Opinions on this Alfa Giullietta please?
Discussion
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-Alfa-Romeo-Giuliett...
We had a quick look at this earlier. It's done 24800 miles, not 28400, and it's £10000, not £10500 as per the advert, plus their BS £65 admin fee. Overall, it's very tidy, there are a couple of scuffs on the wheels, and a chip on the rear bumper which they say they would sort. A couple of things bother me though; firstly, it's got new tyres on the front that are some no name 'supergrip' or some such, but the main thing I'm bothered about is the history. It has the Alfa PDI stamp, then nothing until it was serviced and MOTd when they took it in on PX. It is an Alfa main dealer stamp, but the car's three years old in March, and has never had it's oil changed until just. Should I be worried?
The salesman says it's just missed an inspection, that's all, but I just think that if the first owner couldn't be bothered to get a new car serviced during their ownership, how much have they cared for it, how often have they checked oil levels etc. I'm supposed to be going back to test drive it tomorrow morning, so some opinions and also any pointers on other things to look for would be welcome. It would replace the wife's Punto and be our every day runabout.
Thanks
We had a quick look at this earlier. It's done 24800 miles, not 28400, and it's £10000, not £10500 as per the advert, plus their BS £65 admin fee. Overall, it's very tidy, there are a couple of scuffs on the wheels, and a chip on the rear bumper which they say they would sort. A couple of things bother me though; firstly, it's got new tyres on the front that are some no name 'supergrip' or some such, but the main thing I'm bothered about is the history. It has the Alfa PDI stamp, then nothing until it was serviced and MOTd when they took it in on PX. It is an Alfa main dealer stamp, but the car's three years old in March, and has never had it's oil changed until just. Should I be worried?
The salesman says it's just missed an inspection, that's all, but I just think that if the first owner couldn't be bothered to get a new car serviced during their ownership, how much have they cared for it, how often have they checked oil levels etc. I'm supposed to be going back to test drive it tomorrow morning, so some opinions and also any pointers on other things to look for would be welcome. It would replace the wife's Punto and be our every day runabout.
Thanks
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Its a modern turbo-petrol, they live and die on their oil.
Alfa chnaged the service schedule on the 1.4 engines after a few years. Old schedule was 2yrs/18k miles, new schedule is 1yr/9k miles. IIRC they were getting too many failures on the 2yr schedule.
If its done 3yrs / 25k miles with no oil change, that means its missed at a minimum one oil change, or maybe two.
Id be briskly walking in the other direction, tbh!
That would explain why it's a decent price, but hasn't sold. I'll give it a miss. Hopefully more 14 reg models will come on the used market after 1st March. Alfa chnaged the service schedule on the 1.4 engines after a few years. Old schedule was 2yrs/18k miles, new schedule is 1yr/9k miles. IIRC they were getting too many failures on the 2yr schedule.
If its done 3yrs / 25k miles with no oil change, that means its missed at a minimum one oil change, or maybe two.
Id be briskly walking in the other direction, tbh!
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Shame though, it was a nice car.
I got involved in a 60 plate 1.4TB Veloce low miles, great price.
Within the week the hydraulic valve/head thing went pop, about a grand to fix, of which the dealer contributed 50%....
From what I understand the car has been very reliable since.
Steering and manual box were vague in feel, interior plastics were nasty.
DNA was a fun switch
The design, inside and out, and the general comfort and economy outweighed the negatives.
Within the week the hydraulic valve/head thing went pop, about a grand to fix, of which the dealer contributed 50%....
From what I understand the car has been very reliable since.
Steering and manual box were vague in feel, interior plastics were nasty.
DNA was a fun switch
The design, inside and out, and the general comfort and economy outweighed the negatives.
I had a Giulietta 170 Multiair in Sportiva spec and it was a very good car. I did 50k miles with no issues of any sort, nothing broke, fell off, rattled or squeaked and it didn't rust away. It was good fun to drive, comfortable, economical and really very hard to fault but it felt a little less Alfa than the Alfas I had before it.
It was much more fun that the Audi A3 and Golf hire cars that I had at the same time, I was always glad to get back in the Alfa after driving them.
With regard to the Multiiar system, most of the issues seem to be oil related so they have to be serviced on time and using the correct oil.
It was much more fun that the Audi A3 and Golf hire cars that I had at the same time, I was always glad to get back in the Alfa after driving them.
