Alfa 156 Sportwagen . Pleasure or pain?
Discussion
Twin,
Yours will probably have the same keys as mine. It is a large fob with a spring that produces the key from within (flicknife style ) It also has 2 buttons on it. One for opening/closing the car. The other for boot release.
I had 3 with mine, so you should have a few as well as they are expensive to replace.
Yours will probably have the same keys as mine. It is a large fob with a spring that produces the key from within (flicknife style ) It also has 2 buttons on it. One for opening/closing the car. The other for boot release.
I had 3 with mine, so you should have a few as well as they are expensive to replace.
Just to confirm then... early 156's came with two identical bright red keys. Around the time of the Sportwagon launch the system changed to two identical black keys (foldable type) and the feature of the remote boot/tailgate release was introduced.
The 156 never had the brown master key system used on other Alfas and Fiats.
Thanks to David C for the info.
The 156 never had the brown master key system used on other Alfas and Fiats.
Thanks to David C for the info.
Well..........we're now the proud owner of a 156 2.0 Twin Spark Sportwagen in Veloce spec
Very pleased with it so far, although I'll be claiming a few things on the warranty. Firstly, those front suspension bushes! Bit wierd as the squeeking/groaning isn't always present, but I'll get them replaced anyway. Other than that, theres a slow motor on the drivers side rear 'leccy window (not a major problem as we don't usually have rear seat passengers - and it's got climate control anyway )
Finally, one keyfob has a flat battery. Does this require "resetting" by an Alfa dealer. If so, any idea how much?
Other than that, she's just received her first Twin Turbo wash 'n wax
Very pleased with it so far, although I'll be claiming a few things on the warranty. Firstly, those front suspension bushes! Bit wierd as the squeeking/groaning isn't always present, but I'll get them replaced anyway. Other than that, theres a slow motor on the drivers side rear 'leccy window (not a major problem as we don't usually have rear seat passengers - and it's got climate control anyway )
Finally, one keyfob has a flat battery. Does this require "resetting" by an Alfa dealer. If so, any idea how much?
Other than that, she's just received her first Twin Turbo wash 'n wax
wombat rick said:
WhoooHooo! Nice one!
Another 5-door coupe driver.
Yes indeedy, welcome to the club. My particular poison ended up being the Sportwagen (2.0JTS Veloce),which I still find a thrill to get in and drive.
It's now a couple of thousand miles off needing it's 10K service and am thinking I want to take it to a specialist Alfa place, but the real specialists seem to be all in the south from what I can see. Do we know of one in the north west? Is it worth bothering being too fussy for a 10K service, or will my local Alfa dealer be able change oil and check brakes etc adequately
Bit early for me to comment on the dealer network
Still, to be honest I'll probably use the guy that looks after my 300ZX as he's as honest as the day is long (the longer the daylight, the less he does wrong - to quote Madness!!). Blimmin' cheap too!
I bought the car from a Mazda dealer (it was a trade-in) and I have a 12 month warranty with them. However, the car's only 2.5 years old, so still has 6 mths Alfa warranty remaining. Is this transferable? How's this done?
I'll be taking it back tomorrow to get them to look at the slow rear 'leccy window and try and convince them to replace the squeeky bushes
Pretty scary thought - 18 months ago this car retailed at a bit over £18k, and I've just paid £8.5k!!!!
Still, to be honest I'll probably use the guy that looks after my 300ZX as he's as honest as the day is long (the longer the daylight, the less he does wrong - to quote Madness!!). Blimmin' cheap too!
I bought the car from a Mazda dealer (it was a trade-in) and I have a 12 month warranty with them. However, the car's only 2.5 years old, so still has 6 mths Alfa warranty remaining. Is this transferable? How's this done?
I'll be taking it back tomorrow to get them to look at the slow rear 'leccy window and try and convince them to replace the squeeky bushes
Pretty scary thought - 18 months ago this car retailed at a bit over £18k, and I've just paid £8.5k!!!!
DinkyToy-boy said:
Is it worth bothering being too fussy for a 10K service, or will my local Alfa dealer be able change
oil and check brakes etc adequately
Not sure what happens to the warranty if you service it outside the dealer network. I don't know of any specialists in the North West since Westune closed down. Any garage should be able to do oil and filters etc. You could supply your own parts from EB Spares if you wanted to make sure it was good stuff. They might not be able to reset the service indicator without the Alfa Examiner though.
Servicing is 12,000 miles or 12 months whichever comes first. JTS needs 10/60 fully synthetic oil.
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