RE: SOTW: Alfa Romeo 166 3.0

[ILoveMondeo]

She'd is back on form after the last couple of disasters! Very nice indeed!

[thesoundcriminal]

I love Alfas I had 2 suds tii 3 75 v6s. They Sound incredible with the CSC exhaust I remember standing outside my house hearing this incredible howling I looked to the main road expecting to see a Ferrari fly past but no, it was my old 75 I was gutted. I have also had 164 v6 auto 2 gtv ts & v6 Now looking for may next shed. I must say the fiat coupe 20vt is up there only beaten by the v6 rwd 75 best car I have ever driven.

Best sotw in ages.

[SuperHangOn]

Really like this shed.

Boring I know but the maintenance puts me off actually buying one. My Omega was bad enough with the 40k belt, fussy suspension and cheaply made, niggly parts tucked away in awkward places.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Saturday 3rd November 08:58

[Rollcage]

I had a 166 for about 18 months a few years ago. It was great, never broke down and was never not usable.

Mine was a 3.0 Sportronic - and it actually wasn't a bad gearbox. I even got 32mpg out of it on a run from Devon to Brands Hatch when I sold it to Day & White, where I believe it's still being used as a loan car.

With a stainless exhaust on , it sounded rather lovely!

As for 164s, I've had loads of them - even managed to have four Cloverleafs at once, two 12vs and two 24vs!

[Chrisw26]

LotusOmega375D said:

My brother had one (V6, auto) for a long time (and a manual V6 164 before). I think he suffered both the gearbox failure and a cambelt failure on the 166, resulting in a replacement engine. It was a very nice car but I found it surprisingly slow. He sold it recently. He swapped the wheels for some of tele-dials after this photo was taken.

To be fair the 166 was very slow before we changed the MAF after a couple of weeks. After that it was pretty quick and that showed up the crap bushes. Multilink means multi poly bushes means multi pounds. But worth it. My wife drove it everyday for 5 years and loved it. She said it was particularly good on snow and made her giggle when she passed Bmws slipping and sliding. The heater leak ecu can be easily avoided with a shed repair - just cover the ecu with a square of breathable roofing felt - don't use a plastic bag as that can cause condensation. I got to clean it every other day or so and drive it on long trips fully loaded and found it very stable at 69mph ish. Never saw more than one a month. Cambelt snapped leading me to question the full alfa stealer history. I think they used to get kids to change the oil and wash them. As we worked through the car with a trusty local garage it was getting better and better. Engine was a delight as was the 164 before it. I don't think it had ever been faster than when the new owner took it for a test drive. His right foot was heavier than the car. Maybe we hadn't been trying hard enough. Great shed verging on future classic.

[MLC166]

Fab car that i have owned for the past 5 years. Had the occasional issue with it but what else looks as good. Mine is a V6 in Volcano Black with beige/light tan leather. No matter where I go in the car it always starts a conversation along the lines of "I love Alfa Romeo's but have never had the guts to buy one" Enough said.

I love the front end view...



When I look out of the window I see this...



And when I lift the bonnet I see this...




There is nothing out there that comes close for the money at the moment imho.

[ajb85]

Beautiful, but change those wheels for 17" Super Lussos!

[g3org3y]

Not my cup of tea, sorry. Looks a little sad at the front like it feels upset. Engine bay does look awesome though!

(I wouldn't choose one over an E39 528i)

[Martin 480 Turbo]

I personally know two "excecutives" who kept their 166 for a prolonged
term, as they didn't want anything else. Both were head of quality and
head of engineering in their respective companies.(No joke.)

One of the cars ran until 230K Kilometers when it was reluctantly replaced
with a Mercedes according to companies fleet management rules...

With regular specialist maintanance the Alfa never missed a beat until then
and I would have bought it for a song, if I didn't already have every garage
stuffed with a "project" or toddler gear.

Martin 480 Turbo

[CDP]

A 164 without bodykit in black or better still silver or a 166 in a dark colour - that volcano black is absolutely beautiful.

In either case black leather interior and the alloy trim instead of wood.

[rumple]

g3org3y said:

Not my cup of tea, sorry. Looks a little sad at the front like it feels upset. Engine bay does look awesome though!

(I wouldn't choose one over an E39 528i)

I agree, dosent do a single thing for me, the engine looks stunning though.

[FarmerJim]

Excellent shed. At that price it is almost disposable and therefore less of a potential financial disaster than, say, a £10,000 BMW. I'm in.

[gregalfa]

Had two of these lovely Alfas in 3.0v6 super lusso spec. First one an ex demo from Mangoletsi (MU02DHX) and I had £58k trouble free miles apart from aclutch replaced under warranty. Latter was a shed and no bargain. Both cars had under damped front ends and were pronevto sump grounding. Suspension bushes seem to wear quickly. I would have a rare 166 3.2 tomorrrow.

[405dogvan]

gregalfa said:

£58k trouble free miles

and we shall call that a 'Alfisti Slip' - the use of a £ in random locations due to it's constant presence in your relationship with your car

[angry jock]

I was the very proud owner of a Rosso Rubino 166 3.0 Super Lusso
It didn't break down once in the 3 years that I owned it and when I sold it, it had approaching 170,000 miles on it.
A mates dad subsequently bought it and it is still going strong. Brilliant car and I will own another one at some point.

[MogulBoy]

If only these were RWD!

(just had a quick Google and found a late 3.2 manual with low mileage over here - but they want 13 sheds for it).

http://www.autoscout24.ch/fr/d/alfa-romeo-166-limo...

Edited by MogulBoy on Monday 5th November 11:03

[strangehighways]

s m said:

0-60 7.9
0-100 21.4
Max 140mph
SS 1/4 16.2@89
30-70 7.4

I'm sure the 24V 164 3 litre was quicker than that. I had one and I remember Autocar tested it at 7.4 to 60, 19. something to 100 and 6.8 30 - 70. ie. It was quicker than anything the germans had for 3 litres in a car that size.

[village idiot]

been there, done it... had a 166 3.0 super manual in nuvolo blue with black momo leather.

engine was great, interior lovely, great build quality... the only things that went wrong were the Bosch (German) electrics!

[s m]

strangehighways said:

s m said:

M666 EVO said:

I always remember the 164 Lusso being silly quick, may just have been the rose tinted driving gloves though.

0-60 7.9
0-100 21.4
Max 140mph
SS 1/4 16.2@89
30-70 7.4

I'm sure the 24V 164 3 litre was quicker than that. I had one and I remember Autocar tested it at 7.4 to 60, 19. something to 100 and 6.8 30 - 70. ie. It was quicker than anything the germans had for 3 litres in a car that size.

Yes, the 24v was quicker than the 12v Lusso figures shown above

Edited by s m on Monday 5th November 11:53

[rs48635]

pozi said:

My mate is an Alfa fan and had one of these for a while, he was on first name terms with most of the local AA patrols by the time he decided to get rid of it.

Compared with his other Alfas (I can't fault his passion for the brand) even he admitted this was the least reliable.

My mate :rolleyes had a dog, which bit his granny, on the f@nny, taken away by the vet, never again seen yet, but my mate still has a growler?

Shaggy dog stories aside, I've owned two. They do get under your skin, so have a loyal following. both mine were a joy to own and drive, regularly tripping to south of france, easy 800 miles driven without any tiredness or aches.
As mentioned above - very few cars have better interior. Nothing in it's league comes close to those seats. Well worth getting the momo seats for office/ den chair
Both mine killed by lack of spares (no gearbox spares provisioned, due to low sales?)