Any alfa romeo 156 owners in here.. My brother in law is after a 2nd hand 156 - hes been looking at 2 litre twin sparks, around the v,w age range - 3-4k ish. Now i had one years ago when they came out as a compnay car back in 1998 and it was great for the 6 months i had it, what are they like as used cars - any opinions greatfully recieved. The ones he is looking at have 70-100k miles on.

cheers in advance
J

 

I had a 156 Selespeed Veloce from new and owned it for two years.

Great to drive when everything was right.

Loads of annoying problems with rattles, steering, suspension bushes and that type of thing. Dealers deserve their rating as the worst in the UK.

Had no major mechanical problems.

I'm glad I owned it but wouldn't buy another. I'd have to think very hard about telling someone it would be OK buying a 6 year old 100k miler when a new car gives loads of grief.

Cheers
Lee

 

LOL I think he needs his head testing. The horror stories will soon follow once the site gets busier.

 

Is he the type of person who will look after it? Or the type who'll neglect?

They're a great drive, look very nice inside and out and can be cheap - but you'll need to look out for excessive oil consumption and the other problems logiclee listed. Suspension bushes are a favourite, think they can go after 25k sometimes.

Look for a local Italian car specialist as opposed to main dealers for any work.

 

Thanks guys.. did a bit of digging for him on alfa forums and even there they are warning me about high mileage examples.. anyone got any ideas on anything else for this budget of upto 4k that is decent/but a bit out of the norm.

J

 

Had 2 156's - Selespeed and 2.0 Manual.......don't buy a Selespeed - ok for me but the next owner had 20 visits to dealer in 6 months, not good....

I reckon for this kind of money you can't do better than a 156 - niggles are part of the ownership joys....

Still look fantastic today and you should get an 02/03 - mad cheap

 

Have a search on here. I'm sure there was a very damning thread on here around 9-12 months ago about them.

 

I owned a 156 1.8 T.spark for about a year. I fell in love with its looks inside and out, but it had loads of problems as mentioned previously. Dealers were the worst I have encountered . I my personal opinion, stick well clear. I wouldn't buy another one, EVER.

Wolfie.

 

My old 156 went through 3 engines before 50,000miles .Very high maintenance cars which i dont think are worth the hassle.

 

If you lazy fat arsed drivers could be bothered to check the oil level, engines will last as well as most cars!!!!
Over 120,000 miles in 4 different twin spark Alfas, no problem.

 

**** that,i just went and bought a decent car .Im not really the sort that skimps on maintenance mate

 

You see now that is the problem. In this day and age most people wont even know how to open the bonnet of a car let alone check fluid levels themselves, and especially as most of alfa's competition dont require this sort of care people dont expect it from alfa either. Maybe alfa dealers should educate future buyers.

Anyway most alfas are form over function. Alfa is the only company that manages to make a estate with less boot space than their saloon.

So you did 30k miles on average in each single alfa you had is that meant to be impressive? Not really giving the alfas a hard life are you? And how come you have had 4 different twin spark alfas over such a short peroid of time?

 

120K in each Numbnut

 

My 55 plate Passat 2.0tdi has used just short of 3 litres of oil in 4 months and 12,000 miles, maybe VW should also educate their customers in the art of checking the levels.

It would appear that this sort of oil consumption is not unusual either - a colleague has a 2.0tdi A4 on a 55plate and he has used 2 litres of oil in 5 months.

It's 3 years since I had my last VW TDi engined car and I had forgotten how much oil they used. It would appear that even the premium brands have their issues / problems.

 

At the end of the day, Alfa's have an awful reputation and even with a pinch of salt, I can't see it being for no reason. My friend has one, and as an enthusiast it does him fine, but SO many stupid annoying issues! He has got his past 120k miles on the orginal engine, but what an effort and it feels like a 240k mile car to me - he's pretty meticulous too.

 

Its official then.Alfas are crap

 

I wanted to buy a 2.0TS at around this price as they are lovely cars to look at and to drive. But.....

Every car I looked at was crap. Several had new engines, water leaks inside badly faded paint, knocking suspension etc etc.

I really want to get one but knew it wasn't a good idea. In the end I bought a Saab 93 LPT (154bhp) with 60k on the clock for £4000 and I'm very happy with it.

 

Your argument is flawed as how do we know if the car would have still performed perfectly without the top up? 2 litres in 5 months is nothing though, and diesels do need their fair share of oil.

