Alpha Romeo - Good Buy?

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Violet Rose

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Where I work is offering a company car for sale - Alfa Romeo 156 Sportswagon (1.8 Ltr), Its a 02, 80,000 miles and looking for 4,500 euro.
It is NCT until end 08.

I am hearing both sides of the story with this car at work, its a great car - its not great...

Has anyone experiece with this car - are parts easy enough to get? Reasonable?

I have rang a couple of garages saying that I was trading in the above car, 1 offered 5000 another offered 6000 without seeing the car...
Looking on Auto Trader and Carzone.ie their prices seem to start at 6000.

Any Alpha owners - love to hear from you please
 
Re: Alpha Romeo - Good Buy???

I am an Alfa owner, a 147, and think it's a great car, but there are loads of horror stories out there about the 156.

Parts are easy to get, but service costs would be higher than average.

80k miles is quite high for a 2002 car and I would be worried about wear and tear.

Check out www.honestjohn.co.uk and [broken link removed] for more reviews. You could also contact Gerry Campbell (Ti Autos) and he might give you some advice.

There is also more discuission on AAM-do a search for Alfa and you will find more.

Car Buyers Guide reckons there is little point to the Sportwagon as the boot capacity etc. isn't great.
 
Re: Alpha Romeo - Good Buy???

I think I've read enough.... I reckon I might wait until they are ready to sell the Mondeo...
 
Re: Alfa Romeo - Good Buy???

If it has the selespeed gearbox, then don't consider it. They have a lot of problems.

at 80,000 miles you should have the timing belt changed at least twice. If not, budget €600 for it to be done. I have a 156 with 79,000 miles on it, from new, almost 7yrs old. It should have a good service history. Chances are seeing it was a company car, it probably has. The front wishbones should all be changed at this stage, particularly the top ones. Rear bushes are also very weak and last about 30,000 miles.

When the car is up to running temp, it should read about 82 deg on the gauge. This is usually the optimimal temp in the summer so it might be a little lower now, possibly high 70's but no lower. If it is, the stat is stuck open which is common. Also after a drive, let it idle and it should idle smooth. The MAF's tend to fail on them which causes them to idle erratically. Listen for any exhaust blowing at the front. The exhaust section in front of the cat has a flexible section which is prone to blowing.

If I think of anything else, I'll post up

The price is good and if you look after it, it will serve you well. The 80k is not too bad for a company car running for 4-5yrs as long as it was well maintained. The thing with Alfas is SERVICE HISTORY. If it has none, walk away. If it has one, then they can be a bargain, but make sure that timing belt has been done recently. They recommend them being done every 36-40k miles, even though the manual says 72k
 
Re: Alpha Romeo - Good Buy???

i worked for alfa romeo warranty for 2 years.

a dream car to some people. Suspension is a major factor, as is the timing belt. tosullivan - you are spot on with SERVICE HISTORY. it is essential to have this in tact in order to apply for goodwill to Fiat Ireland etc.

I bet some of you posters have probably fought nail and tooth with me in the past over yer cars coming into the workshop.

all in all - i wouldnt buy one. I`d drive one if it was free though.
 
Re: Alpha Romeo - Good Buy???

Buy and Alfa if you're an enthusiast. Otherwise buy something reliable.
 
Re: Alfa Romeo - Good Buy???

shootingstar said:
i worked for alfa romeo warranty for 2 years.

a dream car to some people. Suspension is a major factor, as is the timing belt. tosullivan - you are spot on with SERVICE HISTORY. it is essential to have this in tact in order to apply for goodwill to Fiat Ireland etc.

I bet some of you posters have probably fought nail and tooth with me in the past over yer cars coming into the workshop.

all in all - i wouldnt buy one. I`d drive one if it was free though.
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just to get an insiders view on the whole timing belt issue....

I was at about 40k miles when I started reading alfaowner.com and heard about the premature failures...that was when I booked it in immediately to have it done. Never once, did AR Ireland contact me in the 3yrs of ownership before that to let me know about it. Wouldn't mind, but I had a full dealer service history with that dealer up until then with stamps & receipts. Was it not in their policy to do this or did they just ignore the information? They must have been aware of it. I even contacted one of the dealers to get a price for getting it replaced and they quoted me €830. I was a bit pi$$ed to say the least that they didn't cover half the cost as they effectively cut the service interval in half and admitted it, but didn't bump for half the cost. I opted to go to a specialist instead to get it done and saved €300.
 
Re: Alfa Romeo - Good Buy???

tosullivan said:
just to get an insiders view on the whole timing belt issue....

