Alfa Romeo GT - what to look out for?

[VX5195]

Hi there,

I'm considering buying an Alfa Romeo GT, seen one for sale, it is a 2007 Blackline edition, 78,000 miles in pretty good condition! It is the 1.9 JTDM engine with 6 speed manual gearbox.

I was wondering if there was anything in particular I should look for?

P.S- coming from a 2009 Corsa 1.2 so this should be a lot better!

[donaircooleone]

VX5195 said:

Hi there,

I'm considering buying an Alfa Romeo GT, seen one for sale, it is a 2007 Blackline edition, 78,000 miles in pretty good condition! It is the 1.9 JTDM engine with 6 speed manual gearbox.

I was wondering if there was anything in particular I should look for?

P.S- coming from a 2009 Corsa 1.2 so this should be a lot better!

It's an Alfa, it will be better than a Vauxhall (certain select models may be within a shout).

Erm not got a GT however had a couple of 156's which are similar-ish.

The engine is generally strong however check the following has been done:

Cambelt / Aux Belt Water Pump - Cambelts on these really ought to be done every 36k miles or 36 months - budget for this.
Corrosion, look everywhere underneath. A little surface can be sorted however if its bad expect some small welding work later.
Just check the clutch feels good and strong and no chattering / juddering at idle.
Any suspension noise? Budget anywhere from £20 to £300 to sort that, its a feature :P
Turbo should 'kick' in at around 1800RPM or thereabouts, check this.

Alfa's these days aren't that bad just check over as you would a lesser brand (bland) car.

[flyingplum]

I owned a 57 plate Blackline with the 1.9JTDm engine. Great car, loved it! But going off the few issues I encountered with mine, I would check:

Front suspension - creaking noise from the top is likely to be upper wishbones, creaking from bottom likely to be lower wishbones and knocking / rattling from lower down (you might feel it through the pedals) could be ARB bushes. All can be sorted and upgraded to poly bushes easily enough and Alfa workshop sell all the parts for very reasonable prices.

JTDm models suffer from a heavy clutch pedal and this can start from around 30k miles, and then get gradually heavier as time and miles go on. I sorted mine easily just by keeping it lubricated (there's a little rubber boot behind the clutch pedal - a squirt of silicone grease every few thousand miles kept on top of it). Clutches seem to go any time after 65k ish, depending on how it's been driven. I sold mine with 59k on it and the clutch was fine.

Rear hatches can squeak while driving but this is another easy fix.

Something else to check is the sills - you occasionally see that they have collapsed (or being pushed upward from underneath) due to less competent technicians placing the jack or lift in the wrong place. There's a little arrow on the sill which confuses people!

[Nigel_O]

My GT Blackline has just turned 200,000 miles - still going strong

Watch out for:

Front wishbones - top & bottom
Clutch - goes stiff, then slips
Turbo - whistles when it's dying - good for 150k +
Turbo hose - can split, causing boost leaks and poor running
Thermostat - can stick open, causing high fuel consumption
Shocks - go soft
Door check straps - get loose and make loud clacking noise - can crack the door!
Tracking - easy to scrub the inside edge of the front tyres
EGR valve - clogs up - easy to blank, but needs a remap
Swirl flaps - can be ingested and cause havoc with the engine, and/or the turbo
Sidelight bulbs - fail regularly and are an absolute PITA to change - go LED

Sound like a litany of problems, but they are no less reliable than. German stuff and they still look good. Mine averages 47mpg even on a slow commute around Birmingham - will easily do mid50s on a run

Great commuter hack for little cost - hugely practical too - have had a washing machine in the back of mine

[VX5195]

Thanks for that everyone, will take it all into serious consideration

[Kinky]

See useful links to reviews, etc, in my garage entry

http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?car...