Alfa 156

[jug]

Well today we went to Mangoletsi (main alfa delaler) and test drove a 1.8 16v petrol this time on an 02 plate but full spec with the full leather etc £4k so a fair amount cheaper although not as nice IMO

only worth £3k on a good day

Dad test drove it with me in passenger seat and sales bloke in the back and to be honest it felt slow but planted on the road and it didnt feel that impressive so we got back the dealers and i said to the bloke i wasnt that impressed

the 1.8 is quicker than the 1.9JTD in acceleration and top speed

i flicked it round in a junction and yet again we see that wonderfull dash display come alive

this just saying "warning oil pressure low" we assumed it to be the same problem as classic minis when flicking them about when the oil isnt full but i kept on

walk away or you will be paying for a new engine. there is a chance its just a sensor fault, but the giveaway is when the happened, so take my advice and walk, no actually run away.

So basically we have test drove 2 alfas in 2 days and broke both of them now should we buy one

?

i'll be honest, you've experienced normal alfa ownership for the minority of owners. eventually you learn to ignore flashy lights and warning messages. but most of them dont have these problems so find a good one. dont buy from a garage, especially an alfa dealer, find an alfisti who's selling his pride and joy, then you'll get a good car at a good price.


do i regret owning a 156? definately not
would i get another? i bet i do, and then a 159, and a brera, and basically i cant see myself owning anything else ever again.
would i recommend a 156 to someone else? in all honesty, only if you like to spend time fixing your own car on a regular basis, and only if you have the skills/knowledge to do it. despite alfa's best efforts owning an alfa is not as easy as owning an audi or a bmw, thats is why suits should buy audis and bmw's, enthusiasts should buy alfas (sales figures reflect this). when suits buy one they tend to be disappointed because they dont appreciate the good points and cant deal with the bad ones. its not a car for everyone.

oh and whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A SELESPEED!

 

[thepottleflump]

Well said Jug. The oil pressure low is definately one to avoid. As said they use significant amounts of oil, the T-Spark is not a zero maintenance engine, oil needs checking atleast every 500 miles - Alfa even started putting stickers on the windscreen to that effect after so many engines were destroyed due to lack of oil. The T-Spark engine is a cracking motor, I had one in my old GTV and it was lovely, shame Alfa dropped it and went to a more conventional engine with the GM partnership. The JTD comes into it's own with the torque, I personally prefer petrol, despite owning a diesel, but you can't ignore the fuel efficiency for not much of a performance penalty.

Selespeed definately avoid, I had it in my Stilo and although an ok system if it goes wrong you could write the car off and frankly a standard manual or automatic is just better.

As for buying off an Alfisti, look for full service history and knowledge from the owner and you can't go too wrong, you can even buy an aftermarket warranty to piece of mind. Find one in leafy Surrey and an obviously well off owner and chances are it's been looked after. I did offer him mine but he's after the ability to part-ex. A relative used www.webuyanycar.com and was happy. I checked my car a while back, and was offered more than one trader offered.

Good luck and hope you get the Alfa !

 

[jug]

i check my oil once a week.

my windscreen had the sticker, it said something about the engine been developed with race technology (crap excuse but made me laugh) and for that reason it burns oil and the oil level must be checked regularly.

an enthusiast owner doesnt mind things like that, and can keep it topped up during their 6 hour weekly inspection and cleaning routine (guilty as charged ). history has proven that many people dont bother checking (or even know how to, or what oil to use), so they get whats coming to them, but then they try to blame alfa when the engine dies WTF?! that doesnt help alfa's reputation and puts some people off, but it has helped to scare off the kind of people i dont want to see driving an alfa, and maintains alfa's traditional image as a petrol head's car, rather than a car for the masses.

 

[ChrisUK]

Perfectly said jug . I didn't own mine for very long and didn't have to spend a penny on it in 10months. Ok the crankshaft needed re-shelling but that was due to the previous owner being a suited muppet and not a petrol head and letting oil run low.

 

[T14086]

Some good points there,especially 'jugs' check oil weekly,so bad had it became that we dont top up oil on alfas now but charge customer (we used to just top up free as a courtesy) as its costing us a fortune in oil.I would honestly say every 3 or 4 out of 10 alfas we get in (which is alot) dont even have oil registering on the dipstick!

Also agree strongly on its not a good all round car(you have to want one & be prepared to spend time/money on it),worse examples I have seen have shopping in boot,kids seats in back & obvious lack of maintence...a jap car would be a better bet in these circumstances.......or the bus.......& here comes a croma now..."fares please"

Brera is not a bad car once swirl chamber problems have been sorted out.

 

[ChrisUK]

Brera is not a bad car once swirl chamber problems have been sorted out.

Does that just effect the JTS's?.

 

[kamrant]

£7k should buy you a top notch 156 with the works. In fact a lot of places have brand new old stock of 156s for sale at around 9k. Only problem is, its selespeed models but amazing specs. They're ex asian models as alfa pulled out and recently got shipped back to europe.

Have had my 156 for 18 months and it had the dreaded engine warning during the test drive. Dealer fixed the problem. £1k it cost them to recondition the engine so I got a bargain IMO.

High milage TS engines are going to go at somepoint, might as well have someone else pay for it. I religiously keep my oil topped up as ive seen the bills lol.

 

[jug]

£7k should buy you a top notch 156 with the works. In fact a lot of places have brand new old stock of 156s for sale at around 9k. Only problem is, its selespeed models but amazing specs. They're ex asian models as alfa pulled out and recently got shipped back to europe.

oh no not them again! there are still a few people trying to sell them, even veloces.co.uk. there's a good reason why they arent selling, they've been sat in a container in malaysia for several years. at the very least they need the full timing belt job doing and a full service, but imo you would be mad to buy one even if they werent selespeeds. you still get the full dealer warranty, but thats not much use when your car is sat at the dealer for months on end.

here's an example: http://www.veloces.co.uk/car/C169835BA8F2AEB36DAC3DCB67CAE0C2B9D9E596

 

[Hellcat]

Lusso, Turismo, Veloce...


What order they in for gadgets?

 

[thepottleflump]

Turismo is poverty spec and best avoided.
Veloce is effectively a factory sportpack includes lowered 15mm suspension and sill skirts
Lusso is the luxury model and includes leather.

My choice of car would be Veloce, funny that, the 156 really benefits from slightly lower suspension and the sill skirts. Old Lusso models included lots of horrible wood. Then different versions within the range had things such as colour coded wing mirrors and fog lamp inserts.

The 156 benefits from not being loaded with gadgets. I don't think ESP is available on any model, just anti-wheelspin (ASR), has a great driving position, lovely seats, instruments angled towards the driver, a steering wheel and pedals. Later models Veloce/Lusso came standard with climate control. Downsides are limited rear legroom, and saloons limited boot aparture

 

[jug]

veloce and lusso are at the same level, by that i mean one is not a higher spec than the other, instead they are different specs for different people. veloce is sporty, lusso is luxury, which you choose depends on what you want. i have a lusso with sport pack 3 so i have best of both worlds :slayer:


thing to remember about the 156, originally it was sold as either a base model (no name) or lusso, and there were 3 sport packs to choose from on either model. then in 2000 the veloce model came along and the sport packs were scrapped. so from 2000 you had to choose betwen sport and luxury, prior to that you could have both.