Alfa 156 diesel

[rodenal]

Any of you guys had one?

Went to see one today was in beautiful condition, and 6.5k for a 2003 1.9JTD 150bhp with 45k seems a sweet deal to me.

I actually had a petrol one for a few months and loved it, but i cant find anybody who's had one to do big mileages in, which i will be and dont want it to break down.

I know they're better than they used to be and they're gorgeous inside and out, my prev one didnt feel like it was falling to bits any time soon and had done 120k.

 

[cadders]

I can't answer your question but I've always had a soft spot for Alfas and occasionally lurk on www.alfaowner.com. They seem a freindly bunch, and just as passionate about thier cars as us Audi mob so it might be a good idea to put your question on one of their forums.

 

[rodenal]

Ahh nice one cheers, was hunting google for a decent alfa forum

 

[motorbikez]

A friend of mine has a alpha 147 1.9 jtd 140bhp 100ks on it and has proved reliable and reasonably economical if you dont include putting a litre of oil in it every 2500 miles and its been like that from new.

 

[rodenal]

What kind of mpg does he get in it do you know? Also looking at the 147 but the 5 doors look a little funny and the 3 doors seem hard to find.

I dont think the oil thing is that unusual really, alot of diesels use oil.

 

[motorbikez]

42mpg but SHE drives it fairly briskly

 

[rodenal]

haha sorry to SHE

 

[jcs356]

A mate had a 156 petrol from new which had problem after problem after problem. It culminated in it snapping the timing belt at approx 4 years/ about 35,000 miles (well below the schedule for replacement). Despite a full Alfa service schedule, they wouldn't contribute at all to the repairs.

He got it fixed up and sold it on having lost well over 80% in depreciation, vowing never, ever, again. He saw sense and replaced it with an A4 3.2 quattro.

I view Alfa ownership like playing russian roulette - it looks clever, but you know sometime it is going to end in a big mess.

 

[coupe-se]

Any of you guys had one?

Went to see one today was in beautiful condition, and 6.5k for a 2003 1.9JTD 150bhp with 45k seems a sweet deal to me.

I actually had a petrol one for a few months and loved it, but i cant find anybody who's had one to do big mileages in, which i will be and dont want it to break down.

I know they're better than they used to be and they're gorgeous inside and out, my prev one didnt feel like it was falling to bits any time soon and had done 120k.

A friend of mine; Mike; does super high mileage as part of his job. He had a 156 Sportswagon diesel and ran it well over 100k in a relatively short period of time.

He liked the car alot and how it drove etc and always expressed what a good car it was until it hit higher mileage (100k+). Then mechanical gremlins started hitting one thing after another and he finaly got so fed up of the unreliability that he got rid and bought a Leon FR TDi. Seem to remember the cam-sensor going which was a common issue.

Guess if the one you are looking at only has 45k on the clock you should have quite a bit of trouble free mileage with it based on my friend Mikes experience.

 

[28v6]

My mate had a 147, stays in Dunfermline and wouldn't by another the list of faults was endless...

Oil Leaks
New calipers (Twice)
New Discs
Electric window problems
Dashboard Gremlins
and 3 cylinders until warm ...

My mates pretty meticulous when it comes to cars, worse than an AA inspection and this car was the bain of his wallet, a constant drain and always needing something.. the car had 23k on its clock and belonged to an old dear from Ayrshire.. It lasted less than a year before being traded in favour of an A4 1.8T quattro... hasn't looked back since! We had one at work as a company car and it wasn't to clever on the diesel either, drank it like a petrol.. economy was well down....

Me I'd avoid it and stick with what you already know..German cars!

 

[rodenal]

Hmm ****** that then, german cars are all very well but they're overpriced.

Might just sell my soul and buy a vectra sri dti

 

[Smudge973]

I had a new 156 2ltr Veloce back in 2001 - 70k miles in just over 2 years and had nothing but problems - It had a cylinder head after 14kmiles due to excessive oil consumption - Not joy, then a new engine which did the trick. As the miles increased to car became unbearable, it was full of rattles. When I traded it for my 1st A4 in 2003 and this made me realise how bad it was. my audi covered 63k and I can honestly say it drove like the day I purchased it. Hence my next car had to be a B7 A4...