')...

I have to say that while I do love my b it can be quite quirky, we live with little niggles that we would probably not accept on say a BMW or Merc (but then the price tag is significantly different!).

If you are considering buying a b at 21 my advice would be GET ONE, you will be the coolest 21 year old in the UK!!

Thanks!

Also, I don't know if this is important to you, but you can get 5 carrier bags of food shopping in the boot which I think is quite unusual for a car of this type!
xs

I got five sacks of 40kg cement in the boot

For the exhaust I'd got for Supersprint, although I fitted a Hanmann.

With regard to the exhaust, as I said earlier, the Powerflow system is truly excellent. It will be under £400 from the cat back, and comes with a choice of tailpipe designs. There are garages that have a Powerflow franchise all over the country. The engineer who did mine in Bolton asked me how I would like the car to sound. I asked for Italianate and sporty but not loud and anti-social. He got it just right. It is soft and woofly at low speed, rising to a tearing sound under acceleration. Power is up and is noticable in the torque delivery of the engine. I find I can use the power more often without affecting the mpg.
Strongly recommended.

use it every day but i am in sunny wales LOL
i shop in it too and take the dog out in it, so there is nothing the B cant do so enjoy !!

According to F4ust there's nothing you can't do in a B either

I was thinking of getting a supersprint exhaust they're £300 odd for a cat back.