Need some used car advice - Alfa Romeo 159

[helenqueen]

Hi everyone!

My name's Helen - first time poster to Piston Heads!

I'm buying a used car, and like the look of an Alfa Romeo that I found online and I'm unsure whether it's a good buy or not?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Helen

[Vitorio]

Hi Helen,

The 159 is generally considered to be quite reliable, but a bit heavy for an alfa, what it gains in comfort and reliability compared to the 156, it loses in driving dynamic and sportiness. That said, i'd have one in a heartbeat if i needed something of that size.

The main thing to consider would be engine choice:

1.8 MPI, generally considered underpowered for the 159, but no real known issues, not a popular engine, so not many about
1.9/2.2 JTS, General Motors derived lumps, generally well regarded, but have timing chain stretching issues, which is a costly repair, GM fixed their version of the engine, alfa didnt, but some cars have new chains fitted, or even the GM fix applied, can be a good buy, providing you watch out for the chain issues.
3.2 JTS, GM derived V6, not as loved as the old alfa V6, but a good engine with no real known issues, good pick! (and the only engine with AWD available)
1.8/1750TBi, only available on later models, a good engine, tunable and fast, roughly the same engine as the Giulietta QV and 4C GTA

Diesel lumps: all are reliable. the 8v 1.9 lumps are a bit low on power for a heavy car like the 159, but can be mapped, and still arent dog-slow. The 16v 1.9 and later 2.0 diesel lumps are strong, good engines. The 2.4 five cilinder is a beast, delivering over 200 hp from a characterful 5 cilinder, but isnt exactly an economic engine.

Reliability/build quality in general is much better then the older models, so provided its been taken care of, a 159 is a good buy

[anonymous-user]

The 3.2 engine can also suffer from timing chain issues and the Q4 4wd system was available in the 2.4 JDTM models as well but is very rare.

Regardless of engine make sure they are serviced well and regularly with special attention on using the recommended oil - which should be changed more often than Alfa suggest.

Do you have any info on the car in question?

[helenqueen]

Heya!

Thanks for the advice guys! This is the one I found that I'm interested in: http://www.umberslademotors.com/alfa-romeo-159-jtd...

I'm new to buying an Alfa Romeo so I don't know if this is considered a good purchase or not?

[Vitorio]

helenqueen said:

Heya!

Thanks for the advice guys! This is the one I found that I'm interested in: http://www.umberslademotors.com/alfa-romeo-159-jtd...

I'm new to buying an Alfa Romeo so I don't know if this is considered a good purchase or not?

Looks good from over here, the only concern that isnt generic used car buying sense (check for rust, maintenance, state of tires etc...), would be the cam belt. Even on the diesel engines they requires regular replacement (i think 3 years or 60K, whichever is first). Its not an expensive job at a good alfa indy garage though. (€250 over here)

[helenqueen]

That's great, thank you for your help! Bring on the weekend when I can buy this!!

[Vitorio]

helenqueen said:

That's great, thank you for your help! Bring on the weekend when I can buy this!!

Sure thing!

Just dont get swept up in the alfa love right away, approach it as buying any other second hand car and you should be fine (this includes walking away if its a poorly kept example)

[Denorth]

Clutch - needs checking especially with this mileage. Might be on the border line.

some examples of prices for cambelt and clutch are on this website (good to have for haggling )

EDIT: can't believe I forgot to enter the link http://www.autolusso-bournemouth.co.uk/

Edited by Denorth on Thursday 23 March 09:18

[rxe]

Some points - we have a 2.4 sport wagon.

1) On a test drive, walk away if there is any hesitation in power delivery between 1000 - 3000 rpm. Get on the power in third, anything other than smooth acceleration is a problem.

2) Be suspicious if it is remapped. Ours is remapped to hell and back - if I wanted more power the next step is water injection. But remapping does put more stress on everything - ours has just lunched its turbo. Not cheap.

3) M32 "gearbox of doom". Car idling, let the clutch out. Can you hear the gear box whirring? If yes, make sure it is someone else's problem. 2.4s have a tougher box.

4) Interiors are fine. Make sure the left hand (headlight) stalk all works - a wire can snap and it is £400 for a new unit. Or about 5p if you can take stuff apart and solder.

Other than that - it's proved to be an excellent long distance cruiser for us. Regular trips to the south of France at slightly improbable speeds. It really doesn't like lots of short journeys.

[Denorth]

and since long/short trips were mentioned, a check what is the situations with DPF is necessary. Many paid for a removal of it and it's an MOT fail these days.

[wal 45]

There is some good advice above, I've had a 1750 Tbi 159 Sportwagon for over 3 years now and really like it.

The car you've highlighted looks fairly good but if I really wanted a diesel one I'd go for the later 2.0 engine, this one is the old Fiat/Vauxhall/Saab unit. I've had this is in another car and put it this way wouldn't want another, the later car gets a much better gearbox (F40) which doesn't suffer the M32 problems.

It seems to have a few options (graphite wheels and uprated headunit) but looking at the MoT history I'm not sure how much attention (a few silly fails) it has had, possibly ex company car. The Ti is a good spec but be warned the tyres are not cheap and the ride is pretty unforgiving on bad roads, springs have a habit of snapping as well. This car is a pre facelift version but that is detail really apart from being a bit heavier.