 

So does Audi's 2.0 FSi petrol if may workmates A4 is anything to go by.

Strange how VAG can say oil usage of 1 litre per 1000 miles is normal when Ford and others manage to build engines that don't use a drop.

Cheers
Lee

 

Rather a VAG engine than a ford engine.

About 9 millions VAG's are sold world wide. Im sure 80% of them only get their bonnets lifted when it gets taken in for a service.

 

It was 3 litres in 4 months to be precise.

I'd say that when the engine oil level light came on after topping it up some two weeks earlier and the car had used a litre I was somewhat concerned . My previous Ford TDCI did not share my passats liking for regular top ups and never missed a beat in the 18 months and 60,000 miles I covered in it (other than a faulty EGR valve which is very common on the 2.0 tdci engine).

Now imagine I am driving a VAG diesel that does not have an oil level warning indicator on the dash display and I continue in my brisk / spirited style of driving - experience would tell me that potentially the lack of oil in the engine could potentially lead to engine failure, further more the fact I now have less oil in the engine is going to reduce the effectivness of the engine oil as a lubricant leading possibly to premature engine wear.

Less oil = less effective lubrication, less effective transfer of heat etc etc.

So whilst you may believe my argument is flawed I however do not, maybe my mechanical engineering qualifications and a time served mechanical apprenticeship have some bearing on my opinions .

So whilst I will try and avoid blowing up my engine to see if the lack of oil has any bearing on the longevity of my VAG engine you are welcome to try it out on your Volvo should you feel that way inclined.

I was simply pointing out that AR as a manufacturer have not cornered the market on excessive oil consumption in this day and age.

I await your reply to my flawed response .

GB

 

Well I have spent alot of time on audi forums and everynow and again there is a owner who comments on the amount of oil theyre engine is using. The usual reply is that its abnormal.

Me and you both dont really know if certain VAG engines are meant to drink so much oil, and how it would affect them if it wasnt replaced. Maybe it drinking 3 litres of oil over a couple thousand miles is normal and it wont affect them.

As for my volvo I lifted the bonnet a couple times when I first got the car, now 35,000 miles later and a trip to spain and back I havent bothered. Only the volvo garage touches the engine these days, and I drive it hard. Quite reliable now that I think about it. Cant say the same about GM products.

 

Another thread successfully diverted off topic, congrats, consistency is they key! keep up the good work

 

I went through the same process about 15 months ago, loved the Alfas style but ended up with A Mitsubishi Galant 24v V6 Sport, not as nice looking but cheap as chips and reliable as a swiss watch (except my gearbox) but with 100k on the clock no other problems, no squeaks or rattles even!!!

Too many Alfa horror stories to consider one i am afraid.

 

My neighbours have got 3 Alfas on the drive. 2 x 156 and a Spider. granted, I think that the a 1 x 156 is a donor car

They're used everyday and never seem to miss a beat. There's also another around the corner - again, see it being used every day

I think there's an awful lot to be said about owner-led checks etc..... can only help in keeping the car running (regardless of the marque)


Dan

 

I would say Ford have a better reliability record when it comes to modern engines. The duratec petrols and duratorq diesels have been pretty bullit proof with only a couple of minor issues with the TDCi egr and injector calibration.
Meanwhile VAG have have oil consumption issues with the diesel and fsi petrol, PD diesel pump issues as well as the well documented coil pack problems.

Cheers
Lee

 

Spot on ScoobyDoo555! Apart from which, a 156 has got more soul in its dustcaps than a showroom full of poxy Galants. Ignore the myths and just buy one. So what if it squeaks? It's a more rewarding drive than most German/Jap cr@p.


Rob

 

^^Theyre Wrong Wheel drive you tosser.

 

I am onto my second 156 sportwagon

first one was the V6 which was a delight to drive, buckets of torque and the 6 speed box was v nice.

swapped it for the 2.5jtd which is also great, returns 40mpg regardless of type of driving/speed.

I can believe people still think Alfas are bad cars. I know people with VW's, BMWs, Audi, Jag who all have had problems with cars but I think people tolerances for 'problems' has reduced considerably.

Personally go drive one and then go drive a 3 series or golf, the alfa wins hands down.

za

 

The major issue with Alfa, isn't necessarily the reliability, but if you buy new, it will be worth nothing as you drive it off the forecourt

Because of the very issues stated by some in this topic - yes, they are rewarding ,but only if they are reliable........

Dan