Beefy

I am hoping to test drive one of these soon, are there any things to look out for (known problem areas, etc). I've read all the usual reviews in Evo, Top Gear, etc but would be interested to read reviews from any owners on here, ideally as a comparison to the MY03 I used to have.

Edcase

I would expect large bills for front tyres

I hear the handling is compromised slightly due to all the weight and power at the front.

One of the sexiest cars of that size / class on the road IMHO though, and always quite fancied one.

dpb

plus points are the interoir styling and the engine ...............from there it goes downhill

mattvortex

make sure yove got full cover with RAC !

Beefy

Cheers for the comments.

I know that in days of old alfas were unreliable but reading up on the 147 in particular they are supposed to be as good as any other european car manufacturer now.

The 3.2 litre V6 block in particular is supposedly quite reliable and the build quality on the 147 greatly improved?

pete1977

my alfa was year 2000.between 50000miles and 55000miles it went through 3 engines!hardly an old one.tread carefully.

Edcase

Definitely better, but still seems to vary hugely between individual cars. You almost just have to hope you don't get a 'bad one'

Beefy

Hmm well I drove one today and its a nice motor, the engine note is superb and it handles better than I was expecting with some excellent grip from the bridgestones.

Nice snug cabin and well kitted out with CC, leather, xenons, etc, it really feels like a quality motor. The ones Im looking at are 1 owner 2nd hand cars with about 18 months of the warranty left and low mileage (circa 15000 miles).

Pete your engine problems do worry me a bit but i dont suppose I will still have the car by the time it hits that sort of mileage. Thinking about it I have heard of people with scoobies whos engines have given up the ghost at similar mileages, but perhaps there are quite so many of them around as with the alfas!

Edcase - the whole "luck of the draw" is a bit worrying really. I dont like the idea of ploughing so much money into something that could be pot luck...

RJMS

iTrader: (2)

I've got a 1995 3 litre 164 24V with 130K on the clock will still do 150 (on a private road) so I wouldn't worry about the engine. Funnily enough having said that I think the 3.2 is actually a GM bottom end with Alfa heads etc. so it may not be as good as the older ones) - however the electrics etc. well that's a different matter, at least it was - hopefully they're better now.

It's always taken me a year or so to be fully satisfied with any Alfa I've ever bought (I've had a few) - they always seeem to come with some minor niggles but then I've never bought a year old one. Far more character to all of them than the scoob however - and I don't just mean the niggles either

DarkStar66

I had a 2.0TS 147 for 3 years and it was very reliable. I was a regular on the Alfaowner forum and the main concerns were the oil consumption, Selespeed semi-auto and some dodgy main dealers.

My main annoyances was the rather agressive clutch and a sun visor that couldn't be adjusted much (either up or down).

I haven't driven a GTA but the main differences to your scooby I think you'll find is the understeer and a harsher ride probably. But it's a beautiful car and I would have got one if there'd been one in my price bracket at the time.

gso

I can vouch for the Alfa, very reliable actually, really good build quality (although do expect a few rattles as that V6 forces everything backwards!!)

dba

The engines are extremely well made and I would suggest they are more reliable than Scoobs going by the number of blows posted in here!

Just be careful with oil,they can use a litre per 1000 miles

Gizmo555

My other halfs got the 147GTA and I've got to say the build quality is much much better than my Impreza.

Looks & sounds superb.

Handling is nowhere near as bad as Top Gear etc made it out to be.
It is very easy to get the ASR lights flashing when powering off roundabouts even in the dry - in the wet its much much easier.
Torque Steer isn't too bad either.

In a straight line against my classic Scoob (246BHP) the Scoob has a slight edge on initial acceleration but that's about it. In gear acceleration the 147 would probably kill the Scoob (haven't looked at the figures).

Take a look over at www.alfaowner.com for problems - I know some in Aus have broken diffs.

Cheers

Mark

Beefy

Thats great guys, thanks for all the info/advice/comments.

Well I dont have to worry too much about the build quality as it should be better than my current car which is a clio 172 cup.

It sounds like the engines dont have any more risk than any other highish performance car and the one Im looking at has 18 months warranty left so I guess Im covered for the short term if something does go pear shaped.

As a driving experience its hard to beat the GTA, I have no doubt it can be a handful due to all the power through the front wheels but the electronics seemed to have the torque steer and wheelspin relatively under control. The power delivery from the N/A engine is just superb (in the test drive I forgot to put it into 6th once because we didnt seem to be going fast enough - even at 110mph when we got onto a private road).

Overall I just dont think I could get enough of the engine noise and would be driving it all the time which has got to be a good thing.

The time could be right for my first alfa....

addy

I had a 147 on a y plate brand new nice car to drive but downside,had 3 steering racks in first year,underneath the front of the car is a rubber strip which was stapled on and kept coming off.But the worst was the dealer,had paint stripper thrown on the car took it to the dealer to be resprayed and it took 5 goes to get it right.They do say YOU OWN AN ALFA WITH YOUR HEART NOT YOUR HEAD.But the gta looks great .

Gizmo555

Forgot to mention fuel economy - it's about the same as the Scoob

pete1977

even with the problems i had with my car i still reckkon the gta is one of the best looking cars on the road.post some pics if you get it.

Beefy

Gizmo cheers for the link to the alfaowner site. Its very informative. There does seem to be a well documented problem with warping brake discs on the 147 GTA. Seems like people have had trouble convincing dealers to upgrade them to a bigger set, and instead they keep replacing the discs only and then they warp again. Seems like quite a serious problem as there are lots of threads about it. This is the sort of potential aggro that could certainly put a downer on things if it happened. Unfortunately the newers cars had the upgrade from new but the older ones didnt, guess which ones i can afford?

The sales rep is supposed to be calling me this week to follow up on the test drive so I will discuss this with him although i doubt I will get a sensible answer.

Dave_A

Beefy, my mates got a 2.o twinspark and the engine went at 16k. Its well looked after, but it was the last of many problems and the car is on its way to being sold. Although the GTA looks and sounds sweet, I'd personally steer clear.

Dave

gso

You may want to hear/see this short vid

http://cdsantoro.op.het.net/movie/Shaka's%20gta.mpg

Edcase

Short, but still 13.8meg for those not on broadband

PS > corner

Gizmo555

My missus has warped one set but the replacement ones have been ok even though they're not the new type. I know other people have been through many sets.

At least you'll be buying a car with warranty though.

gso

its quality not quantity

eldudereno

I know Italian cars always seem to have that raspy exhaust note but that video really does remind me of an XR2 I had many years ago when the exhaust fell off.

Beefy

Gizmo I hope your missus is Ok with her current set of discs. Its food for thought that the problem hasnt been dealt with particularly well by a number of AR dealers, some refusing to consider the upgrade option until 4 or 5 sets of discs have been gone through. over a period of many months.

There is a nagging worry I have that I'll get one of the more seriously affected ones and have the car at the dealers more than on the road, with all the associated hassle that goes with it.

I suppose I have to decide whether i can afford to take the risk. As I was stretching myself to get the car I am continuing to look at other, potentially more reliable options. If I can get something else for a couple of years then maybe I'll be in a better position in the future. Its the old head vs heart dilemma that rears its head when choosing cars!