The red paint chips really badly (check rear arches as well as usual places), it does look pretty bright on this car still though.

I'd not looked a prices for a while but I think looking at the classifieds you could get a 2.0 with less miles for similar or less money, diesels are generally a lot easier to find when looking for 159's.

Edited by wal 45 on Thursday 23 March 08:19

[HannsG]

What yer and engine is the best for economy and power?

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

Also very keen to get a 159 TI wagon some point in the near future. I'm torn between the 2.2 petrol, and either of the 2.0 and 2.4 diesels (would buy either diesel if the right car came up). I do 8k miles a year, and would like to avoid diesel if possible as I have only 7 miles to drive to work and 8k miles at 30mpg is fine. So ideally I would like a 2.2 JTS TI wagon but these seem unbelievably rare. I've been reading about the hesitation that the 2.2 has and that it can be remedied with a remap, but I'm wondering if this always cures that hesitation?

[Vitorio]

mstrbkr said:

Also very keen to get a 159 TI wagon some point in the near future. I'm torn between the 2.2 petrol, and either of the 2.0 and 2.4 diesels (would buy either diesel if the right car came up). I do 8k miles a year, and would like to avoid diesel if possible as I have only 7 miles to drive to work and 8k miles at 30mpg is fine. So ideally I would like a 2.2 JTS TI wagon but these seem unbelievably rare. I've been reading about the hesitation that the 2.2 has and that it can be remedied with a remap, but I'm wondering if this always cures that hesitation?

You dont want a diesel if it will be doing a 7 mile commute 90% of the time. As a dutchman, id suggest buying a decent bike and working on your physical condition a bit, saves money too!

[anonymous-user]

Vitorio said:

You dont want a diesel if it will be doing a 7 mile commute 90% of the time. As a dutchman, id suggest buying a decent bike and working on your physical condition a bit, saves money too!

Indeed. I have been cycling to work for over 2 years now average about 3 days a week throughout the year. It is 11 miles each way though along the back roads. I don't want a diesel really, however the used cars available are what I have to work with, and all TIs in my budget are diesel. I would love to have the 1.75 TBI ; I may stretch my budget to get into one.

[Vitorio]

mstrbkr said:

I would love to have the 1.75 TBI ; I may stretch my budget to get into one.

If you can, by all means. Not having driven any of these engines, i would probably think the 1750Tb is the best (petrol) engine choice in the 159. Just make sure you dont cane the turbo from cold, and dont stop it directly after a hard caning.

I recon a well-kept 159ti - 1750Tb can somewhat of a classic in a few decades, its basically a 75 Turbo, but without the right wheel drive.

[wal 45]

mstrbkr said:

I would love to have the 1.75 TBI ; I may stretch my budget to get into one.

I've had one for 3 years now, you'll really struggle to find a Ti TBi Sportwagon as I believe only approx. 60 or so were sold in the UK and Veloces buy them all up. Worth hanging on for though as I think the spec and engine really work as a package, bit small in the back (in addition to my previous post's comment) but that's about it. Not for sale!!

Edited by wal 45 on Wednesday 10th May 12:14

[gherkin]

I am also looking at a 159 sportswagon and this one came up near me recently. I am extremely tempted. What do you reckon?

http://www.usedcarsni.com/2008-Alfa-Romeo-159-Spor...

[wal 45]

gherkin said:

I am also looking at a 159 sportswagon and this one came up near me recently. I am extremely tempted. What do you reckon?

http://www.usedcarsni.com/2008-Alfa-Romeo-159-Spor...

No one has answered so I pass this advice with the caveat I haven't owned a 3.2 version of a 159.

That car is in my favourite colour and that particular grey doesn't seem to chip in the same manner as the black and red ones. The tow bar would make me slightly wary but I guess it would make an excellent tow car.

I'd check to see if it is a real Ti as I didn't think they made any with a 3.2, could be completely wrong though. It doesn't state whether it is 2WD or 4WD, if the former then good news but beware (as a colleague at work found out with his Brera 3.2) that the transfer boxes can go wrong on the 4WD versions. He was left with a 5K bill (he used a main dealer) to get it sorted out, sure this can be done a fair bit cheaper at an Indy.

Then there's the running costs, mine isn't cheap (1750 TBi) so double it for a 3.2 and it will be an expensive car to own and run. Plenty of advice on here re normal failure points of the 159, they are pretty good though.

Finally I'd read up on Alfa Owner forum about stretched timing chains on the 3.2 engine (not the Busso) and the replacment costs, that might make your mind up very quickly.

[anonymous-user]

wal 45 said:

I'd check to see if it is a real Ti as I didn't think they made any with a 3.2, could be completely wrong though.

If you mean 3.2 Ti's in general they did do them. I've got a saloon one. Not very common though, I think there's only 5 of my spec (Q4 Qtronic) 3.2s on the road.

wal 45 said:

Finally I'd read up on Alfa Owner forum about stretched timing chains on the 3.2 engine (not the Busso) and the replacment costs, that might make your mind up very quickly.

Good point. A Hertfordshire based Alfa specialist I spoke to recently can rectify for under £2k if you are unlucky enough for the chain to stretch. Regular oil changes using the Alfa-recommended oils and a cleanout of the narrow oil-feed gullies to the chain itself will do wonders.