mynickers

Hi All,

I can't believe I am even asking this.. hehe. but here goes.

Anyone got any experience of them. I have always crossed Alfa's off as very pretty cars which go bang alot. So I haven't even considered them.

I am currently looking for a car to use rarely for mountain biking, so chucking bike in back. Needs to be cheap, ideally quite good fun on b-roads and have some degree of reliablity.

Have just been looking on autotrader and they are dirt cheap, literally like a couple of grand. There is normally a good reason for that. I read some reviews on parkers though and they were mixed, some very postive and a few of the usual gripes.

Interested to hear if anyone has more light to shed on whether its worth investigating further.

Cheers.


Ps, I am tempted to get a 205 GTI instead, but that hasnt' got much space and I'll end up being a total hooligan in it and scrapping off riding altogether.

Turbo2

Check the size of the boot space first to see if your bike & clobber will all fit. They're not as big/wide/high as you think in the back, so may be no good for you. If it measures up OK, then why not?

RJMS

iTrader: (2)

You get more space in an Alfa 146 with the seats folded down, (but you will need to fold the seats to get a bike in the back of a 156 sportswagon anyway) Admittedly they are older but equally cheaper and the earlier engines are possibly less likely to go pop. You will (almost) inevitably have electrical issues of one sort or another, I've yet to own an Alfa that doesn't and I've had a few, depends whether you can live with the hassle.

Andy M3

I have a 2004 156 facelift diesel [which is forsale] - they are very good car's, but have Alfaism's.

There are a couple of big things, like t-sparks are risky to own as they can implode, also they have 36k or 3 year cambelt changes. I had mine done and it was £300 from my dealer - Alfa was subsidising at the time.

The V6 is the best petrol IMO, not a lot jucier 23-25 mpg as apposed to 25-28mpg in the 4 pots and less for a selespeed which is a big no no BTW.

Choosing the right V6 depends on what you want from it - Veloce [pronounced Vel-O-chee] is the sporty one and Lusso [Luxury] as the soft plush one.

So mechanically they are pretty good if you maintain them, and it has been maintained.

Electrically there are a couple of bits airbag light stays on a lot, wiper stalks can give up and the odd trim bit may fall off. Find a good specialist and they tend to REALLY love them, which helps.

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=701776746

mynickers

I wasn't looking at spending more than a couple of grand after sort of money I would probably start looking at more sensible options, as I'd clearly need to keep some money back for 'servicing'

Diesels hold their value more, they seem to be bit more. Was looking more at 1.8 and 2.0 the former seeming like the more sensible in the price bracket.

Rob16v

The 1.8 is reputedly less likely to throw its cambelts (which should be changed well under the recommended mileage). Also keep the oil topped up at least once a month, as they use a bit, and if you don't keep an eye on it you'll blow the engine. I did.

Rob