I was at about 40k miles when I started reading alfaowner.com and heard about the premature failures...that was when I booked it in immediately to have it done. Never once, did AR Ireland contact me in the 3yrs of ownership before that to let me know about it. Wouldn't mind, but I had a full dealer service history with that dealer up until then with stamps & receipts. Was it not in their policy to do this or did they just ignore the information? They must have been aware of it. I even contacted one of the dealers to get a price for getting it replaced and they quoted me €830. I was a bit pi$$ed to say the least that they didn't cover half the cost as they effectively cut the service interval in half and admitted it, but didn't bump for half the cost. I opted to go to a specialist instead to get it done and saved €300.
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hi

€830 was expensive - i would have quoted u about €550-600. if a timing belt snaps the minimum charge is €2,000. its wreckes the pistions/valves etc....

an alfa should be serviced every 12k miles or 12 months which ever comes first. on the 36k service its the responsibility of the garage to check the condition of the timing belt and variator. if they think its frayying on any shape or form they recommend the customer has it changed AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE. hmmm... now if it snaps around the 30-40k mark then a goodwill is submitted to alfa for them to contribute towards the costs or to pay for the whole lot under warranty. AR have been known to cover the costs of this on numerous occasions.

tiz like i never left the motor trade, god i still have night mares about alfas anad their timing belts. :(
 
Re: Alfa Romeo - Good Buy???

shootingstar said:
hi

€830 was expensive - i would have quoted u about €550-600. if a timing belt snaps the minimum charge is €2,000. its wreckes the pistions/valves etc....

an alfa should be serviced every 12k miles or 12 months which ever comes first. on the 36k service its the responsibility of the garage to check the condition of the timing belt and variator. if they think its frayying on any shape or form they recommend the customer has it changed AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE. hmmm... now if it snaps around the 30-40k mark then a goodwill is submitted to alfa for them to contribute towards the costs or to pay for the whole lot under warranty. AR have been known to cover the costs of this on numerous occasions.

tiz like i never left the motor trade, god i still have night mares about alfas anad their timing belts. :(
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my timing belt was checked at the 36k interval by a dealer in Dublin and passed as being ok. Not once was it mentioned to me that it should be changed very soon.
 
Is the timing belt issue the same for the 147 and 156? I thought the issue was with the 147.
 
CCOVICH said:
Is the timing belt issue the same for the 147 and 156? I thought the issue was with the 147.
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I'm not familiar with the 147, but I can imagine they are the same. Same engines. Its only since they went to chains on the new 159, the worry is removed. Much that I love the 159, I could never force myself to part with my hard earned cash again for an Alfa. I'll just keep my 156 till it dies. I'm looking at an Accord or Mazda 6 in the new year as a replacement for herself, as I need 1 car in the house with bulletproof reliabilty
 
I had 156 worst car ever, parts cost too much and couldnt get them. Stay way from any Alfa`s Fiat...Will cost you more in end......
 
tosullivan said:
I'm not familiar with the 147, but I can imagine they are the same. Same engines. Its only since they went to chains on the new 159, the worry is removed. Much that I love the 159, I could never force myself to part with my hard earned cash again for an Alfa. I'll just keep my 156 till it dies. I'm looking at an Accord or Mazda 6 in the new year as a replacement for herself, as I need 1 car in the house with bulletproof reliabilty
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all the alfa romeo`s are the same. major problems with t.belts. very very costly. i never had a problem with getting parts etc for them though....

the 159 is "sexual" :eek:

not parting with my saab convertible .....
 
Surely the timing belt issue is only 'very very costly' if you allow it to snap? To replace it at 36k miles would be around €500/€600, yes?
 
CCOVICH said:
Surely the timing belt issue is only 'very very costly' if you allow it to snap? To replace it at 36k miles would be around €500/€600, yes?
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thats still costly when you compare the replacement interval to what was originally quoted in teh service manual and other cars.

Depending on how long you keep the car, for example myself, I will have mine from new and easily drive it to 120k miles, I am looking at 3 changes where most cars you would onlyt get it done twice.

Plus the cost is more expensive than others
 
It all depends in your reckoning of 'very very costly'. I can live with it-mind you I bought a used 147 with a recently changed belt.

Don't get me wrong-they are not cheap cars to run. Fuel economy isn't great, parts and servicing that bit more expensive, and depreciation can be a killer if bought from new.

Doesn't put me off :) . I haven't had any issues with the 147, great car to drive, great features etc. and at this stage, I am thinking about a used 159 or Coupe in a few years.
 
I had a '00 156 1.8TS, which I bought 2nd hand, with 30k miles on the clock. Had no problems until 75k miles, and then it all started. Engine and suspension problems. They look good, drive well, seem like a bargain, but with milage like you mention, I would steer clear. I would steer clear of most cars with 80k miles come to think of it.
 
steer clear of most cars with 80k miles?????

i have very limited knowledge of cars, but the amount of people i've come across with 80k miles plus that haven't had any problems would make me think most modern cars have no bother with that sort of mileage.

i've been in god knows how many taxis with huge mileage and the taxi men have invariably said they've never done anything with the cars except regular servicing (one passat i was in - taxi man owned from new - had 270k miles, never had a bother - other passats with 150k plus mileage and several E class mercs with huge mileage - although i've heard enough stories about mercs to put me off for life)

I'd say 80k miles is nothing whatsoever on most reliable cars.........
 
Vladamir is right, at 80,000 modern cars are only warming up.... provided they are well maintained and regularly serviced.
 
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