Alfa 147 hints/tips?

[Dominion]

I've been thinking of getting rid of the Vectra because I don't do enough miles any more to warrant using a big diesel, and frankly, it's beyond boring (although very reliable).
So, I'm considering an Alfa 147 1.6 (5 door). I was wondering if there are any known issues or problems anyone on here has experience with. Also, what are they like to live with in terms of reliability, fuel consumption, practicality (family of 4 with 2 kids - one aged 4, the other aged 2) etc etc.

Oh, and before anyone suggests a 156 1.6 like my mates have, there aren't any remotely close by that are worth looking at, and I am hoping the smaller size of the 147 = less weight to lug around = better fuel consumption figures.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Cheers

 

[The Beard]

I looked at a few before we bought Mrs. Beard's 156 2.0. As they are mechanically very similar to the 156 I think the same faults will rear their ugly heads. The first thing I noticed was that you get a lot more 156 for your money than 147, the smaller model seems to hold its value better, but if you're looking at older models you won't lose a whole lot either way.

One of the main things in all the Twin Spark engines is the cam belt service which can be very expensive and is often missed by owners as the cars get older. A main dealer would probably charge around £500 but a decent specialist would probably want about £300. They also, as the name implies, have 8 spark plugs which tend to need doing at the same time. The good thing is that they both only need doing once every 3 years if you do less than 12,000 miles p.a.

If the engine is idling listen for a "chattering" sound which implies that the variator hasn't been changed. This needs doing with the cambelt service, so perhaps the belts haven't been done either.

I can't tell you much more about what goes wrong, except that the 156 is a 2001 model and had done 72,000 miles when we bought it at 9 years old. It's now 11 years old and is getting on for 90,000 now. So far, touch wood, it's been no trouble although there is some corrosion just become visible but I tend to think it's a stone chip we haven't noticed as it's on the roof just above the windscreen.

A couple of months after we took it over, it took 4 adults plus luggage for a week in Nice which was a round trip of about 1,800 miles and didn't miss a beat.

The Alfa Romeo Owners Club have a very good forum, very similar to this one so that could be your first port of call if you haven't already tried it.

 

[Dominion]

Cheers Mr The Beard. Great post as always :worship:

I was at the petrol station station the other night and a 156 1.6 pulled in right in front of me. I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask the owner for his opinion of the car. At first he looked at me like I was a bit mental, but I think I caught him unaware. Anyway, he was really pleased with the car and reckoned to be getting 35mpg on average, which I don't suppose is bad, and is comparable to what I was getting from my old trusty Stilo 1.6 (possibly slightly better, but obviously direct comparisons aren't really possible). He also reckoned he'd had a few electrical gremlins which he'd sorted early in the car's life - the car being a 2000 reg. Apparently he had looked to change the car a few times, but could find nothing that took his fancy so hung on the 156.
So really, he was a very satisfied customer, so his review and yours make me think it may be worth hanging on until a suitable 156 crops up for sale.

Thanks again