With regard to the Multiiar system, most of the issues seem to be oil related so they have to be serviced on time and using the correct oil.
Edited by Pooh on Saturday 4th February 12:02
Quickmoose said:
Well done! enjoy.
Those alloys are a right PITA to keep clean though. Get some '8C' style ones...;)
This has been and is my fave Giullietta example...
Thanks. Those alloys are a right PITA to keep clean though. Get some '8C' style ones...;)
This has been and is my fave Giullietta example...
I thought the same about the wheels, they have a similar number of spokes to the ones on my Jag (which are a PITA), but at least these are already brake dust coloured.
The Sprints and some other new models come with the 8C style wheels, they do look nice.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Its a modern turbo-petrol, they live and die on their oil.
Alfa chnaged the service schedule on the 1.4 engines after a few years. Old schedule was 2yrs/18k miles, new schedule is 1yr/9k miles. IIRC they were getting too many failures on the 2yr schedule.
If its done 3yrs / 25k miles with no oil change, that means its missed at a minimum one oil change, or maybe two.
Id be briskly walking in the other direction, tbh!
Widely late, but i thought id add to thisAlfa chnaged the service schedule on the 1.4 engines after a few years. Old schedule was 2yrs/18k miles, new schedule is 1yr/9k miles. IIRC they were getting too many failures on the 2yr schedule.
If its done 3yrs / 25k miles with no oil change, that means its missed at a minimum one oil change, or maybe two.
Id be briskly walking in the other direction, tbh!
The 170hp 1.4 also has the multi-air tech, meaning it only has one cam, and the other valves (i think intake) are driven using hydraulics using engine oil. Meaning the oil in these engines isnt just for lubricating bearings and regulation heat, it also flows through some very fast moving valves and pressure regulators.
Id be very worried about the effect 25K old oil might have on the intake valve-train, besides the obvious turbo, and potentially big-ends on a highly strung small displacement engine like that.
Vitorio said:
Widely late, but i thought id add to this
The 170hp 1.4 also has the multi-air tech, meaning it only has one cam, and the other valves (i think intake) are driven using hydraulics using engine oil. Meaning the oil in these engines isnt just for lubricating bearings and regulation heat, it also flows through some very fast moving valves and pressure regulators.
Id be very worried about the effect 25K old oil might have on the intake valve-train, besides the obvious turbo, and potentially big-ends on a highly strung small displacement engine like that.
That's how they work, I must admit I didn't know! The 170hp 1.4 also has the multi-air tech, meaning it only has one cam, and the other valves (i think intake) are driven using hydraulics using engine oil. Meaning the oil in these engines isnt just for lubricating bearings and regulation heat, it also flows through some very fast moving valves and pressure regulators.
Id be very worried about the effect 25K old oil might have on the intake valve-train, besides the obvious turbo, and potentially big-ends on a highly strung small displacement engine like that.
Thanks for the info.Thankfully the one I've bought has been serviced every 12 months at below the mileage requirement.
LeighW said:
That's how they work, I must admit I didn't know! Thanks for the info.
Thankfully the one I've bought has been serviced every 12 months at below the mileage requirement.
Well, according to wikipedia there is an intake cam, but the tappets have been replaced by what is basically a small hydraulic reservoir, close the reservoir while the cam lobe on the other side, and the trapped oil works like a solid tappet, close the reservoir partway though the lobe profile and you limit valve lift, etc... Thanks for the info.Thankfully the one I've bought has been serviced every 12 months at below the mileage requirement.
Either way, engine oil is directly between your cam and valves, and in part-open scenarios, as i understand it, the solenoids controlling the valve would need to open/close every since cam rotation, and there is a small reservoir (which im not entirely sure how it would seal up) where oil is pushing back/forth in/out all the time.
I had a Mito with the 135MA engine, and was absolutely pissed when the tire-monkeys at euromaster "filled up my oil" when i got my tires changed, it was a company lease so the risk wasnt mine, but f
k me... dont mess with the oil in my exotic italian engine you monkeyLeighW said:
Quick thread update, I've bought this 2014 MA Sportiva Nav with 19k miles, one owner, full dealer history. Really nice car, and it goes pretty well too, looking forward to picking it up on Thursday.
Etna black. A gorgeous colour in the sun. Looks flat black on a grey day, but in the right light it truly shines. Mine looked fantastic at sunrise and sunset - the red fleck just sparkled.Enjoy your new car. I miss mine.
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