I want an Alpha 156 Sport Wagon
Discussion
I'm looking to change my car soon and want an Alfa 156 Sport Wagon 1.8 or 2.0. I've got about £4k to spend and want one on about an 02 plate with less than 80k on the clock. Am i an idiot?
I've noticed that people often make mention of the 60k service being done with cambelt and pre-tensioners being changed, is there anything else to look out for that commonly goes wrong (i've noticed a few people having to have new wishbones)?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I've noticed that people often make mention of the 60k service being done with cambelt and pre-tensioners being changed, is there anything else to look out for that commonly goes wrong (i've noticed a few people having to have new wishbones)?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Edited by alex_p on Thursday 15th March 12:47
nope your not an idiot 
.
the cambelts do need doing before 60k, if it hasn't been done make sure you factor it in. At 52 plate you are on the join between the phase 1 and phase 2 cars. The ph2 has a nicer (IMO) interior, but still retains the older and nicer (again IMO) front end. This makes a ph2 a more desirable buy than a the earlier car, but might push it over budget.
Things to watch are
Suspension bushes
A rattle on start up, which is the variator.
A few electrical gremilns, nothing major but can iritate.
Some of the early face lifted cars had peculiar specs, Veloce's without rear electric windows or headlamp washers for instance. try to check the spec against old catalogues or ask for advise on here or alfaowner.com if you find one.
Phase 2, 2litre cars have the JTS engine, which is a direct injection unit, it's slightly more powerfull than the old 2.0TS, but has arguably less character
. the cambelts do need doing before 60k, if it hasn't been done make sure you factor it in. At 52 plate you are on the join between the phase 1 and phase 2 cars. The ph2 has a nicer (IMO) interior, but still retains the older and nicer (again IMO) front end. This makes a ph2 a more desirable buy than a the earlier car, but might push it over budget.
Things to watch are
Suspension bushes
A rattle on start up, which is the variator.
A few electrical gremilns, nothing major but can iritate.
Some of the early face lifted cars had peculiar specs, Veloce's without rear electric windows or headlamp washers for instance. try to check the spec against old catalogues or ask for advise on here or alfaowner.com if you find one.
Phase 2, 2litre cars have the JTS engine, which is a direct injection unit, it's slightly more powerfull than the old 2.0TS, but has arguably less character
Make it 36kYes every 12K, cost is dependant on which one, they vary from about £130.00 to somewhere near £300.00.
You would probably better with a good specialist independant on an older car. But give your local dealer a ring and ask, most have 'menu' servicing.
My 156's have generally been cheaper to service than my Wifes Vauxhall and Mazda.
You would probably better with a good specialist independant on an older car. But give your local dealer a ring and ask, most have 'menu' servicing.
My 156's have generally been cheaper to service than my Wifes Vauxhall and Mazda.
What about this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Looks pretty clean and I got a car check done on it this afternoon. If you need a copy PM me and I'll forward it to you. I spoke to the seller and he said he's looking for £4k which I recon is a bit high but he was willing to negotiate...
I got another one so I'm not going for this one.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Looks pretty clean and I got a car check done on it this afternoon. If you need a copy PM me and I'll forward it to you. I spoke to the seller and he said he's looking for £4k which I recon is a bit high but he was willing to negotiate...
I got another one so I'm not going for this one.
As said anything over 80,000 miles should definitly be looking at it's second cambelt, mine had it's second at 92,000 and it was at the stage where it could have gone at any time!
Watch the oild consumption too on a high miler twin spark, mine uses about 1L every 2000 miles, not a problem unless the previous owner isn't very vigilant and lets it run low.
They are fantastic cars though, love mine to bits
Watch the oild consumption too on a high miler twin spark, mine uses about 1L every 2000 miles, not a problem unless the previous owner isn't very vigilant and lets it run low.
They are fantastic cars though, love mine to bits
pwig said:
£300 ish.
8 spark plugs at £14 a time. Wibble.
8 spark plugs at £14 a time. Wibble.
indeed!
Just had my 108k mile service done (or thereabouts - actually done 103K but in a short space of time) and cost £125! Bargain. Alas.......there's other bits need doing so looking more like £350 - there's a nasty engine rattle and they think the valve timing's out.
Wombat Rick said:
Kentish said:
Make sure you get the master key!
I notice the ebay car has only 2 keys with it.
I notice the ebay car has only 2 keys with it.
Be careful - the master key only applies to Alfas of a certain age. Not sure if it ever affected the 156. Certainly didn't from 2002 onwards.
You can tell by looking at the keys themselves - the early ones (that need the master key) are Code-1 and just have the code symbol on the key itself while the later Code-2 cars have a small "2" stamped next to the code symbol.
Can anyone clear up the model names for me. As i understand it, for a 2002 car, the Turismo is the base spec, Lusso is luxury and Veloce is sport. Is this right? I've read a few conflicting bits elsewhere on the net regarding when the model designations got changed and exactly what the represent! Can anyone tell me the main differences between them, were all the options avaliable for each model and which are the most sought after? Sorry for all the questions but each car i look at seems to have a slightly different spec...
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